Polestar 4

An absolutely beautiful car!

No rear window at all, but a camera which admittedly will surely give a better view than other cars anyway. I wonder what it'll be like in the back seat with no light from behind. Though the glass roof will help.

Added an edit to clarify my points. Sure you're well versed in driving with limited rear visibility, are the majority of other car driver though? And surely packed full of kids stuff is a temporary thing.

Is there a frunk? I've seen one article say there is and another say there isn't.

I agree with what you're saying. I just think that there should be a reasonable fallback, a window still gives you visibility and if the camera system fails (like in my experience) limited visibility is better than no visibility. I do admit that the chances of cameras failing are rare but it does happen and if it takes as long as it did for mine to be fixed it just makes driving that tad bit more difficult, it could still be done but the more aids the better (including a limited visibility rear window).

Nice looking car, will probably be a bit tasty price-wise here though.

As for the rear view camera... I'm probably one of the few people who currently drives a car with such a camera system.

I keep it in standard mirror mode the whole time, the camera view is just a bit odd, I think it's the depth perception. I would probably not buy a car with a camera-only system. Would the cabin not be a bit dark too with a missing rear window.

If this car comes in under 60k for the single-motor rear-wheel drive, we are onto a winner. The Polestar 2 is competitively priced but I worry that Polestar will lose touch with their Volvo routes in time and chase the performance EV market that isn't really there in Ireland. Most customers here will want a base model with either a standard or dual motor. This is a direct competitor for the Model Y. Id even say it needs to be 55k but it won't be.

That's what I'm worried about. 65k is too expensive for a single-motor version. A Model Y is a little shy of 20k less. It might be a bigger car in the Metal but from what I'm seeing it isn't much bigger than a P2.

It is a strange statement for sure by Polestar and I'm not sure how many toddlers would appreciate the "immersive experience" considering my two have spent all of their lives facing backwards up to now and like watching tractors behind the car.

As I get older, I struggle more with spatial awareness when driving. The rear view mirror is very important, particularly on the motorway when overtaking in the outside lane. Id like to try out this new system when it launches to see how it actually works. As you said yourself, depth perception is so important for a lot of drivers. I'm sure it will work fine as they would be stupid to launch a car where this system wasn't effective. I wonder how does the camera stay clean and free from water in a heavy downpour.

Just test drive the car and then see how you feel about it

I would primarily use my rear window on motorways. It's good to know when cars are coming up behind you. I think simply saying the rear mirror has no use is fine for some people but not for others. In my experience, Van drivers are notorious for sitting in the outside lane, probably because they are not immediately aware of cars behind them.

It really comes down to how you drive. Are you someone like me who is always aware of rearward traffic, or do you pay most of your attention to the road in front of you.

I'm not saying this system won't work. I'm sure it will. I'm just worried about how using a screen to navigate the road would be effective. I use my mirrors a lot, I wear glasses and my spacial awareness isn't what it used to be. The proximity of traffic in the rear mirror is very important to me when driving.

Yes, I'm aware of the camera. I'd like to see how it works in a family car. Trucks and vans are naturally compromised by not having a rear window and drivers of both work around this. I'm not sure if someone buying a family car wants to deal with this level of compromise. If the camera feels odd on the test drive, they will just rule out the car and move on to something else. For the camera to work it needs to be bang on accurate. We use our brains as much as our eyes when changing lanes and if the camera perspective is slightly off, that car coming up behind you might be nearer than you think. At least with a rear view mirror you are looking directly at that car. With a camera you are looking at a screen. Also, camera wing mirrors are rubbish. I've used them and they don't work and can be quite starling when changing lanes. They've also never really taken off either. I don't see the camera rear view mirror being as extreme but yeah, I'm just not convinced. It might be a deal breaker. Let's see when the car is available to test drive.

Actually that is one aspect I didn't think of - it is handy to be able to see through cars to see the road ahead. There is a similar downside to side cameras as opposed to side mirrors. From outside the car with the mirror you can see the driver as well and see if they have seen you - very handy when you are on a bike

I think its strange that nobody has done this with a normal car before.

How often have you read car reviews and they lament the small window at the back being useless for visibility? The solution there is either make it a bigger window which then messes up the boot lid and may not be possible (which is why the window is the cr@p size it is), or do what polestar has done and ditch it altogether and replace a substandard window with a camera which potentially shows a lot more than any back window will ever show.