Easiest way to sum it up to folks who don’t know anything about car brands is “high performance, electric Volvo”. That or “Polestar is to Volvo what AMG is to MB”.
Actually no. Or not quite. From engineering point of view there was no Polestar R&D, unlike AMG. The same Volvo engineers worked on Polestar Engineered as on normal Volvos. PS1, PS2 and PS3 are completely done by Volvo. PS building in Gothenburg is mostly brand related people, no engineering. There is Polestar UK team who work on PS4,5 and 6 but these are not the people who worked on Volvo Polestar cars. Going forward all Geely cars will be the same (Zeekr 001 is Polestar 4, Zeekr X is Volvo EX30, etc) so the brand dilution will be even stronger and PS R&D will again just get a donor car from Geely SEA platform and will have to make it PS like. Put different wheels, get different colour, some small tweaks to the cabin, etc. but I’m essence they will never have the AMG top of the food chain status
@@MrJorgitogrande Don't agree with your second paragrath. Zeekr X is not the EX30. They share a platform but a lot of what's above that platform is different. So, yeah, they have a lot of the same stats but they don't share a lot of panels. And Volvo and Polestar are going more inhouse. They'll use Northvolt batteries. I don't see that happening with other brands in Geely Holding. Volvo and Polestar are making moves to distance themselves in some ways from the other brands. Consolidate where it makes sense, differentiate where they can as well.
It is. It was supposed to be the Volvo s40. It's the Concept 40.2 where the Concept 40.1 is the XC40. If you look at the vents in the back, the seats, the trunk details, they're all from Volvo. And it feels and drives like a Volvo, albeit a sporty one.
It could be different in other countries, but in Canada the process of buying a Volvo EV is almost the same as buying a Polestar. In both cases, the buyer fully specs-out the car on-line and is given a fixed price. The Volvo is then built to spec and shipped to the local dealer who preps the car, completes the paperwork and affixes the big ribbon. The buyer goes to the dealer to hand over a cheque, be instructed in the car's features and operation, and drive it away. That's how it worked when I bought a Volvo C40 in January of this year. In addition, when I picked up the car there was no attempt by the dealer to sell me any add-ons or services.
Great video. I still have a problem with why there is a Polestar in the first place. Since all Volvo models will be EVs eventually, why have a new EV only company? Chevrolet/Cadillac, Toyota/Lexus, VW/Audi, all those brand separations make sense. Volvo is already premium/luxury. Having a another luxury brand just seems superfluous. I guess it comes down to what does Geely want from the two brands. Geely has so many brands (Volvo/Zeekr/Proton/Lynk/Lotus/Geometry/Livan/Smart JV, etc) now that it seems consolidation is inevitable.
Very good point! On the Geely empire Zeekr is supposed to be the luxury premium and, based on the recent news from China about 001 FR, (1265 hp), the performance version. Maybe that spec will not leave China and PS will be the performance topping vehicle. On the seemingly unlimited number of brands in Geely, I wonder if this is the same approach as some Chinese sellers have on Amazon (at least in Europe) where you can find multiple versions of the same product from differently named brands. The general understanding is they do it to help the sales if one “brand” gets destroyed by bad marketing or reviews. Then they can still sell under the other brand. Unconfirmed but not unlikely
I don't think most people think like you. I would assume people look at Polestar as a "performance" brand, whether others agree or not and Volvo as a kind of sort of luxury brand like the regular Volvo. I think for the average person, there is a distinction but for someone like you who knows the brands and everything, maybe not so much. As an American, the only other Geely brand I am familiar with are Lotus and Smart.
@@ODK321 That's how I see it as well. I think Volvo will be the family-friendly, safety-focused brand, and Polestar will be innovative, tech/performance brand. But then things get confusing for me when Volvo has an electric subcompact crossover that does 0-60 in 3.4 seconds...
Geely Holding is an umbrella of brands, like Stellantis or the VW Group. It is also a brand, Geely Auto, like VW has the VW Group vs. VW the brand. Volvo is a known brand that has been infused with cash to make the best cars they can make. Polestar is a more performance brand that is a lot like Volvo, but a different flavor. Lotus is another known brand that is expanding. If you look at VW, there are established brands in it too, like Lamborghini, Porsche and the like. While I think maybe Geely is creating too many brands I think of Geely more as the financer of Volvo/Polestar and Volvo/Polestar are autonomous cars backed up by Geely and can leverage sharing with Geely to bring down some costs.
Yeah. I was extremely close to buying one this summer, but I found a used 2023 Ioniq 5 that I liked better. After seeing and test driving the Polestar, I would definitely consider one in the future.
Polestar 2 refresh should appeal to buyers who don't like the Model 3 refresh because of the lack of stalks and the added advantage of more practicality of the Polestar 2 being a hatchback. The new RWD Polestar 2 single motor’s has 320-mile EPA range and faster charging speed. Other upgrades include an increase of 69 horsepower (299 total) and 118 extra lb-ft of torque (361 lb-ft in all). Additionally, the 440V platform can charge as high as 220 kW, charging 10-80% in 25-28 mins - a 20% speed increase, according to Polestar. Bjørn Nyland youtube video titled “Polestar 2 LR SM refresh charging test” shows the refresh 2024 Polestar 2 has much better charging speed - better than Tesla and iD4.
You said it's like BMW trying to build a Tesla with only Volvo parts. But to me it's more like Porsche instead of BMW. The handling and performance is simply so much beyond BMW or MB.
Great video! Did want to emphasize and clarify one point about the buying experience being “somewhat between worlds.” Could not have summed it better myself. We just bought a Polestar 2 and in our region (closest space was 200 miles away), it is attached to a Volvo dealer. Still had to go through the dealer’s finance department and they used a 3rd party to deliver the car to us. It was literally like 50% Tesla/Direct-to-Consumer and 50% Traditional Dealer BS. Overall ordering was semi-easy and remote, paperwork was also remote… but having to deal with dealer finance dept and 3rd party delivery was the typical nightmare and delayed our delivery by 5 entire days. 2 of which were spent by the dealer attempting to get us to buy the undercoating (amongst other things). Overall great, but def could take some notes from other DTC models.
I really liked this discussion. So often you get kind of the "same thing" from a bunch of different outlets tied to the release of the newest car. It's really interesting to get more in depth discussion of the industry, trends, and the direction X specific company seems to be going.
I still don’t understand how people don’t consider Tesla as a luxury-branded company. If their least expensive model starts at a price higher than many Compact luxury sedans, their performance models rivaling other luxury brands’ performance subbrands, and half of their models *clearly* targeting a shopper with over a 70k or 80k budget, alongside additional features such as FSD, what on earth marks Teslas as a Honda/Toyota/Hyundai etc. fighter?
Well, let me try. Their "luxury" models, the S and X may be half the models, but they're a tiny, tiny percentage of sales. Compared to the S and X, and indeed to similarly priced cars from competitors (Hyundais, Kias, Fords, Polestars) the interiors are spartan with decontented features and hit and miss quality. (The front seats are superbly comfortable, but the rear seats are hard and uncomfortable. Mostly good use of soft-touch materials where a driver touches them, but flimsy latches and poor fit and finish -- panel gaps plus squeaks that crop up pretty quickly as the car ages.) I recently drove a Polestar 2, and when I got back into my 3 afterwards, the immediate feeling/word that struck me was "chintzy." Plus, they're far and away the most popular electric vehicles on the market. When you reach the ubiquity of a Toyota, can you be considered luxury-branded anymore? Teslas are like the Toyotas of electric vehicles. Finally, the model to keep volume sales of Teslas up seems to be to drop prices below competitors, a move a value brand makes, not a luxury brand. And, in order to keep the cars cheap to build they further decontent the cars by removing things like the radar and parking sensors which, at least at first, made the adaptive cruise control worse (more jerky) -- even if it has slowly started to improve again since then and gotten back (nearly) to the quality it was two years ago. I don't think Tesla is going anywhere. It will continue to be the volume leader for electric cars, and the cars are GREAT for what they are. But luxury they ain't.
Volvo has had a difficult time trying to attract younger people to the brand. They have an aging market segment of comfort-safety-minded buyers. In recent years with the new designs and smaller quirky cars like the XC40, they've been able to improve, but Volvo is still Volvo, if they were to change too much, to attract a younger population, the older and very brand loyal Volvo consumer may go to another brand, they can't afford to cannibalize their own brand by trying to attract two very different customer types. With Polestar they can attract a completely different buyer. The young professional in their 30s who'd otherwise buy a BMW or Mercedes might look at this and choose it instead, but would never choose a Volvo. To your question: Yes, it has been very expensive to set up, but they are probably banking on this becoming a very important part of their business in the next 5-10 years.
I know Tesla has improved to a point that build quality is no longer an issue, my 2023 Fremont built model Y long Range AWD had not one issue with panel gaps, door closing issues and interior fit finish and blemish free. Seeing the new model 3 they may now have surpassed all issue and I would say luxury can be used in describing that model refresh, matching the Polestar 2 2024 model.
Coming from Canada, wondering Alex what you think about winter performance in cold climates (thinking range but also handling/traction). Is the Scandinavian heritage/testing of polestar an advantage?
Yes, I'd say so. The cabin heats up quickly and the steering wheel heating is absolutely wonderful. It's definitely qualified for proper winter climate.
Polestar is my 3rd place brand on the list of brands I’d consider buying for an ev after Tesla and rivian. Don’t particularly care if the vehicle is built in the USA or not, so long as the product is good quality I’ll buy it. The polestar 4 is the one I’m interested in the most but still need to see more spec info and exactly how reviewers handle not having a rear view window and just relying on cameras for that.
The visibility out of the back of the Polestar 2 is so bad they might as well remove the window. Lots of cars have terrible rear visibility. I'm almost surprised no one has decided to simply forgo the rear window before.
I would like more of this format of video in addition to the reviews. And maybe change it up with Sofyan, TFL people, Micah Muzio, Tom Voelk, maybe even SavageGeese or TheTopher
They could be cross-shopped with Volvo, since they are similar in design language and safety; Tesla, since they are the big name in EVs; and I can even see Subaru, since Polestar has made sustainability a priority. Plus they are targeting Porsche. I'm not sure if that means they will reach a wide audience or if they are a brand with an identity crisis that is unable to nail down any specific buyer. Time will tell, but they certainly have my interest.
I hate to tell you this, but my 2020 Toyota Camry puts my Andoid phone's map program on the screen. I wish it was wireless, but I understand the latest Toyota's do not require a phone to car cable.
I've seen tons of Polestar videos, and have yet to see the answer to this question: How and where do you get the vehicle serviced if all the dealer has is a showroom?
You take the car into the local Volvo dealer for all maintenance and services. Go test drive one or call a store and they should tell you the location of the dealership in question.
The seating in the back is low, I am 6ft banged my head getting in and was uncomfortable sitting there. As well, the plastics and materials feel very cheap...
Yes, rear seating is not good. I have 2022 P2 dual motor. First time I was in the back was when I had company Thanksgiving week. Very tight. And I’m not tall at all.
I thought it was odd not to compare with the Ioniq 6, which is mos. def. being cross-shopped with this car and the Model 3. As a Floridian the Ioniq is ahead in the comparo for me for not having a glass roof with no shade.
We are often driving press vehicles or our long term test vehicles. Right now the INEOS Grenadier is in our long term test fleet, do you have a suggestion for another to add? -Travis
Build quality and performance are good, but the dual motor versions lack the range needed for a car that must rely upon the dodgy public charging infrastructure in North America.
Alex said real world efficiency is 4+ miles/KWh, which means 300 miles of range is totally possible. Tesla real world range is less than advertised, so this and the Model 3 are probably pretty close. Once Polestar 2 is on NACS it's probably going to be a wash as far as roadtripping convenience.
I will never get a Polestar because I can't get one serviced nearby. They should've been Volvos from the start. From my understanding Volvo dealers won't touch them.
Polster as a stand alone brand exists so that Geely can sell Chinese Volvos without dealers. That's why they don't shy away from their Volvo roots, they want you to think Volvo, not Geely.
What do you mean by "Chinese Volvos?" Polestars are just as Swedish in design and personnel as Volvo and will be built in China and the USA. Some Volvos are built in China, like the S90. The upcoming EX30 will be built in China. But all are Swedish designed and engineered. Polestar is an offshoot of Volvo and Volvo sells their EVs online and are going to make it very similar to buying Polestars. That's what they're in the process of doing. btw, the Lotus Eletre is coming to Western countries including the USA. It is built in China.
Who says Geely spun Polestar from Volvo? Anyway, Polestars will be made in the USA, Belgium and perhaps Slovakia going forward and already the Volvo S90 is made in China and has been for many years. So no, Polestar is a sportier brand than Volvo and that's why it is a separate brand.
I own two Teslas, but I'm not a fan and I do care about the quality. As soon as NACS becomes feasible I will ditch my Teslas. Supercharger network is the only thing keeping me from buying other EVs.
Just curious, how often do you supercharge? I would prefer a Polestar 2 with NACS, but I'm not sure it really matters for my use case, as I only drive 7500 miles a year and we could take my wife's ICE car on any lengthy roadtrips.
@@emoney1231 Not a lot. It's probably not 100% rational. I mostly charge at home, but if I forget to charge I can always just drive it to a Supercharger nearby for a quick top off. With non tesla cars I probably can't do this due to the reliabity of CCS chargers. If I forget to charge overnight, the car stays home that day.
I picked up a used 2021 polestar 2 that was part of the Hertz fleet. 12k miles and a brand new battery for 43k with a CPO warranty included for 4 additional years unlimited miles.
They're stunning cars, but they're too overpriced for the range or performance. Especially since they don't qualify for US credits. It's trying to be Tesla (in terms of software/purchase experience) without the Supercharger network. Plus if China won't allow govt. employees to own Teslas due to security risks, it kinda implies there could be privacy issues with these Chinese-built vehicles.
Lease them. And I don't agree about that range should be tied into price. There's a lot more that goes into the price of a car than price and performance. Polestar isn't trying to be Tesla and rarely mentioned them. They are trying to compete with Porsche, who they mention often, but they do like some things about Tesla and are going with their no dealer way of purchasing them. People really are too hung up on Made in China. Polestars aren't going to be exclusively made in China starting in 2024 with the Polestar 3.
As a current 2 lessee, I’m afraid Polestar will die in the US. Volvo dealers are really resisting supporting these vehicles, and rollouts of new Polestar “spaces” has been very slow. I’m in the Northeast, which is relatively EV-friendly, and I see very few other Polestars on the road. Now that they also don’t get tax credits, that could be the end of the brand in the US unless Geely is willing to pour a lot more money and patience in before getting to critical mass.
They lose 50% of their value in the first year, so probably the best deal in the market for a used EV. Software and app is pure trash but the drivetrain is very good.
Technical improvements, faily regular sofrware updates, efficiency they are really an excellent choice. We almost bought one, but the Polestar 2 seating is too low for our aging bodies, so we bought a Tesla Model Y
BMW driving experience? Today’s BMW drive like a Camry, no steering feedback, poor handling. I test drove an i5 and was shocked how lifeless that vehicle was.
My daily driver is a Tesla Model S Performance and we also have a Volvo XC90. I love the 2.3s 0-60 time of the Tesla and I love how super comfortable the XC90 with air suspension is but the XC90 T6 is severely lacking in performance. IMHO this whole Polestar being the "performance" brand just messes up things for Volvo customers who appreciate performance. I would like to buy an EX90 but with significant performance of at least around 3.5s 0-60. But this does not mean I want a stupid black "sport" interior, or dumb carbon fiber slathered everywhere, or fragile as lily low profile tires. No just give me an EX90 with a comfy luxurious light-colored interior but with high performance motors. Why is this so hard? Why do I have to buy a Pole-something because I want a comfy EX90 that can launch to 0-60 very quickly. If Volvo doesn't offer a powerful performance drivetrain for the EX90, we are just going to buy a Rivian instead.
Tesla's not a luxury brand because their interior quality and panel fit isn't even in the same league as a Volkswagen, much less an actual luxury brand like Audi.
Polestar... beautiful design but built in China and priced like it's a Porsche... Sorry you have no history. Good luck with that pricing. And I'm not being political. It's just that, if you build in Mexico or China the consumer knows their wages are much lower so in my mind I'm thinking where's the competitive pricing??? Polestar 4 starting at 60k? LOL. Re Polestar 2, rear seats are a joke and 1 coffee cup holder? Come on Polestar.
Polestar is an expensive brand.. Some really expensive cars from Lotus and Polestar will be made in China. Going forward, some other expensive Western brands will make some of their cars in China.
@@benjaminsmith2287 Polestar is a wannabe. They really have no history and they are built in China because at worst, Polestar is a Chinese brand disguised as a European company. Both Volvo and Polestar are owned by the Chinese.
@@kevinn1158 You need to do some research because you're off. Polestar was Flash, a Swedish racing operation. Polestar has been Volvo's performance tuner for years and for years people have bought s60 Polestar and XC60 Polestars at a price premium to Volvos. They're not a Chinese brand. You're wrong about that. They're owned by a Chinese car group, Geely Holding, not "the Chinese," and they operate almost autonomously. They are headquartered in Sweden where the work is done including the design and most of the engineering and road and safety testing where they have their own tracks and a huge crash facility and also an area where they examine Volvo and Polestar cars that were in real-world accidents. The Polestar 2 was designed by Volvo. It was the Volvo Concept 40.2 Google it and you'll see it is exactly what the Polestar 2 is. It was designed by Thomas Ingenlath and Maximillan Misonni, both Europeans, one German and the other Austrian, and both headquartered in Sweden. Polestar is an established Swedish brand that was spun off from Volvo to make their own line of cars. Geely finances them, but they don't manage or design them. Geely also set up CEVT in Sweden because they like Swedish engineering. They even got a Swede, Kent Ove Bovellan, to be chief engineer for their SEA platform.
I get that you have to play the game to get access to cars, but this was FAR too shilly. Being manufactured in Chengdu, China automatically excludes it from contention as "luxury." Especially if it's based on a sub-compact. They are being dumped via fleet sales because they can't compete with other EVs. Without being built in North America to qualify for the BBB tax credits, why would you buy it over an EV that doesn't funnel money directly to the CCP?
I usually hear people talk about luxury in terms of make, not model. Like if the A Class was made in China, it wouldn't mean Mercedes is not luxury. The Polestar 2 is built in China, but the 3 in being built in the US.
@@emoney1231 The luxury Volvo s90 is built in China. It has nothing to do with luxury and everything to do with what factory is allocated to make what cars. The Lotus Eletre, a $100K luxury performance EV-SUV, will be made in China. People have antiquated notions that made in China means cheap. It doesn't.
Yes, I enjoyed this conversation very much and would like to see you both together again.
Definitely enjoyed this format.
Easiest way to sum it up to folks who don’t know anything about car brands is “high performance, electric Volvo”. That or “Polestar is to Volvo what AMG is to MB”.
Actually no. Or not quite. From engineering point of view there was no Polestar R&D, unlike AMG. The same Volvo engineers worked on Polestar Engineered as on normal Volvos. PS1, PS2 and PS3 are completely done by Volvo. PS building in Gothenburg is mostly brand related people, no engineering. There is Polestar UK team who work on PS4,5 and 6 but these are not the people who worked on Volvo Polestar cars.
Going forward all Geely cars will be the same (Zeekr 001 is Polestar 4, Zeekr X is Volvo EX30, etc) so the brand dilution will be even stronger and PS R&D will again just get a donor car from Geely SEA platform and will have to make it PS like. Put different wheels, get different colour, some small tweaks to the cabin, etc. but I’m essence they will never have the AMG top of the food chain status
@@MrJorgitogrande Don't agree with your second paragrath. Zeekr X is not the EX30. They share a platform but a lot of what's above that platform is different. So, yeah, they have a lot of the same stats but they don't share a lot of panels. And Volvo and Polestar are going more inhouse. They'll use Northvolt batteries. I don't see that happening with other brands in Geely Holding. Volvo and Polestar are making moves to distance themselves in some ways from the other brands. Consolidate where it makes sense, differentiate where they can as well.
Please do more of these, I love this type of content
I've had my 2 for going on two years now and not one person has asked if it's a Volvo which absolutely shocks me. It looks 100% Volvo to me.
It is. It was supposed to be the Volvo s40. It's the Concept 40.2 where the Concept 40.1 is the XC40. If you look at the vents in the back, the seats, the trunk details, they're all from Volvo. And it feels and drives like a Volvo, albeit a sporty one.
It could be different in other countries, but in Canada the process of buying a Volvo EV is almost the same as buying a Polestar. In both cases, the buyer fully specs-out the car on-line and is given a fixed price. The Volvo is then built to spec and shipped to the local dealer who preps the car, completes the paperwork and affixes the big ribbon. The buyer goes to the dealer to hand over a cheque, be instructed in the car's features and operation, and drive it away. That's how it worked when I bought a Volvo C40 in January of this year. In addition, when I picked up the car there was no attempt by the dealer to sell me any add-ons or services.
Thank you for sharing! -Travis
Great video. I still have a problem with why there is a Polestar in the first place. Since all Volvo models will be EVs eventually, why have a new EV only company? Chevrolet/Cadillac, Toyota/Lexus, VW/Audi, all those brand separations make sense. Volvo is already premium/luxury. Having a another luxury brand just seems superfluous. I guess it comes down to what does Geely want from the two brands. Geely has so many brands (Volvo/Zeekr/Proton/Lynk/Lotus/Geometry/Livan/Smart JV, etc) now that it seems consolidation is inevitable.
Very good point! On the Geely empire Zeekr is supposed to be the luxury premium and, based on the recent news from China about 001 FR, (1265 hp), the performance version. Maybe that spec will not leave China and PS will be the performance topping vehicle.
On the seemingly unlimited number of brands in Geely, I wonder if this is the same approach as some Chinese sellers have on Amazon (at least in Europe) where you can find multiple versions of the same product from differently named brands. The general understanding is they do it to help the sales if one “brand” gets destroyed by bad marketing or reviews. Then they can still sell under the other brand. Unconfirmed but not unlikely
Different brands still can still share tech, design and factory. For geely, it is huge riskthat one mega brand is banned by US.
I don't think most people think like you. I would assume people look at Polestar as a "performance" brand, whether others agree or not and Volvo as a kind of sort of luxury brand like the regular Volvo. I think for the average person, there is a distinction but for someone like you who knows the brands and everything, maybe not so much. As an American, the only other Geely brand I am familiar with are Lotus and Smart.
@@ODK321 That's how I see it as well. I think Volvo will be the family-friendly, safety-focused brand, and Polestar will be innovative, tech/performance brand. But then things get confusing for me when Volvo has an electric subcompact crossover that does 0-60 in 3.4 seconds...
Geely Holding is an umbrella of brands, like Stellantis or the VW Group. It is also a brand, Geely Auto, like VW has the VW Group vs. VW the brand. Volvo is a known brand that has been infused with cash to make the best cars they can make. Polestar is a more performance brand that is a lot like Volvo, but a different flavor. Lotus is another known brand that is expanding. If you look at VW, there are established brands in it too, like Lamborghini, Porsche and the like. While I think maybe Geely is creating too many brands I think of Geely more as the financer of Volvo/Polestar and Volvo/Polestar are autonomous cars backed up by Geely and can leverage sharing with Geely to bring down some costs.
i love indepth honest review like this, no redundent specs info, no bs, love it!
a great discussion with tommy
This is a great show. Enjoyed this format ❤
18:30 wow that guy had to go somewhere quickly...
I'll be real, polestar 2s are on my "great deals list" for USED EVs
Yeah. I was extremely close to buying one this summer, but I found a used 2023 Ioniq 5 that I liked better. After seeing and test driving the Polestar, I would definitely consider one in the future.
Yes, approaching used EV tax credit pricing.
They are very cheap and comes with additional 2 years warranty.
@@normt430 That's what I'm waiting for. Another year or 2 and we are there!
Love this format, and the new Polestar 2 seems attractive, except for the glass roof.
Polestar 2 refresh should appeal to buyers who don't like the Model 3 refresh because of the lack of stalks and the added advantage of more practicality of the Polestar 2 being a hatchback. The new RWD Polestar 2 single motor’s has 320-mile EPA range and faster charging speed. Other upgrades include an increase of 69 horsepower (299 total) and 118 extra lb-ft of torque (361 lb-ft in all). Additionally, the 440V platform can charge as high as 220 kW, charging 10-80% in 25-28 mins - a 20% speed increase, according to Polestar.
Bjørn Nyland youtube video titled “Polestar 2 LR SM refresh charging test” shows the refresh 2024 Polestar 2 has much better charging speed - better than Tesla and iD4.
You said it's like BMW trying to build a Tesla with only Volvo parts. But to me it's more like Porsche instead of BMW. The handling and performance is simply so much beyond BMW or MB.
Great video! Love seeing the collabs.
Great video! Did want to emphasize and clarify one point about the buying experience being “somewhat between worlds.” Could not have summed it better myself. We just bought a Polestar 2 and in our region (closest space was 200 miles away), it is attached to a Volvo dealer. Still had to go through the dealer’s finance department and they used a 3rd party to deliver the car to us. It was literally like 50% Tesla/Direct-to-Consumer and 50% Traditional Dealer BS. Overall ordering was semi-easy and remote, paperwork was also remote… but having to deal with dealer finance dept and 3rd party delivery was the typical nightmare and delayed our delivery by 5 entire days. 2 of which were spent by the dealer attempting to get us to buy the undercoating (amongst other things). Overall great, but def could take some notes from other DTC models.
I really liked this discussion. So often you get kind of the "same thing" from a bunch of different outlets tied to the release of the newest car. It's really interesting to get more in depth discussion of the industry, trends, and the direction X specific company seems to be going.
We hope to do more, glad you enjoyed it! -Travis
I still don’t understand how people don’t consider Tesla as a luxury-branded company. If their least expensive model starts at a price higher than many Compact luxury sedans, their performance models rivaling other luxury brands’ performance subbrands, and half of their models *clearly* targeting a shopper with over a 70k or 80k budget, alongside additional features such as FSD, what on earth marks Teslas as a Honda/Toyota/Hyundai etc. fighter?
Well, let me try. Their "luxury" models, the S and X may be half the models, but they're a tiny, tiny percentage of sales. Compared to the S and X, and indeed to similarly priced cars from competitors (Hyundais, Kias, Fords, Polestars) the interiors are spartan with decontented features and hit and miss quality. (The front seats are superbly comfortable, but the rear seats are hard and uncomfortable. Mostly good use of soft-touch materials where a driver touches them, but flimsy latches and poor fit and finish -- panel gaps plus squeaks that crop up pretty quickly as the car ages.) I recently drove a Polestar 2, and when I got back into my 3 afterwards, the immediate feeling/word that struck me was "chintzy." Plus, they're far and away the most popular electric vehicles on the market. When you reach the ubiquity of a Toyota, can you be considered luxury-branded anymore? Teslas are like the Toyotas of electric vehicles. Finally, the model to keep volume sales of Teslas up seems to be to drop prices below competitors, a move a value brand makes, not a luxury brand. And, in order to keep the cars cheap to build they further decontent the cars by removing things like the radar and parking sensors which, at least at first, made the adaptive cruise control worse (more jerky) -- even if it has slowly started to improve again since then and gotten back (nearly) to the quality it was two years ago. I don't think Tesla is going anywhere. It will continue to be the volume leader for electric cars, and the cars are GREAT for what they are. But luxury they ain't.
Great idea, really enjoy the interaction you both have.
I like the collaboration
Great format, guys 👏🏻
Polestar 2 gets $7500 EV tax credit if you lease it. Polestar 3 will be built in the USA at one of the Volvo factories.
Volvo has had a difficult time trying to attract younger people to the brand. They have an aging market segment of comfort-safety-minded buyers. In recent years with the new designs and smaller quirky cars like the XC40, they've been able to improve, but Volvo is still Volvo, if they were to change too much, to attract a younger population, the older and very brand loyal Volvo consumer may go to another brand, they can't afford to cannibalize their own brand by trying to attract two very different customer types. With Polestar they can attract a completely different buyer. The young professional in their 30s who'd otherwise buy a BMW or Mercedes might look at this and choose it instead, but would never choose a Volvo. To your question: Yes, it has been very expensive to set up, but they are probably banking on this becoming a very important part of their business in the next 5-10 years.
They have the EX30 coming out. It's a price and small size that younger buyers may go for. And it'll be the quickest accelerating Volvo.
Yes, contributions are a A+
I know Tesla has improved to a point that build quality is no longer an issue, my 2023 Fremont built model Y long Range AWD had not one issue with panel gaps, door closing issues and interior fit finish and blemish free. Seeing the new model 3 they may now have surpassed all issue and I would say luxury can be used in describing that model refresh, matching the Polestar 2 2024 model.
No driver display or turn signal stalks isn't luxury. Rest-of-world has roundabouts in which turn signal buttons are useless - borderline dangerous.
Coming from Canada, wondering Alex what you think about winter performance in cold climates (thinking range but also handling/traction). Is the Scandinavian heritage/testing of polestar an advantage?
I live in Scandinavia with pretty harsh winters and my range drop around 75 kms in really cold weather. (-5 to - 25)
Yes, I'd say so. The cabin heats up quickly and the steering wheel heating is absolutely wonderful. It's definitely qualified for proper winter climate.
Really helpful. I like this format a lot.
We appreciate the feedback! -Travis
My RHD UK Tesla Model Y is built in China - Giga Shanghai; and build quality is very good; and many have said better than the USA built ones.
Polestar is my 3rd place brand on the list of brands I’d consider buying for an ev after Tesla and rivian. Don’t particularly care if the vehicle is built in the USA or not, so long as the product is good quality I’ll buy it. The polestar 4 is the one I’m interested in the most but still need to see more spec info and exactly how reviewers handle not having a rear view window and just relying on cameras for that.
The visibility out of the back of the Polestar 2 is so bad they might as well remove the window. Lots of cars have terrible rear visibility. I'm almost surprised no one has decided to simply forgo the rear window before.
I would like more of this format of video in addition to the reviews. And maybe change it up with Sofyan, TFL people, Micah Muzio, Tom Voelk, maybe even SavageGeese or TheTopher
They could be cross-shopped with Volvo, since they are similar in design language and safety; Tesla, since they are the big name in EVs; and I can even see Subaru, since Polestar has made sustainability a priority. Plus they are targeting Porsche. I'm not sure if that means they will reach a wide audience or if they are a brand with an identity crisis that is unable to nail down any specific buyer. Time will tell, but they certainly have my interest.
Love my 2, almost 2 years in now.
The 2024 RWD LR Polestar with 400+ miles of range is a very good buy.
I hate to tell you this, but my 2020 Toyota Camry puts my Andoid phone's map program on the screen. I wish it was wireless, but I understand the latest Toyota's do not require a phone to car cable.
Which model and trim is this being driven?
Nice to meet this random guy Tommy
I've seen tons of Polestar videos, and have yet to see the answer to this question: How and where do you get the vehicle serviced if all the dealer has is a showroom?
You take the car into the local Volvo dealer for all maintenance and services. Go test drive one or call a store and they should tell you the location of the dealership in question.
Good format!
The seating in the back is low, I am 6ft banged my head getting in and was uncomfortable sitting there. As well, the plastics and materials feel very cheap...
What kind of vehicle are you comparing it to? I had assumed it was similar to Volvo material quality.
Yes, rear seating is not good. I have 2022 P2 dual motor. First time I was in the back was when I had company Thanksgiving week. Very tight. And I’m not tall at all.
I thought it was odd not to compare with the Ioniq 6, which is mos. def. being cross-shopped with this car and the Model 3. As a Floridian the Ioniq is ahead in the comparo for me for not having a glass roof with no shade.
I like the give and take
Can you also show some videos of the car that you drive ?
We are often driving press vehicles or our long term test vehicles. Right now the INEOS Grenadier is in our long term test fleet, do you have a suggestion for another to add? -Travis
Build quality and performance are good, but the dual motor versions lack the range needed for a car that must rely upon the dodgy public charging infrastructure in North America.
Alex said real world efficiency is 4+ miles/KWh, which means 300 miles of range is totally possible. Tesla real world range is less than advertised, so this and the Model 3 are probably pretty close. Once Polestar 2 is on NACS it's probably going to be a wash as far as roadtripping convenience.
Volvo is a great thing, especially since Volvo doesn't have an EV sedan.
One is coming in about 3 or so years. The S90 will be the ES90 or something like that.
I will never get a Polestar because I can't get one serviced nearby. They should've been Volvos from the start. From my understanding Volvo dealers won't touch them.
Some Volvo dealerships can do 10k services as it us simple. Otherwise they pickup & ship it 100 miles from a Space.
Polster as a stand alone brand exists so that Geely can sell Chinese Volvos without dealers.
That's why they don't shy away from their Volvo roots, they want you to think Volvo, not Geely.
What do you mean by "Chinese Volvos?" Polestars are just as Swedish in design and personnel as Volvo and will be built in China and the USA. Some Volvos are built in China, like the S90. The upcoming EX30 will be built in China. But all are Swedish designed and engineered. Polestar is an offshoot of Volvo and Volvo sells their EVs online and are going to make it very similar to buying Polestars. That's what they're in the process of doing.
btw, the Lotus Eletre is coming to Western countries including the USA. It is built in China.
Oof I'm here too early. Only 360p available. I'll check back in a few mins.
In the end, spinning Polestar from Volvo is Geely’s way of making it OK for Americans to buy cars made in China.
Who says Geely spun Polestar from Volvo? Anyway, Polestars will be made in the USA, Belgium and perhaps Slovakia going forward and already the Volvo S90 is made in China and has been for many years. So no, Polestar is a sportier brand than Volvo and that's why it is a separate brand.
@archiestoltz222 in the end, spinning iPhone from Apple is China's way of making it OK for Americans to buy Apple in China....etc....
oh snap! you were in boulder??
I own two Teslas, but I'm not a fan and I do care about the quality. As soon as NACS becomes feasible I will ditch my Teslas. Supercharger network is the only thing keeping me from buying other EVs.
Just curious, how often do you supercharge? I would prefer a Polestar 2 with NACS, but I'm not sure it really matters for my use case, as I only drive 7500 miles a year and we could take my wife's ICE car on any lengthy roadtrips.
@@emoney1231 Not a lot. It's probably not 100% rational. I mostly charge at home, but if I forget to charge I can always just drive it to a Supercharger nearby for a quick top off. With non tesla cars I probably can't do this due to the reliabity of CCS chargers. If I forget to charge overnight, the car stays home that day.
@@JW77I think the new Teslacharger has a built in CCS adapter.
@@wonderboy75 only some of them do.
I picked up a used 2021 polestar 2 that was part of the Hertz fleet. 12k miles and a brand new battery for 43k with a CPO warranty included for 4 additional years unlimited miles.
They're stunning cars, but they're too overpriced for the range or performance. Especially since they don't qualify for US credits. It's trying to be Tesla (in terms of software/purchase experience) without the Supercharger network. Plus if China won't allow govt. employees to own Teslas due to security risks, it kinda implies there could be privacy issues with these Chinese-built vehicles.
The used ones are getting the used EV tax credits now...
Lease them. And I don't agree about that range should be tied into price. There's a lot more that goes into the price of a car than price and performance. Polestar isn't trying to be Tesla and rarely mentioned them. They are trying to compete with Porsche, who they mention often, but they do like some things about Tesla and are going with their no dealer way of purchasing them.
People really are too hung up on Made in China. Polestars aren't going to be exclusively made in China starting in 2024 with the Polestar 3.
Polestar: The Ultimate Volvo Driving Machine
Something like that. -Travis
I think there's totally room for a "sporty swede that's a cheaper Porsche"
I like the video
The Model 3 from a price/features standpoint, cannot be beat - unless it's a Model Y.
As a current 2 lessee, I’m afraid Polestar will die in the US. Volvo dealers are really resisting supporting these vehicles, and rollouts of new Polestar “spaces” has been very slow. I’m in the Northeast, which is relatively EV-friendly, and I see very few other Polestars on the road. Now that they also don’t get tax credits, that could be the end of the brand in the US unless Geely is willing to pour a lot more money and patience in before getting to critical mass.
The rollout is happening faster in the west, lots more spaces and lots more on the road here in the Phoenix area.
Polestar is probably bigger than Lotus. And they only have 1 car. They have a few more in the wings they've introduced. I think Polestar will be fine.
Leases DO get the tax credit.
They lose 50% of their value in the first year, so probably the best deal in the market for a used EV. Software and app is pure trash but the drivetrain is very good.
Technical improvements, faily regular sofrware updates, efficiency they are really an excellent choice. We almost bought one, but the Polestar 2 seating is too low for our aging bodies, so we bought a Tesla Model Y
BMW driving experience? Today’s BMW drive like a Camry, no steering feedback, poor handling. I test drove an i5 and was shocked how lifeless that vehicle was.
Crossover content, in a sedan! lol.
My daily driver is a Tesla Model S Performance and we also have a Volvo XC90. I love the 2.3s 0-60 time of the Tesla and I love how super comfortable the XC90 with air suspension is but the XC90 T6 is severely lacking in performance.
IMHO this whole Polestar being the "performance" brand just messes up things for Volvo customers who appreciate performance. I would like to buy an EX90 but with significant performance of at least around 3.5s 0-60. But this does not mean I want a stupid black "sport" interior, or dumb carbon fiber slathered everywhere, or fragile as lily low profile tires. No just give me an EX90 with a comfy luxurious light-colored interior but with high performance motors.
Why is this so hard? Why do I have to buy a Pole-something because I want a comfy EX90 that can launch to 0-60 very quickly. If Volvo doesn't offer a powerful performance drivetrain for the EX90, we are just going to buy a Rivian instead.
You may be unique in your preferred feature combinations. -Travis
You can get these with light gray napa leather, light wood, ambient lighting, etc. Mine isn't black sport at all.
Tesla's not a luxury brand because their interior quality and panel fit isn't even in the same league as a Volkswagen, much less an actual luxury brand like Audi.
I knew a girl who's nick name was Pole Star
aka Sassy Brassy?
Volvo made in China is where I go.
Annoying take
Means nothing about quality.
I think that the quality is excellent from China, but I would rather see North American made, Canada, USA or Mexico.
@@mitchellbarnow1709 fair enough. I would like them to be made in the US for the Tax Credit.
Lease it and you will get the credit.
What, are you guys infants? When you hear polestar the first thing you should think is strip joint.
Of course a BMW break the laws by driving in the shoulder and cut off a line of traffic
All glass roof, no thx, I don't want cancer...
How can glass be stronger than metal? I don't want all that glass raining down if I were in a crash.
Better lose the windows in your home and the side windows in your car
@@ScoobyFermentation 🤣
@@lance_r72 It's laminated and really strong.
Everything about this car is made in China. Should be wayyyy cheaper and definitely not a Porsche competitor. That’s a joke.
Polestar... beautiful design but built in China and priced like it's a Porsche... Sorry you have no history. Good luck with that pricing. And I'm not being political. It's just that, if you build in Mexico or China the consumer knows their wages are much lower so in my mind I'm thinking where's the competitive pricing???
Polestar 4 starting at 60k? LOL.
Re Polestar 2, rear seats are a joke and 1 coffee cup holder? Come on Polestar.
The Polestar 4 at $60K+ will be very competitive with midsized ICE luxury sedans.
The 27% tariff doesn't help
Polestar is an expensive brand.. Some really expensive cars from Lotus and Polestar will be made in China. Going forward, some other expensive Western brands will make some of their cars in China.
@@benjaminsmith2287 Polestar is a wannabe. They really have no history and they are built in China because at worst, Polestar is a Chinese brand disguised as a European company. Both Volvo and Polestar are owned by the Chinese.
@@kevinn1158 You need to do some research because you're off. Polestar was Flash, a Swedish racing operation. Polestar has been Volvo's performance tuner for years and for years people have bought s60 Polestar and XC60 Polestars at a price premium to Volvos. They're not a Chinese brand. You're wrong about that. They're owned by a Chinese car group, Geely Holding, not "the Chinese," and they operate almost autonomously. They are headquartered in Sweden where the work is done including the design and most of the engineering and road and safety testing where they have their own tracks and a huge crash facility and also an area where they examine Volvo and Polestar cars that were in real-world accidents.
The Polestar 2 was designed by Volvo. It was the Volvo Concept 40.2 Google it and you'll see it is exactly what the Polestar 2 is. It was designed by Thomas Ingenlath and Maximillan Misonni, both Europeans, one German and the other Austrian, and both headquartered in Sweden. Polestar is an established Swedish brand that was spun off from Volvo to make their own line of cars. Geely finances them, but they don't manage or design them. Geely also set up CEVT in Sweden because they like Swedish engineering. They even got a Swede, Kent Ove Bovellan, to be chief engineer for their SEA platform.
I get that you have to play the game to get access to cars, but this was FAR too shilly. Being manufactured in Chengdu, China automatically excludes it from contention as "luxury." Especially if it's based on a sub-compact. They are being dumped via fleet sales because they can't compete with other EVs. Without being built in North America to qualify for the BBB tax credits, why would you buy it over an EV that doesn't funnel money directly to the CCP?
Because used are sub-$30's and approaching used tax credit.
I usually hear people talk about luxury in terms of make, not model. Like if the A Class was made in China, it wouldn't mean Mercedes is not luxury. The Polestar 2 is built in China, but the 3 in being built in the US.
@@emoney1231 but Volvo, which this based off of is luxurious, Tesla is premium at best as they ride like a go-cart and are noisey.
@@emoney1231 The luxury Volvo s90 is built in China. It has nothing to do with luxury and everything to do with what factory is allocated to make what cars. The Lotus Eletre, a $100K luxury performance EV-SUV, will be made in China. People have antiquated notions that made in China means cheap. It doesn't.
That's utterly rediculous. It's absolutely a luxury build. Better than my BMW.