Polestar 4 review – time to swap your Tesla Model Y?
The Polestar 4 is a style and performance statement with more appeal than most in its segment, but it lacks the dynamic polish of some rivals
Polestar insists that it remains a niche luxury marque without a focus on high sales volumes, but in the last couple of years it has introduced no fewer than two crossover SUVs with its 3 and 4. In so doing, the Swedish marque went from a single-model manufacturer to one with three, and later this year, the 5 will join the lineup as an alternative to the Porsche Taycan. For now, we’re focussing on the car it hopes will become its Tesla Model Y: the Polestar 4.
This is a bold new crossover designed to draw customers away from the likes of the Porsche Macan Electric, Audi Q6 e-tron and aforementioned Tesla Model Y, so it has to be a strong performer to stand a chance. On paper that appears so, with it being the quickest and most powerful model Polestar has ever sold in dual-motor form, and featuring plenty of eye-catching design and interior tech to go with it. In reality the 4 is a decent all-round package, if not exactly a flawless one.
> Tesla Model Y Performance review – a Porsche Macan on a budget?
Powertrain and technical highlights
The Polestar 4’s opening gambit is that it is unequivocally the fastest, most potent Polestar yet (before the 5 arrives) – this will be at least as confusing to buyers as it was to us, since the Polestar 3 is actually the more expensive, more premium model. The 4 rides on Geely’s Sustainable Experience Architecture, which also underpins the Volvo EX30. In fact, the Polestar 4 has more in common with the Lotus Eletre, architecturally, than it does the Polestar 3, which rides on the SPA2 architecture that also underpins the Volvo EX90. Keeping up?
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The choice to plunder the Geely parts bin was one of convenience for Polestar and is part of what has allowed it to bring multiple new products to market in such a short space of time. With 400-volt electronics it’s not technologically the most advanced by comparison to the 800-volt, PPE-based Porsche Macan EV and Audi Q6 e-tron, with DC charging only up to 200kW.
But you can certainly have power if you want it. The long range, dual motor car with the Performance Pack that we drove packs a quite dizzying 536bhp and 506lb ft. Those motors are fed by a 94kWh (usable) battery which can, when not being plumbed for a 3.7sec 0-60mph time, deliver a claimed 367 miles of WLTP-certified range. In the real world, that’s more in the region of 300 miles on average, depending on conditions and driving styles – reasonable when you consider the available performance.
Performance mode means both motors are working all the time, making the full 536bhp immediately available at your right foot – unfortunately the 4 takes this too literally, with the throttle mapping spikey and power delivery hard to modulate at lower speeds. Range mode disconnects the front motor in normal driving but is able to reconnect near-instantly should you drop the throttle.
Deploying the full 536bhp can be as unnerving as it is thrilling, with the wheels often tramping and juddering in the arches as the tyres try to find purchase. The 4 struggles in this department too, with the traction control flashing away and cutting power much more frequently than with most fast EVs we’ve tried.
Performance, ride and handling
With all that punch on offer, you’d hope the rest of the package is up to the job of harnessing it. The Polestar 4 is suspended by coils front and rear with active ZF dampers that can be set in Normal, Nimble or Firm settings. On the road at pace, Nimble is the happy medium, with Normal not affording the kind of control you’d want for a car as fast as this and Firm doing exactly as advertised, stiffening the road ride almost to the point of intolerability – at low speeds you’ll find yourself apologising to passengers more frequently than you’d like.
That’s not to say the Nimble setting is ideal, with the big 22-inch forged wheels juddering in the arches over sudden imperfections and the mass making itself known through rapid direction and elevation changes. Off the back of driving the more sophisticated air-sprung Polestar 3, one can’t help but wonder if air suspension would have elevated the Polestar 4 experience too. Its omission is a function of price management for the Polestar 4, we’re told. The same is likely the case for the Polestar 3’s BorgWarner limited-slip differential that, in spite of it being more powerful, cannot be had on the Polestar 4.
Steering weight is adjustable through light, standard and firm, though the differences between the modes are negligible. Firm is the heaviest setting and perhaps feels the most appropriate for a car that weighs 2355kg, but even this setting doesn’t provide much heft. Steering feel isn’t just absent, there’s virtually no sense of load throughout the range of motion at all, which can be slightly disconcerting given the pace you can build in an instant.
Opt for the Performance pack and you get potent Brembo four-piston brakes at the front clamping 364mm discs that have little trouble scrubbing the momentum the Polestar 4 is capable of building. The metering of braking power through the pedal’s travel is good and the pedal feel evolves depending on what suspension mode you’re in, with Firm yielding a strangely gravelly texture underfoot. Regeneration is configurable too, with the option also of turning it all the way off. Indeed some at Polestar subscribe to the school of thought that ‘sailing’ instead of using regeneration, is actually more efficient.
Overall, the Polestar 4’s dynamics just aren’t as sophisticated as some rivals. This is an enormously capable car on the right roads, but as soon as things get tight, a bit too rough under the wheels, the Polestar 4 can trip over itself. That comes as less of a surprise than the fact this car – designed for a broader audience – can be had with as much power and performance in the first place. For what it is, it does enough with what it has and if anything, what they’ve managed to make this car achieve with a borrowed and adapted platform, excites us for what the bespoke platform, British-developed Polestar 5 and Polestar 6 could be like.
Interior and tech
Inside the Polestar 4 is a cool, calm, and very Scandinavian place in which to find yourself. The enormous panoramic roof – enabled by there being no back window – adds a concept car-like airiness, as does a clear view out and plenty of space. Our car had sustainable tailored knit trim which was both satisfying to look at and to the touch, though some upper layer panels on the doors did creak when driving. A very Tesla-esque crisp and clear 15.4-inch panoramic screen dominates the dashboard and features a Google-powered Android Automotive OS that’s intuitive and responsive – to the point you don’t feel the immediate urge, as in some cars, to mirror your smartphone. As ever, a few more physical buttons pertinent to the most regularly-used functions would have been nice but the Polestar 4’s UI is certainly not unnavigable.
Steering wheel controls have been swapped from the frustrating haptic kind to buttons with more feel, but there is still a distinct lack of physical controls in this cabin, something the 3 gets right. Ergonomics are also a bit odd for me overall, with the seating position never quite right. Spend longer in the 4 and you’ll find more niggles like this, with the quality of the build and thought behind the controls just not quite up to par with some rivals, and the more premium Polestar 3, for that matter. While it’s far from a dynamic gem, the Tesla Model Y is a more polished product in this department.
If you’re concerned about the lack of a rear window, the rear view ‘mirror’ that displays a rear-view camera feed works surprisingly well, both in the day and at night. A problem if it goes wrong? Yes. A bit weird in terms of acclimatising your depth perception? At first. But it’s surprisingly intuitive. It pays off when you’re sitting in the back too – the Polestar 4 feeling like a concept car for rear seat passengers. It’s spacious, airy for it not having a rear window and just a nice place to be. The only slight issue comes when you need to reverse on a cold morning and come to find the camera is covered in condensation…
The 4’s software is still not bulletproof. While we’d rather not have to interact with a display each time we enter a car, this has become the default in this segment, and so you need to do it well. Tesla and more recently, Audi, have figured it out, with snappy, reliable systems, but the Polestar 4 lags behind – it’s not frequent, but menus occasionally crash, inputs fail to register on the first attempt and features like the trick active noise cancellation actually end up creating more noise in the cabin than less. In our test car on certain surfaces, it actually sounded as if it was pumping road noise into the cabin on one side…
The styling of the Polestar 4 is definitely a major USP. It’s a modernist slice of sino-Scandinavian acrylic and could be a storm trooper’s daily driver in white. Where the Polestar 3 is stylish but a little more anonymous, the Polestar 4 has people cricking their necks to get a look. It’s properly sci-fi and properly cool and easily the most interesting to look at next to a Model Y, Macan and Q6. All four doors being pillarless only adds to the sense of occasion too, though what they gain in style they lose in a slightly rattly door shut sound.
The Polestar 4 doesn’t deliver a groundbreaking drive to match its groundbreaking looks, even if it is fast – it probably splits the difference between the Macan and Q6. That’s far from a bad showing and in the real world with the kinds of people these cars are aimed at, the amazing looks, ergonomic design, potent performance and commendable electric range deserve to impress.
Price, specs and rivals
The Polestar 4 has actually dropped in price since it was launched a couple of years ago, with the entry-level 268bhp single-motor model now starting from £55,750, £4240 less than before – the dual-motor all-wheel drive car we tested is much more expensive at £67,750. The new entry-level Tesla Model Y might be basic, but it is available at a much lower £41,990 price point, with even the range-topping Performance costing £5760 less than the Polestar 4 dual-motor at £61,990. Porsche’s electric Macan starts from £68,600, but does offer a more polished package with proper Porsche feel.
Unlike many of its rivals, the Polestar 4 is available with a good number of options, including premium Bridge of Weir leather upholstery for £3100 and the 'Prime Pack' with privacy glass and a stack of additional premium features for £1000. If you’re looking to bring more focus to the range-topper with the Performance Pack, you’ll pay £4000 for the privilege.
All up our car had a sturdy £75,040 price as tested, which is about on the money for where the less powerful Porsche Macan 4S Electric starts. The Audi SQ6 e-tron is both down on power compared to this Polestar and costs considerably more, and while the sub-£60k Kia EV6 GT offers competitive performance for the money, it doesn't run the Polestar even close for usable range.
Polestar 4 (dual motor) specs
| Powertrain | Dual-motor, all-wheel drive |
| Power | 536bhp |
| Torque | 506lb ft |
| Weight | 2355kg |
| Power-to-weight | 228bhp/ton |
| 0-60mph | 3.7sec |
| Range | 367 miles |
| Basic price | £67,750 |
