Polestar may not be a name you’re familiar with, but its design will likely strike a chord. The company was born in Sweden as a motorsport team in 1996.
The first hint is Sweden – home to Abba, Ikea, and Volvo. Volvo owns Polestar, having acquired it in 2015.
Before that, it had become an official partner of the car manufacturer, transforming some of its ordinary everyday vehicles into performance machines.
In 2017, Volvo began to rebrand Polestar as an electric vehicle (EV) brand, which brings us to where we are today. Volvo has always been recognised as somewhat of a pioneer – it was the first to install a three-point seat belt in a car, the first to introduce rear-facing child seats, and the first to add safety features such as blind spot warnings, inflatable side curtains and side-impact protection to its cars.
And Polestar is certainly carrying on that tradition. The car under discussion here is the Polestar 4 – and it boasts a feature that sets it apart on UK roads.
The manufacturer has made the claim that it is the first passenger car on our roads to lack one thing – a rear window. Instead, drivers are provided with a digital rear view ‘mirror’. Why has it done this?
It’s all about overcoming the limited rear visibility often seen in modern car design, as well as enhancing aerodynamics for improved efficiency – a crucial factor when trying to maximise your EV range. Polestar conducted a survey among 2,000 UK drivers and found that one in five were concerned about their limited rear view.
So, when you glance at the rear view ‘mirror’, you’re actually looking at a high-definition screen displaying a live feed from a roof-mounted rear camera. According to Polestar, this provides a much broader field of view than many modern cars offer.
The company also claims other benefits. The absence of a rear window allows the full-length panoramic roof to extend beyond the heads of rear passengers, ensuring plenty of light inside.
The rear view mirror that isn’t a rear view mirror (Image: Steve Smith)
What it also offers is an exceptional rear seating experience. There’s plenty of legroom and the chance to truly sit back and savour the journey.
Unlike many cars, the rear seats are fully adjustable – just like the front ones – allowing your rear passengers to properly unwind. If you’re the one driving, you’ll be envious.
Now, those who have recently driven a van might be thinking “so what, big deal”. This is because it’s not unusual for vans to have a ‘mirror’ that’s actually a rear view camera.
Given their function and design, vans typically lack rear windows, so drivers have traditionally relied on the large wing mirrors you see on such vehicles. But now tech is taking over.
I had this experience myself in a rental van not too long ago. It took me some time to realise that it had a ‘rear view mirror’, and then a little longer still to understand that this was, of course, impossible and it was a camera.
What sets the Polestar 4 apart from other EVs and gives it a futuristic edge
It’s all incredibly straightforward. As long as you have the key fob on you, you simply approach the car – which unlocks automatically – select ‘drive’ and off you go.
There are no buttons – everything is controlled via the large touchscreen, from the climate control to the heated seats to the various drive settings. You can even open the glovebox using the screen.
The drive is swift, with rapid acceleration and a silent glide that makes you feel like you’ve genuinely time-travelled to a pristine, gleaming, era. It’ll take you to 60mph in less than four seconds, with the dual-motor version packing a hefty 536bhp.
The interior is beautifully minimalist. There’s a whole lot of nothing and I personally love it.
The interior is a futuristic masterclass (Image: Steve Smith)
The lines are smooth and uninterrupted. It truly feels like stepping into a film or something similar.
And it should make you feel like that – this isn’t a budget car.
The car is packed with technology. You can select your interior ‘ambience’ (i.e. lighting) based on themes named after the planets in our solar system.
The seats offer heating, cooling and massage functions. It boasts full Google integration, allowing you to connect your home tech to your car to monitor its charge and other things while at home.
It features a premium sound system, including a speaker in the headrest. You name it, this car has it.
The long journey equation
When it comes to everyday driving – such as commuting or running errands – electric vehicles (EVs) are fantastic. Plug them in at home overnight on a cheap tariff and you’ll find they’re more cost-effective than petrol or diesel cars.
However, I still have reservations about using electric power for long journeys. While the technology and infrastructure have improved significantly in recent years, there’s still room for improvement.
Early EVs could barely cover 100 miles before needing a recharge, but now many can travel 300 miles or more, and charging stations are never far away.
Yet, 300 miles still falls short of the range offered by many petrol and diesel cars, meaning that planning is required for long cross-country trips in an EV. I like to test this theory on a regular drive I do that covers 175 miles each way.
The advertised range of most electric vehicles (EVs) is often a far cry from reality, with manufacturers’ claims based on ideal laboratory conditions for comparison purposes. This is also largely true for the miles-per-gallon figures quoted for petrol or diesel cars, it must be said.
Numerous factors can impact an EV’s range, including external temperature, which is particularly relevant in the UK, given EV batteries generally perform optimally between 15C and 35C. Other factors include driving style and the use of onboard technology.
For instance, my Polestar test car displayed a range of 320 miles one day and 265 the next without even leaving my driveway – and this was on a relatively mild day.
Despite the increasing prevalence of chargers across the UK, there remains a degree of anxiety and inconvenience associated with long journeys in an EV, not only due to range, but also charging time and cost. Public chargers are significantly more expensive than home charging.
I’ve previously explored this issue in greater detail, comparing a long journey in a Volvo with a subsequent trip in a Kia using the lessons learned from the first experience.
At present, long journeys are simply not as straightforward in an EV as they are in a petrol or diesel car. My 17-year-old diesel BMW can cover 500 miles or more before needing to refuel, whereas EVs manage barely half that distance.
However, the scales are gradually tipping in favour of EVs. As I’ve previously mentioned, there have been significant advancements in recent years. Rapid charging technology means that when you do need to stop for a charge, it usually only takes around 30 minutes.
This is acceptable on a long journey as it provides a break, but it doesn’t compare to the two-minute stop at a petrol station.
On this specific trip in the Polestar, I started with a full charge from home. The car displayed a range of 262 miles, which was significantly less than its advertised 385 miles, despite the mild mid-teen temperatures.
The view looking back – no window behind the seats (Image: Steve Smith)
However, this is still a respectable range and theoretically would require just one quick stop in each direction for a top-up. I did experience some ‘range anxiety’, as previous EVs I’ve used lost 40 or 50 miles of range once I reached motorway speeds.
Despite my best-laid plans, I encountered an issue at my first stop – all the chargers were occupied. I had to wait approximately 15 minutes, meaning I was stationary for 35 minutes instead of 20.
On a journey that typically takes two-and-a-half hours without stops, that’s a fair chunk of time to add.
Regardless, after recharging from 149 miles back up to 239 miles (86% battery), I resumed my journey. I planned to stay in Bristol, my destination, for about seven hours, so I decided to plug in at a relative’s house for the duration.
Despite the notoriously slow process of topping up in this manner, it added a handy 60 or so miles to the 177 miles I had arrived with, meaning I set off for the return journey with 234 miles, more than enough to reach home.
I did stop for another top-up, but this was primarily to ensure I got home with a decent amount of charge rather than being low upon my return. In total, I spent around £50 on public chargers, which is more than the entire trip would cost me at current diesel prices and probably almost 10 times what it would cost at home on a cheap EV tariff.
However, that’s the trade-off of EV ownership – plus, there are various schemes that can reduce the cost of public chargers for regular users.
One notable difference in making the journey in the Polestar compared to my adventures last year was due to the car itself. Last year I ‘lost’ range, with both cars taking me less far than they initially indicated.
There were no such issues with the Polestar. Its range indicator was extremely accurate, deviating by only a few miles when compared to the distance I was driving.
This gave me a great deal of confidence in the car and its ability to take me a certain distance before needing a charge. It resulted in the least stressful day out in an EV I’ve ever experienced.
The Polestar 4 getting some juice (Image: Steve Smith)
There were just a few issues with the car – having the controls for almost everything on the fairly large touchscreen can make it somewhat distracting. I’d argue that the glovebox thing is a step too far.
Not everything requires a tech solution when an old-school release catch works perfectly fine – although there is a security advantage to be gained.
I also had difficulty turning off the driver aids I didn’t want, such as the function that tries to pull you back into your lane on a motorway when you don’t want it to – but these sorts of things are smoothed out when you get to properly know a car over more than the week that I had it for.
Does this car have too much tech for its own good? Perhaps. That’s entirely down to personal preference.
And the strange part?
I mentioned there were two odd things about driving the UK’s first car without a rear window. The first is, when you look over your shoulder when reversing, for example, you’re met with a black void behind the rear seats.
When you’ve been driving for more than 20 years like me, that requires some adjustment. You have to trust the cameras in the “mirror” and on the screen.
And the truly odd thing? You can’t check your complexion in the rear view mirror – and that takes more getting used to than anything.
