If you are coming around to the idea that battery electric vehicles are the new norm, the Polestar 4 SUV possibly will take you back.
While the pure EV sector is becoming baffling with its new Chinese entitled brands, the Polestar pedigree goes back a bit further and to a surprising beginning.
Polestar Racing was created from the Swedish touring car racing team of Flash Engineering founded in 1996 before Volvo acquired them in the summer of 2015 and made it the halo brand for performance models. Volvo, you may know, had established a name in rally and racing history for a few decades before, so it became a natural fit.
Two years later, Volvo parent Geely Holding decided they would direct their Polestar engineering expertise into a brand in its own right because the business-brains in China could see the electric car sector was about to take off.
Their initial Polestar 1 PHEV came out the same year while the engineers worked on the first BEV, the Polestar 2 executive hatchback which arrived in 2020 before the Polestar 3 hit showrooms in SUV form 2024, and then the Polestar 4 appeared in 2024 as a coupe SUV, and other exciting models are in the pipeline including a sports car based on the same platform.
Until now, production has been in China but in 2028 it plans to assemble a new compact SUV in Slovakia, to side-step new EU tariffs on country of origin and qualify as Continental Construction.
Britons’ love of SUVs and the premium sector is the landing ground of the Polestar 4, and compared to the recent influx of Chinese brands it does stand above them, literally as it’s a good bit larger in every measurement.
Polestar comes with a 272kW single motor and rear wheel drive or our test car’s dual motor powertrain driving four wheels and producing just over 400kW. The RWD model begins about £53,000 and the 4WD is from £67,000.
Our range-topping example was fitted with a selection of options to illustrate its features such as soft leather upholstery, prime and pro driving packs, big glass sunroof and 21-inch wheels.
Approaching the Polestar 4 SUV and it looks a big SUV but also a sleek one with a sweeping profile, smooth frontal area and sculptured rear end which at first deceives the eyes into thinking there is a rear window, which it doesn’t have.
Instead, a roof mounted camera is built into the aero hump and points backwards to give a driver a view of what’s behind whether parking or in traffic. Where you expect the interior mirror to be is a slender tv screen showing the camera’s view.
Slim door mirrors backed up by wing mounted cameras cover the sides and you have a forward facing camera as well to help parking. In all there are 12 cameras assisting the driver.
Inside, the driver has a near 15-inch head up display which can be tailored to show particular data and a 10-inch wide display for the regular power and road speed readouts together with additional secondary information.
But all these are over arched by the landscape 15.4-inch central multi-purpose touchscreen carrying all the controls for essential navigation, communication, driving characteristics, entertainment and cabin comfort settings. It is truly awesome and at the same time complex and sometimes distracting.
It you are able to, our advice is to do your homework on the systems and set up before you set off. Minimising distractions is a very good safety strategy from a manufacturer which has a history of protection and, for what it mattered, pioneered the seat belt system.
Underfoot, the Polestar responses can be fine tuned from the economical to the exciting and you’ll not be disappointed with either.
It is very quick off the mark, pulls strongly and with uncanny silence up to the legal maximum and has plenty in reserve if needed.
We travelled over a wide variety of roads and traffic conditions and saw the equivalent of 330 miles range, so you are unlikely to experience range anxiety.
The turning circle is not particularly good in town but it’s easy to handle when parking or pushing on through country and main roads.
The 21-inch wheels and tyres on the option list give good grip with the 4WD transmission, and ride quality is comfortable if a bit noisy.
Braking was always strong and steady and the car had a surefooted feel at all times.
There was a lot of room in the cabin for five people with good access and even the bootspace was generous with underfloor and a front compartment to be utilised.
Front seats’ adjustment was powered and a pleasant range of settings were at fingertips with a reach and rake adjustable steering column to fine tune the experience.
Heating and ventilation backed up with powered windows kept the interior as desired and the oddments space was good.
Apart from the occasional road rumble and suspension knock, the smooth profile and electric drivetrain meant noise levels were very low indeed.
It took a little getting use to regarding the rear image display on the interior mirror and the fact very little could be seen over the shoulder due to the thick roof pillar, but otherwise the Polestar 4 was a delight to drive.
Once you adjust or come to term with all the fiddly tech available it really impresses as well, but I wonder why Polestar offer such an average warranty when rivals can leave them years behind.
