Say goodbye to the rear window

As a motoring journalist, I’ve had a few firsts over the years. I can clearly remember my first automatic gearbox, first turbocharged engine, first gearbox with five gears, then six, and on one occasion seven (Porsche 911). First drop top. I remember my first experience of anti-lock brakes, all-wheel drive, rear-wheel steering and trying a raft of safety systems which you hopefully will never have reason to use, but it’s good to know they’re there and what they do. First electric car.

And now, with this Polestar 4, my first car without a rear window.

How does it work?

Okay, if you’re a van or truck driver reading this, you’re probably wondering what the fuss is about, but this is a rarity for car drivers. The Polestar is the first mass-produced car to ditch rear glass and means you have to rely on your wing mirrors and a high-definition, roof mounted camera system which produces an image on the interior driver’s ‘mirror’.

The Polestar designers say it has been done to improve aerodynamics, increase rear headroom and allow the glass roof to stretch even further and therefore make the interior light and airy. I can see their point, and it does mean the rear seats are positioned far enough back to allow loads of legroom.

The Problems

There are a few issues I have with it, though. Firstly, and perhaps it’s just my eyesight (I don’t wear spectacles), but I found it difficult to focus on the high-definition, 8.9-inch rear-view mirror. It requires more than just a glance.

Secondly, I was working late on night and, when I returned to the Polestar 4, it was covered in a heavy dew which was just starting to freeze over. The rear camera was useless. The only image was blurred headlights of the cars behind me, and it was impossible to judge their distance.

And finally, the rear interior of the car has a blue ambient light stretching across where a rear window would be. The result is that the rear-view screen shows you nothing else apart from a reflection of the blue lighting. I had to turn it off and stick with the wing mirrors.

Perhaps you get used to having an image on a rear-view mirror after a while, but in my week with the Polestar 4, I never did. It’s a pity, as the rest of the car is fabulous.

The finer details

The Polestar 4 is bigger than the Polestar 2 but slightly smaller than the SUV-focused Polestar 3. The company refers to it as a performance coupé SUV. I think the four-door coupé styling looks really smart.

Two versions are available: a long range single motor and a long range dual motor. The single motor, which feeds the rear wheels, costs £58,000 (Apr 25) while the dual motor adds a further £6k.

The single motor model produces 268bhp and can accelerate from 0-60mph in 6.9 seconds, with a range of 385 miles.

The dual-motor all-wheel drive model, which adds a second motor to the front wheels, gives you a whopping 536bhp. Dashing from 0-60mph takes a supercar-like 3.7 seconds. Although your range takes a minor hit, it is still a terrific 367 miles. Both models have a top speed of 124mph.

In terms of charging times, Polestar reckons you’ll get a 10-80 per cent charge on a rapid charger in around 30 minutes.

Driving Experience

The model I had was the Performance Pack, dual motor Polestar 4. The ride is terrific thanks to adaptive dampers, which you can adjust. The handling is assured and you can have a load of fun throwing it around despite it tipping the scales at 2.3 tonnes. You wouldn’t know it because the car sits fairly low and has a low centre of gravity. Refinement is excellent, and the only noise you have is some tyre rumble plus a bit of wind flutter around the frameless door windows.

You can adjust the steering between light, normal and firm. I preferred the firm setting because it seemed to provide more feedback.

Interior

Looking inside, you are met with a typically Swedish and minimalist interior. The Polestar 4 is currently built in China, but it still has a smooth, uncluttered, neat design. The dashboard is dominated by a landscape orientated 15.4-inch touchscreen, while the driver gets a 10.2-inch screen with an excellent head-up display. The ambient lighting is interesting. Instead of giving a choice of red, blue, green, etc, you are provided with a choice of ‘solar system-inspired interior illumination.’ Blimey. I stuck with blue.

The seats deserve special praise. They’re comfy, slim, supportive and look great, as well as being powered and heated. The rear seats are also powered for a slight recline.

The infotainment screen is typical Polestar, in that it controls just about everything. You even need to delve into various menus to adjust the wing mirrors. I do wonder whether the techy people who design these screens ever actually drive the car. I’d recommend adjusting everything to your liking before setting off on a journey because it’s a nightmare trying to do anything when you’re on the move. At least you can save some shortcuts on the main screen and the Google operating system is slick. The graphics are clear and the screen looks good. There’s a single button between the front seats which allows you to adjust the audio volume.

Standard kit

There’s a high level of standard kit which gives you everything you need. As this is a car from the Volvo family, it comes with a terrific level of safety equipment. In typical Polestar (and Volvo) fashion, you can opt for various packs - Plus, Pilot and Performance. Mine had the Performance Pack, which added 22-inch alloys, Pirelli Zero tyres and Brembo brakes. You also get some gold highlighting.

Concluding thoughts

The Polestar 4 is a terrific car. It was a shame that my enjoyment of the car was tempered by the lack of a rear window. As I mentioned earlier, perhaps you’d eventually get used to it.

In summary, the Polestar 4 is a comfortable, spacious, beautifully trimmed car. It is fully loaded with equipment, good to drive, and should be extremely safe. It oozes quality. The interior is so smart that it’s a sufficiently good reason to buy the car!

The real-world range is excellent and, even in single motor guise, performance levels are more than adequate. The dual motor car is downright rapid.

If you’re in the market for this sort of car, make sure it’s on your list of test drives. Polestar has a service where you can go to a Polestar location, or they’ll bring one to your home. Enjoy.

words: Graham Courtney
pictures: Polestar

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