MADRID, Spain — Historically, carmakers have used windows as a selling point when there are more of them than you may expect. Volkswagen’s 23-window Bus, which was officially referred to as the Deluxe Microbus with Samba Package, was an upmarket trim that’s highly sought-after today, for instance. On the opposite side of the pond, the flagship Citroën XM was available with a thirteenth window that kept wind out of the cabin when the hatch was open. With the 4, Polestar argues the industry has reached peak window.
So far as eccentricities go, the dearth of a rear window isn’t a minor one. We’re not talking a couple of van you’d see in a contractor’s fleet; this can be a premium EV. There’s more to it than a glass-less hatch, nonetheless. After driving a pre-production automotive on a test track, I’m taking the 4 out on public roads.
First, a word about positioning. Don’t read an excessive amount of into the “4” nameplate; Polestar names its cars within the order that they’re launched in. The 4 is, quite simply, the fourth Polestar model unveiled, and it’s positioned below the three by way of pricing and size. The segment it competes in is comparatively hard to pin down. It’s an SUV in the identical sense that a taco is a sandwich: it ticks most of the fitting boxes on paper but it surely doesn’t really look the part. It’s more of a tall-ish sedan-hatchback mash-up. Or, possibly a crossover within the literal sense of the term somewhat than within the commonly accepted sense.
Regardless, the 4 definitely turns heads. There’s nothing else quite prefer it on the road. It falls consistent with Polestar’s design language by adopting styling cues like T-shaped headlights, a grille-less front end and a skinny rear light bar, but it surely’s not a photocopy of an existing model. It has its own identity.
Polestar claims that it has a superb reason for leaving out the rear window. “We desired to have a coupe body style for aerodynamics and at the identical time get a extremely spacious interior,” Maximilian Missoni, the brand’s head of design, told me. The window-less solution made it possible to shift the D-pillar back and gain a number of inches. “One other problem with coupes is that [in the rear-view mirror] you see plenty of your individual interior – you see the headrests and possibly your passengers,” he added.
The sheetmetal hides the modular SEA architecture shared with several other brands within the Geely empire. Versions of this basic platform underpin the Volvo EM90 minivan sold in China, the Volvo EX30 and the Lotus Eletre, amongst other models. Buyers could have two configurations to pick from at launch. The bottom model is known as Long Range Single Motor, and it ships with — you guessed it — a single electric motor that zaps the rear wheels into motion. It’s rated at 272 horsepower and 253 pound-feet of torque, and it’s equipped with a 100-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery pack.
Next up is the Long Range Dual Motor, which gets two motors (one per axle) for through-the-road all-wheel-drive. The second motor increases horsepower and torque to 544 and 506, respectively. This trim uses the identical battery because the rear-wheel-drive version. Each drivetrains are built around a 400-volt electrical system, and range checks in at as much as 300 miles with rear-wheel drive or as much as 270 miles with all-wheel drive. Charging from 10% to 80% takes about half-hour with a 200-kilowatt charger.
The 4 shares about 85% of its infotainment system with the three, however the software is displayed on a portrait-oriented 14.5-inch touchscreen as a substitute of on a landscape-oriented one. The system is Android-based, and Polestar designed the user interface in-house with clear, easy-to-read icons and a split-screen functionality. The driving force can notably select the ratio of the split; you possibly can display the navigation system on the left 3/4s of the screen and show the media and phone widgets on the fitting 1/4, for instance. Vice versa works, too, as does a 50/50 split. This cool feature makes the system more intuitive and fewer distracting to make use of. “We will not be developing phones. We’re making cars, and we’ve distractions to fret about,” Ruben Rodriguez, the corporate’s head of UX design, told me.
Just like the 3, the 4 follows a minimalist approach to interior design. You’ll find only a few buttons within the cabin. There are a handful on the steering wheel, they’re notably used for functions like adjusting the door mirrors and the steering column, and a volume knob on the wide, slanted center console. This extensive reliance on the touchscreen could catch old-school drivers off guard, but it surely’s increasingly becoming par for the course across the industry. Touchscreens can even add a touch of novelty to the experience: Polestar named the ambient lighting modes after the planets within the solar system, and you possibly can poke your way through the galaxy while learning details just like the length of a day on Mars.
My time behind the wheel was limited to the dual-motor version, and my test automotive was equipped with the optional Performance Pack. It doesn’t increase horsepower but it surely adds specific chassis tuning, 22-inch wheels wrapped by Pirelli P-Zero tires, Brembo brakes and gold-colored seatbelts. The large brakes aren’t overkill: It is a roughly 5,200-pound automotive that gets from zero to 60 miles per hour in 3.8 seconds.
Performance is the 4’s dominant trait, at the least on this configuration. It feels even quicker than the three.8-second figure suggests due to the easy torque delivered by the electrical motor, and the relatively low center of gravity combined with the 50/50 weight distribution give it higher handling than you’d assume considering its size and weight. It’s not as sharp around a bend because the 3, which has a trick torque-vectoring rear axle, but the trouble Polestar put into making the 4 engaging to drive shows.
Unlike the three, which rides on an air suspension system, the 4 includes a conventional steel setup. It’s fixed within the rear-wheel-drive model and adaptive within the all-wheel-drive model. The latter gives the driving force three modes called Standard, Nimble and Firm, respectively, to pick from. The identical menu within the touchscreen also enables you to select two sorts of power delivery (Range and Performance), three flavors of steering feel (Light, Standard and Firm), and three levels of one-pedal driving (Off, Low and Standard). By fooling around with these settings you possibly can create a tailor-made driving profile. The difference between these various settings is perceptible even in normal driving conditions. Hitting the suspension’s Firm setting reduces body roll on the expense of smoothness, while the steering gets noticeably heavier in Firm mode. You’ll be able to guess which mode you’re in without taking a look at the screen.
Select the softer suspension and steering settings and the 4 becomes a snug place to travel in. Missoni’s words ring true: There’s a ton of space in each rows. Was that value sacrificing the rear window for? It depends upon your perspective. At its core, there’s nothing terribly unusual or alarming concerning the recent system. Developed by Michigan-based Gentex, it consists of a 2.5-megapixel camera integrated into somewhat alcove on the roof that sends footage to an 8.9-inch digital rear-view mirror. You’ll be able to flip down the mirror to try which kid is throwing the punches within the back seat.
Our experience with camera-based mirrors has been mixed. One in all my colleagues bumped into glare-related issues with an analogous system within the Volvo C40. I didn’t experience anything like that within the 4, but I believed the mirror was positioned too far back. I’d have moved it a number of inches toward the windshield. Ultimately, it’s a matter of preference — that’s often the case with recent technology. You would possibly hate it, or you may find it irresistible. The issue is that for those who hate it, you don’t have a second selection. It’s not like you possibly can pay Polestar an additional $1,000 to order a 4 with a rear window and an actual mirror.
So, have we reached peak window? The industry will determine. In a decade, the 4 will either stand out as an actual oddball or as a trendsetter. Until then, it’s one among the more distinctive EVs in the marketplace.
Polestar will initially construct the 4 in Hangzhou Bay, China, though the model will even be manufactured in Busan, South Korea, starting in 2025. Pricing starts at $56,300 (including the $1,400 destination charge) for the rear-wheel-drive model and $64,300 for the two-motor all-wheel-drive version.
This Article First Appeared At www.autoblog.com
