Style, sustainability and supreme refinement, the new Polestar 4 delivers generous helpings of everything we’ve come to expect from the Swedish brand. It’s an immensely impressive machine from a manufacturer I’m particularly fond of… and yet, when it came time to say goodbye to the 4 after a week-long loan spell, and climb back into my older, cheaper Polestar 2, the prevailing feeling was relief.
Why? Put simply, it annoyed me. Often. In numerous, and sometimes really quite creative ways. In fact, I’d go so far as to say that the Polestar 4 falls victim to just about every irritating automotive trend going at the moment. Allow me to vent…
For starters, the 4 succumbs to the fad of stuffing far too much functionality into its infotainment screen, in the name of providing a clean, minimalist cabin. Because buttons, as we all know, are bad for hygge.
In truth, this lack of buttons was only occasionally bothersome – a credit to the well designed Google-powered software in the 4. But when it bothered, it bothered hard. I really could have done with some physical controls to quickly adjust the wing mirrors when parking the dauntingly wide machine on my narrow London street, for example – a point I dutifully proved by kerbing the thing almost immediately.
Even the car key hasn’t escaped the great button purge – it has none. That means instead of pressing to unlock, you simply approach the car and trust that the door handles will deploy obligingly. Which they mostly do – except when they don’t. During my week with the car they failed me twice, both times during a large storm. I was only locked out for a couple of seconds, but it was long enough to take me from damp to “did that man fall into a canal?”. And that’s not very luxurious.
Then there are the haptic buttons that adorn the steering wheel. Everyone is at it with these at the moment and, again, the Polestar is by no means the worst offender I’ve come across. At no point did operating these touch controls make me want to tear my own face off, which immediately puts the 4 well clear of any early VW ID cars. But do you know what they’re nowhere near as good as? Actual buttons. Like the ones found on the wheel of my Polestar 2. Haptic controls lack that reassuring tactility and although, as with the door handles, the P4 did do as I asked 19 times out of 20, that one mis-press was infuriating.
Troublingly, some of the Polestar 4’s most annoying traits are the result of safety features that are now mandatory for any new vehicle seeking a 5 star Euro NCAP rating. The lane assist isn’t too intrusive, but I’d still rather switch it off – likewise the speed limit warning. Sadly, both default back to on every time your arse leaves the driver’s seat, and turning them off again requires – you guessed it – a visit to the infotainment screen.
But by far the most heinous ADAS intrusion came in the form of the overactive drowsiness detector which twice misinterpreted my mouth opening as a yawn. On one occasion I was talking on speaker phone, on another, taking a bite of a sandwich. On both occasions, the car’s response was to beep at me angrily, flash its hazards, and activate my massage seat on an especially vigorous setting. Yep, welcome to 2025, where you daren’t have a conversation in your own car, from fear of a disciplinary rubdown from your automotive overlord.
If this all seems a bit nitpicky, make no mistake: it is. These minor annoyances pale in comparison to the engineering achievements of the Polestar 4. With immense range, superb damping and a spacious, exquisitely finished cabin, it is an almighty long distance machine – one of the very best, electric or otherwise. It’s also remarkably green for such a large vehicle: each car that rolls off the production line is responsible for just under 20 tonnes of CO2. For comparison, a new Porsche Panamera 4 emits more from its tailpipe within 55,000 miles.
The problem is that Not Being Annoying is something I’ve always really appreciated about my Polestar 2. The quiet brilliance of the thing. I climb in, belt up, put my foot on the brake, select drive and off I go. No faffing with the infotainment. No looming threat of sudden backrubs. Everything just works. And the 4 doesn’t have that.
The over-reliance on touchscreens and lack of proper buttons will – I hope – prove to be passing fads. But supplying all the requisite ADAS functionality to hit that coveted 5 star safety rating, without creating a really annoying machine in the process, is a challenge car makers will need to carefully navigate from now on. Porsche has the best solution I’ve seen so far: a big button right next to the steering wheel that turns the whole lot off. Imagine that.
About the author
Jack is a London-based presenter, writer, and expert in all things automotive. A lifelong car fanatic and recovering petrolhead, Jack is a fully converted EV evangelist these days and, prior to joining Fully Charged, spent two years launching and fronting a new EV media brand called Electroheads.
