Discussion
On our recent family holiday to Norway, Hertz at Harstad Evenes airport gave me a free upgrade from a VW ID7 to a Polestar 4. My one and only previous experience of an electric car was in Norway last year, when Avis provided a Toyota BZ4X ( I wrote a thread on that as an electric newbie last year). Although hardly the pinicle of electric motoring it left me wanting more, and driving an electric car in Norway is easy, with chargers everywhere.
The staff on the Hertz desk seemed to be quite excited about the upgrade, so I was keen to see what all the fuss was about and to see if our excessive luggage ( we have a teenage girl in the family...) would actually fit in.
It soon became apparent why the Hertz staff were convinced they were doing me such a favour. Not only was it a Polestar 4, but it was the twin motor 400 KW version, with 544 hp. On the road that means 0 to 60 in 3.7 seconds and 367 miles of range. This version also comes with uprated, adaptive suspension and many interior refinements including HK sound and heated, reclining seats for the rear passengers, with independent climate controls, too.
First things first, get set up on the sat nav and car systems. There was absolutely no instruction from Hertz, so it was up to me, with help from William, to fathom our way through the centre screen menus.
I have absolutely no idea how anyone without a decent grasp of 21st century touch screen techy stuff would even know where to begin with it. The car's systems are Google based and, we found out, you have to connect the car to your phone and Google account for everything to work properly. Once that was done, and they key paired to my phone, it was all quite logical. As is the fashion now, practically all functions are controlled via the central screen. Some climate buttons are always on display, together with a range of customisable short cuts. Navigating the various menus relatively straightforward, but taking your eyes off the road to accurately prod the right place on a glass tablet, while holding the wheel, and moving along the road is not and never will be as easy, convenient or safe as proper buttons and a rotary dial.
The display immediately infront of the driver is very simple and rather bland. Configurable only to show basic information such as speed and remaining sparks in the battery, with an underlay of the sat nav route as well if you want it. A missed opportunity to provide something less basic and more interesting, such as fake dials. The minmalist approach is OK up to a point, but take it too far and it can look like either they haven't bothered or ran out of development cash. The HUD was good and my main reference point for speed and immediate sat nav instructions.
One of the main talking points with the Polestar 4 is the lack of a rear window. The rear view mirror is actually a small vdu screen, linked to cameras on the back of the car. It provides a clear view of the road behind, but always felt a bit false and removes the ability to change the angle of your view by a slight tilt of the head. Not an absolute deal-breaker, but I would prefer a proper mirror. Polestar have stated the reason for this being the shape of the rear roof section to provide extra headroom in the back. The rear seats are mounted very high up, presumably over the battery or rear axle motor, and this is probably the origin of the problem which they had to overcome. One benefit of the packaging is a usefully deep boot, which swallowed our luggage with only a moderate amount of tetris skill required. The full glass roof makes the interior wonderfully light and airy, even with black upholstery.
It is, in my opinion, an unusually attractive car by modern standards. It looks premium and build quality is excellent.
So, how does it drive? Very well indeed. It is, of course, very, very fast. Overtaking is completed with ridiculous ease and pulling away from junctions at full chat always brought a grin to my face, with an accompanying eye roll and sigh from Herself. The ride quality was among the best of any car I have ever driven. Pillowy cosseting over the bumps, without ever becoming wallowy or wayward. The 50 profile tyres, along with the adaptive suspension really do work well together. It handles well, too. It will power out of bends with complete ease and control and absolutely no drama. It is not and never will be a b-road weapon, but driver enjoyment was clearly on the agenda in the design brief. Refinement would challenge a RR Phantom or S Class and demolishing a long continental road trip would be a doddle in this car. It is not just refined from a point of view of lack of mechanical noise, but very well insulated from wind noise and suspension bumps etc.
Charging is straightforward, easily set up on the central screen and well catered for in Norway.
The seats were all extremely comfortable and electrically adjustable in all directions.
Complaints? The main one would be annoying, minor software glitches. When you walk up to the car the door handles glide out, as it unlocks, with the opposite happening when you walk away. Except sometimes it chose not to. Most of the time it recognised my phone and key as set up the car in 'Owner' profile, but sometimes it chose to ignore me and present me with 'Guest' profile instead. A quick visit to the central screen would correct this, but it was a niggle which doesn't inspire confidence. Sometimes it would just switch off Bluetooth mid-journey.
Verdict? I really liked it and would seriously consider one as my main car, but would not entertain the idea of running one outside of a robust manufacturer's warranty. The car is stuffed to the roof with technology which makes it a joy to drive and live with, but there is always the lingering doubt over what happens when the computer decides to say 'no'. My usual car ownership model is to buy something at around three years old and run it until it is 10 plus years old, moving from main dealers to independent specialists. That would be out of the question with a car like this. To put a car like this on my drive would require a complete re-think on how I fund and maintain my car ownership. For now, the Benz E350 will stay on as my daily, but I can see a decent quality electric car featuring on my driveway sometime in the future.
The staff on the Hertz desk seemed to be quite excited about the upgrade, so I was keen to see what all the fuss was about and to see if our excessive luggage ( we have a teenage girl in the family...) would actually fit in.
It soon became apparent why the Hertz staff were convinced they were doing me such a favour. Not only was it a Polestar 4, but it was the twin motor 400 KW version, with 544 hp. On the road that means 0 to 60 in 3.7 seconds and 367 miles of range. This version also comes with uprated, adaptive suspension and many interior refinements including HK sound and heated, reclining seats for the rear passengers, with independent climate controls, too.
First things first, get set up on the sat nav and car systems. There was absolutely no instruction from Hertz, so it was up to me, with help from William, to fathom our way through the centre screen menus.
I have absolutely no idea how anyone without a decent grasp of 21st century touch screen techy stuff would even know where to begin with it. The car's systems are Google based and, we found out, you have to connect the car to your phone and Google account for everything to work properly. Once that was done, and they key paired to my phone, it was all quite logical. As is the fashion now, practically all functions are controlled via the central screen. Some climate buttons are always on display, together with a range of customisable short cuts. Navigating the various menus relatively straightforward, but taking your eyes off the road to accurately prod the right place on a glass tablet, while holding the wheel, and moving along the road is not and never will be as easy, convenient or safe as proper buttons and a rotary dial.
The display immediately infront of the driver is very simple and rather bland. Configurable only to show basic information such as speed and remaining sparks in the battery, with an underlay of the sat nav route as well if you want it. A missed opportunity to provide something less basic and more interesting, such as fake dials. The minmalist approach is OK up to a point, but take it too far and it can look like either they haven't bothered or ran out of development cash. The HUD was good and my main reference point for speed and immediate sat nav instructions.
One of the main talking points with the Polestar 4 is the lack of a rear window. The rear view mirror is actually a small vdu screen, linked to cameras on the back of the car. It provides a clear view of the road behind, but always felt a bit false and removes the ability to change the angle of your view by a slight tilt of the head. Not an absolute deal-breaker, but I would prefer a proper mirror. Polestar have stated the reason for this being the shape of the rear roof section to provide extra headroom in the back. The rear seats are mounted very high up, presumably over the battery or rear axle motor, and this is probably the origin of the problem which they had to overcome. One benefit of the packaging is a usefully deep boot, which swallowed our luggage with only a moderate amount of tetris skill required. The full glass roof makes the interior wonderfully light and airy, even with black upholstery.
It is, in my opinion, an unusually attractive car by modern standards. It looks premium and build quality is excellent.
So, how does it drive? Very well indeed. It is, of course, very, very fast. Overtaking is completed with ridiculous ease and pulling away from junctions at full chat always brought a grin to my face, with an accompanying eye roll and sigh from Herself. The ride quality was among the best of any car I have ever driven. Pillowy cosseting over the bumps, without ever becoming wallowy or wayward. The 50 profile tyres, along with the adaptive suspension really do work well together. It handles well, too. It will power out of bends with complete ease and control and absolutely no drama. It is not and never will be a b-road weapon, but driver enjoyment was clearly on the agenda in the design brief. Refinement would challenge a RR Phantom or S Class and demolishing a long continental road trip would be a doddle in this car. It is not just refined from a point of view of lack of mechanical noise, but very well insulated from wind noise and suspension bumps etc.
Charging is straightforward, easily set up on the central screen and well catered for in Norway.
The seats were all extremely comfortable and electrically adjustable in all directions.
Complaints? The main one would be annoying, minor software glitches. When you walk up to the car the door handles glide out, as it unlocks, with the opposite happening when you walk away. Except sometimes it chose not to. Most of the time it recognised my phone and key as set up the car in 'Owner' profile, but sometimes it chose to ignore me and present me with 'Guest' profile instead. A quick visit to the central screen would correct this, but it was a niggle which doesn't inspire confidence. Sometimes it would just switch off Bluetooth mid-journey.
Verdict? I really liked it and would seriously consider one as my main car, but would not entertain the idea of running one outside of a robust manufacturer's warranty. The car is stuffed to the roof with technology which makes it a joy to drive and live with, but there is always the lingering doubt over what happens when the computer decides to say 'no'. My usual car ownership model is to buy something at around three years old and run it until it is 10 plus years old, moving from main dealers to independent specialists. That would be out of the question with a car like this. To put a car like this on my drive would require a complete re-think on how I fund and maintain my car ownership. For now, the Benz E350 will stay on as my daily, but I can see a decent quality electric car featuring on my driveway sometime in the future.
Edited by FarmerJim on Saturday 8th August 18:24
Edited by FarmerJim on Saturday 8th August 18:28
I had one with the 22 wheels and the performance pack. For me the adaptive suspension failed to make the ride comfortable in any setting and was crashy as hell.
The software was awful and drove me mad. It was rushed to market and it showed, albeit the fit and finish are excellent.
I put up with it for a year and really tried but it was doing my head in.
Sold it and bought a Lotus Emeya. Fabulous.
The software was awful and drove me mad. It was rushed to market and it showed, albeit the fit and finish are excellent.
I put up with it for a year and really tried but it was doing my head in.
Sold it and bought a Lotus Emeya. Fabulous.
DJP31 said:
I had one with the 22 wheels and the performance pack. For me the adaptive suspension failed to make the ride comfortable in any setting and was crashy as hell.
The software was awful and drove me mad. It was rushed to market and it showed, albeit the fit and finish are excellent.
I put up with it for a year and really tried but it was doing my head in.
Sold it and bought a Lotus Emeya. Fabulous.
Non air adaptive sport suspension and 22" 40 profile tyres will do that. Amazes me that the software is still so poor after all these years, no excuse for that being the case.The software was awful and drove me mad. It was rushed to market and it showed, albeit the fit and finish are excellent.
I put up with it for a year and really tried but it was doing my head in.
Sold it and bought a Lotus Emeya. Fabulous.
SWoll said:
DJP31 said:
I had one with the 22 wheels and the performance pack. For me the adaptive suspension failed to make the ride comfortable in any setting and was crashy as hell.
The software was awful and drove me mad. It was rushed to market and it showed, albeit the fit and finish are excellent.
I put up with it for a year and really tried but it was doing my head in.
Sold it and bought a Lotus Emeya. Fabulous.
Non air adaptive sport suspension and 22" 40 profile tyres will do that. Amazes me that the software is still so poor after all these years, no excuse for that being the case.The software was awful and drove me mad. It was rushed to market and it showed, albeit the fit and finish are excellent.
I put up with it for a year and really tried but it was doing my head in.
Sold it and bought a Lotus Emeya. Fabulous.
Unfortunately at the time of ordering and delivery I couldn’t test the actual spec I’d ordered, otherwise I might have been able to save myself the experience.
It’s a shame as it’s otherwise an excellent car.
gangzoom said:
It's wider than a 6/7 seater family wagon.
[Img]https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AP1GczPMs4BDTNtuBKPgrChiZhF7KCsHz3sHVca_iIGVlieV61Eprp64IcO0akl9-vbS8Olw6r4s-JbYG-rkkpT8wVAdUlxNs0QJrCYYRsAkHWFsd1_vF0E3hRtQ5Yvdy4kbWNsBVpoJCSAmouYgjFl4d_BQHA=w1080-h500-s-no-gm?authuser=0[/thumb]
That's ridiculously wide. Our etron, itself a big car and occasionally awkward to park, is 1935 mm without the mirrors.[Img]https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AP1GczPMs4BDTNtuBKPgrChiZhF7KCsHz3sHVca_iIGVlieV61Eprp64IcO0akl9-vbS8Olw6r4s-JbYG-rkkpT8wVAdUlxNs0QJrCYYRsAkHWFsd1_vF0E3hRtQ5Yvdy4kbWNsBVpoJCSAmouYgjFl4d_BQHA=w1080-h500-s-no-gm?authuser=0[/thumb]
The Guest profile issue isn’t down to software, it will be because you’ve got multiple profiles set up using the same access type (phone / fob etc).
I’ve had a Polestar 4 for 22k miles, the complexity of the tech is overwhelming at first, but within 10-15 mins of playing you get used to it.
Once everything is set up, it all works rather well.
I’ve had a Polestar 4 for 22k miles, the complexity of the tech is overwhelming at first, but within 10-15 mins of playing you get used to it.
Once everything is set up, it all works rather well.
My BMW 520d is 2.056m including mirrors. I have no issues with that. Its nice to be spread out. I don’t use google other than searching as apple phone based, I wonder how it gets on with apple. I sometimes don’t take my phone when going out locally to the gym etc. Tech for the sake of tech no my cup of tea. Well thought through useful stuff is always welcome.
^Our X without mirrors is just under 2m in width, 520D is another 10cm less, parking at work can be tight, I'm quite looking forwards to the Ioniq 9 that's coming as it's actually slightly narrower!!
It might seem like a few cm difference is nothing but that literally can be the difference between being able to park onsite or not. We also have a 2.1m width restriction on one of the roads into the village, the X is OK there is a good 5cm clearance either side, am sure a 4 would squeeze through but it would be very very tight.
It might seem like a few cm difference is nothing but that literally can be the difference between being able to park onsite or not. We also have a 2.1m width restriction on one of the roads into the village, the X is OK there is a good 5cm clearance either side, am sure a 4 would squeeze through but it would be very very tight.
Edited by gangzoom on Sunday 9th August 12:14
Gassing Station | EV and Alternative Fuels | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff