Polestar 2 in BBC’s Top Gear

Forecasting the future of mobility doesn’t require a crystal ball, a fortune cookie or the basics of palm reading. By now, we all know it’s electric. But to predict what’s in store for caravanning, we may just need the team from Top Gear.

Electric Snow Polestar 2 towing a caravan during filming of BBC One Top Gear

In the latest episode of BBC’s Top Gear, the presenters ran the gamut of adventurous caravanning in three EVs. Polestar 2, driven by presenter and former England international cricketer Freddie Flintoff, squared off against an Audi E-Tron and a Mercedes EQC.While towing a MINK micro-caravan complete with mattress, stove, and sink, Flintoff departed Berwick-upon-Tweed in his Polestar 2 for a camping site in the Northumberland Moors.In the first challenge of the episode, Polestar 2 competed in a hill climb (with attached MINK caravan) where it powered up the ridge and weaved through checkpoints easily. With power and precision, the Polestar 2 made its way through both an off-road circuit time trail and a shoreline drag race.

“It looks like the future because it is the future. It’s relaxing, refined, silent, you really do feel like you’re getting away from the hustle and bustle”, Flintoff stated. The final test was to get to Barnard Castle by way of Harthope Moss, one of England’s highest roads, with only the remaining charge left on each vehicle. Polestar 2 nearly reached the destination but ran out of battery after a gruelling elevation gain, just short of Barnard Castle. It was only “beaten out” due to strategic (and cheeky) rule bending by presenter Chris Harris, who detached his caravan for the journey. After all the trials, rigours, and unique challenges posed by the Northumbrian landscape (with Polestar 2 emerging victorious), one thing is for certain: the future of caravanning is electric, too.

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