Prueba del Polestar 4: ¿Así es la calidad premium china?

Polestar’s model range can be confusing, even though the manufacturer currently offers only three series. The newest family member of the Geely subsidiary is a striking crossover coupé that, while not Polestar’s flagship, nevertheless carries the highest number in its name. That role belongs to the Polestar 3 SUV, almost €17,000 more expensive in its base form, positioned in the upper mid-range and launched a few months earlier. Regardless of positioning, the brand follows a chronological naming strategy.

But nomenclature is not the only unconventional choice Polestar made with the Polestar 4, on the market since 2024. Visually, it is immediately recognisable as a Polestar through design details such as the light signature. In terms of vehicle category, however, it refuses to fit neatly into one box. One thing is clear: at 4.84 metres long, 2.01 metres wide and 1.53 metres tall, it resembles more an elevated fastback saloon or four-door coupé than a conventional SUV. Even though the Polestar, priced from €61,900, certainly needs the whole lane. 

A glance over the shoulder is pointless

During our test drives, the Polestar 4 drew plenty of looks – less because of its basic shape and more due to the absence of a rear window. According to the Swedes, this is not a gimmick: the designers wanted to preserve the flowing roofline in series production. With the steep rear angle, a conventional rear window would have been so slanted that rear visibility would be nearly zero anyway.

For that reason, Geely’s subsidiary omitted it entirely and fitted roof-mounted cameras instead. The rear-view image projected onto the “mirror” has good resolution and a wide field of view, so getting used to this unconventional detail does not take long. At first you still turn your head instinctively when parking, but soon you rely on the reversing camera and the 360-degree view on the display. Different perspectives shown on the screen also help when turning. Whether you find the bulky rear – reminiscent of a turtle shell – attractive is, of course, a matter of taste.

Quality still needs work

The Nordic simplicity and Scandinavian clarity known from Volvo and previous Polestar models is largely absent in the Polestar 4. The electric crossover feels more playful and heavily tech-focused, with a clear Chinese influence. The once legendary Volvo quality is also lacking in this Polestar, built at a Geely plant near Shanghai. Our test car, priced at over €75,000, showed condensation in a rear light for most of the test, pointing to imprecise build quality.

While such classic “German” quality standards may matter less in the digital age, we noticed some rather generous panel gaps. In one case, the gap was so large it even cast a shadow on adjacent bodywork under low sunlight. Despite only 17,000 kilometres on the clock, the driver’s seat leather already showed creases and slight discolouration.

Aside from the ageing driver’s seat, the cabin, lined largely with recycled materials, made a stronger impression. As expected in this segment, Polestar uses soft-touch plastics and Alcantara, while light grey and white tones create a modern feel. This effect is reinforced by the huge panoramic roof – though our test car’s roof had a long crack. Many underestimate how vulnerable such glass roofs remain to stone chips, even when safety glass is used.

Rear space is a highlight

The futuristic cockpit is dominated by a 15.4-inch central touchscreen and a floating centre console, combined with supportive seats that make you feel well contained. Lateral support is excellent, though the car offers fewer storage spaces than rivals. There is also just one wireless charging pad for smartphones instead of two.

In the second row, space is generous. Legroom is clearly upper-class level, while headroom is better than the coupé roofline suggests. At 1.85 metres tall, I still had plenty of clearance above my head. The lack of a rear window and tinted side glass, however, make the rear feel quite dark. Another odd detail: the leather sustainability label stitched into the seat backs – acceptable for a demo car, but contrived in a customer vehicle.

The designers’ “function follows form” approach also has downsides in the boot. With 526 litres (or 1,536 litres with seats folded), capacity is not bad. But the sloping roofline limits taller items: even a crate of water bottles blocked the automatic tailgate from closing. The rear seat folds only 60:40, with no ski hatch or middle pass-through.

With “Jupiter” lighting through the night

As usual, the Polestar 4 features an Android-based infotainment system, which proves convincing after a short familiarisation with its clear structure and attractive graphics. Less practical, however, are the steering wheel buttons. Although they have a physical pressure point, they are partly unintuitive in layout and barely labelled. Apart from the pleasantly large rotary controller for volume on the centre console, Polestar relies entirely on touch operation and voice control. Why one even has to tap the screen to open the glovebox still eludes me. Here, Polestar has taken the wrong kind of inspiration from Tesla.

Overall, the software worked reliably, but throughout the test period, there were connection problems with Apple CarPlay. Each time you got back into the car, the smartphone had to be reconnected manually – and in some cases, it did not work at all. This issue may have been due to a missing driver profile and might not occur in a customer vehicle, but in practice, it became quite annoying. A nice detail, however, was the ambient lighting settings – the various colour themes were named after planets and displayed as such in the menu. The optional Harman Kardon sound system with twelve speakers delivered punchy performance, though the treble had a touch too much reverb.

The base motorisation lacks temperament

Our Polestar 4 test car was the base version, “Long Range Single Motor”. However, since the vehicle was generously equipped, the list price was just shy of €80,000. A 200 kW electric motor with 343 Newton metres of torque sits on the rear axle. The 7.1 seconds Polestar quotes for the sprint from 0 to 100 kph is perfectly respectable. Anyone looking for a neck-snapping punch like in some rivals should opt for the all-wheel-drive version, priced from at least €69,900, which completes the same sprint in only 3.8 seconds.

The single rear motor certainly has to work hard with the nearly 2.3-tonne crossover. The tested version did not feel underpowered and pulled well away from traffic lights, but some rivals offer significantly more punch. Above 140 kph, acceleration on the motorway became rather sluggish. Polestar quotes a top speed of 200 kph, but during testing, the speedometer showed a maximum of 210 kph.

Solid road holding and reliable assistants

The Polestar 4 sticks to the road like a board even at high speeds, helped by its substantial width. Hardly any body roll could be felt in fast corners. On a brisk motorway run, the crossover also impressed with its low noise levels. Even at higher speeds, the wind noise around the frameless windows never became unpleasant.

The Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) also worked well on the route from Berlin to Leipzig. The vehicle held its lane reliably, while Pilot Assist with adaptive cruise control performed well even at 130 kph. Currently, the Polestar 4 offers Level 2+ semi-autonomous functions, with Level 3 planned at a later date. At present, drivers may take their hands off the wheel for a few seconds, but their eyes must remain on the road.

Base suspension is neither comfortable nor sporty

While the larger Polestar 3 comes with air suspension in its higher trims, the single-motor Polestar 4 always makes do with a conventional steel suspension. That was a poor decision, with a clear impact on comfort. The crossover cannot hide its weight and crashes heavily into deep potholes. On cobblestones, rolling noise is clearly noticeable, not least due to the large 20-inch wheels. On uneven ground, light creaks were occasionally audible in the interior.

Although the Polestar 4 is not a true sporty car, the tuning is overly firm, even if sharp jolts never felt unpleasant inside the cabin. In this price range, Polestar should at least have offered the adaptive ZF dampers, standard on the all-wheel-drive model, as an option. Steering firmness can be adjusted in three stages – at maximum, feedback is strong and enhances driving fun, though the steering never completely loses its synthetic feel. On the plus side, the speed assistant’s beeping was relatively discreet and can be deactivated entirely.

Consumption remains reasonable

Every Polestar 4 is fitted with an NMC battery with a usable capacity of 94 kWh, which in rear-wheel-drive guise allows a WLTP range of up to 620 kilometres. On my motorway-heavy test drive at brisk speeds, one charge delivered around 380 kilometres. Factory consumption is stated at 17.7 to 18.1 kWh, which is achievable with moderate, urban-heavy driving. This was also confirmed by my colleague Sebastian Schaal’s test. Real-world ranges around 500 kilometres should therefore be possible.

Due to the high motorway share and faster driving, my consumption reached 21 kWh. I set off in Berlin with 94 per cent charge and an indicated remaining range of around 580 kilometres. After a stop in Potsdam, I continued to Leipzig and back with some detours. Given the high speeds, a charging stop was unavoidable. On the return leg, the Polestar 4 rolled into the Ionity station in Linthe on the A9 with only four per cent left.

31 minutes from 10 to 80 per cent

Polestar quotes a maximum charging power of 200 kW – acceptable for this segment, but not outstanding. With its 400-volt architecture, the crossover cannot match 800-volt competitors like the Audi A6 e-tron or Kia EV6. The latter is much cheaper, yet charges at up to 258 kW, managing 10 to 80 per cent in just 18 minutes.

In our charging curve check, the Polestar 4 slightly exceeded factory claims, briefly hitting 203 kW after starting. From 20 per cent, power began to drop. Between 25 and 45 per cent, it stabilised between 160 and 174 kW. It then gradually reduced but stayed above 110 kW up to 80 per cent. Average charging power was 140 kW, with 76.2 kWh delivered during the process.

The entire charging process from 10 to 80 per cent took just under 31 minutes, almost exactly matching the official half-hour claim. This waiting time is manageable, but rivals complete the task significantly faster. Our test car included the €5,500 Plus Package, which enables 22 kW AC charging. Buyers of the bare-bones version must make do with 11 kW.

Conclusion: Extravagant shell with average substance

The Polestar 4 is, above all, a design statement. It draws plenty of attention without losing the brand’s design DNA despite its experimental edge. The interior offers ample space and a distinctly modern atmosphere with a Scandinavian touch.

But when it comes to the topics that matter most in electric cars, this crossover coupé struggles to stand out. Neither efficiency and range nor charging performance are class-leading – instead, they sit firmly in the midfield. Add to this overall quality hampered by sloppy details and suspension comfort below expectations for the price bracket, and the result falls short of premium claims. If Geely’s subsidiary wants to establish Polestar as a true premium brand long term, it still has work to do.