Here is a riposte to anyone who says that cars are all starting to look the same and blur into one big SUV-shaped blancmange.
Called the Polestar 4, its model name is perhaps the least imaginative thing about it (it’s the, erm, fourth car launched by the Swedish-Chinese EV maker). In silhouette it’s an SUV coupe; that in itself isn’t that out of the ordinary these days, though the Polestar is certainly better executed than the automotive gargoyles BMW and Mercedes offer in this category.
No, the Polestar’s novelty comes from the fact that they’ve designed it without a back window.
Instead of a rear-view mirror, Polestar gives you a high-definition screen which shows the image from a roof-mounted rear camera which, they say, gives “a far wider field of view than what can be experienced in most modern cars”.
The Polestar 4′s novelty comes from the fact that they’ve designed it without a back window. Instead of a rear-view mirror, you get a high-definition screen which shows the image from a roof-mounted rear camera
Pushing back the rear ‘header’, the structural element which normally surrounds a rear window, allows the Polestar 4′s large glass roof panel to sweep over the heads of back seat passengers, which gives the cabin an unusual ambience. You can have the roof with a £1,700 ‘electrochromic’ function which allows the glass to be opaque or transparent, as you prefer.
The Polestar 4 can be ordered now, with prices starting at a tenner under £60k and the first cars due to reach customers in August.
From launch, two versions will be available. The Long Range Single Motor packs 268bhp/253lb ft and is rear-wheel-drive, while the Long Range Dual Motor (from £66,990) uses twin electric motors to send 536bhp/506lb ft to all four wheels. With a 0-60mph sprint time of 3.7 seconds, the Dual Motor becomes Polestar’s fastest-accelerating model to date. Both use the same 100kWh battery.
The Single Motor can cover up to 379 miles on a charge, while the Dual Motor can manage up to 360 miles.
Standard kit includes a 14.7-inch head-up display, a 14-speaker Harman Kardon audio system, Pixel LED headlights and electric front and rear seats.
It’s unlikely we’ll now see a rash of cars without rear windows, but Polestar deserves kudos for trying something different.
