Polestar 4

My 1st look at the Polestar 4. One looks and feel alone, it's at the top of my list at the moment but yet to be driven.

Then you need to stick around 10k on it to spec it up. Too expensive. Single motor is also not quick enough for the money. Looks fantastic though inside and out.

I think 68k is about right for the standard edition, granted they should have included the Pilot Pack for that money. I’m not sure why anyone would need the Pro Pack or Plus Pack as the standard Polestar kit is more than satisfactory. It's a premium car. The Performance Pack is designed for enthusiasts. Unless you’re comparing it to a Tesla, the car has good performance figures and a big battery. I think the Polestar PS3 is overpriced, but this car sits okay with me. I think it would be the pick of the two for me.

The reason Polestars are selling in small numbers is because their dealership model is flawed, and the public isn’t ready to buy into a new brand, especially when it’s an EV and it isn’t cheap. If they sold Polestars at Volvo dealerships, they would fly. I think the Polestar PS2 is a better car than the IX40.

I love the looks of this and would be keen to test drive but as others have said the pricing is too high for the market.

They must want to remain a niche player at least in Ireland otherwise it would be lower.

Yes. I agree with everything you said. Tesla are definitely the benchmark now and sitting comfortably out on their own as the best value EVs on sale.

The thing is that a lot of people will no longer pay more for the badge and the nice shiny interior trim and a bit of shadowline on the windows.

There's a lad on here going from a couple of BMW i4s to a BYD Seal. I have two friends who bought Teslas, one came from a Merc, the other from a BMW. They were trading down, not up.

The market has shifted surprisingly quickly to all the gadgets and decent power. A lot of "premium brand" buyers are no longer prepared to spend 50% more and then have to stick another 5/10/15k on in extras and packs for a decent spec. This has left some models from the German brands in a bit of a no mans land.

I totally agree that the Model 3/Y are appliances (in many cases cheaper than a Toyota) but somehow Tesla has the brand cache stitched up. Perception amongst the average Joe is that they're fancy and expensive. Kids know Tesla, they couldn't pick most other brands out of a line-up.

Just had a quick mess around and it’s actually coming in cheaper I expected. I’ve said it before, but the entry level Volvo xc60 is 74k now. And as this is essentially that cars next gen. I expected a premium both for newness as well as for being a pure ev. Honestly, I’d be quite interested in changing to this, but I want to see the ex60 first. The sales model is a pox though, and massively off putting.

I'm not a Tesla owner but I've always disagreed with this sentiment. I've never actually been inside a Tesla but to me the quality looks similar to my Polestar and higher than something like an ID4. Then you've got Audi where you are just paying for the badge and the cars are serious lacking. Q4 Etron cough

You're right. The PS4 actually isn't all that expensive in todays money. It's clearly higher quality than the I4 and ID7 which will be it's two obvious competitors.

I would consider the interior of a Tesla to be more luxurious than an Audi. It all comes down to personal taste. For me, less is more. The Model Y is also a handsome beast. Clean, simple, and modern.

I really like the Polestar 4, but it's simply too expensive in the Irish Market. I think it will need a year to gain international sales and maybe the price will settle to a level where it will sell at greater numbers in Ireland.

No

Part of me wonders about how the performance fits in with the groups portfolio. Would they allow a quicker, cheaper P4 than a XC60 at the moment? The P2 only got a decent boost when the Volvos were discontinued. Or maybe that's just how it turned out?

Volvo garages will be able to service them.

Cars are expensive now. I think thats something a lot of people overlook these days. 68k is outrageous but it is what it is. New cars aren't selling so hopefully everything will settle back down in a year or two.

A Model Y is a great EV but interior quality is definitely more Toyota Corolla than an Audi. Handsome is also a bit of a stretch. Modern/Clean/Aerodynamic but definitely not handsome. Park it beside an e-Tron GT or Taycan and you’ll see what I mean.

I think premium is a better word to describe a Model 3 or Y.

It’s worth remembering what the fit out budget for the 3’s interior must have been for a $35k car. You’re not going to get luxury or even premium when you’ve so little to work with. And even since then, you’ve additional cost savings. I can see them taking inspiration from the extremes of the ex30 going forward. An interior, although also something I couldn’t live with, feels higher quality.

I'm attending the international media drive of the Polestar 4. Driving impressions under embargo for a few weeks. Hers some pictures of the different colours

car looks a lot plainer than I had previously thought and don’t think I saw those alloys before. What size are they?

Driving impressions will be irrelevant unless they increase their presence here and start offering decent trade ins and give people confidence in the brand.

The long range single motor 100kWh (wltp 620km) starts at €68,600, so by the time you add in the Pilot pack at €1.6k or delivery fees for €1k, it's going to be a €71.5k car on the road at it's most basic level. Charging speeds of 10% to 80% in 30 mins, which is relatively slow in comparison to the Polestar 2 (20 mins). It does have a premium feel overall, but to me, the price point seems to be too high to be competitive.