FIRST DRIVE: Polestar 4 – No Back Window, But Why?

What’s even more odd than Polestar’s naming convention, which orders its cars not by class, but when they go on sale?

Why, it’s to give the new Polestar 4 (which sits in price and size between the Polestar 2 and 3 – go figure) no rear window whatsoever.

It’s rather anti-dog, but that feature – together with a silhouette that’s more raised saloon than lowered SUV – does help the Polestar 4 stand out against electric rivals.

But is it enough to challenge the likes of Audi, BMW, Mercedes and Porsche? Top Gear Magazine’s Associate Editor, Tom Ford, has been to find out…

WATCH MORE TOP GEAR:

Chapters:
00:00 Intro
02:20 Interior
06:34 Walkaround
11:19 Drive - Spain
15:09 Drive - UK
19:23 Conclusion

MORE ABOUT TOP GEAR:

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[timk]

‘From cows that didn’t mind having thier skin taken off them’ 😂

[roaringfork]

We continue our long march to reinventing the station wagon lmao

[Aegilops]

I don't know this reviewer's name but I like his style. Not foaming-at-the-mouth over-exaggeration but equally not bland, and with nice understated humour - a balanced and considered review. Nice work.

[Milkydrummer]

The stupid thing about the no rear windscreen is that if you’re following a car you can often get a sense of what is going on ahead of them through the rear windscreen. I hate following a van etc for that reason. Honestly, this just seems completely unnecessary.

I love that British people say "saloon" instead of "sedan." It always makes me imagine the car walking into an old western-style bar and letting people know this town ain't big enough for the both of us

[GrumblingForesight]

IMO, cameras and screens will never be able to 100% replace a real mirror as you lose the sense of depth offered by actual mirrors

[michaelma]

To me, the car doesn't look any better without rear windscreen, what's the point?

[Tourian]

I don't understand modern cars. You get a massive skylight but no back wind shield. You get massive screens full of features that nobody wants. The car is also 30%–50% more expensive than most people can pay. And also you can't buy them because they have limited availability in select markets. I really don't get it.

[magamike]

I missed the point of not having a rear window.

[BoStanfordify]

Gorgeous design. IMO Polestar has some of the best interior and exterior design in the industry. Sadly at these price points competiton is tough, and badge matters so much.

[mra]

Looks like an updated version of the Volvo S60 Cross Country. I like it!

[idrm]

This car and some of its design (key, rear window) can be summed up bu this quote from some bloke called James May

"It's an ingenious solution to a problem that should have never existed in the first place"

[tomtho]

Absolutely stunning design on this thing 😍

[YananoBere]

Love this car. Lack of a rear window is a bit disorienting, but it's everything I want in a car. Clean elegant design, high tech, beautiful interior, sporty but comfortable and refined.

[mrjosephDJ]

Why not extend that glass roof all the way to the back? D'errr!!!..

[ThomasIllingworth]

I can't believe they've skimped on the processor for the tablet again. The Polestar 2 one is so laggy that you would think they wouldn't make the same mistake. What difference does it make for a couple of hundred quid processor in a 60k+ car??

[kng]

4:59 Imagine having to press a touch sensitive screen 9 times while driving before something actually works. God I hate this trend of removing physical buttons.

[ibrahimc]

I drove the new Range Rover Vogue with a camera for the rear view mirror and it wasnt a great experience because its so much harder to judge the distance of the car behind

[flyinggraysons]

That's a dishonest review if prior to publishing you knew the first 3/4 of the video was a review of a "broken" car. If they gave you access to a working, standard release of the car; why wouldn't you just do the review of that? Seems complaining just for the sake of complaining.

[warrenh]

Full glass roof but no rear window is a crazy decision.