Polestar Polestar 4 SUV (2023 - ) Electric review

The Polestar 4 looks a bit pricey compared to the Tesla Model Y or Model 3, however Polestar’s suggested list of rivals includes more premium models like the new electric Porsche Macan and the Mercedes-Benz EQC. On this basis the Polestar 4 is good value, but potential buyers might also be drawn to the distinctive design of the Hyundai Ioniq 6 and tempted by its lower asking price. In reality, very few will be buying their Polestar 4 in full, and company car drivers can take advantage of Benefit In Kind incentives. For those who can charge at home, off-peak overnight charging will keep overall running costs low.

Reliability is always a tricky one to judge for new models, but Polestar has established a generally good reputation with the Polestar 2. While there are fewer mechanical parts in an electric car compared to a traditional gas guzzler, the software is an even bigger part of the overall experience. This goes beyond the layout of the infotainment and influences how the entire car responds to driver input. The cars we tried were pre-production and undergoing regular updates, allowing us to experience for ourselves how different a car can feel depending on which software version it is running. Additional tweaks are promised before the Polestar 4 is ready to deliver to customers which we hope will fix the last few glitches. Once in the hands of owners the Polestar 4 will receive further over-the-air updates, so it continues to run the very latest programmes. You’ll also get a free three-year service plan, three years of roadside assistance and a three-year vehicle warranty, whilst the battery has its own eight-year cover.

Polestar was born from Volvo and although it’s now a standalone brand, its cars remain packed with the latest safety features. A combination of radar, cameras and other sensors constantly monitor the car’s surroundings helping you to avoid collisions and all Polestar 4’s get a 360-degree camera with a three-dimensional view function. These are essentials given there’s no rear window, leaving you entirely reliant on technology for any manoeuvring, and it feels rather disconcerting to have such little visibility out of the car. While alerting to prevent you backing out into oncoming traffic feels like it’s a nice to have on many cars, in the Polestar 4 it’s likely to prove invaluable. Once you do get out on the road, you’ll have lane departure prevention to make sure you don’t stray out of your lane and adaptive cruise control as standard. These can be upgrade to Pilot Assist which will actually steer you too. We found this bounced us from one line to the other and didn’t keep us nicely in the middle of the lane, but Polestar did say this would likely be improved on the production cars once they’ve had further software updates. For this reason we've docked a point for now, but we're keen to have another go in the car once these things have been sorted and will reappraise the score at that point.

Many manufacturers might simply take their regular SUVs and adjust the roofline to make additional coupe versions – Volkswagen, Audi and Skoda we’re looking at you. However, Polestar is keen to highlight how the 4 is not a modified version of the Polestar 3, it is an all-new car with rear passenger comfort at the forefront of the design. Although the Polestar 4 swoops at the back it has been lengthened to provide more space, and extra headroom has been freed up by removing the rear windscreen. Combined with a massive panoramic glass roof and powered reclining seats, it’s positively limousine-like in the back. Rather than having a parcel shelf, the rear seats are separated from the large boot area by a removable divider, cocooning you in your own little world. The extra-terrestrial vibe extends to the ambient lighting’s solar system theme with each colour inspired by a different planet. Up front the Polestar 4’s minimalist approach is so paired back you’ll need to use the touch-screen or steering wheel controls to adjust the wingmirrors and steering wheel position. Once you get comfy you can save your preferences in your driver profile, but it’s a bit fiddly at first. The use of different fabrics throughout the interior adds subtle texture and you could easily believe you’d found yourself in a sustainability focused, Scandi show home. Out on the road, the dual-motor cars have adjustable suspension allowing you to decide whether you favour comfort or sporty driving dynamics, while the single-motor cars have a fixed set up which we felt was the most comfortable over uneven British roads.

It is immediately clear Polestar wants to make a bold statement about technology with the 4, from the backlit front logo to the prominent rear-view camera sitting in place of a window. Having a camera rather than a mirror can take some getting used to, but it does provide a wider field of view. While the overall package looks great, it’s palpable how much Polestar is trying to stand out. Perhaps some of this hard work is undone by adding a landscape central infotainment screen, immediately making you think of Tesla. That said, we appreciate having an additional screen behind the steering wheel showing important information in the driver’s line of sight. This can be further enhanced with a head-up display by adding the optional Plus Pack. We found the main screen was rather unresponsive at times, requiring excessive jabbing to return to the home screen or change the driving modes, but again this was something Polestar promised would be addressed in the finished cars. We liked the built-in Google system with configurable widgets and shortcuts allowing you to reduce the number of sub-screen menus for important functions like headlight settings and regenerative braking. There’s another nod to Tesla with Animal mode, keeping the climate control going if you need to leave pets in the car, but iPhone users will be pleased to hear there’s also Apple CarPlay, unlike in a Tesla. You’ll also get an integrated dashcam and a heat pump to help maintain range in cold weather.

Like other Polestars, there’s the option of single-motor with rear-wheel drive or a dual-motor with all-wheel drive and twice the power. The single-motor is by no means slow, providing the optimum blend of performance, comfort, and range, making it our preferred option. The car feels nicely balanced and allows you to adjust the weight of the steering for a firmer sporty feel. However, as a performance brand, it wouldn’t be Polestar if it stopped there. With rapid acceleration the dual-motor Polestar 4 veers into Porsche 911 territory off the line. This makes overtaking and joining motorways a breeze but seems a tad excessive for British roads. You can choose whether the power delivery favours range or performance and adjust the suspension between standard, nimble or firm. However, the fixed set up in the single-motor car was more composed over bumpy B-roads. Both versions give you options to choose the amount of regenerative braking when you take your foot off the accelerator and whether you’d like the car to creep forward like a you get in a traditional automatic car. How far you can go between charges will greatly depend on external conditions and your driving style, though rapid charging from 10-80 per cent could take as little as 30 minutes. So, while the Polestar 4 doesn’t quite deliver on sportscar thrills, it’s as suited to long journeys as it is to commuting.