The 2025 Polestar 4: Great steering and a small carbon footprint stand out
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The quoted EPA range has to be in whatever the default mode is. I doubt the default mode is the one that leaves a motor unused.
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No one is going to buy a new car then immediately reupholster it. They're going to buy the car that has what they want from the factory.
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You mean you've never had to drive home after a night of naked oil wrestling when you forgot to bring clothes to change into when leaving the venue?
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No.. but I have been in a scenario that's closer than I'd like to admit to that
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The existence of dealer-affiliated upholsterers seems to contradict your statement. A small fraction of buyers with demanding and specific tastes have long bought new cars with the interiors they want. This commerce is common enough that there is a shop in my neighborhood that performs this service only for Porsches, and seems to have a robust business.
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In winter, this rearview camera will be totally useless three blocks down, never mind on a highway with a calcium brine spray. In these conditions, the only perfect tool is the retractable VW backup camera — which would not be practical as a constant rearview setup.
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I disagree with this 100%.
I have the rear view camera in my Bolt, used it a few times and then went back to the mirror. I always find the shift in focal depth of my eyes to be disconcerting and would never buy a car that relies on cameras for this task despite the wider FOV and slight convenience in head to mirror alignment.
I am fairly near sighted and have worn glasses almost all my life — maybe people with different prescriptions feel otherwise?
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Do the manufacturers provide a different metric for this ? Maybe something like, say, KwH_Charged_PerHour @ 220VDC. That would be more in line with reality. You're only rarely going to charge to 100% (using L2 charging), and almost always overnight. Seems likely folks will relatively often need to get 10 - 25% into the batteries for a longer than normal driving day around town, and that would be good info to have for a baseline.
It would also, I think(?), be a good way of showcasing the efficiency of the OEM's charger, no?
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Last I checked this car has 2 leather options - Zinc (white-ish) and Charcoal (black-ish).
I deeply lust after this car. It's out of my price range, but maybe used in a few years....
I wish they focused more on cargo room vs rear passenger room, but the market has pretty clearly spoken on that one. Lack of buttons on the interior irritates me, but they do have the one button I miss the most in my current car (play/pause). Lack of a rear window I actually see as a plus - I live in the deep south where everyone has a lifted truck blinding you from behind. Blocking that out would be nice.
The "SUV" marketing is just that - marketing. I think this thing is a whole 1.5" taller than my 2012 Focus. Wide as hell though, I do wonder about parking it...
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I'm massively nearsighted, and don't have issues with backup cameras. I basically only ever use the actual rear view mirror when the Toyota infotainment system is being fucky again, and for whatever reason I can't stop and restart the truck to reboot the thing.
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No OEM charger would make a meaningful difference. It would depend entirely on the size of your home circuit. I plan on using a (very small) 20a charger at home, which should be good for about 10 miles per hour of charging, basically regardless of manufacturer or size of car. A 60a charger could charge more than 3x faster than that (losses increase at lower amps), where you'd start to see more charge-time-to-range variation based on driving efficiency. All on-board AC chargers will be more or less the same in performance though, with some notable outliers like the Cadillac EVs offering some monster 100+ amp AC charging capacities that very few people will ever use.
I've found this site to be useful in calculating charge based on circuit size for any given EV.
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It's durable, hard wearing, easy to clean, doesn't stain easily, (to me) it smells good, it tends to get softer and more supple with use if properly kept, doesn't trap crumbs or absorb spilled drinks.
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It’s hilarious to see every comment that’s less than glowing praise for this mediocre, overpriced EV getting downvoted into oblivion.
Seems like a lot of folks have their feelings somehow tied to this absolute joke of a car.
Downvote away. Doesn’t change the fact that polestar makes awful cars and Volvos aren’t that great either.
Seems like a lot of folks have their feelings somehow tied to this absolute joke of a car.
Downvote away. Doesn’t change the fact that polestar makes awful cars and Volvos aren’t that great either.
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Well said. I'd just add that they're also available in different textures. The leather seats in my car are kind of textured* because it's a sporty sedan and you don't want to slide around during "spirited" driving.
* I was going to say "tacky," but then the jokes would write themselves
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kWHr/Hr would be....kW. The very units the charger is rated.
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This is a boring $65k crossover, not a quarter million dollar 911.
I bought a boring crossover at about this price point. I absolutely would not have taken it to be reupholstered if the interior bothered me.
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The issue isn't so much near-sighted or far-sighted once you've got the right vision prescription, it's the ability of the eye to accommodate between focusing on near and far objects. It's called presbyopia and people over 40 are at risk. There's a chart here showing how radically accommodation declines with age.
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Erm the Polestar 2 is a different car to the Polestar 4. Also, that Volvo is ranked third of seven in its segment, that's not too shabby.
Really the only problem with the price is the import duties aimed at China. The polestar 4 we be priced at ~$US54k in Australia. Usually cars are priced significantly higher in Australia than the US, not $10k cheaper.
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Well, sure, it might be better to look at the specs and see how many people it seats, how much cargo space it has, and the dimensions.
None of that information is in the article though. The SUV descriptor and the total weight are basically all we get to figure out what this car is trying to be. And that fails because I don't know what the author means when he says "SUV."
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That’s fair, but the only things we have to go on are the cars they’ve already released. That leaves the Polestar 2, which clearly has some very serious issues, and the 3, which has been an absolute disaster according to most reviews.
Maybe they’ll surprise us with the 4, but not holding my breath. I don’t have anything against Polestar and have zero brand loyalty with cars, but I’ve seen nothing but poor quality and execution with polestar and Volvo of late.
We test drove the XC90 last year and it simply doesn’t stand up to the competition in its segment. It is an old model in need of a refresh so it’ll be interesting to see if they improve it.
As far as how Volvo is rated, CR has it listed at 25th out of 30 brands for overall reliability. CR isn’t the ultimate authority, but that’s not terribly encouraging.
We recently bought a new car and won’t be shopping for new one for a year or so to replace an old Outback with an EV. We’ll do what we did last time and hit all the different brands. If Polestar manages to improve dramatically, we will absolutely consider them.
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Very excited to see the electric vehicle that "innovates" with physical buttons for things like climate and audio.
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I had a similar thought… this car is substantially more expensive than a model 3/Y, and with lower range and performance. And, based on previous Polestars, not any better quality than a Tesla - although I never drove or was even in a 3 (also how do they already have a fourth model of Polestar? Kind of ridiculous… even the much older model 3 is only on its second major version).
I expect to keep my Tesla another 8-10 years, hoping something comes along at the same price range from another manufacturer, but this sure doesn’t seem like it.
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Don't surveys counting the number of people in passing cars consistently come out with average occupancy rates of around 1.5? Maybe you could argue that for larger cars that might increase to 1.6 or so, but then ego and status are such significant factors in car buying choices that it might even be less.
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If you look at the picture of the vehicle, there's a hump near the back roof of the car. That's the rear view camera - it's shrouded, encased and has some type of cleaning mechanism (I don't remember the source, but I remember some reviewer claiming it had heating or cleaning elements).
Backup cameras are mounted where the license plates are, which get way dirtier. This also has those as well.
Personally I would love a digital backup camera. In a car with the middle seat occupied (passenger, or car seat) you have severely limited views.
Why do you think this? It has multiple leather seat options. From website -> "Nappa upgrade: Includes ventilation, massage and front headrest speakers"
I'm hoping this does well. A sporty car with good handling and steering feel and not an SUV. In my opinion it's one of the more interesting cars on the market.
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That's fair enough. I test drove a Polestar 2 and quite enjoyed it but it definitely isn't without its flaws. The reliability figure there is definitely worrying, but fortunately I live in Australia where cheap EVs are plentiful and I picked up an Atto 3 for significantly less than Polestar/Tesla offerings at the time (it might not shoot off the line, but it has been a great car). I went with anecdotes about Tesla reliability although to be honest I'm not sure how bad they really are (I know people who love their Tesla's too).
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Presumably it would still be substantially more expensive than when manufacturing in China unless SK is also subsidizing the manufacturing.
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I note that they are using alot of recycled plastic such as fishing nets or plastic bottles. Which in a way is good since we are reusing instead of getting fresh material.
But I have recently been thinking about microplastics - so, does having so much plastic, recycled or otherwise, actually help us in the long term?
Any thoughts on the matter?
But I have recently been thinking about microplastics - so, does having so much plastic, recycled or otherwise, actually help us in the long term?
Any thoughts on the matter?
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Most BEVs/PHEVs launching today are stuffed to the gills with tech. The base car is anyway intrinsically expensive so that tech is thrown in at cost even to sweeten the deal and attract the people who are willing and able to pay those prices. So now that every bit of your car relies on tech, chances are you'll have a lot more fixing to do. Especially when that tech replaced something with rock solid reliability. A camera today is probably more likely to fail randomly than a rear windshield. And that's before you compare the reliability of a new piece of tech compared to the impossibly to break "nothing" that was there before.Quality worse than tesla? Hard pass. I don't even think much of jd power, but that's ridiculous.
Tesla, Rivian, and Polestar perform terribly in J.D. Power Initial Quality Study
Tesla, Rivian, and Polestar performed terribly in J.D. Power's Initial Quality Study for 2024.www.teslarati.com
But yeah, I'm also surprised Polestar to be so low in the ranking. The mother company probably can afford to use the brand as a testing horse given the lower volumes of sales, and maybe focus on Volvo with the more solid solutions.
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There's plenty wrong with the Polestar. We considered the Polestar 2 as our first EV. We sat in the Performance version which gives you the nice wheels, yellow/gold-colored seatbelts etc. It's a nice cabin to sit in. But that is a very, very expensive car. We then looked at a cheaper version. The problem is you need to buy a bunch of packs to get functionality which comes as standard in the Model 3 Tesla.
I think that the Polestar (not even the Performance version) was €7-8000 more than the Tesla Model 3 long range. The Polestar is heavier, has a bigger battery pack but does not have the range of a M3 LR. So you pay more for less.
Joined a Facebook group of Polestar owners and found there were a lot of software issues. "Just reboot the screen and it will be fine".
They're mostly beautiful cars but I think that under that shiny layer sits a cheapish Chinese EV that's not a very good car.
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Disclaimer: Happy PS2 owner.
That JD Power survey quoted above is notorious among PS2 owner circles. Mainly because there is no methodology, no sample size, no idea where the hell they got the numbers from.
The initial article stated that PS2 owners had complained about the battery, transmission and engine. Which led me to six hours of thoroughly checking my car to find the transmission and engine...
(It was fixed in a later published version.)
That JD Power survey quoted above is notorious among PS2 owner circles. Mainly because there is no methodology, no sample size, no idea where the hell they got the numbers from.
The initial article stated that PS2 owners had complained about the battery, transmission and engine. Which led me to six hours of thoroughly checking my car to find the transmission and engine...
(It was fixed in a later published version.)
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The rear mirror cam will fail, without question, because it's electronics, and it will be ludicrously expensive to repair/replace. Sure, there'll be a warranty period. And while it's broken, you've got no rear-view mirror and you can't look over your shoulder as a substitute.
There is also now one less window for emergency services to break to extract your broken body through.
Add to this the vision issues, and it's clear Polestar are simply doing something they think looks cool and retconning the advantages.
There is also now one less window for emergency services to break to extract your broken body through.
Add to this the vision issues, and it's clear Polestar are simply doing something they think looks cool and retconning the advantages.
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doraemonkey
Seniorius Lurkius
Not that heavy? Since when has a more than two ton passenger car been considered "not quite that heavy"? A small carbon foot print is kind of a misnomer when considering externalities like road and tire wear.
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But this is already a Chinese car. Why would they let another domestic maker take their market share?
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Do they still block you from using the phone projection mode "Android Auto" (as opposed to the car operating system "Android Automotive")? Polestar for the PS2 was one of the few car manufacturers on android automotive that completely blocked android auto phone projection and it made the experience awful. I really wish tech sites would cover the differences because using android automotive with an android phone is basically like using Bluetooth circa 2011. You don't get messages (text or Whatsapp), you don't get notifications and Google's awesome notifications system with quick replies and now AI summarized messages, you can't use any music app other than Spotify (with an extremely poor client), you don't get native calls and the Bluetooth call quality is had, the cellular signal strength is limited to 4G and is worse than your phone, and the version of google maps is noticeably worse (no speed trap warnings, alt routes aren't presented as clearly). Android Automotive by nature of being a whole ass OS controlled by the OEM also gets updated way less often. I get that most tech folks have iPhones and car play will still work on anything not GM, but it really is a huge usability thing for people with androids and I feel like Google's confusing naming scheme has let them slide under the radar.
There is an ability to do phone projection with android automotive but some manufacturers actually prohibit this with an OS level setting. Phone projection was one of the few consumer friendly tech trends to come out the past 10 years and now companies are running away from it as fast as possible and it matters for Android users just as much as it does iOS.
There is an ability to do phone projection with android automotive but some manufacturers actually prohibit this with an OS level setting. Phone projection was one of the few consumer friendly tech trends to come out the past 10 years and now companies are running away from it as fast as possible and it matters for Android users just as much as it does iOS.
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Honestly with my Renault Clio hybrid (non-plugin) I love One-pedal on the highway and never want anything else anymore! the regen kicks in gradually, it can be very strong when you lift up your foot too fast, and near non-existant when you lift up a little bit. This is perfect. Even if I need to slowly decelerate (often too slow for the person behind me to notice.. ), I can do so for a while (20-30sec) and charge the tiny 1.2KWh battery a little bit (1 bar, Yess!) without loosing much speed.
Which in turn increases my efficiency. Less fuel. Me happy.
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You get used to it fast and if properly implemented, it's fantastic!
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Is the term crossover still used? Because this looks like one. I wonder if the chassis is a truck/SUV chassis or if it’s riding on a call chassis.
CHASSIS!
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The refusal of professional car writer to say what needs to be said EVERY TIME--that a touchscreen should be ILLEGAL in any motor vehicle--is baffling.
These are not toys. This is not a video game. The people making these choices are idiots that have no business in the business.
These are not toys. This is not a video game. The people making these choices are idiots that have no business in the business.
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