2025 Polestar 4: Blasting Ahead and Not Looking Back
After Volvo recently stopped funding Polestar, the former performance sub-brand turned high-end electric vehicle company needs to blaze its own trail. Coming up with a few good hits is key to grabbing a nice share of the EV market, which is full of twists and surprises as you know.
Polestar badly wants to stand out from the competition, but history has taught us that electric sporty cars and super-expensive SUVs aren’t enough to ramp up production and become profitable. Compromises, namely high-volume cars, need to be made.
- Also: Polestar Day: The EV Brand’s Future Looks Bright
- Also: Polestar 3 Makes Canadian Debut in Vancouver
In late February, Polestar secured over $1 billion in external funding, making strong progress on its strengthened business plan. The upcoming Polestar 4 will be a big part of that. This model slots right between the Polestar 2 liftback sedan and the performance-focused Polestar 3 crossover. While borrowing much from the latter in the styling department, it has some pretty unique tricks up its sleeve.
The Car Guide flew across the Atlantic earlier this week to test drive a pre-production unit of the Polestar 4 at the Hällered Proving Ground near Gothenburg, Sweden. Keep reading to find out how it all went down.
No Rear Window? No Problem?
In terms of size, the Polestar 4 is a few inches shorter, narrower and lower than the Polestar 3. Incredibly, the wheelbase is nearly a foot longer than that of the Polestar 2, while the centre of gravity is even lower than that of the departed Polestar 1. It’s basically a mix-and-match showcase of what the company has to offer.
While the front fascia is roughly similar to the Polestar 3’s, it’s a completely different story at the other end. As we’ve told you before, there’s no rear window on the Polestar 4. It’s been replaced by a high-mounted HD camera feeding the digital rear-view mirror inside the cabin.
Why such a move? For one thing, designers wanted to capitalize on the trend of coupe-like SUVs popularized by the Germans. But because this type of configuration sacrifices a bit of visibility due to the smaller rear window, they felt it was better to just get rid of the window and offer more headroom in the second row in the process.
LISTEN: LP anf Gab share their driving impressions on the 2025 Polestar 4 and Volvo EX30
A whole bunch of eco-friendly materials make up the interior of the Polestar 4. MicroTech is a bio-attributed vinyl that replaces crude oil with pine oil in its construction and features a recycled textile backing. The floor carpets are made using ECONYL, which includes reclaimed fishing nets. We can’t say they contribute to a luxurious atmosphere, but the cabin is clean and classy in typical Polestar fashion. And very comfortable, too. On the flip side, physical controls are hard to find, so you must go through the centre touchscreen to control most of the vehicle functions.
Our short test drive on the track didn’t require us to keep looking into the rear-view mirror as drivers normally do on public roads, especially in traffic. We did attempt a few manoeuvres in reverse while in the pit lane and found that the missing rear window demands some getting used to. Rear-seat occupants will also need to adjust to not seeing daylight when looking over their shoulder.
Ample Power and Range
The Polestar 4 is built on the same Sustainable Experience Architecture (SEA) as the Polestar 3, but battery capacity is down from 111 kWh to 100 kWh. The single-motor, rear-wheel-drive variant generates 272 horsepower, while the dual-motor, all-wheel-drive variant produces 544 horsepower. Maximum range is rated by the EPA at 483 km and 434 km, respectively. Up to 200 kW DC and 11 kW AC charging is included for all models.
On the track, our dual-motor tester proved flexible and predictable. Despite weighing nearly 5,000 lbs, it showed remarkable control and stability. Polestar engineers have also done a good job with the brake pedal to achieve a happy medium between braking performance and energy recuperation.
Unlike the dual-motor Polestar 4 with a standard semi-active suspension, the single-motor model relies on a conventional suspension setup, yet we didn’t feel like comfort or agility was affected. That says a lot about the engineering team’s chassis expertise.
While the Polestar 3 is slow to come to market and the company has had to cut financial ties with Volvo, is the Polestar 4 the missing piece to take the next step? If the goal was to combine performance with comfort and versatility in order to attract more potential customers, we’d say mission accomplished.
Deliveries of the 2025 Polestar 4 in Canada are scheduled to begin toward the end of 2024. Pricing details will be announced shortly.
