Polestar 4 Review

How much does it cost?

The 4 name may imply it's the largest and most expensive model in the range, but Polestar names its cars in the order in which it launches them. So, the 4 actually sits between the 2 hatchback and the 3 SUV, and is priced accordingly.

The entry-level Long range Single motor model is priced at £55,750 and the Long range Dual motor comes with a £12,000 premium. Polestar doesn't offer trim levels like other car manufacturers, rather there is just the choice of powertrain. But there are ways to inflate the price as there are a number of packs that bundle together desirable optional equipment.

Despite its newness, the Polestar 4 is appearing on used car platforms such as AA Cars. The oldest examples command around £35,000, while 2025 cars are around the £41,000 mark. Dual motor cars start in the region of £45,000.

Engine and performance

Overview

The Polestar 4 is offered with one 100kWh (94kWh useable) battery pack, and the choice of single-motor or dual-motor power.

The single-motor model sends its 268bhp to the rear wheels, and is positioned as the more efficient option – it’s ideal for those who prioritise getting the most range between charges. On standard 20-inch 'Aero' alloy wheels, the Singe motor Long Range can manage up to 385 miles, says Polestar. It's still a quick car, though, with 0-62mph taking 7.1 seconds.

The Long range Dual motor model gets twin electric motors. This second motor powers the front axle, consequently this model is all-wheel drive. Thanks to this, power soars to 536bhp, and the 0-62mph acceleration time is cut to 3.8 seconds. It's certainly the more performance-orientated version, but, that said, Polestar still claims up to 367 miles on the same 20-inch wheels.

With a 200kW maximum DC charging rate, a charge from an ultra-rapid road-side charger will take 30 minutes. An overnight charge from a home wallbox will take 17.5 hours, but if your home is set up for three-phase electricity, the Polestar 4 can be optioned with 22kW AC charging capability, slashing an overnight charge down to 5.5 hours. A heat pump, which helps to improve the car’s efficiency during colder weather, comes as standard.

Out on the road

In many ways the Polestar 4 serves up the kind of driving experience you’d expect from a premium electric coupe-SUV. It's refined, powerful and very composed.

Light controls make the Polestar 4 a lot easier to drive around town than you would expect, but there's no getting away from the fact that it's a 2.1-metre-wide car. It can feel a little big for tight, urban streets, but you could say the same thing about many SUVs. That said, parking isn't too much of an issue – there might not be a rear window, but the 4's suite of crystal clear cameras make manoeuvring easy.

It's on the motorway where the Polestar 4 feels really at home – and you'd expect that as it's a big SUV after all. The occupants are well insulated from wind and road noise, and the car feels very composed.

As for power, the single-motor car will be powerful for most, but the twin-motor gives some welcome extra shove at higher motorway speeds.

Ride and handling

The Polestar 4's smooth ride around town gets a little more unsettled at speeds of around 50mph, but it doesn't do too much to detract from the feeling that this is a very relaxing car to drive. The well-weighted steering might suggest that this is a sporting car to drive, but the Polestar 4 feels more of a grand tourer – big, cosseting and comfortable, and noticeably heavy in the dual-motor version. A Porsche Macan Electric feels more engaging to drive, mostly because it has a more alert and agile feel, but also because fake engine noise is piped into the cabin. The Polestar 4 doesn’t have this, and is eerily quiet on the move.

Interior and features

Interiors

Much like with its sister brand Volvo, Polestar prides itself on providing a comfortable and relaxing interior that brimming with cool Scandinavian style and detailing.

The 4 has a very minimalist design theme, and the interior is centred around a large 15.4-inch touchscreen. It controls pretty much every function of the car, such as steering wheel adjustment to even the opening of the glovebox, and the Google-based software is slick and reactive – it has a beautiful design and typography. As it controls so many functions, it can take some getting used to, and some early cars were prone to software glitches, but over-the-air updates have pretty much cured this.

As there is no rear window, rearwards visibility is provided by a camera system. Mounted on the roof to prevent it from getting dirty, the camera feed is beamed to the rear-view mirror. As the 'mirror' is a video screen, it can take some getting used to, but the picture it provides is very clear both during the day and at night.

Interior quality is superb, with many different materials used to create a warm and homely feel. The materials not only look good but many are recycled and environmentally friendly, too.

Boot space and practicality

While it may have a coupe-SUV body-style, the Polestar 4 is pretty practical. Boot space comes to 526 litres and the opening is wide. A panel can be dropped down to separate the rear passenger area from the boot, and the seats split in a 60/40 fashion. Folding down the rear seats gives 1,536 litres, and there's even a small 15-litre storage area under the bonnet along with some underfloor boot storage space.

Rear passenger space is excellent. Six-foot passengers will even have legroom to spare, there's a handy flat floor, while headroom is surprisingly good. Polestar has cleverly been able to liberate more headroom than you would expect from a coupe-SUV, and the standard panoramic roof makes the back seats a very bright and airy place to sit.

Features

Polestar offers the 4 in one level of high specification. Standard equipment includes active high-beam LED headlights, 20-inch alloy wheels, a Harman Kardon sound system, eight-way electrically-adjustable driver's seat and six-way front passenger seat, heated front seats, an electric tailgate, wireless Apple CarPlay, and a panoramic glass roof. Desirable options are bundled into packs, and it's worth hunting these out when looking at used car listings.

Trim and colour options

As previously mentioned, the Polestar 4 only comes in one very highly-specified trim level. Many owners will be perfectly happy with the standard level of equipment – and one look at used car listings backs this up. But there are some desirable options that were offered solely through equipment packs.

All UK cars come with the Plus Pack and Pilot Pack – the latter brings Pilot Assist semi-autonomous driving and lane change assist – as standard, but the Prime Pack, Pro Pack, and Performance Pack are costly extras. The most notable is the latter of these as it brings 22-inch wheels, Brembo brakes, gold detailing, and a firmer and sportier Polestar Engineered chassis tune.

The Polestar colour range is very muted. There's one silver option, two greys, one black and one white. The only exception to this is a bright and very metallic gold that really makes the Polestar 4 stand out.

Safety and reliability

Independent crash testers Euro NCAP rated the Polestar as a very safe car, awarding it a full five-star safety rating. It received a 92 per cent score for adult occupant protection and 85 per cent for child occupant protection, while protection for vulnerable road users was rated at 81 per cent. The Polestar 4 also has an impressive suite of standard safety equipment, along with 12 exterior sensors and 12 cameras that monitor the car.

Polestar doesn't appear in owner reliability surveys very often, and the 4 is a very new car so it's unclear how reliable it is. The Polestar 4 has been known for some software gremlins when it first launched, but these should have been ironed out with over-the-air software updates.

MPG, emissions and tax

The Polestar 4 isn't a cheap car when buying new, but on the used market it offers better value for money. Even though it's an EV and only attracts VED of £10 in the car's first year of registration, because it's a premium car and has high list prices, years two to six are £620 a year.

As for the electric range, real world driving will likely be between 300 and 350 miles for the 385-mile-claimed single-motor car, and closer to 300 for the dual-motor model.