Polestar 4 Dual Motor long-term test: brief spell in Lotus highlights Geely family ties

On first impression, I like the silver-blue monochromatic palette inside and out. Parked on my crowded London street, the 4 looks huge, even next to the gargantuan BMW M5 Touring that I also happened to have on test when the Polestar arrived. The Swedish car’s tall stature, sloping roofline and broad shoulders mean it’s a cross between an SUV, a coupé and traditional saloon.

At 4.8m long, it’s only slightly longer than most mid-size premium SUVs, but is nearly 4cm wider than a full-size Audi Q7. With this large footprint comes a very large cabin, yet it’s unlike most European cars in the way it apportions that space. The boot is relatively large – bigger than I’ll generally need, at 526 litres – but the bulk of the interior space is given over to the rear seats. This is very important in the car’s core Chinese market, and while the second row of our car won’t be used on a daily basis, when I do have multiple passengers, they’re adults rather than sticky-fingered kids. So the space will be handy.

What we’re left with, then, is a large, spacious and very luxurious crossover-type EV that has loads of kit and a very impressive 367-mile WLTP range, thanks to its 100kWh battery pack. There’s also the rather significant 536bhp, a colossal 686Nm of torque and a 0-62mph time of 3.7 seconds. While I’m under no impression that this is a performance car,

I have already enjoyed the sheer ease with which it can deploy its vast reserves. It seems Polestar has ambitions to do it all with the 4.

I’ve managed to get this far without talking about the fact the car doesn’t have a rear window, but I am going to mention it here purely as a symbol. And that’s because the 4, more than any of Polestar’s other models, seems to be one that has no interest in looking back. We’ll be finding out if that’s a good thing over the next six months.

*Insurance quote from AA (0800 107 0680) for a 42-year-old in Banbury, Oxon, with three points.