Polestar 4 review: Nice attempt that stumbles into mistakes

The Polestar 4 is ambitiously following the Porsche Macan and BMW i5. Unfortunately, the Chinese Swede leaves an impression with too much room for improvement.

I've rarely felt like handing over a press car after the first few meters. But it happened anyway with the Polestar 4.

But let's start by getting the subjective out of the way. I think the Polestar 4 is one of – if not the – best-looking electric cars on the market right now.

I love that the Polestar 4 only has the buttons you need, plus the gearshift stalk and the turn signal. So far, so good. It worked, the car shifted into gear, and stayed in 'P' every time I asked it to.

But the brand will really miss Maximilian Missoni, who was responsible for the design of the car. He was poached for a chief designer position at BMW last year.

With that – which you can't use for much anyway – because car design depends on the eye that sees – out of the world I feel like getting annoyed. Not just wanting to. I actually need to after a week in the Polestar 4.

Because technically, the car can't live up to its – beautiful – exterior. Unfortunately. There are so many errors in the car's software that I gave up counting them on the first day.

The long light didn't work – but then suddenly came back on

The same day I picked up the car from Polestar in Odense, something went wrong. The navigation system, which I always test in new cars, refused to find its way home to me. Nada, nothing. Nothing.

Not even the little direction arrow that usually appears in Google Automotive, which the Polestar 4 is equipped with, appeared. Nevermind, I can find my way around my own city and back home.

But things didn't get much better when I headed for Kolding a few hours after picking it up. The car almost went into reverse when I turned on the adaptive cruise control with the so-called Pilot Assist, which helps steer the car, on the highway.

To say it was uncomfortable to drive, so I turned off Pilot Assist and somewhat bewilderedly shortened the trip to the regular adaptive cruise control, so I just followed the traffic, is an understatement.

On the way home, darkness had set in. And this is where it got really scary. Fortunately, we're starting to see brighter times, so it wasn't pitch black when I rolled home, but…

The car's high beams just wouldn't dazzle. And that no matter what I did. But I got home on the regular adaptive cruise control and with the low beams on.

Polestar 4 can't charge fast – I thought

I picked up the car on a Monday, and was told that the Polestar 4 cannot be fast-charged. At least not on Clever's fast chargers.

The fault, Polestar said, was with Clever. It would be fixed as soon as possible. Maybe as early as the beginning of April, when – funnily enough – I had the car for a test.

So on Tuesday evening I headed for a quick charger about a 45 minute drive away. Just because. Well.. it could be. And voila – the car received the power.

I didn't really need to charge, so I unplugged the cable and drove the 16-foot-long car home. Now, I'm not superstitious, but the thicker cable may have done something.

Or maybe it was 'just' because the computers in the car were taking a break. Suddenly the high beam worked.

Another thing is that even the smaller chargers say that the car is turning off the power. It's frustrating to come out to a car "without" power, and even though it may not charge lightning fast.

Unfortunately, it gets even worse.

You look tired – take a break

Let me put it this way. If you can orient yourself in mirrors in general, the lack of a rear window in the Polestar 4 is no problem. I live in Odense, where there are a lot of bicycles that have a Dodson's spoon in traffic.

But when Polestar's cameras work – and you use the mirrors at the same time – it's no problem to look around. Not even for cyclists.

It's actually quite nice not to get annoying reflections from the background, especially in the evening.

It may just be a design gimmick. But Polestar has made it work without a rear window. However, some say it can mess with the digital rearview mirror for glasses wearers with a smooth transition.

The eyes can get irritated from having to adjust, says the criticism. I have glasses and a smooth transition, says my optician, but I had no problem looking in the mirror and getting everything to be sharp in an instant.

I did have a problem with the sensors and cameras watching me. If they could talk, the car would have screamed – keep your eyes on the road. You look tired – consider taking a break .

Because that's what the car kept saying in the little display behind the steering wheel. I have no idea why. I don't drive if I'm tired. And it didn't get better during the week.

And so the errors continued throughout the week. Suddenly, the cruise control, navigation, head-up display and traffic sign recognition stopped working. So did most of the other functions on the touchscreen.

Throw out that software and start over.

I found out that the car screen could be reset. You do this by holding down some of the haptic buttons – which are otherwise a bit of a pain to operate – now get some real buttons – at the same time.

Apparently, it forces the car's computers to reset themselves. And then it works again. So things like cruise control, navigation, head-up display and traffic sign recognition.

That being said, it seems like the pilot assistant – which I would recommend turning off at this point – becomes more and more surly the longer the trip.

The car – or at least the safety systems – sees cars and obstacles where there are none. This means that the Polestar 4 brakes hard and unexpectedly far too many times.

After a week, I was constantly wondering when the car would do something I hadn't asked it to do. And that's a shame.

As we've previously reported here at Boosted, Polestar has moved its software department to India. And one can only hope it's for the better.

More Google, less Polestar – please!

Because compared to Google Automotive, which can control most functions in the car, there are too many errors. But Polestar has one thing to say – the range estimate is extremely accurate.

The Polestar 4 is a guzzling car. It doesn't go very far on a full charge. Unless you plan on getting behind a truck at 90 km/h.

But the car tells you that in return. Not once when I used the navigation in the car did it miscalculate the range. It's eerily accurate.

And now that I think about it, that's probably Google's merit. Anyway – it works. So does the adaptive cruise control during city traffic. They must have Polestar's software people – the car is wonderfully easy to get through even the longest traffic jam.

If the Indian division ripped out most of Polestar's own software and based it all even more on Google Automotive, I'd almost bet the car wouldn't give me a headache after a long drive. But only almost.

It's rattling and the leather is already tired

Polestar has wrapped several of their models in the so-called Nordic Edition trim in Denmark. This also applies to the Polestar 4. And that's fine, but the PS4 is still an expensive car.

At 475,000 kroner, the car should feel more premium than it does. The gear selector looks far too cheap with its black piano lacquer. But funnily enough, it doesn't feel quite so cheap to the touch.

Conversely, our test car had a strange rattling sound that I never found during the week. Not even when I crawled around the right rear door, where the sound was most evident.

Here's a little secret – press cars live a tough life. But it's basically for the best. The cars have to withstand a bit of everything.

And especially to be tested by people like us, so you at least know what you might/might not spend half a million kroner on.

That's why it's also disappointing that the leather on the armrest has started to crack after just 6,000 kilometers, which the press car had covered when we returned it. (We didn't cover all 6,000 kilometers – don't worry!)

Wanted: New software and a less aggressive suspension

It sounds strange, because normally I actually prefer a car that steers tightly and has a sharp suspension. But the Polestar 4 is so heavy that the comfort that is supposed to be sporty can well give something reminiscent of kidney stones. And even though the wheels are 'only' a 20" mount all the way around.

Admittedly, on my regular route of corner combinations, the Polestar 4 drives through without feeling like a boat in a jam, something that otherwise plagues many electric cars, but you pay for it in the long run. And the price is far too high in terms of comfort.

In 7 days, I realized how bad much of the asphalt in Denmark is. It can be done better. Much better.

I'll say the same thing here on the rope about the software. Throw it out now, Polestar. Make something that works. Even if it means marrying Google a little more.

Conclusion:

Polestar 4 wants to compete with the so-called legacy brands and their more expensive models. But there is still a lot to learn.

And here it is unfair that customers who pay the equivalent of 500,000 kroner for a car end up as test subjects in a sea of software errors and an uncoordinated driving experience.

The Polestar 4 doesn't drive badly. But the pilot assist solution feels like something that wants to kill you. Even though the single engine version doesn't feel fast in any way.

If you're looking for more kick under your right foot, the dual-engine's extra 228 horsepower is probably the better choice.

If you can live with not getting steering assistance on long, straight country roads and or motorway stretches, the adaptive cruise control is an excellent companion in the city – especially in heavy traffic. Everyone should do like Polestar/Geely and let cars' energy re-generation slow down completely by itself.

The lack of a rear window is not acceptable to everyone. But the camera solution is not difficult to learn to live with. Truck drivers and people in vans already do.

The cameras work surprisingly well on the outside. The camera, which Polestar has placed as a replacement for the rear window, is also difficult to put a finger on. The placement of the lens, which is slightly set back, also makes it difficult for dirt and grime to get stuck.

The leather, which in our test car was only on the armrest, should not look tired after 6,000 kilometers.

The frameless doors could certainly be better padded against wind and weather. It's simply too noisy in the cabin at 110 km/h/130 km/h. And then there's the turn signal, which in the cabin sounds like crackling noise from a set of tired headphones with a poor connection.

I know it, and now you know it too. Polestar 4 is for those of you who have patience.

Okay, here is the information from the image arranged in two columns:

Polestar 4 Long Range Single Motor