New Polestar 4 preparing for launch but is it an SUV or an estate?
More range and practicality should make the Polestar 4 a proper electric SUV competitor
Volvo may have abandoned estates in the UK, but its all-electric sub-brand Polestar is looking to venture into the segment with the new Polestar 4, which we’ve just caught testing on the Nurburgring.
There’s still some uncertainty over the Polestar 4’s positioning because Polestar won’t commit to calling its fresh model an estate. The brand’s CEO, Michael Lohschellar, told a select media gathering, including Auto Express, at its Gothenburg headquarters: “We can actively debate whether the car is an estate, an SUV or both.”
The Polestar 4 SUV will launch on 2 September and judging from its raised ride heights and chunky, SUV-style design elements, the newcomer should provide all-electric competition to the recently unveiled Audi A6 Allroad, as well as typical upmarket family electric SUVs such as the Tesla Model Y and BMW iX3.
Having previously been given a teaser image of the new car’s rear, the biggest change will be the introduction of a rear windscreen – in contrast to the 4 Coupe, as it’s now known, which made headlines when it was revealed in 2023 because it ditched the traditional rear glass.
Polestar says taking out the window of the Polestar 4 Coupe created a bigger and more versatile rear cabin space, and drivers could still see behind them with the help of a camera system. But with this new variant, the designers appear to have adopted a more conventional style. The latest spy pictures reveal a more upright back end and while the bootlid opening will be adjusted for the SUV, the Polestar 4’s distinctive rear light bar looks like it’s being carried over, along with the bumper design.
The less sleek but more practical estate-cum-SUV bodystyle will allow the Polestar 4 SUV to tap into the world’s love of Swedish load-luggers and provide “versatile storage capabilities for every journey”, however, it’ll boast around 391 miles of range, according to the company. That’s even more than the existing Polestar 4, which tops out at 385 miles.
Polestar has confirmed there will be a choice of rear and four-wheel drive variants with up to 536bhp and the same chassis refinements that the coupé received recently.
These changes include new dampers, revised spring and anti-roll bar settings, and (supposedly) improved steering calibration. The company claims the tweaks create a more controlled ride in all driving conditions, and improve the car’s agility and comfort.
The Polestar 4 SUV is designed to build on the success of the 4 Coupe, which has quickly become the brand’s biggest seller worldwide.
“Once you have a winning model, it's always good to use that as a basis, rather than coming up with something completely new,” Lohschellar said. “And then when we looked, we saw that some people want to have a bit more functionality and practicality, some people have dogs for example, and the new derivative is really more practical.
“It’s not for everybody,” he continued, “because some people love this rear end without the window, but now we have two variants of our best-selling model.”
Despite the extra size and range, we expect the Polestar 4 SUV won’t encroach on the £76,540 Polestar 3’s positioning, which sits on the same SPA2 architecture as the Volvo EX90, unlike the Polestar 4 which uses SEA (Sustainable Experience Architecture).
Lohschellar wouldn’t be drawn on pricing for the new version, and whether it will carry a price premium over the Coupe’s pricing of £56,750 or £63,750 for the Single and Dual-motor models, respectively. However, right now you can save up to £6,500 on both versions of the Polestar 4 Coupe, by ordering through the Auto Express Buy A Car service.
He was also non-committal on which Polestar 4 variant will prove more popular. “We can debate it, but we think this new model might do better, because a lot of people look for functionality,” Lohschellar said. “But at the end of the day the customer will decide.”
The Polestar 4 SUV will be built alongside the Coupe at the Busan factory in South Korea operated, which is jointly by Renault and Polestar’s parent company, Geely.
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