Polestar’s no-rear-window SUV priced ahead of launch
The Polestar 4 is coming to New Zealand in September, and the all-important price has been confirmed, writes Nile Bijoux.
Polestar has confirmed local pricing of the Polestar 4 coupe-SUV, the next model to land on New Zealand roads after the 2 and 3. The local Polestar arm has said the range will start at $119,900 for the Long range Single motor variant, while the Long range Dual motor model is at $129,990. Both Pilot and Plus packs are standard on all New Zealand vehicles, including Harman Kardon premium sound, Pixel LED headlights and three-zone climate control.
The Pilot pack ups the capabilities of the semi-autonomous systems, adding lanekeep assist to the adaptive cruise control.
Meanwhile, the Plus pack includes the aforementioned premiums sound system, a head-up display, star knit illuminated interior trim, adaptive pixel LED headlights, a powered tailgate, a control screen for rear occupants to change the air-conditioning, 12-way adjustable front seats, a heated steering wheel and heated rear seats, and more.
Buyers can also add the Pro and Performance packs, the former offering 21-inch wheels and gold seatbelts, while the latter adds 22-inch wheels, Polestar Engineer chassis tuning, Brembo brakes and yet more gold accents.
Both models get a 100kWh battery, good for 610km of claimed range in the Single motor and 580km for the Dual motor. The Single offers 200kW/343Nm, enough to hit 100kph in 7.1 seconds.
On the other hand, a maximum output of 400kW/686Nm for the dual-motor version means a 0-100kph sprint of 3.8 seconds. Dual motor models also get semi-active suspension.
While the Polestar 4 looks a bit like a coupe-ified Polestar 3, it’s more different than you might think.
It pulls aspects of the Precept concept in its design, which includes the interesting decision of eliminating the rear window entirely. According to the brand, this is to “enable a new kind of immersive rear occupant experience”. We’re used to small rear windows in some vehicles, but beyond stuff like cargo vans this is one of the first times we’ve seen a manufacturer go as far as to delete the window entirely.
Rearward vision is achieved by a wideangle rear-facing camera mounted on the roof projecting a live feed into what would normally be the rearview mirror.
Every model gets a full-length glass roof with optional electrochromic functionality to switch between opaque or transparent glass. Since there’s no rear window, the roof extends beyond the rear occupants’ heads.
The Polestar 4 Long range Single motor version has a cradle-to-gate carbon footprint of 19.9 tonnes of CO2 equivalent, while the Long range Dual motor has one of 21.4 tCO2e.
Aluminium represents 22.4-24% of the carbon footprint, while steel and iron constitute 20%, and battery modules account for the highest share of the carbon footprint of materials production and refining at 36-40%.
The first Polestar 4 deliveries are expected in September. Meanwhile, the Polestar 3 is due in the next few weeks.