[montauk1989]

I've had my car for over a year and almost 20,000 miles. Its a 2022 with Pilot, Plus and leather. As a car, I have zero complaints. Far from it. It's a fun car to drive, handles well, accellerates like crazy, brakes, good, etc. Fit and finish inside and out is excellent. With the hatch back, it's very practical too. BTW, I've owned two S class MB's, two BMW's, quite a few Porsches, you get the picture. I think I know how a well made car should be and the Polestar is definitely a well made car.

The problem I have is with the tech. If you like tech, you'll be disappointed. The car may be a bit better than a Model 3 Tesla in terms of quality but the tech is years behind. For starters, the app usually has to be started a few times to talk to the car. Once that happens, getting it to turn on the climate control is a crap shoot. Lane keeping? Forget it. If you're the right lane the car will try to take every exit ramp. And no, the GPS does not in any way communicate with the lane keeping. So even though the GPS knows you don't want to take every single exit on the highway, it's keeping it a secret from the lane keeping feature. The audio regularly shuts off because I did something crazy like put the car in reverse. The play button never reactivates the audio. You need to open the XM app to get it going again.

None of these things are terrible but Polestar's updates never provide much. We didn't get a better app last time. We got youtube. I find that very troubling. It's all software related so what's the problem? I think they simply don't have the staff. Or maybe the folks at Volvo/Polestar/Google just don't have enough experience with automotive software to move the process along. I'm sure they'll fix it eventually but as I mentioned above, they are years behind Tesla.

So for now, until Polestar shows some effort at fixing the tech side of things, I wouldn't recommend one.

 

[ThunderEyes]

The audio regularly shuts off because I did something crazy like put the car in reverse. The play button never reactivates the audio. You need to open the XM app to get it going again.

This definitely annoys me as well, although it's more of a mild annoyance. There are quite a few small things that annoy me, but for me, the types of software issues you're referencing don't determine my overall rating of the software.
My rating for the software is probably like 8.5/10 (B)

Positives

• Google Maps - one of the best mapping options of any car on the market
• Decent road trip navigation to chargers
• Driving efficiency tracker app (used to suck, but pretty good now)
• Large screen with easy to press buttons.
• After boot-up, screen is generally snappy
• Has decent selection of music streaming apps (although missing AM radio)
• Smart Cruise Control works extremely well, Lane Keep works decently
• Excellent collision avoidance features, although the rear collision avoidance will occasionally activate when reversing into parking spaces, which is annoying.

Negatives

• Tablet is sometimes very sluggish on startup
• SiriusXM randomly stops and needs to be opened to fix. I also wish SiriusXM offered the rewind function in Polestar.
• Occasionally. LTE drops. Need to restart the software to fix.
• Rarely, GPS breaks.
• Adjusting climate control temperature is much more annoying than having a dial. I wish it supported swiping gestures.
• Occasionally, all car sounds will not work on car startup (including turn signals, although they still work). Need to restart the software to fix.
• Pilot Assist leaves something to be desired - the wheel is unstable and making constant micro-adjustments that are unneeded.

Even though there are a lot of negatives on the list, for me they are are far outweighed by the positives. In particular, because the features that work really well are significantly more important to me than the negatives. Probably worth noting that my reference points are my two previous cars, a 2016 Ford Focus Electric and 2019 Kia Niro EV, both of which had vastly inferior software systems. (Neither even offered mapping software, much less route planning.)

 

[montauk1989]

This definitely annoys me as well, although it's more of a mild annoyance. There are quite a few small things that annoy me, but for me, the types of software issues you're referencing don't determine my overall rating of the software.
My rating for the software is probably like 8.5/10 (B)

Positives

• Google Maps - one of the best mapping options of any car on the market
• Decent road trip navigation to chargers
• Driving efficiency tracker app (used to suck, but pretty good now)
• Large screen with easy to press buttons.
• After boot-up, screen is generally snappy
• Has decent selection of music streaming apps (although missing AM radio)
• Smart Cruise Control works extremely well, Lane Keep works decently
• Excellent collision avoidance features, although the rear collision avoidance will occasionally activate when reversing into parking spaces, which is annoying.

Negatives

• Tablet is sometimes very sluggish on startup
• SiriusXM randomly stops and needs to be opened to fix. I also wish SiriusXM offered the rewind function in Polestar.
• Occasionally. LTE drops. Need to restart the software to fix.
• Rarely, GPS breaks.
• Adjusting climate control temperature is much more annoying than having a dial. I wish it supported swiping gestures.
• Occasionally, all car sounds will not work on car startup (including turn signals, although they still work). Need to restart the software to fix.
• Pilot Assist leaves something to be desired - the wheel is unstable and making constant micro-adjustments that are unneeded.

Even though there are a lot of negatives on the list, for me they are are far outweighed by the positives. In particular, because the features that work really well are significantly more important to me than the negatives. Probably worth noting that my reference points are my two previous cars, a 2016 Ford Focus Electric and 2019 Kia Niro EV, both of which had vastly inferior software systems. (Neither even offered mapping software, much less route planning.)

Just a few more things to consider. The Tesla Model 3 dual motor is about the same price as the P2 dual motor. When I bought my car the Tesla was more expensive and the wait was many months. For the same money you get better range, better tech and a much better charging infrastructure. I imagine the Tesla's will hold their value better than Polestar too.

 

[Dude]

Just a few more things to consider:

- Most people base their buying decision, primarily on two things - cost and looks. Given the recent discounts from Tesla, of up to 20%, yes, a number of Tesla models are now cheaper than the P2. Score that for Tesla (although see depreciation, below).

However, looks are very subjective, so if you like the looks, or don't mind the looks of the Tesla, then I'd hop on the train as soon as possible. Everybody knows that the entire fleet of Tesla models are starting to show their age, and will soon undergo a significant face change. It may be for the better (??) or like what BMW did a few years back to their models, make their cars look uglier with the change to a massive front grill.

- As far as Tesla's depreciating less, well, that may have been true before drastic cuts for new Teslas...Read on. I know my neighbor, who just bought a new 3, is furious about this:

Tesla cars losing value faster than rival models following price cuts

Reductions have caused second-hand vehicles to depreciate more steeply

www.irishtimes.com

"Tesla cars losing value faster than rival models following price cuts: Industry data shows price reductions in new EVs have caused second-hand models to depreciate more steeply"


- As far as range is concerned, I think most EV owners will tell you that point has been severly over-hyped in the media, with recent studies showing that:

"According to data from the U.S. Department of Transportation, 95.1 percent of trips taken in personal vehicles are less than 31 miles; almost 60 percent of all trips are less than 6 miles. In total, the average U.S. driver only covers about 37 miles per day."

Whether an EV gets 250 miles of range, or 300 miles, really won't impact most of us. Now, when range gets close to what many ICE cars have, 400 miles or more range on a single tank, then I will take notice.

But whether a small incremental improvement in range is important, depends on personal use. That said, every (as in 100%) of EV owners that I know, also have an ICE car that they use on holiday and/or for longer trips.

- As far as the use of Tesla superchargers is concerned....anybody that's been following the latest news on fast charger build-outs, knows that the rules have changed, and now, or very soon, non-Teslas will be allowed to use Tesla super chargers. It's no longer an exclusive Tesla club.

 

[montauk1989]

Ford and others have already signed on to be able to use Tesla super chargers. I hope Polestar does too.

I agree about the range. It's never been a problem for me.

 

[boogle]

After the range hit 200+ miles it was always more about the chargers than the range. Having a break every 2hrs is no bad thing, but you don't want to wait for the charging. In the ideal world, you would pull up, plug in, go to the loo, maybe loiter for a teeny bit, then unplug and carry on. That needs both regular chargers and high-speed charging.

 

[Dude]

Ford and others have already signed on to be able to use Tesla super chargers. I hope Polestar does too.

I agree about the range. It's never been a problem for me.

In the US, I believe Polestar is on that list. Easy fit for Polestar, versus other EV brands...since Polestar has their charging port where Tesla has there's, so connecting with the short Tesla cable should not be an issue as it may be with other EV brands, who's charging port is in a different location.

In the UK and Europe, I believe we've been able to use Tesla super chargers for more than a year now.

 

[Dude]

After the range hit 200+ miles it was always more about the chargers than the range. Having a break every 2hrs is no bad thing, but you don't want to wait for the charging. In the ideal world, you would pull up, plug in, go to the loo, maybe loiter for a teeny bit, then unplug and carry on. That needs both regular chargers and high-speed charging.

Agree...charging speed is a bigger issue than getting an additional 50 miles range.

 

[ThunderEyes]

But whether a small incremental improvement in range is important, depends on personal use. That said, every (as in 100%) of EV owners that I know, also have an ICE car that they use on holiday and/or for longer trips.

I may be in the minority, but I do not own a gas car

 

[Tacoenthusiast]

Agree...charging speed is a bigger issue than getting an additional 50 miles range.

Also efficiency is critical, a big battery and fast charging speeds can be a waste if the efficiency is low

This article goes through how far each one could go in 10 hours

We Calculated Which EVs We Tested Can Travel Farthest in 10 Hours

Calculating the number adds real-world context to our range and charging test results on each EV of the Year entry.

www.caranddriver.com

 

[Dude]

I may be in the minority, but I do not own a gas car

I think that is the way of the future, but pretty sure most EV owners still have one (or more) ICE cars.

 

[boogle]

I may be in the minority, but I do not own a gas car

Same. Drove to Croatia with my Tesla. Ofc. Tesla supercharger network made that trivial, would be slightly harder using non-Tesla chargers exclusively since I'd have to plan to make sure I hit only 150KW+ chargers. The next car won't be Tesla, and will still be the only car I own - and also an EV.

 

[Dude]

Also efficiency is critical, a big battery and fast charging speeds can be a waste if the efficiency is low

This article goes through how far each one could go in 10 hours

We Calculated Which EVs We Tested Can Travel Farthest in 10 Hours

Calculating the number adds real-world context to our range and charging test results on each EV of the Year entry.

www.caranddriver.com

If I understand what C&D tested, it's not relevant to the way I drive...EV or ICE...on longer trips. Thx for the article. Appreciate.

Granted, like many EV owners, I usually don't take my EV on longer trips, in part, because the charging infrastructure is not ubiquitous enough, yet, like it is with petrol stations. Eventually, that will change.

Nevertheless, when I do drive my P2 far beyond my local community, I usually have a NEED to stop for coffee, go to the loo, walk the dog, or just stretch my legs...before I need to charge. So, when I do stop, charging is just something I do while I'm doing other things. I'm rarely in any time crunch, so, not having to charge as often, or charging quicker so I can get back on the road and go further, is just not an issue for me. Maybe it is for others?

 

[Dude]

This data may be different for other countries, but at least in the US,

"Fact 1: 90% of U.S. households with an EV also have some other vehicle.

As the figure below illustrates, only 10% of U.S. households with an EV are single-vehicle households. In contrast, 37% of all U.S. households are single-vehicle households. Thus, households with an EV are almost four times less likely to be a single-vehicle household."

Three Facts About EVs and Multi-Vehicle Households

Within-household substitution between vehicles could undermine the environmental benefits of EVs. I got interested in how multi-vehicle households use EVs, because — from a carbon emissions p…

energyathaas.wordpress.com

Further, I suspect that in affluent households, regardless of country, owners have more than one car. Say one for the husband and one for the wife, etc? Then, it would make sense to me, that as people transition from an ICE to EV, they first replace one of their ICE cars (maybe the one with the most mileage) with an EV to see how well they like it? If they have a positive experience and no range anxiety, eventually, the remaining ICE car(s) get replaced with EV's. Natural progression.

 

[caJon]

…as people transition from an ICE to EV, they first replace one of their ICE cars (maybe the one with the most mileage) with an EV to see how well they like it? If they have a positive experience and no range anxiety, eventually, the remaining ICE car(s) get replaced with EV's.

Exactly our experience. Leased a P2 in September 2022. Love it more the longer we have it. Will replace our other car, an ICE, with an EX30 as soon it’s delivered in 2024.

 

[Dude]

My gf and I have two cars. I mainly drive the P2, while my gf drives a BMW X3. When we go on longer trips, we take the X3, but not always. Right now, we have our eye on replacing the X3 with the P3..or possibly the P4 (prefer the looks of the P4 over the P3, but more space may win out?). Having a home charger makes the transition from ICE to EV that much easier.

 

[vc-10]

Single car household here. But we do live in London, where two cars isn't really necessary. Hell, one car isn't really necessary in London! If we didn't have the dogs, we probably wouldn't have a car at all. Also, my husband hasn't got a UK licence yet (he's American). We're also lucky in that our apartment complex carpark has shared chargers.

My parents though live in a very rural part of the UK. They have 4 cars - 2 are toys, 2 are day-to-day. They have a Skoda Enyaq (their main car), a VW Touran (the 'dog car', also used for my mother's art projects, and then also a 1978 Land Rover Series III and a BMW Z1 as toys (the latter will be mine eventually )

The Enyaq is very much their main car. They go all over the country in it. It's the basic '60' model - officially 250 miles or so, but a realistic 170-190. They just plan their trips. The UK is also not a particularly huge country, which helps. The Touran is used for hauling large bits of rock, art supplies, and mum's 4 dogs, or when they both need to go somewhere different at the same time. If they can do the trip in the Enyaq, they do.

And they don't even have a proper wallbox! All their home charging is done with a 3-pin 240v 'granny charger'. Planning is key.

An EV doesn't meet everyone's needs- that's for certain. But it certainly meets our needs and my parents' needs.

 

[16208]

I've had my car for over a year and almost 20,000 miles. Its a 2022 with Pilot, Plus and leather. As a car, I have zero complaints. Far from it. It's a fun car to drive, handles well, accellerates like crazy, brakes, good, etc. Fit and finish inside and out is excellent. With the hatch back, it's very practical too. BTW, I've owned two S class MB's, two BMW's, quite a few Porsches, you get the picture. I think I know how a well made car should be and the Polestar is definitely a well made car.

The problem I have is with the tech. If you like tech, you'll be disappointed. The car may be a bit better than a Model 3 Tesla in terms of quality but the tech is years behind. For starters, the app usually has to be started a few times to talk to the car. Once that happens, getting it to turn on the climate control is a crap shoot. Lane keeping? Forget it. If you're the right lane the car will try to take every exit ramp. And no, the GPS does not in any way communicate with the lane keeping. So even though the GPS knows you don't want to take every single exit on the highway, it's keeping it a secret from the lane keeping feature. The audio regularly shuts off because I did something crazy like put the car in reverse. The play button never reactivates the audio. You need to open the XM app to get it going again.

None of these things are terrible but Polestar's updates never provide much. We didn't get a better app last time. We got youtube. I find that very troubling. It's all software related so what's the problem? I think they simply don't have the staff. Or maybe the folks at Volvo/Polestar/Google just don't have enough experience with automotive software to move the process along. I'm sure they'll fix it eventually but as I mentioned above, they are years behind Tesla.

So for now, until Polestar shows some effort at fixing the tech side of things, I wouldn't recommend one.

Very interesting comments. I have had little if any, of the problems you mentioned. There are some times when the climate start doesn't function, but, that is more a failure of my local wifi/Internet provider, than the vehicle. I did upgrade my mobile device when I received the car, so I use the higher level Android operating system. I am a little disappointed with the quality of the sound/ speakers, which is far better in my wife's Audi, Q5, but that isn't really a showstopper, since i mostly listen to news in the vehicle. I have had the problem with XM only rarely,, I blame that on my wife turning it off though. Once you hit the forward on the display, usually the radio kicks back in. Years behind Tesla, maybe to you, but, I have what I need, so I really don't care.

 

[vc-10]

Can't say I've had many issues with it not connecting for the app. Even in our building carpark where signal is pretty awful.

Never had it try and take an exit ramp either - but maybe that's to do with the way they're marked in the UK Vs elsewhere?

 

[boogle]

Never had it try and take an exit ramp either - but maybe that's to do with the way they're marked in the UK Vs elsewhere?

In places like Colorado, there's no requirement for lane 1 and the exit or entrance slip to be separated by dotted lines. So depending on the lane-keep implementation, it may see it as a single super-wide lane instead of two lanes.