► Read month 5
► Did we miss the rear window?
► Why we most well-liked the 2
Polestar’s 4 is formidable and classy however, after dwelling with one for six months, I can’t assist however really feel it falls nicely in need of the finest electrical SUVs presently on sale.
First the good bits. The Polestar 4 is a looker, even in jarringly shiny Electron Blue. It’s a lot larger in actuality than it seems seen in isolation in pictures, however its styling is robust sufficient to make sure it appears like nothing else on the street.
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Like the sportier new 5, it achieves a robust visible leap away from mother or father firm Volvo in a trend that the 3 and a couple of don’t fairly handle. The {hardware}, then, is sweet.
But even after six months, Polestar’s first SUV nonetheless feels oddly alien. Clean, crisp and minimalist inside, it’s been a automobile I’ve all the time loved sitting in – however not one I’ve actually loved driving. For each fascinating characteristic or nugget of design, there’s one thing else the Polestar 4 does that’s irritating.
On a great day, it’s all very cool and easy; all the pieces is working because it ought to. But there are additionally occasions when it doesn’t, and I discover myself having to fish out the key fob and tapping throughout the B-pillar till the doorways unlock. Sod’s legislation dictates this often occurs when it’s raining.
Despite its dimension and width, the Polestar 4’s 563bhp and three.7sec 0-62mph time imply it ought to be enjoyable to drive on nation roads. Wrong. The help programs are hyper delicate, typically braking or bleating on narrower roads, or roads with vehicles parked alongside the edge. It’s introduced nervousness to each journey.
Features that’d be cool – like a built-in dashcam – merely aren’t working but and the cruise management is so unpredictable that I gave up utilizing it. For my commute up the A1, that’s an annoying miss. I’ve misplaced rely of the occasions it pulled a seemingly random pace restrict out of its frunk, too; 18mph or 37mph authorized most, anybody?
I’m all for know-how and enchancment, however I get the feeling this Polestar picks the former with out the latter. My whole time with the automobile has been a story of two halves, with the {hardware} spectacular and nicely designed, however hamstrung by buggy software program. Yet there’s a lot to understand. For occasion the boot is huge and the passenger expertise is comfy.
Count the price
Cost new: £75,290
Value now: £44,895
Cost per mile: 11.8p
Cost per mile together with depreciation: £6.27
The story to this point
Polestar steps out of Volvo’s shadow with its personal fastback
+ Fantastic design; near-supercar pace; some cutting-edge tech
– Some software program niggles
Logbook
Price: £66,990 (£75,290 as examined)
Performance: 94kWh battery, 536bhp, 506lb ft, 3.7sec 0-62mph, 124mph
Efficiency: 2.9-3.3 miles per kWh (official), 3.1 miles per kWh (examined)
Range: 367 miles (official), 382 miles (examined)
Energy price: 6.7p per mile
Miles this month: 1037
Total miles: 4942
