Should I buy a Polestar 3?
Discussion
I’m looking to replace my 3 year old Tesla Model Y and really like the Polestar 3. But the one thing seriously putting me off is the seemingly endless list of software bugs. Is it really that bad or have the updates fixed most of the reported problems?
Just to add that I am fairly tolerant of minor bugs if they don’t stop or brick the car. My first Tesla Model X had pretty buggy software, but it never left me stranded on the roadside or unable to leave home. It also got much better over time and my current Model Y has been great.
So I would welcome any comments from P*3 owners. Is it worth putting up with the gremlins or should I look elsewhere?
Just to add that I am fairly tolerant of minor bugs if they don’t stop or brick the car. My first Tesla Model X had pretty buggy software, but it never left me stranded on the roadside or unable to leave home. It also got much better over time and my current Model Y has been great.
So I would welcome any comments from P*3 owners. Is it worth putting up with the gremlins or should I look elsewhere?
I exchanged my 7yr old X3 M40i for a nearly-new Polestar 3 performance plus pilot about 6 weeks ago, so I can give you my experiences. I considered an SQ6 (put off by the noisy cabin and variable quality) and a Macan 4S (hard to find the spec I wanted and overpriced for what it is when you add in the options).
Upsides:
-Fantastic to drive, doesn’t feel like such a heavy car. Brings a smile to my face just like my M40i did.
-Design of the car and the quality of the cabin are great if you like the minimalist scandi design thing.
-Unlike other claimed SDV’s, Polestar are actually releasing OTA updates, and the car is getting less buggy over time. In particular, the recent 1.3.17 release has much improved stability, for example, the iphone as a key feature now works well.
-The Pilot driving assistance is excellent, it just works, reliably, and even the lane changes, which I was sceptical about, are useful.
-The B&W sound system is as great as the reviews say it is.
-I think it offers great value if you buy a six month old nearly new car that has mostly been sitting in a showroom as I did.
Downsides:
-General software bugs crop up all the time. They usually go away by themselves or require a restart. Getting better but you should still expect to deal with these regularly, so stay away if you can’t deal with this. Read the Q6 or Macan forums to see that this is a general transition to SDV issue and not one just affecting Polestar. A big factor in my decision was that, unlike some other brands, Polestar are actually releasing regular OTA updates.
-Lack of 800V architecture. This amounts to an extra ten minutes to 80% SoC compared to the 800V PPE platform cars which, given I rarely use public charges, is fine by me. The car is optimised for Tesla superchargers which, given they are less of a rip-off than most others, is not a bad place to be. There is a rumoured 800V upgrade for the upcoming model year if you can wait.
-HUD was less capable than my 7 year old M40i, let alone the augmented reality VW group one. However, a recent OTA update has brought it nearly up to par, but this is one I compromised on.
-Car loses 1-2% SoC per day. This is apparently due to the boot up time deemed too long to shut the car down fully, so it is always running and using power (though it does shut down fully after a few days use). However, there is a free upgrade to a later generation of faster NVIDIA hardware coming next year, which should resolve this as well as giving a faster compute platform generally.
A lot of people complain about the lack of buttons, this doesn’t bother me that much, especially for one use set up and go functions (mirrors, seat, etc) but it could be a critical stay-away factor for some.
Overall, am very happy with my purchase.
Upsides:
-Fantastic to drive, doesn’t feel like such a heavy car. Brings a smile to my face just like my M40i did.
-Design of the car and the quality of the cabin are great if you like the minimalist scandi design thing.
-Unlike other claimed SDV’s, Polestar are actually releasing OTA updates, and the car is getting less buggy over time. In particular, the recent 1.3.17 release has much improved stability, for example, the iphone as a key feature now works well.
-The Pilot driving assistance is excellent, it just works, reliably, and even the lane changes, which I was sceptical about, are useful.
-The B&W sound system is as great as the reviews say it is.
-I think it offers great value if you buy a six month old nearly new car that has mostly been sitting in a showroom as I did.
Downsides:
-General software bugs crop up all the time. They usually go away by themselves or require a restart. Getting better but you should still expect to deal with these regularly, so stay away if you can’t deal with this. Read the Q6 or Macan forums to see that this is a general transition to SDV issue and not one just affecting Polestar. A big factor in my decision was that, unlike some other brands, Polestar are actually releasing regular OTA updates.
-Lack of 800V architecture. This amounts to an extra ten minutes to 80% SoC compared to the 800V PPE platform cars which, given I rarely use public charges, is fine by me. The car is optimised for Tesla superchargers which, given they are less of a rip-off than most others, is not a bad place to be. There is a rumoured 800V upgrade for the upcoming model year if you can wait.
-HUD was less capable than my 7 year old M40i, let alone the augmented reality VW group one. However, a recent OTA update has brought it nearly up to par, but this is one I compromised on.
-Car loses 1-2% SoC per day. This is apparently due to the boot up time deemed too long to shut the car down fully, so it is always running and using power (though it does shut down fully after a few days use). However, there is a free upgrade to a later generation of faster NVIDIA hardware coming next year, which should resolve this as well as giving a faster compute platform generally.
A lot of people complain about the lack of buttons, this doesn’t bother me that much, especially for one use set up and go functions (mirrors, seat, etc) but it could be a critical stay-away factor for some.
Overall, am very happy with my purchase.
That’s great info, thanks for sharing. I’m still looking at various options, but the P3 is still very high on my shortlist. Like you, I’m eyeing up 6 month old demo cars, as the savings over a new order are huge, for minimal mileage. I’m probably going to wait until early next year, so hopefully the replacement chips will be available and the software more mature. I don’t mind the odd software bug, as long as day-to-day things like locking/unlocking and charging work reliably! I don’t mind the 400V power system. I think there’s a lot of hype over 800V for not much real world advantage.
Please do keep this thread updated as you get more experience. It’s really useful and thanks again. I was starting to wonder if anyone actually owned one here!
Please do keep this thread updated as you get more experience. It’s really useful and thanks again. I was starting to wonder if anyone actually owned one here!
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