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Polestar 2 Test Drive

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5K views 5 replies 5 participants last post by  Needsdecaf 
#1 ·
I test drove a Polestar 2 today and here are my thoughts:

Exterior
  1. The car looked nicer in person, less chunky than the pictures I've seen. This maybe due to the color of the test drive model (black or dark grey). I didn't spend too much time on the exterior but it all looked pretty good. I still prefer the Model 3's design, but this obviously subjective.
  2. It was nice having a powered trunk lid but the trunk seemed smaller than the Model 3 trunk, as in it was shallower.

Interior
  1. The fit and finish inside the interior seemed very high quality. The material covering the top of the dashboard didn't impress me, though; it looked kind of weird but certainly no worse than the dashboard of the Model 3, just different in a less pleasing manner.
  2. The driver's seat felt comfortable and supportive and I liked having dedicated mirror adjustment controls.
  3. Visibility out the back was worse than the Model 3 and the A pillars seemed thicker as well. Generally, I felt visibility was worse than the Model 3 in most regards, the ****pit felt more cramped with a higher dashboard and thicker pillars. Even though there's a full glass roof like the Model 3, the glass didn't start until after it passed my eyeline, so it felt less airy.
Touchscreen
  1. I didn't have much time to play with the screen while driving but I found the overall layout and graphic design of the main screen to be fairly busy. Every screen and tab had a lot of icons and choices on it, and there seemed to be more nested menus than Tesla's implementation but it could just be my unfamiliarity with the operating system.
  2. The screen was very high-res and responsive, as good as the Model 3's screen. The screen behind the steering wheel was also sharp, but I didn't find it that useful. Guess I've been conditioned by the Model 3 to ignore a screen behind the steering wheel.
  3. I tried the Google voice command to listen to some music; it responded quickly but asked which app I wanted to use. I didn't care, so I said "just play music" and it chose YouTube Music but then wouldn't play because it needed an account to be created. I manually selected Spotify from the screen and played whatever was on the radio (jazz). The audio from the sound system was pretty good, comparable to the Model 3.
Driving Characteristics
  1. I dropped off the Polestar rep at a nearby Starbuck's and drove on the freeway for about 10 minutes. The acceleration was great, I hit 70 on the onramp and didn't even realize it until I checked the display. I didn't floor it, so I couldn't compare it to my LR RWD but the Polestar certainly felt very fast.
  2. The car feels very solid when driving, it was very planted when I took a sharp curve getting on and off the freeway.
  3. The ride is fairly firm and not much softer than the Model 3.
  4. Interior road noise was maybe slightly better than my Model 3. It felt like there was better insulation in the cabin for wind noise but there was still plenty of noise from the tires and the road if that makes any sense. I also found the turn signal sounds to be more annoying than Tesla's sounds, they sounded more chunky.
  5. The car was set to one pedal driving and I didn't have to make any adjustments to my driving style in comparison to the Model 3; it felt responsive and natural.
Overall Thoughts
If there's one word I would use to describe the Polestar, it's "Solid". The car just feels very solid when driving, like it's planted and fast. The interior fit and finish also conveys a sense of solid build quality, as does the exterior of the car. I think in some ways, it's probably a better introduction to pure EV driving than the Model 3 since it has more physical controls.

I can't speak to range or efficiency since I only had the car for about 15 minutes or so. I would worry about the OS and Google's update frequency and design sense. It feels very much in keeping with Google, in the sense that there are a lot of features on the screen but seemingly less thought given to UX or ease of use.
It was really nice of Polestar to offer the test drive, they actually drove to my house and I didn't have to sign anything at all. Overall, a very positive impression of the company.

I wouldn't trade my Model 3 for it, nor would I buy it instead of a Tesla but I could see recommending it to friends or family who are more hesitant to take the plunge with pure EVs.

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#2 ·
Very nice, good to see some solid competition. There is just no way seeing that car though that the outside styling can come close to the 3 or Y. One of the biggest knocks the 3 takes from automotive writers is no buttons and the center console screen with nothing in front of you. None of them have the time to adapt and give it a fair shake and after seeing the picture you post, I just can't really imagine going back to all of those buttons and multiple displays. It's just so overly done. I am biased and there is no changing that, I want to be open, but you couldn't give me 2 of those for the price of my 3.
 
#4 ·
I test drove a Polestar 2 today and here are my thoughts:

Exterior
  1. The car looked nicer in person, less chunky than the pictures I've seen. This maybe due to the color of the test drive model (black or dark grey). I didn't spend too much time on the exterior but it all looked pretty good. I still prefer the Model 3's design, but this obviously subjective.
  2. It was nice having a powered trunk lid but the trunk seemed smaller than the Model 3 trunk, as in it was shallower.

Interior
  1. The fit and finish inside the interior seemed very high quality. The material covering the top of the dashboard didn't impress me, though; it looked kind of weird but certainly no worse than the dashboard of the Model 3, just different in a less pleasing manner.
  2. The driver's seat felt comfortable and supportive and I liked having dedicated mirror adjustment controls.
  3. Visibility out the back was worse than the Model 3 and the A pillars seemed thicker as well. Generally, I felt visibility was worse than the Model 3 in most regards, the ****pit felt more cramped with a higher dashboard and thicker pillars. Even though there's a full glass roof like the Model 3, the glass didn't start until after it passed my eyeline, so it felt less airy.
Touchscreen
  1. I didn't have much time to play with the screen while driving but I found the overall layout and graphic design of the main screen to be fairly busy. Every screen and tab had a lot of icons and choices on it, and there seemed to be more nested menus than Tesla's implementation but it could just be my unfamiliarity with the operating system.
  2. The screen was very high-res and responsive, as good as the Model 3's screen. The screen behind the steering wheel was also sharp, but I didn't find it that useful. Guess I've been conditioned by the Model 3 to ignore a screen behind the steering wheel.
  3. I tried the Google voice command to listen to some music; it responded quickly but asked which app I wanted to use. I didn't care, so I said "just play music" and it chose YouTube Music but then wouldn't play because it needed an account to be created. I manually selected Spotify from the screen and played whatever was on the radio (jazz). The audio from the sound system was pretty good, comparable to the Model 3.
Driving Characteristics
  1. I dropped off the Polestar rep at a nearby Starbuck's and drove on the freeway for about 10 minutes. The acceleration was great, I hit 70 on the onramp and didn't even realize it until I checked the display. I didn't floor it, so I couldn't compare it to my LR RWD but the Polestar certainly felt very fast.
  2. The car feels very solid when driving, it was very planted when I took a sharp curve getting on and off the freeway.
  3. The ride is fairly firm and not much softer than the Model 3.
  4. Interior road noise was maybe slightly better than my Model 3. It felt like there was better insulation in the cabin for wind noise but there was still plenty of noise from the tires and the road if that makes any sense. I also found the turn signal sounds to be more annoying than Tesla's sounds, they sounded more chunky.
  5. The car was set to one pedal driving and I didn't have to make any adjustments to my driving style in comparison to the Model 3; it felt responsive and natural.
Overall Thoughts
If there's one word I would use to describe the Polestar, it's "Solid". The car just feels very solid when driving, like it's planted and fast. The interior fit and finish also conveys a sense of solid build quality, as does the exterior of the car. I think in some ways, it's probably a better introduction to pure EV driving than the Model 3 since it has more physical controls.

I can't speak to range or efficiency since I only had the car for about 15 minutes or so. I would worry about the OS and Google's update frequency and design sense. It feels very much in keeping with Google, in the sense that there are a lot of features on the screen but seemingly less thought given to UX or ease of use.
It was really nice of Polestar to offer the test drive, they actually drove to my house and I didn't have to sign anything at all. Overall, a very positive impression of the company.

I wouldn't trade my Model 3 for it, nor would I buy it instead of a Tesla but I could see recommending it to friends or family who are more hesitant to take the plunge with pure EVs.

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Yep, agreed. The funny thing is that the Polestar 2 doesn't have very many more buttons than the Model 3 but I actually found the instrument panel behind the steering wheel to be slightly distracting. It wasn't clear which screen I should be looking at when I was driving, and they were both fairly redundant.
 
#5 ·
I actually found the instrument panel behind the steering wheel to be slightly distracting.
Yeah, it didn't take me long to realize that I actually prefer the lack of a display behind the steering wheel in the 3. With the 3, I set the steering wheel to the exact height I prefer for driving. With every other car, I adjust the steering wheel so that I have an unobstructed view of the cluster, which feels much too high now.
 
#6 ·
I am looking forward to driving one of these. As a former Volvo owner and an enthusiast, I love what Geely has done with the brand.

My beefs, seeing the car solely online, are with the "jacked up sedan" look. Reminds me of the Subaru SUS from a decade or more ago. Also, it's heavy and certainly not as efficient as a Tesla. So it's slower than even the LRAWD, at least on paper. And of course, no supercharging network.

But I'm not as sussed as some of you about buttons and traditional displays. Maybe it's because I currently own one of the most button festooned cars on the market (2014 Porsche Cayenne) and regularly drive it but I have no problem adjusting back to a traditional dash and in fact prefer it in many ways. When I get a Model S loaner, it makes me wish the 3 had one as well...as well as the setup on the S's scroll wheels. I find it easier to "get things done" in that car than the 3.

My biggest beef with the car is the all Google ecosphere. Those guys already have enough of a tracer on me, I really don't want to let them that far into my life. Maybe I should just stop caring, LOL.

All in all, a solid Model 3 competitor and I look forward to getting my hands on one.
 
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