Eight gold and five platinum singes; one double platinum, one triple. Eight New Zealand Music Awards, five ARIA nominations. Actor, burgeoning fashion icon, te reo champion. Survivor. Stan Walker.

We’ve finally met the Polestar 2 in the metal. Ahead of a deeper dive with the full range of electric performance fastbacks early in 2022, how did the $78,900 Long Range Single Motor example we drove stack up?

What is it about the classic Volkswagen Golf R32 that makes it so special? Is it that compact-but-muscular hot hatch stance? The engaging on-road dynamics? Yes, and yes.