Polestar 4 review: Never mind the rear camera, it is what’s out front that pleases

Last year, the Sweden-based Polestar launched two new models that it hopes will help secure its future as a front-runner in the EV transition. One of these was the Polestar 4, that sports an electric SUV-coupe-like body and a bold decision to ditch the rear window for a high-definition camera that feed into a digital mirror.

What’s it like on Australian roads, and does it work? I spent a week with the Long Range Single motor version, of the Polestar 4 and here is what I found.

Size-wise, the Polestar 4 fits right between the Polestar 2 sedan and the larger Polestar 3 SUV. Pricing starts at $78,500 for the single motor, while the model we tested was the Long Range with the Plus pack, which comes in at $86,500 before on-roads. 

For the extra $8,000, the plus pack adds a few upgrades to the base car, including a Harmon Kardon premium sound system, a Heads-up display, technical mesh textile seats, pixel headlights, 22 kW AC charging and more. 

The 22 kW AC charging is a good bonus, especially with the 100 kWh battery pack in the long-range variant. This will charge the car from 10-80% in 3.5 hours.

Range-wise, the claimed WLTP figure is 620 km from the Nickel-Mangase-Cobalt (NMC) battery pack and in my testing, I easily achieved over 500 km travelling a combination of city driving and on freeways, mainly doing highway speeds.

Given the size of the pack, there aren’t as many charging stops for most day-to-day journeys, but if road-tripping, owners will be able to get up to 200 kW of DC charging speeds, helping with very quick top-ups.

On the powertrain, you get a 200 kW rear-mounted motor that hits 0-100 km/h in 7.2 seconds. In the real world, it feels much faster than that, thanks to the 343 Nm of torque available from the powertrain. 

That’s not bad, given it weighs over 2.2 tonnes, but it certainly doesn’t feel like it on the road.

On the design front, it’s a stunning car with a fairly sleek front and body-line. Polestar’s minimalist vibes are seen in many parts of the car, including the split headlights, which also make it look quite sharp. 

The low roofline flows nicely to the rear full-width light bar, helped by the fact that it has no rear window in the back. Aside from aerodynamics, it did get a few people to walk up to it and point it out when parked at the shops.

It is expected to provide additional headroom in the rear seats, which I found it did, but not much more compared to other electric SUV models.

Moving onto the inside, which not only takes minimalist vibes a step further, it brings a lot of tech into it as well.

There is a 15.4-inch landscape infotainment screen that runs the show thanks to its Google Android Automotive system, which is quite nicely integrated.

On the home screen, you can put tiles, which help save time fiddling through endless menus. There’s also a 10.2-inch driver screen behind the steering wheel, paired with a head-up display unit in the Plus Pack, giving all the key bits of information projected right on the windscreen.

One bit that I found quite helpful and just an awesome touch to the interior was the rotary dial with a pause/play button. It can be used to pause or play music and for volume controls, making it seamless to use.

I found this a lot better than adjusting the volume on the steering wheel controls, so a big plus to Polestar for throwing that in there.

Sitting inside, the seats are comfy and supportive. The rear feels lounge-like and is a good place to be on longer journeys. 

In the driving seat, the rear-mirror camera setup works well in most conditions, including when driving on darker roads with little street lighting. I got used to it fairly quickly, but some may find the video feed difficult to get used to in certain lighting conditions. 

For the most part, the rear camera provides a wider field of view and is clearer than looking through the rear window of cars with a swooping tail end. 

Now comes the star of the show. The way it drives puts a smile on any driving enthusiast’s face. Even with the single-motor setup, the torque delivery is instant. It’s quite fast, maybe not on paper, but it definitely feels it. 

Where it really comes to life is around corners, which it takes really nicely for an SUV and not too far steering-wise from a nice handling electric sedan. 

The adaptive suspension balances plush and firm very well, and the 20-inch wheels on the test car handled paved and slight gravel roads well. 

As mentioned earlier, I was easily able to achieve 500 km on a single charge, achieving around 19.1 kWh/100 km. 

As for the lack of a rear window: It didn’t take me long to adapt when reversing. The digital rewards view mirror provides a wide panoramic view of what is behind the car, especially when reversing out of tight kerbside spots. It’s better than the rear view cameras found in many large SUVs.

All in all, the Polestar 4 is quite a car and will be rivalling long-range models from Tesla, Audi, BMW and others. 

It’s minimal Scandinavian design inside-out, use of sustainable materials, a big battery in the long-range model and great AC charging with the Plus Pack will make it quite a good choice for those that want to buck the trend. 

Even those who don’t mind not having a rear-view window or a reflective glass mirror, because in this car, you are looking ahead, driving on curvy mountain roads where it really puts a smile on your face.