If your car budget exceeds 300,000 RMB and you want to buy a pure electric SUV, what kind of car would you want? Based on my experience, most consumers, aside from considering range and safety, prioritize intelligence, luxury, and comfort over individuality and handling performance. Of course, there are exceptions. If you are young, daring, passionate about driving, and not a fan of “street cars” like Tesla, then you should really check out this test drive of the Polestar 4.
The Polestar brand, originally from Volvo’s high-performance car division, became an independent brand in 2017. The brand aims to showcase the luxury and future development potential of electric cars through pure, pioneering, high-performance, and sustainable electric car designs, as well as exquisite craftsmanship created in collaboration with a well-known European design team. Starting with the high-performance luxury Polestar 1, the brand has left consumers with labels such as unique, luxurious, and high-performance. The subsequent Polestar 2 and Polestar 3 have also followed suit. Now, the latest model from the Polestar brand, the Polestar 4, made its appearance once again at the 2023 Guangzhou Auto Show. The car comes in four models, with the single motor standard range version priced at 29,990 yuan (4200$), the single motor standard range PLUS version at 33,990 yuan (4770$), the dual motor long range version at 36,990 yuan (5190$), and the dual motor long range PLUS version at 39,990 yuan (5610$).
Now as an employee of Geely Group, Polestar 4 has naturally adopted the Geely SEA architecture. With the support of a “good foundation,” the performance of Polestar 4 will naturally stand out. The test drive at the Ningbo racetrack last month left a very good impression on everyone. But driving cannot always be passionate. The daily driving experience is also very important. This time, we will try out the performance of Polestar 4 in daily use scenarios on open roads.
Unique design without rear window If you’re a young person who seeks individuality, then the Polestar 4 is definitely the car you’ll be obsessed with at first sight. First, I think the design from the European team is spot on. For a performance-oriented electric SUV like this, the appearance must not be too ordinary in order to match the overall tone of the vehicle.
The Geely Star 4, despite being an SUV, exudes a sense of crossover. The front end of the vehicle looks tough and capable, giving a clean and neat feeling. The low center of gravity and wide body design make the car look lower and more sporty, presenting a very athletic style, which is the current mainstream aesthetic standard.
The Polestar 4 features a closed design commonly used in electric car models, with a raised shape on both sides of the front end, giving it a strong sports car feel. The most interesting part of the front end is the headlight design, with separate headlights located below the front end fold, “L” shaped daytime running lights combined with turn signal function. If you combine the daytime running lights, it forms the shape of the Polestar logo, which is a clever design by the designer.
The body of the Polestar 4 has angular lines on the side, especially noticeable above the side skirts under the doors, featuring frameless door design that most people like, as well as frameless mirrors, providing a higher-end and clearer vision and appearance than traditional rearview mirrors.
The four-wheel-drive design gives this car a strong sporty look, and the exterior door handles use a hidden pop-up design. Behind the front fender, the Polestar 4 displays the battery capacity and maximum power parameters, adding details and showing that this car is quite high-profile. In terms of body size, the length, width, and height are 4845*1994*1544mm, with a wheelbase of 2999mm, also looking very compact.
From a 45° angle behind the car, the Polestar 4 really looks like a crossover coupe, the biggest feature of the rear end is the absence of a rear windshield, observation of the rear situation is done through the car’s streaming rearview mirror, the overall feeling after a day of test driving is still acceptable. In addition to the design of the rear windshield, the taillights of the car use a through design, although it is mainstream now, it still seems a bit ordinary. The air intake on the sides of the lower bumper appears to be aerodynamic, but it is actually sealed and only serves a decorative purpose.
The test drive car is the Polestar 4 dual-motor version, equipped with 22-inch two-tone sporty wheels, which provide a visually stunning effect, paired with Pirelli P-Zero sports series tires in the size of 265/40R22. Unlike the standard P-Zero tires, these are customized specifically for this car, jointly developed by Polestar and Pirelli, with better performance in terms of rubber and tire sidewall support.
Volvo has strict requirements for the environmental protection of vehicle cabins. In addition to providing luxurious Nappa leather, the new Volvo XC40 also offers the option of environmentally friendly materials such as MicroTech and rPET, which not only adhere to Volvo’s environmental philosophy but also provide a safer cabin environment for passengers.
In terms of cabin design, the Polestar 4 is more like a third living room for people. The simple and luxurious style is not only seen in the Polestar brand, but also in the design of Volvo models. The light grey color scheme, coupled with the texture of the fabric sofa, gives the cabin a rich Nordic home style.
The steering wheel is wrapped in genuine leather, providing a good feel and offering electric adjustment and heating functions. The specific adjustment needs to be done on the central control screen, and the same goes for the adjustment of the rearview mirror. The touch and press function is used for the multi-function buttons on both sides of the steering wheel, and there is vibration feedback when pressed. The 10.2-inch LCD instrument panel is not large, but it has a clear display and a reasonable overall layout. The content can be adjusted through the menu button, such as displaying regular speed, navigation map, or driving assistance information. Due to its small size, even if the steering wheel is adjusted, it is not easy to cause obstruction.
The central control display uses a 15.4-inch high-definition screen, with good display quality but slightly wide borders. Geely has acquired the Meizu smartphone brand, which has greatly helped to improve the functionality and application of their in-car system. The Polestar OS system of the Polestar 4 uses a Dock layout, providing multiple commonly used functions at the bottom for easy access. In addition, a smart feature is designed at the bottom left of the screen, which always displays the desired button based on the current scene, such as navigation, music, or desktop. It changes in real time according to the scene.
If you find that there aren’t enough apps in the car’s system, you can also connect your phone to the car’s system through the Super Desktop feature, which will mirror your phone’s desktop and functions onto the car’s system. At the same time, the content mirrored on the car’s system will also be displayed in the layout of the phone, making it easy to find and use. Through testing, most of the apps on the phone can be opened through the car’s system, and it also supports using voice commands to open them. However, it’s unfortunate that this feature currently only supports Meizu phones.
The new Xingxing 4 is innovative in creating an atmosphere in the car. The traditional 256-color ambient light has been replaced by 9 theme colors inspired by the colors of planets in the solar system. This feature, called “Star Observation Platform,” is quite creative.
The car model in this test drive is equipped with a 1400-watt, 16-speaker Harman Kardon sound system customized for the Volvo XC40, and supports OLS virtual surround sound technology, providing a more detailed and layered sound experience for music and songs.
The Volvo XC40 surprised me with its comfort and space. The sport seats are firm and provide excellent support and ventilation. The rear seats also have adjustable backrests.
A small screen is provided below the rear independent air outlet, mainly displaying the multimedia information being played and the air conditioning information. The seat adjustment options can also be found here.
In terms of seating space, a colleague who is 180cm tall adjusted the front seat and sat in the back. There was plenty of head and legroom, thanks to the adjustable backrest angle. The overall seating position was also quite comfortable. The 1.29-meter panoramic glass roof exceeded the head of the rear passengers. The roof can block 99.5% of UV rays and 88% of heat, ensuring ample sunlight while enhancing the sense of space for rear passengers, compensating for the lack of rear windows.
The Geely Star 4 features a hatchback design for easy loading of large luggage. Although the rear seats cannot be folded down, the trunk has a decent capacity and a neat shape. The trunk floor can be extended downwards to increase storage space height. Additionally, there is a front storage space of about 15 liters to meet daily travel needs.
The original factory configuration is even better than the modified parts, with versatile driving performance. Polestar used to be a performance car development department under Volvo. Although it has now become an independent brand, it still prioritizes driving performance. The Polestar 4 focuses on performance hardware and tuning standards, leaning towards driving control. This road test does not involve extreme driving, but it is possible to experience it within the limits of road conditions.
First, let’s talk about power. The Polestar 4 dual-motor version is equipped with permanent magnet synchronous motors with the same power of 200kW each at the front and rear. The maximum power output is 400kW, with a maximum torque of 686N.m. The official 0-100km/h acceleration time is 3.8 seconds. Just looking at these numbers, the strength of the Polestar 4 is extraordinary.
The car’s driving mode offers two main options: standard and high performance. Users can also adjust suspension, power steering, and kinetic energy recovery modes for a more personalized driving experience. The Polestar 4 performs very well in both initial acceleration and high-speed acceleration. When switched to high performance mode and pressing the accelerator pedal deeply while driving, it provides a strong sense of push back.
The difference in kinetic energy recovery mode of this car is significant. In high kinetic energy recovery mode, the vehicle will have strong deceleration after releasing the accelerator pedal, which is recommended for city traffic jams or downhill conditions. When adjusted to weak kinetic energy recovery mode, the Polestar 4 will coast like a gasoline car, greatly increasing the cruising distance and helping to improve the range performance.
The Polestar 4 is equipped with front double wishbone and rear integrated multi-link suspension, and comes with the second-generation CDC shock absorbers with in-house electromagnetic valves from ZF, which offer more precise, quick, and delicate performance compared to external valve systems. The suspension’s rigidity performance of this car is also stronger than that of general high-performance models, providing better lateral support and body posture. The electromagnetic suspension system offers three options: soft, medium, and hard. Regardless of the setting, the suspension performance of this car is firm. Uneven road surfaces or large undulations will be accurately transmitted to the interior of the car. Of course, there is a trade-off between better driving performance and comfort.
This suspension system is a semi-active design, linked to the steering. Even in standard driving mode, if the steering is turned quickly during cornering, the suspension will be adjusted to the best supportive state actively, without the need for manual intervention in emergency situations.
The powerful performance of the gold Brembo 4-piston aluminum front brake calipers, along with the large 392mm ventilated front discs and 364mm rear ventilated discs, provides excellent braking performance and confidence. In everyday use, the brake system delivers linear and consistent braking force from the moment the brake pedal is pressed, allowing the driver to easily find a comfortable pedal feel.
In daily driving, the overall driving feel of the Polestar 4 is very high-end. Apart from its rugged suspension and irresistible explosive power, after a day of experience, my evaluation of this car is mixed. The fierce power performance and precise handling can also better help drivers avoid potential dangers in daily driving.
Summary of the entire text: The Polestar 4 performs very well in terms of safety, comfort, and handling, especially in power and handling, showing its advantage as a pure electric performance brand of Volvo, giving drivers more entertainment properties beyond daily commuting needs. If you were to ask me which aspect of this car left the deepest impression on you? I would say it is the excellent power handling and the intelligent connectivity of the car, which luxury models are not very good at. Currently, the Polestar 4 has entered the comprehensive delivery stage. If you have a relatively sufficient budget, I suggest you go directly for the dual-motor version.