[GDank]

Ok sit back people, grab a beer or some wine, as this will be a long one!

So we arrived 20mins late due to an accident on the local motor way, so by the time we arrived the staff were already 1/3rd the way through the walk round and demonstration. We all were at a distance due to C-19 but they did cover some points I'd not seen clarified before.

Firstly the "Driver" is determined by the phone on the person who opens the Drivers Door. So if lets say you, your wife and son all have a google account and profile set up on the car, whoever's phone is in the pocket of the person that opens the Drivers Door is configured as the Driver - so seat positions, screen configuration, etc.. will be set up for them.

So now I want to have 3 phones in my one pocket and see what the car does!

Next we moved around back and got a look at the boot. It's seems ok for the class of the car, unfortunately we couldn't get close enough to have a good rummage around nor time, because it was running late and there was one guy going on about tow bars all the time, we got moved over to the test cars.

They had 8-10 cars, in various configurations. We had a look around the cars very quickly and based on the inside hanger lighting me and my wife concluded the following:-

Void - Looks the best.
Snow - Thankfully looks good!
Thunder - My wife turned around to be and said "damm we should have got that colour!" - I thought it was ok and what I expected.
Moon - I liked a lot but my wife wasn't so sure.
Midnight - Neither of us was impressed.

I don't recall seeing a Magnesium - but wait ... later we judged the cars outside in daylight!

We was given a Non-Performance Snow/Slate (as per my order) but with the 20" optional wheels (which I have not ordered) - I took special notice here as at least one person here has been asking about if anyone has tested this combo.

So we then get into the cars, I set my seat up and the mirrors why the guy try's to explain stuff to me ... but I've watched almost every vid on YouTube, plus read almost everything I can, so while trying not to be rude I was just getting on with playing with everything - at least my wife was interested in what he was saying.

First impressions from the Driver Seat and all is good. Very good even! Yeah some cheap plastics low down, but then most mid-budget cars do this. The touch screen is fast and responsive ... maybe a touch too sensitive but I'm sure you would get used this after a little while.

I also found out that the Nappa Leather Seats are the only option where you can get Ventilated Front Seats. Something I missed when configuring my car ... not sure I could push the extra £4k but would have made the choice a lot harder ... I thought that none of them had that option. However on the drive it was 28deg outside but light grey clouds so no direct sun, the climate inside set to 20deg, I didn't feel hot under my bum/back as I do in other leather cars ... so not a problem! Which was a huge relief as I drove down in my Stinger which has Nappa Leather Seats and I have to them on level 2 cooling all the way there even with the climate at 20.5deg, so this was a worry for me ... lucky the fake leather isn't overly hot!

The Quality of the interior from the front as I mentioned is good. The design choice to use more fabric than soft fake leather/plastic things ... or more fake metal plastic strips was a very nice change. The Slate Weave material was odd to the touch as my brain was going "well that's not what leather feels like, but damm it looks like it". It's not as soft as leather but then it's not like plastic, fabric, or any other material I can recall touching anything similar I can use as an example. The important thing is that it feels nice to touch ... even if unusual.

The arm rest and 2nd cup holder ... yeah I checked it out ... either me or my wife will need to fight over that, as there is no way I'm giving up the arm rest. I wished too they hadn't used that Piano Black around the gear nob. Man that's going to get scratched .. I wish personally they had got ride of the gear select (use a stick shift or buttons) and used that for a 2nd Cup Holder or storage or something! I'm hoping soon after launch someone sells a wrap to over that Piano Black area. Same as the Tesla's! Why do car companies do it?

Phone Charging Area : I plonked my One Plus 8+ phone in there over the wireless charging recess. Either, you'll need an aftermarket solution of a rubber mat or something .. or a rubber case on your phone maybe? Because there is NO WAY that phone is staying in there. I don't think we had left the airbase and my phone was already side-wards. Only good point is that it is very slopped away from you and deep, so it won't be coming out of there ... it just won't ever stay in the wireless charging port without some help.
I can honestly say this is the biggest negative about this car ... it's like no one cared to design something practical and it was an afterthought, less than an after though ... where the rest of the car everything feels like it was designed that way - even if you don't like that design, at least you can see what they were aiming for.

OK the DRIVE! We finally got there! So you put your foot on the break, select D, and just go ... no start / stop button. (The wife was impressed - lucky small things please her!)

Lets do the big one first ... the ride quality. I was expecting a Firm to Hard ride - I even said to the wife "hay we are on 20" wheels not the 19"'s we have ordered, so if a little too firm we should still be ok" as I know my wife; so hopefully I was preempting a niggle of hers. Well ... Nope ... nothing, not even a little moan from her!
The ride was really good! Yes it's firm, but even around town nothing beyond some sports cars out there.

Let me try and explain another way, this is a list of cars I've owned or driven for more than a few hours over the past 5 years, in order of smoothness while driving normally on roads at normal speeds.

Mercedes S Class - Like driving on clouds.
Lexus IS300
Kia Sorrento / VW Tiguan
Kia Stinger GTs
Audi S4
Jaguar F-Pace (with Adaptive Sports Suspension) / I-Pace (standard suspension - not air)
Audi RS 5
Jaguar F-Type - Like having rocks as springs!

Now I was expecting the P*2 to be more like the RS5 or maybe F-Pace. It's a lot closer imho to an Audi S4. However the faster you go the better it gets ... I have no idea why! It's bit like the F-Type in that regard ... it's like it wants you to go faster.

My Stinger is a great GT, smooth-ish on the motorways and not as annoying as my F-Pace (or my mates RS) around A/B roads. The Stinger doesn't handle around corners as well as the Audi's ... but then they don't drive as well day to day IMHO.

However on the motorway the P*2 felt better than my Stinger!! BETTER! and I had just arrived via the same roads! What voodoo was this?

Around town and county lanes the P*2 does feel more like an Audi S4 ... but some speed can fix that! We was doing 60mph down a country lane and my wife didn't see a pot hole coming up ... I braced being in the back now ... and ... .... well a little judder. I was expecting a full on BANG! But nope. I then noticed that the car feels less settled at low speeds, but once above 40/50mph it's hunkers down nicely and gives a decent ride.

So during my test drive I hit the throttle a lot ... yeah it's neck snapping fast ... you do feel the weight around bends but nothing over the top.

The one peddle driving took me a few junctions to get used, but withing 5min's I'd almost mastered it! I'll defiantly be leaving it in Standard regeneration for most drives. I did test LOW ... and that feels more like a normal cars engine breaking ... maybe a fraction more aggressive but minor differences. I'd probably switch to LOW on the motorways or even OFF, and let it coast a bit ... but 99% of the time I'd leave it in standard and get that regen.

There is one negative that I can sort out with more time setting up my seat / wheel position. I drive with my left leg very limp and towards the centre console. On every car I've owned it's normally my calf mussel that rests against the transmission tunnel and It's normally very comfortable. However in the P*2 my knee rests against the little hole they added for storage.

I lowered the seat and it was better but still not perfect, and if went higher it would rub on the underside of that large plastic bar to the right of the gear nob. If I honestly thought with a bit of time getting my seat in the right place wouldn't resolve this I would be cancelling my order. It would be a big deal for me if I didn't think I could resolve this - It was damm close on the drive, but we had little time and trying to do it on the move wasn't safe as I also needed to adjust the steering wheel as well.

Drive Conclusion: Impressed.

We stopped in a parking bay to have a quick rest and swap drivers if needed.
So I jumped out the drivers seat and joined my son in the back - even though I won't spend any time back there, it's always good to see the car from another perspective. My wife jumped in the front seat.

At this time we saw all the cars in daylight ......

Void - Still the best - but I still can't own one ... they never look clean.
Snow - Thankfully STILL looks good!
Thunder - My wife turned around to be and said " I take it back, it looks rubbish now" - I still thought it was nice and what I expected.
Moon - Ok might become my new 2nd Favourite ... however my wife now didn't like it still!
Midnight - Wife's vote! - her best looking car (now)!! My Vote ... it's a close 2nd behind Void ... joint with Moon. Does look good on the road.

So there you go ... 3 of these colours change dramatically depending on the light type and conditions (see some of this video's linked later in the thread!)
These are of course just mine and my wife's views, but both of us changed our opinion on at least 2 of the cars!

Back Seat. Ok all the positive stuff above has to be balanced a little right? Well yeah ... but before that my son's view on sitting in the back the whole trip.

• Loves the Glass Roof
• Loves the fact he can sit in the seats without his booster. He is 138cm so technically doesn't need one, but in our Stinger his hip to knee length is about 2" short to sit comfortably.
• Loves the rear charging points and seat heaters (even though he has both of these currently!)
• Loves the large Screen - wants to know when Netflix's can be added so we can watch while charging / waiting.
• Loves the car ... nagged me all the way home why we have to wait until November for it - I dared not say "because your mother is stubborn and wanted a tow bar!"

Ok my impressions ... you start to feel where the cost cutting was carried out. For a car at £50k and being electric there was going to be some cost cutting to get at that price. Batteries and motor's don't really change atm. Now I will say that Polestar is better at hiding it's cost cutting that other EV's (like Tesla) but in the back it's more noticeable.

The Headliner which is normally some soft cloth or in more expensive models suede (or fake suede). The P*2 is basically a really hard carpet. From the front seats or just generally looking about, it looks like a fabric cloth, but getting in / out of the rear you notice it's hollow, hard, and rough. Think of a landlord fitting carpet to some stairs in a block of flats - yeah it's like that.

In addition the plastic around the air vents in the back is the cheapest I've felt in any car for a long time, and while moving you'll probably put your fingers on the side to steady yourself so your thumb and finger can get the nob.

The rear arm rest is ok, but the cupholders while the same plastic as most cars, the little bits that stick out to hold your drinks in place are little tiny plastic flaps. I'm not saying they will break off ... but if they are the first to go with kids in the back don't be shocked.

The rear light are normally decent bright bulbs, so rear passengers can read at night while you drive. Now I couldn't test how bright they are or where they project the light ... and while the light itself feels high quality, I doubt very much it's going to do much due to location and angle. (I'm an electrical design engineer so I know a little about lights )

More Negatives? Well no. That's it.

I'm 5'9" ... I fitted perfectly in the rear with knee and head room. My feet did fit under the seat in front, but not more than up to my ankle ... so you won't be stretching out back there. To be honest it about as good as to be expected for a car of this size. After the drive I didn't feel any discomfort but I suspect 2 hours back there and my old knees might be complaining a little. But then the rear is for kids and friends ... neither I care about that much

Seriously if you plan to carry 4 adults or 2+2 Teenagers then give it a test drive. If you are going from a Model X to a P*2 then there might be some complaints ... but if you are going from an I-Pace to a P*2 ... then I'd say it's on par with it, if a little better - always felt my feet were pushed together too much in the Jag.

One plus is the rear seats seem to sit higher up than the front one's ... so you actually get a decent view on the road ahead and not just a large headrest the whole trip - Also the Hey Google works from the rear! (Much to the annoyance of my wife ).

On the infotainment screen - it's what every reviewer has said. It's really good ... like really good. Yeah not as technical as Tesla, but then 100 times more user friendly.

Finally we tried a series of commands with Hey Google:-

HG play Michael Jackson - worked
HG play Ghostbusters - didn't work.
HG play Ghostbusters on Spotify - worked.
HG navigate to "XXXXXX" (postcode) - worked.
HG, delete navigation history - didn't work - this is because I used our house postcode in the above example and the wife wasn't happy!

HG, navigate to Blackpool - worked.
It then told us we would wouldn't make it on the current charge and gave us as large "+ ADD CHARGING STATION TO ROUTE" button to press, which we did. It then suggest 4 along the route. Nice ... I would have played more with it, but we had returned.

Overall I'm really impressed at it as an EV. It's shame that at the moment there is an EV extra cost as this car costs £10k more than my Kia Stinger GTS. Has the same 0-60, less top speed, less boot space, less rear space, and without question (and more importantly?) a lower quality interior. Yes the P*2 is very modem and nice to look at but the fabric's no mater how nice they are, don't match the Nappa Leather we have now, the Kia's plastic's feel the same, however the fake soft leather plastic on the Kia is looking old compared to the fresh fabrics in the P*2. So Overall 2-1 to Kia!

However, we both agreed on the way home, the extra £7k (due to government credit) cost over a new Kia, was a small price to pay for lower service costs, the lower fuel costs, and the fact it was better for the environment; and it wasn't like the the P*2 wasn't great .. it was! ... it just the Stinger has been such a good car to us and we will miss it dearly.


TLDR : It is a great EV with ton's of positives and only a few niggles.

p.s. Meet SA69-ev there, was great to meet you!

p.p.s. : if you read it all well done!

 

[polerad]

Thanks for the in depth review!

few follow up questions:

• Did you have a chance to check out the Nappa leather interior on another car? If so how does it compare to your stinger?
• Any further details on the tow bar?
• Definitely understand some compromises had to be made. Was the net impression that it worked and you could kind of get over it or were the cheaper materials distracting? Either way, sounds worlds better than a Model 3 - is that right?
• Sounds like your wife and son had no complaints re ride quality— is that right? Even at low speeds? Were you able to test on bumpy roads at low speeds?

 

[GDank]

No sorry.

Nope.

Overall better than a model 3 for interior quality imho. Also build quality you can see throughout was high. No panel gaps, everything aligned, spotless paint outside. Inside everything felt solid and screwed down, I even tired to pull away some head lining which I did on a M3 with little effort... Wouldn't budge without serious force, which
I wasn't willing to do.

No complaints on ride quality.... Although my 2nd to last car was the F-Pace which I loved regardless of its unsettled ride, but that was stolen so I got the Stinger as a temp replacement.... And feel in love with it. The FP was "almost" unbearable at any speed except 100+ mph. The Stinger is softer around town but not by that much, but the P*2 beat it on the motorway.

We either have short journeys locally or long ones on the motorway. So the slightly higher jiggle on those local ones won't really matter that much for us.

Both son and Wife didn't mention the ride. I'm hyper critical so notice subtle differences.

Hope that helps.

No complaints even on the 20" wheels (non-performance)

 

[ProfessorCook]

Ok sit back people, grab a beer or some wine, as this will be a long one!

So we arrived 20mins late due to an accident on the local motor way, so by the time we arrived the staff were already 1/3rd the way through the walk round and demonstration. We all were at a distance due to C-19 but they did cover some points I'd not seen clarified before.

Firstly the "Driver" is determined by the phone on the person who opens the Drivers Door. So if lets say you, your wife and son all have a google account and profile set up on the car, whoever's phone is in the pocket of the person that opens the Drivers Door is configured as the Driver - so seat positions, screen configuration, etc.. will be set up for them.

So now I want to have 3 phones in my one pocket and see what the car does!

Next we moved around back and got a look at the boot. It's seems ok for the class of the car, unfortunately we couldn't get close enough to have a good rummage around nor time, because it was running late and there was one guy going on about tow bars all the time, we got moved over to the test cars.

They had 8-10 cars, in various configurations. We had a look around the cars very quickly and based on the inside hanger lighting me and my wife concluded the following:-

Void - Looks the best.
Snow - Thankfully looks good!
Thunder - My wife turned around to be and said "damm we should have got that colour!" - I thought it was ok and what I expected.
Moon - I liked a lot but my wife wasn't so sure.
Midnight - Neither of us was impressed.

I don't recall seeing a Magnesium - but wait ... later we judged the cars outside in daylight!

We was given a Non-Performance Snow/Slate (as per my order) but with the 20" optional wheels (which I have not ordered) - I took special notice here as at least one person here has been asking about if anyone has tested this combo.

So we then get into the cars, I set my seat up and the mirrors why the guy try's to explain stuff to me ... but I've watched almost every vid on YouTube, plus read almost everything I can, so while trying not to be rude I was just getting on with playing with everything - at least my wife was interested in what he was saying.

First impressions from the Driver Seat and all is good. Very good even! Yeah some cheap plastics low down, but then most mid-budget cars do this. The touch screen is fast and responsive ... maybe a touch too sensitive but I'm sure you would get used this after a little while.

I also found out that the Nappa Leather Seats are the only option where you can get Ventilated Front Seats. Something I missed when configuring my car ... not sure I could push the extra £4k but would have made the choice a lot harder ... I thought that none of them had that option. However on the drive it was 28deg outside but light grey clouds so no direct sun, the climate inside set to 20deg, I didn't feel hot under my bum/back as I do in other leather cars ... so not a problem! Which was a huge relief as I drove down in my Stinger which has Nappa Leather Seats and I have to them on level 2 cooling all the way there even with the climate at 20.5deg, so this was a worry for me ... lucky the fake leather isn't overly hot!

The Quality of the interior from the front as I mentioned is good. The design choice to use more fabric than soft fake leather/plastic things ... or more fake metal plastic strips was a very nice change. The Slate Weave material was odd to the touch as my brain was going "well that's not what leather feels like, but damm it looks like it". It's not as soft as leather but then it's not like plastic, fabric, or any other material I can recall being very similar and touching. The important thing is that it feels nice to touch ... even if unusual.

The arm rest and 2nd cup holder ... yeah I checked it out ... either me or my wife will need to fight over that, as there is no way I'm giving up the arm rest. I wished too they hadn't used that Piano Black around the gear nob. Man that's going to get scratched .. I wish personally they had got ride of the gear select (use a stick or buttons) and used that for a 2nd Cup Holder or storage or something! I'm hoping soon after launch someone sells a wrap to over that Piano Black area. Same as the Tesla's! Why do car companies do it?

Phone Charging Area : I plonked my One Plus 8+ phone in there over the wireless charging recesses. Either again you'll need an aftermarket solution of a rubber mat or something .. or a rubber case on your phone, because there is NO WAY that phone is staying in there. I don't think we had left the airbase and my phone was already sidewards. Only good point is that it is very slopped away from you and deep, so it won't be coming out of there ... it just won't ever stay in the wireless charging port without some help.
I can honestly say this is the biggest negative about this car ... it's like no one cared to design something practical and it was an after thought, less than an after though ... where the rest of the car everything feels like it was designed that way - even if you don't like that design - at least you can see what they were aiming for.

OK the DRIVE! We finally got there! So you put your foot on the break, select D, and just go ... no start / stop button.

Lets do the big one first ... the ride quality. I was expecting a Firm to Hard ride - I even said to the wife "hay we are on 20" wheels not the 19"'s we have ordered so if a little too firm we should still be ok" as I know my wife, so hopefully I was preempting a niggle of hers. Well ... Nope ... nothing, not even a little moan from her!
The ride was really good! Yes it's firm, but even around town nothing beyond some sports cars out there.

Let me try and explain another way, this is a list of cars I've owned or driven for more than a few hours over the past 5 years, in order of smoothness while driving normally on roads at normal speeds.

Mercedes S Class - Like driving on clouds.
Lexus IS300
Kia Sorrento / VW Tiguan
Kia Stinger GTs
Audi S4
Jaguar F-Pace (with Adaptive Sports Suspension) / I-Pace (standard suspension - not air)
Audi RS 5
Jaguar F-Type - Like having rocks as springs!

Now I was expecting the P*2 to be more like the RS5 or maybe F-Pace. It's a lot closer imho to an Audi S4. However the faster you go it gets better ... I have no idea why!
My Stinger is a great GT, smooth-ish on the motorways and not as annoying as my F-Pace (or my mates RS) around A/B roads. The Stinger doesn't handle around corners as well as the Audi's ... but then they don't drive as well day to day IMHO.
However on the motorway the P*2 felt better than my Stinger!! BETTER! and I had just arrived via the same roads!
Around town and county lanes the P*2 does feel more like an Audi S4 ... but some speed can fix that! We was doing 60mph down a country lane and my wife didn't see a pot hole coming up ... I braced being in the back now ... and ... .... well a little judder. I was expecting a full on BANG! but nope. I then noticed that the car feels less settled at low speeds, but once above 40/50mph it's hunkers down nicely and gives a decent ride.

So during my test drive I hit the throttle a lot ... yeah it's neck snapping fast ... you do feel the weight around bends but nothing over the top.

The one peddle driving took me a few junctions to get used, but withing 5min's I'd almost mastered it! I'll deficient be leaving it in Standard regeneration for most drives. I did test LOW ... and that feels more like a normal cars engine breaking .. maybe a fraction more aggressive but minor differences. I'd probably switch to this on the motorways or zero and let it coast a bit.

There is one negative that I can sort out with more time setting up my seat / wheel position. I drive with my left leg very limp and towards the centre console. On every car I've owned it's normally my calf mussel that rests against the transmission tunnel and I', very comfortable. However in the P*2 my knee rests against the little hole they added for storage.
View attachment 535

I lowered the seat and it was better but still not perfect, and if went higher it would rub on the underside of that large plastic bar to the right of the gear nob. If I honestly thought with a bit of time getting my seat in the right place wouldn't resolve this I would be cancelling my order. It would be a big deal for me if I didn't think I could resolve this - I was damm close on the drive, but we had little time and trying to do it on the move wasn't safe as I also needed to adjust the steering wheel.

Drive Conclusion - Impressed.

We stopped in a parking bay to have a quick rest and swap drivers if needed.
So I jumped out the drivers seat and joined my son in the back - even though I won't spend any time back there it's always good to see the car from another perspective. My wife jumped in the front seat.

At this time we saw all the cars in daylight ......

Void - Still the best - but I still can't own one ... they never look clean.
Snow - Thankfully STILL looks good!
Thunder - My wife turned around to be and said " I take it back, it looks rubbish now" - I still thought it was ok and what I expected.
Moon - Ok might become my new 2nd Favourite ... however my wife now didn't like it either.
Midnight - Wife vote - best looking car (now)!! My Vote ... it's a close 2nd behind Void ... joint with Moon. Does look good on the road.

So there you go ... 3 of these colours change dramatically depending on the light type and conditions. These are of course just me and my wife's views, but both of us changed our view on at least 2 of the cars!

Back Seat. Ok all the positive stuff above has to be balanced a little right? Well yeah ... but before that my son's view on sitting in the back the whole trip.

• Loves the Glass Roof
• Loves the fact he can sit in the seats without his booster. He is 138cm so technically doesn't need one, but in our Stinger his hip to knee length is about 2" short to sit comfortably.
• Loves the rear charging points and seat heaters (even though he has both of these currently!)
• Loves the large Screen - wants to know when Netflix's can be added so we can watch while charging / waiting.
• Loves the car ... nagged me all the way home why we have to wait until November for it - I dared not say "because your mother is stubborn and wanted a tow bar!"

Ok my impressions ... you start to feel where the cost cutting was carried out. For a car at £50k and being electric there was going to be some cost cutting to get at that price. Batteries and motor's don't really change atm. Now I will say that Polestar is better at hiding it's cost cutting that other EV's (like Tesla) but in the back it's more noticeable.

The Headliner which is normally some soft cloth or in expensive models suede. The P*2 is basically a really hard carpet. From the front seats or just generally looking about it looks like a fabric cloth, but getting in / out of the rear you notice it's hollow, hard, and rough. Think of a landlord fitting carpet to some stairs in a block of flats - yeah it's like that.

In addition the plastic around the air vents in the back is the cheapest I've felt in any car for a long time, and while moving you'll probably put your fingers on the side to steady yourself so your thumb and finger can get the nob.

The rear arm rest is ok, but the cupholders while the same plastic as most cars the little bits that stick out to hold your drinks in place are little tiny plastic flaps. I'm not saying they will break off ... but if they are the first to go with kids in the back don't be shocked.

The rear light are normally decent bulbs so rear passengers can read at night while you drive. Now I couldn't test how bright they are or where they project the light ... and while the light itself feels high quality I doubt very much it's going to do much due to location and angle. (I'm an electrical engineer so I know a little about lights )

More Negatives? Well no. That's it.

I'm 5'9" ... I fitted perfectly in the rear with knee and head room. My feet did fit under the seat in front, but not more than my ankle ... so you won't be stretching out back there. To be honest it about as good as to be expected for a car of this size. After the drive I didn't feel any discomfort but I suspect 2 hours back there and my old knees might be complaining a little. But then the rear is for kids and friends ... neither I care about that much
Seriously if you plan to carry 4 adults or 2+2 Teenagers then give it a test drive. If you are going from a Model X to a P*2 then there might be some complaints ... but if you are going from an I-Pace to a P*2 ... then I'd say it's on par with it, if a little better - always felt my feet were pushed together too much in the Jag.

One plus is the rear seats seem to sit higher up than the front one's ... so you actually get a decent view on the road ahead and not just a large headrest the hole trip - Also the Hey Google works from the rear! (Much to the annoyance of my wife ).

On the infotainment screen - it's what every reviewer has said. It's really good ... like really good. Yeah not as technical as Tesla, but then 100 times more user friendly.

Finally we tried a series of commands with Hey Google:-

HG play Michael Jackson - worked
HG play Ghostbusters - didn't work.
HG play Ghostbusters on Spotify - worked.
HG navigate to "XXXXXX" (postcode) - worked.
HG, delete navigation history - didn't work - this is because I used our house postcode in the above example and the wife wasn't happy.

HG, navigate to Blackpool - worked.
It then told us we would wouldn't make it on the current charge and gave us as large "+ ADD CHARGING STATION TO ROUTE" button to press, which we did. It then suggest 4 along the route. Nice ... I would have played more with it, but we had returned.

Overall I'm really impressed at it as an EV. It's shame that at the moment there is an EV extra cost as this car costs £10k more than my Kia Stinger GTS. Has the same 0-60, less top speed, less boot space, less rear space, and without question (and more importantly?) a lower quality interior. Yes the P*2 is very modem and nice to look at but the fabric's no mater how nice they are, don't match the Nappa Leather we have now, the plastic's don't feel as bad, however the fake soft leather plastic on the Kia is looking old compared to the fresh fabrics in the P*2 - So 2-1 to Kia!

However, we both agreed on the way home, the extra £7k (due to government credit), the lower service costs, the lower fuel costs, and the fact it was better for the environment, was a small price to pay; and it wasn't like the the P*2 wasn't great .. it was! ... it just the Stinger has been such a good car to us and we will miss it.


TLDR : It is a great EV with ton's of positives and only a few niggles.

p.s. Meet SA69-ev there, was great to meet you!

p.p.s. : if you read it all well done!

Excellent, useful, and very much appreciated review. 'Read every word. You might consider starting a new career!

 

[zenken]

The one peddle driving took me a few junctions to get used, but withing 5min's I'd almost mastered it! I'll deficient be leaving it in Standard regeneration for most drives. I did test LOW ... and that feels more like a normal cars engine breaking .. maybe a fraction more aggressive but minor differences. I'd probably switch to this on the motorways or zero and let it coast a bit.

First, congrats! Thanks for the review and glad you're excited about your first EV.

However, I'm still curious how the heck any driver would switch the regen mode while driving. You'd have to reach over to the touchscreen at every moment coming to traffic and/or going in and out of every turn around town?

In my EV, simply flicking the center shifter knob toggles between high/strong regen and low/standard regen. The low/standard regen is equivalent to most non EV automatic tranny and probably similar to the P*2's low setting. This toggling, which you do naturally with your shifting hand, makes EV driving pure joy, yet it maximizes efficiency and absolutely minimizes friction brakes.

 

[GDank]

However, I'm still curious how the heck any driver would switch the regen mode while driving. You'd have to reach over to the touchscreen at every moment coming to traffic and/or going in and out of every turn around town?

What I meant was ... leave it in Standard regen for 90% of the time. When I do a long motorway journey once on the motorway I'd switch to Low or Off because I'm probably going to use a combination of ACC and the nut behind the wheel.

 

[zenken]

Apparently still a reach over to the touchscreen. And it's only software switching.

I was just curious if there's an equivalent or alternative to the physical drive mode selector [link] such as that found in other EVs. Or if the EV driving behavior in the P*2 makes it moot. No offense to you, but I'm hoping somebody with EV experience would evaluate it in a test drive.

 

[I_Kent_Spelgud]

Hi all, I just joined after skulking for a couple weeks, specifically to thank GDank and wife for this great review. Thanks! That's what forums are for!

 

[I_Kent_Spelgud]

(ooh, my icon is Racing Point pink! nice! go Hulk!)

 

[GDank]

Apparently still a reach over to the touchscreen. And it's only software switching.

I was just curious if there's an equivalent or alternative to the physical drive mode selector [link] such as that found in other EVs. Or if the EV driving behavior in the P*2 makes it moot. No offense to you, but I'm hoping somebody with EV experience would evaluate it in a test drive.

No offence taken. FYI I've driven a Model 3 for a weekend, and a Kia e-Niro on a test drive. So not a long term driver but some experience.

There is no way to switch physically ...

Two notes:

1. The "reach" doesn't really exist. The P*2's touch screen is within my arm/hand range without having to learn forward a little - something I found I had to do on both the EV's I've driven before (and my Jag/Stinger). If you mean "reach" as is moving your hand & arm then yeah technically it's a reach. My distinction is more do I have to move the rest of my body significantly?

2. It's two easy large button to be pressed. One to press the car symbol and a second to press mode you want. Again I stress these buttons are huge .... The car symbol is bigger than your thumb, and the settings are twice as big - it's very easy to do even when driving.

Note: This is old info, it's now OFF, LOW, STANDARD.

The default "car" setting goes to this screen first so it's two presses to change.

So the e-Niro was a paddle on the wheel - this is obviously very easy and better if you are switching a lot . However I found I only switched once / twice per drive n the Model 3 - the e-Niro I was on a test drive so I switched a lot between the 0-4 settings to test them all. But I'd say I'd leave at 3 for most drives only turning down on a long motorway drives.

I found "Standard" was equivalent to any other EV highest setting. As soon as you lift of the accelerator peddle it starts to break aggressively.
"Low" was the same an an ICE card engine breaking or around the e-Niro's 2nd setting or slight more agressive than the Model 3's Low setting.
Off ... well was off

If you are one of those people who like to Min/Max their range and switch regen modes in their EV a lot ... then the P*2 might not be for you. However even with a 30min drive I could easily determine for me, that "Standard" would be on all the time unless I was on the motorway as costing with it "off" is probably better for range than just one peddle driving would be.

While it might not answer your questions exactly I hope some of that helps.

-----

Side note: Something I forgot ... the car obviously had been doing a mix of A, B, and motorway roads on test drives over Thur-Saturday ... and the range at 80% was 220miles.

Read into that what you want.

 

[JFC]

Ok sit back people, grab a beer or some wine, as this will be a long one!

So we arrived 20mins late due to an accident on the local motor way, so by the time we arrived the staff were already 1/3rd the way through the walk round and demonstration. We all were at a distance due to C-19 but they did cover some points I'd not seen clarified before.

Firstly the "Driver" is determined by the phone on the person who opens the Drivers Door. So if lets say you, your wife and son all have a google account and profile set up on the car, whoever's phone is in the pocket of the person that opens the Drivers Door is configured as the Driver - so seat positions, screen configuration, etc.. will be set up for them.

So now I want to have 3 phones in my one pocket and see what the car does!

Next we moved around back and got a look at the boot. It's seems ok for the class of the car, unfortunately we couldn't get close enough to have a good rummage around nor time, because it was running late and there was one guy going on about tow bars all the time, we got moved over to the test cars.

They had 8-10 cars, in various configurations. We had a look around the cars very quickly and based on the inside hanger lighting me and my wife concluded the following:-

Void - Looks the best.
Snow - Thankfully looks good!
Thunder - My wife turned around to be and said "damm we should have got that colour!" - I thought it was ok and what I expected.
Moon - I liked a lot but my wife wasn't so sure.
Midnight - Neither of us was impressed.

I don't recall seeing a Magnesium - but wait ... later we judged the cars outside in daylight!

We was given a Non-Performance Snow/Slate (as per my order) but with the 20" optional wheels (which I have not ordered) - I took special notice here as at least one person here has been asking about if anyone has tested this combo.

So we then get into the cars, I set my seat up and the mirrors why the guy try's to explain stuff to me ... but I've watched almost every vid on YouTube, plus read almost everything I can, so while trying not to be rude I was just getting on with playing with everything - at least my wife was interested in what he was saying.

First impressions from the Driver Seat and all is good. Very good even! Yeah some cheap plastics low down, but then most mid-budget cars do this. The touch screen is fast and responsive ... maybe a touch too sensitive but I'm sure you would get used this after a little while.

I also found out that the Nappa Leather Seats are the only option where you can get Ventilated Front Seats. Something I missed when configuring my car ... not sure I could push the extra £4k but would have made the choice a lot harder ... I thought that none of them had that option. However on the drive it was 28deg outside but light grey clouds so no direct sun, the climate inside set to 20deg, I didn't feel hot under my bum/back as I do in other leather cars ... so not a problem! Which was a huge relief as I drove down in my Stinger which has Nappa Leather Seats and I have to them on level 2 cooling all the way there even with the climate at 20.5deg, so this was a worry for me ... lucky the fake leather isn't overly hot!

The Quality of the interior from the front as I mentioned is good. The design choice to use more fabric than soft fake leather/plastic things ... or more fake metal plastic strips was a very nice change. The Slate Weave material was odd to the touch as my brain was going "well that's not what leather feels like, but damm it looks like it". It's not as soft as leather but then it's not like plastic, fabric, or any other material I can recall being very similar and touching. The important thing is that it feels nice to touch ... even if unusual.

The arm rest and 2nd cup holder ... yeah I checked it out ... either me or my wife will need to fight over that, as there is no way I'm giving up the arm rest. I wished too they hadn't used that Piano Black around the gear nob. Man that's going to get scratched .. I wish personally they had got ride of the gear select (use a stick or buttons) and used that for a 2nd Cup Holder or storage or something! I'm hoping soon after launch someone sells a wrap to over that Piano Black area. Same as the Tesla's! Why do car companies do it?

Phone Charging Area : I plonked my One Plus 8+ phone in there over the wireless charging recesses. Either again you'll need an aftermarket solution of a rubber mat or something .. or a rubber case on your phone, because there is NO WAY that phone is staying in there. I don't think we had left the airbase and my phone was already sidewards. Only good point is that it is very slopped away from you and deep, so it won't be coming out of there ... it just won't ever stay in the wireless charging port without some help.
I can honestly say this is the biggest negative about this car ... it's like no one cared to design something practical and it was an after thought, less than an after though ... where the rest of the car everything feels like it was designed that way - even if you don't like that design - at least you can see what they were aiming for.

OK the DRIVE! We finally got there! So you put your foot on the break, select D, and just go ... no start / stop button.

Lets do the big one first ... the ride quality. I was expecting a Firm to Hard ride - I even said to the wife "hay we are on 20" wheels not the 19"'s we have ordered so if a little too firm we should still be ok" as I know my wife, so hopefully I was preempting a niggle of hers. Well ... Nope ... nothing, not even a little moan from her!
The ride was really good! Yes it's firm, but even around town nothing beyond some sports cars out there.

Let me try and explain another way, this is a list of cars I've owned or driven for more than a few hours over the past 5 years, in order of smoothness while driving normally on roads at normal speeds.

Mercedes S Class - Like driving on clouds.
Lexus IS300
Kia Sorrento / VW Tiguan
Kia Stinger GTs
Audi S4
Jaguar F-Pace (with Adaptive Sports Suspension) / I-Pace (standard suspension - not air)
Audi RS 5
Jaguar F-Type - Like having rocks as springs!

Now I was expecting the P*2 to be more like the RS5 or maybe F-Pace. It's a lot closer imho to an Audi S4. However the faster you go it gets better ... I have no idea why!
My Stinger is a great GT, smooth-ish on the motorways and not as annoying as my F-Pace (or my mates RS) around A/B roads. The Stinger doesn't handle around corners as well as the Audi's ... but then they don't drive as well day to day IMHO.
However on the motorway the P*2 felt better than my Stinger!! BETTER! and I had just arrived via the same roads!
Around town and county lanes the P*2 does feel more like an Audi S4 ... but some speed can fix that! We was doing 60mph down a country lane and my wife didn't see a pot hole coming up ... I braced being in the back now ... and ... .... well a little judder. I was expecting a full on BANG! but nope. I then noticed that the car feels less settled at low speeds, but once above 40/50mph it's hunkers down nicely and gives a decent ride.

So during my test drive I hit the throttle a lot ... yeah it's neck snapping fast ... you do feel the weight around bends but nothing over the top.

The one peddle driving took me a few junctions to get used, but withing 5min's I'd almost mastered it! I'll defiantly be leaving it in Standard regeneration for most drives. I did test LOW ... and that feels more like a normal cars engine breaking .. maybe a fraction more aggressive but minor differences. I'd probably switch to this on the motorways or zero and let it coast a bit.

There is one negative that I can sort out with more time setting up my seat / wheel position. I drive with my left leg very limp and towards the centre console. On every car I've owned it's normally my calf mussel that rests against the transmission tunnel and I', very comfortable. However in the P*2 my knee rests against the little hole they added for storage.
View attachment 535

I lowered the seat and it was better but still not perfect, and if went higher it would rub on the underside of that large plastic bar to the right of the gear nob. If I honestly thought with a bit of time getting my seat in the right place wouldn't resolve this I would be cancelling my order. It would be a big deal for me if I didn't think I could resolve this - I was damm close on the drive, but we had little time and trying to do it on the move wasn't safe as I also needed to adjust the steering wheel.

Drive Conclusion - Impressed.

We stopped in a parking bay to have a quick rest and swap drivers if needed.
So I jumped out the drivers seat and joined my son in the back - even though I won't spend any time back there it's always good to see the car from another perspective. My wife jumped in the front seat.

At this time we saw all the cars in daylight ......

Void - Still the best - but I still can't own one ... they never look clean.
Snow - Thankfully STILL looks good!
Thunder - My wife turned around to be and said " I take it back, it looks rubbish now" - I still thought it was ok and what I expected.
Moon - Ok might become my new 2nd Favourite ... however my wife now didn't like it either.
Midnight - Wife vote - best looking car (now)!! My Vote ... it's a close 2nd behind Void ... joint with Moon. Does look good on the road.

So there you go ... 3 of these colours change dramatically depending on the light type and conditions. These are of course just me and my wife's views, but both of us changed our view on at least 2 of the cars!

Back Seat. Ok all the positive stuff above has to be balanced a little right? Well yeah ... but before that my son's view on sitting in the back the whole trip.

• Loves the Glass Roof
• Loves the fact he can sit in the seats without his booster. He is 138cm so technically doesn't need one, but in our Stinger his hip to knee length is about 2" short to sit comfortably.
• Loves the rear charging points and seat heaters (even though he has both of these currently!)
• Loves the large Screen - wants to know when Netflix's can be added so we can watch while charging / waiting.
• Loves the car ... nagged me all the way home why we have to wait until November for it - I dared not say "because your mother is stubborn and wanted a tow bar!"

Ok my impressions ... you start to feel where the cost cutting was carried out. For a car at £50k and being electric there was going to be some cost cutting to get at that price. Batteries and motor's don't really change atm. Now I will say that Polestar is better at hiding it's cost cutting that other EV's (like Tesla) but in the back it's more noticeable.

The Headliner which is normally some soft cloth or in expensive models suede. The P*2 is basically a really hard carpet. From the front seats or just generally looking about it looks like a fabric cloth, but getting in / out of the rear you notice it's hollow, hard, and rough. Think of a landlord fitting carpet to some stairs in a block of flats - yeah it's like that.

In addition the plastic around the air vents in the back is the cheapest I've felt in any car for a long time, and while moving you'll probably put your fingers on the side to steady yourself so your thumb and finger can get the nob.

The rear arm rest is ok, but the cupholders while the same plastic as most cars the little bits that stick out to hold your drinks in place are little tiny plastic flaps. I'm not saying they will break off ... but if they are the first to go with kids in the back don't be shocked.

The rear light are normally decent bulbs so rear passengers can read at night while you drive. Now I couldn't test how bright they are or where they project the light ... and while the light itself feels high quality I doubt very much it's going to do much due to location and angle. (I'm an electrical engineer so I know a little about lights )

More Negatives? Well no. That's it.

I'm 5'9" ... I fitted perfectly in the rear with knee and head room. My feet did fit under the seat in front, but not more than my ankle ... so you won't be stretching out back there. To be honest it about as good as to be expected for a car of this size. After the drive I didn't feel any discomfort but I suspect 2 hours back there and my old knees might be complaining a little. But then the rear is for kids and friends ... neither I care about that much
Seriously if you plan to carry 4 adults or 2+2 Teenagers then give it a test drive. If you are going from a Model X to a P*2 then there might be some complaints ... but if you are going from an I-Pace to a P*2 ... then I'd say it's on par with it, if a little better - always felt my feet were pushed together too much in the Jag.

One plus is the rear seats seem to sit higher up than the front one's ... so you actually get a decent view on the road ahead and not just a large headrest the hole trip - Also the Hey Google works from the rear! (Much to the annoyance of my wife ).

On the infotainment screen - it's what every reviewer has said. It's really good ... like really good. Yeah not as technical as Tesla, but then 100 times more user friendly.

Finally we tried a series of commands with Hey Google:-

HG play Michael Jackson - worked
HG play Ghostbusters - didn't work.
HG play Ghostbusters on Spotify - worked.
HG navigate to "XXXXXX" (postcode) - worked.
HG, delete navigation history - didn't work - this is because I used our house postcode in the above example and the wife wasn't happy.

HG, navigate to Blackpool - worked.
It then told us we would wouldn't make it on the current charge and gave us as large "+ ADD CHARGING STATION TO ROUTE" button to press, which we did. It then suggest 4 along the route. Nice ... I would have played more with it, but we had returned.

Overall I'm really impressed at it as an EV. It's shame that at the moment there is an EV extra cost as this car costs £10k more than my Kia Stinger GTS. Has the same 0-60, less top speed, less boot space, less rear space, and without question (and more importantly?) a lower quality interior. Yes the P*2 is very modem and nice to look at but the fabric's no mater how nice they are, don't match the Nappa Leather we have now, the plastic's don't feel as bad, however the fake soft leather plastic on the Kia is looking old compared to the fresh fabrics in the P*2 - So 2-1 to Kia!

However, we both agreed on the way home, the extra £7k (due to government credit), the lower service costs, the lower fuel costs, and the fact it was better for the environment, was a small price to pay; and it wasn't like the the P*2 wasn't great .. it was! ... it just the Stinger has been such a good car to us and we will miss it.


TLDR : It is a great EV with ton's of positives and only a few niggles.

p.s. Meet SA69-ev there, was great to meet you!

p.p.s. : if you read it all well done!

Very elaborate write up, GDank👍 really useful and read every word of it. Btw, Mat is leaving carwow.....so you are ready to replace him? Lol..... I'm just kidding 😉

Some of the things you mentioned such as resting your knee/leg against the console side and the phone not retained well within the wireless charger mat might disappoint me too so I need to keep an eye on that and check for myself during my test drive. I'm as tall as you too, however, our driving positions could be different or your legs could be longer than mine so will have to check that.
In one of the you tube videos someone picked up on the same issue. Can't remember which one that was though.

Interesting to hear about the cost cutting they've done in the back and something like that hasn't been covered by any of the journalists as far as I know. I too have been watching every single review of P*2 so far like many of you here.

Ref Stinger and P*2's comparison on rear leg room / boot or trunk space ......to be fair, Stingers overall length and wheelbase are about 200mm longer than P*2 so I'd expect Kia to outperform in terms of length dimension if you know what I mean.

Lastly, I'm curious to know you'd mentioned £7k gov credit! 😲😲 It's £3.5k incl the home charger, isn't it? Unless I'm missing something here or if it is for Business use which I wouldn't know much about.

Thanks once again and glad you enjoyed the day and the experience 👍

 

[boakham]

Really good review!
interesting to compare your experience with mine - I was in the 2pm session. Because of the issues they had with the motorway and people getting lost, they cut motorway driving from our session altogether and we only went in town and on back roads. Fun but disappointing not to experience the motorway.

I had trouble getting Spotify to work at all in my car - google said it was asking Spotify to play but nothing happened. Also I kept getting errors to do with the driving assist functions - I asked about this and he said the drive assist functions were all disabled for the test drive models so he wasn’t sure why. 🤷🏻‍♂️

Re the colours, I have ordered Thunder. I was pleased to see that the swatch was a nice dark gun metal like I expected, and then someone told me the one on display under the lighting was also Thunder. It’s weird - a completely different colour. Unlike your wife I think it looks awful under the lighting in the warehouse, so I was pleased to see it was actually grey again outside in natural light! 🤣

I genuinely couldn’t believe it was the same colour paint, so I took the swatch over and watched it morph into the hideous pale blue grey next to the car.

Overall though, I was amazed by the car and am more excited than ever for it to arrive now!

 

[GDank]

Ref Stinger and P*2's comparison on rear leg room / boot or trunk space ......to be fair, Stingers overall length and wheelbase are about 200mm longer than P*2 so I'd expect Kia to outperform in terms of length dimension if you know what I mean.

Lastly, I'm curious to know you'd mentioned £7k gov credit! 😲😲 It's £3.5k incl the home charger, isn't it? Unless I'm missing something here or if it is for Business use which I wouldn't know much about.

1, Yup it's 220mm longer ... 60mm lower and 90mm wider (although that's wing mirror dims). And you are right it might not be fair in car sizes to compare the two, but I was comparing £40 vs £50k sports hatchback, hence why I felt it was a fair comparison for costs. I could go on and say that a Ford Mustang for £45k imho isn't a good deal against the Stinger unless you need that V8 sound. And I'd rather spend money on the P*2 than a Mustang. However I don't feel these cars are compatible regardless of the price.

The £7k I meant £10-3k = £7k more than a new stinger not a £7k saving. I'm rather hot and drunk so might not be explaining myself correctly.

 

[boakham]

Here are two vids of the Thunder colour I took:

 

[GDank]

.. he said the drive assist functions were all disabled for the test drive models so he wasn’t sure why. 🤷🏻‍♂️

This was because the car is due a software update as Lane Keep Assist and ACC we both "a little buggy" is that I was told. They did not work on my car either. Spottily did perfectly - however that area does have a lot of area's where the 4G drops down to 3G. At these times we noticed a long delay ... however my Android auto does exactly the same so hard to blame the car!

Funny side note, when I use Android Auto in my Kia and ask for Ghostbusters it always either playes nothing or something else - it's become a little joke in our family! My son was most pleased it worked in the P*2

Re the colours, I have ordered Thunder. I was pleased to see that the swatch was a nice dark gun metal like I expected,

Don't look at me .. I thought in both types of lights it was as I expected. I've had two cars like it before and just didn't want another. As with colours it is all subjective, so always go with what you like and ignore everyone else! (especially my wife - who favourite car of all time was the Kia Sorrento .. why? Because she didn't have to worry about someone stealing it, her crashing or denting it, and/or curbing the wheels. )

Glade you enjoyed the day too!

 

[GDank]

Here are two vids of the Thunder colour I took:

2nd Video .. were they packing away? It was so busy while we was there!

 

[I_Kent_Spelgud]

Boakham: Brilliant idea to walk the swatch through the changing light! I was mystified all last year why they were showing that awesome bluish color in Geneva but not making it available to buy. Only figured it out a couple months ago after someone mentioned it‘s a stock Volvo color, so there are many examples to be found in Google images of its varying tones. I’m very much looking forward to my Thunder beast. In its dark mode, it seems almost as dark as my former Titanium V70R.

 

[boakham]

2nd Video .. were they packing away? It was so busy while we was there!

No, it was just before the previous session got back, and I was the second person to arrive for my session so nobody really there!

 

[toscal353]

Great review @GDank thanks for taking the time to be so thorough.

I haven't seen the cars in the flesh yet but one thing that struck me from the YT reviews was how much the colour of Thunder changes in different lights. I think the Moon does a little too. Moon was my preferred colour but they said if i changes my order to Moon it would delay delivery by 2 months, and being an instant gratification impatient person left my order as Magnesium with Slate.

Has anyone seen Magnesium in the flesh? I hope its looks more than just 'dirty white'!

I was pleased to read the screen buttons are larger, those in the Model 3 are tiny and the slightest bump while driving and you press the wrong thing.

The centre console hard rim rubbing your knee is a concern for me too, being 6ft 1 i will be checking the drivers leg and foot room carefully. Was the left foot foot support a decent size and position or did you need to shuffle your left foot around to get a comfortable position?

We have had a number of EV's with differing regen, and i'm sure you first timers will soon get used to it. I now find it very odd in an ICE when i lift off and the car just glides! We had an Ioniq with adjustable regen on a paddle, and the Ampera its on the 'gear' shift. Telsa is a screen button. Leaf on the gear selector. You soon get used to it.

A point about the phone app and locking: On the Model 3 we had phone apps to control nearly everything, including locking and driver profiles, but Tesla still recommended that you also always take the card key with you in case the app has a 'problem'. On our Tesla it often did and without the card key you could be locked out. The Tesla card was credit card sized lived in my wallet, so no big deal. Lets hope Polestar sort out their cheap key fob, but more importantly, their app is more reliable than the 3, and has the same functionality.

Sidetracking a little: The Tesla app allowed you to see the car even if, for example, SWMBO was driving it and I was at home. The real time tracking allowed you to see exactly where she was, and what speed she was going. So you could send her 'helpful reminders' about not speeding and judge when she would be home so you had all your assigned tasks completed! (It also allowed you to change some settings remotely, e.g. toot the horn or flash the lights when not moving. But the best one was that even when the car was being driven, you could remotely change the aircon temp, in her case to Low! . Resulting in phone calls from her saying the aircon was faulty )

 

[JFC]

Great review @GDank thanks for taking the time to be so thorough.

I haven't seen the cars in the flesh yet but one thing that struck me from the YT reviews was how much the colour of Thunder changes in different lights. I think the Moon does a little too. Moon was my preferred colour but they said if i changes my order to Moon it would delay delivery by 2 months, and being an instant gratification impatient person left my order as Magnesium with Slate.

Has anyone seen Magnesium in the flesh? I hope its looks more than just 'dirty white'!

I was pleased to read the screen buttons are larger, those in the Model 3 are tiny and the slightest bump while driving and you press the wrong thing.

The centre console hard rim rubbing your knee is a concern for me too, being 6ft 1 i will be checking the drivers leg and foot room carefully. Was the left foot foot support a decent size and position or did you need to shuffle your left foot around to get a comfortable position?

We have had a number of EV's with differing regen, and i'm sure you first timers will soon get used to it. I now find it very odd in an ICE when i lift off and the car just glides! We had an Ioniq with adjustable regen on a paddle, and the Ampera its on the 'gear' shift. Telsa is a screen button. Leaf on the gear selector. You soon get used to it.

A point about the phone app and locking: On the Model 3 we had phone apps to control nearly everything, including locking and driver profiles, but Tesla still recommended that you also always take the card key with you in case the app has a 'problem'. On our Tesla it often did and without the card key you could be locked out. The Tesla card was credit card sized lived in my wallet, so no big deal. Lets hope Polestar sort out their cheap key fob, but more importantly, their app is more reliable than the 3, and has the same functionality.

Sidetracking a little: The Tesla app allowed you to see the car even if, for example, SWMBO was driving it and I was at home. The real time tracking allowed you to see exactly where she was, and what speed she was going. So you could send her 'helpful reminders' about not speeding and judge when she would be home so you had all your assigned tasks completed! (It also allowed you to change some settings remotely, e.g. toot the horn or flash the lights when not moving. But the best one was that even when the car was being driven, you could remotely change the aircon temp, in her case to Low! . Resulting in phone calls from her saying the aircon was faulty )

Had a laugh reading your last paragraph 😂 this is what I meant yesterday (may be the same thread) that Tesla have set the bar high with lots of 'quirky' (Doug says 😁) features which may be a gimmick for some but useful for others. With features like these, I don't think Google may have much control as it would come from what the manufacturer wants to implement or offer to the customer and then Google apply the UI bits to those bits.

There are tonnes of reasons why people still buy a Tesla despite having quality issues and this is where I hope Polestar must take a huge advantage and attract more first time EV buyers plus from other EV brands too by regularly introducing features etc via OTA. So fingers crossed and let's hope the best 🤞