Polestar 4 News

Another year of new-model launches is behind us, and 2024 has been another doozy.While this past year is notable for the number of models that were scheduled for launch but still haven’t arrived, there were some big names making big waves.Throughout the year I have driven some cars that truly surprised me, and others that were real let-downs. But for this article I am solely focusing on the good ones, because why would I want to end the year on a negative note?For clarity, our various CarsGuide ‘top cars’ articles are focused on vehicles that brought each individual journalist the most joy this year. That doesn’t necessarily mean the model launched in the past 12 months — we might have only had the chance to drive them in that period.Following last year’s list, my 2024 best of is a mix of some possibly obvious choices, and some that are perhaps a bit more left of field.Let’s not waste any more time. Here are the cars I loved most in 2024, in alphabetical order.In September, I drove the updated 2025 Audi e-tron GT on home turf in Germany, not far from Frankfurt and stopping off for the night in Heilbronn, where the vehicle is produced.I hadn’t driven the pre-facelift model but heard good things, notably from my colleague Tom White. I have driven a number of grades of the mechanically related Porsche Taycan, and while I have great affection for that car, I fell deeply in love with the Audi.Where the Porsche is a more focussed sports car, the Audi is more of a grand tourer. It still has breathtaking performance, but it offers a level of comfort that surprises.Beyond its phenomenal on-road performance, the e-tron GT is superbly designed and has a striking and inviting interior.I’ll leave you with the second-last line from my Audi e-tron GT review to summarise;“The e-tron GT is one of the most deeply impressive cars I have ever driven.”Including a new Mustang on a best-of list? I know, groundbreaking, right?But this car had to be on my list.The new-gen Ford Mustang is based on old underpinnings but honestly, I don’t care. I’m just thrilled that Ford can still build this car in the age of electrification.I spent a week with a Mustang GT Convertible, which is only offered in auto guise. I am still yet to drive a manual Mustang, but, again, I don’t care. The 10-speed auto is a brilliant match for the delicious 345kW/550Nm 5.0-litre V8.I am not really a V8 guy these days, and I am not a fan of obnoxiously loud engines, but man it was fun to scare the neighbours with an overzealous rev or two.The interior is much better than the previous Mustang and while it’s not perfect (what is with the pretend old-school handbrake?) I loved every second I had with this car.I drove the Jeep Avenger EV in Italy a few months back and, to be honest, I wasn’t expecting much given some of Jeep’s current crop of models leave me cold.But it turns out there is something so charming about Jeep’s first electric vehicle that it was one of the first cars to make it onto my list this year.The exterior design is simple yet edgy, and while it has a distinct Jeep flavour it’s very modern. The thoughtful Jeepisms like the plastic bootlip to avoid scratching the paint when loading a bike in the back, or setback headlights to mitigate against damage in a collision just add to the charm of the little SUV.It’s no sports car but it is brisk, comfortable and — importantly — engaging to drive. I couldn’t wait to get behind the wheel again.There’s a reason the Jeep Avenger won European Car of the Year. It’s an adorable, capable and functional city EV. Before you put a deposit down on one of the many affordable small EVs hitting the market, go check out the Avenger. It’s the coolest Jeep I’ve ever driven.The Polestar 4 is the EV brand’s first medium SUV and it follows the larger and pricier Polestar 3 SUV to market. But there are big differences between the two models.This is a Tesla Model Y rival, but it is much more premium than Tesla can manage. It’s also a lot more interesting.A striking exterior design lures you in before you realise something’s missing — a rear windscreen. Instead, it has a camera with vision displayed on a digital screen where the interior rear-view mirror goes.Despite this feature being tech for tech’s sake, the Polestar 4 is seriously impressive.It has excellent real-world driving range, a serious focus on sustainability, a spacious and gorgeously designed interior, and the exact same standard features list in both the Single Motor and Dual Motor grades. The only caveat there is that there are a lot of options and option packs that can push the price out.But if you’re tech savvy, value good design and a genuine focus on sustainability, the Polestar 4 is hard to beat.As someone who grew up obsessing over cars and has been in automotive media for more than 12 years, I did not see this coming.But I am here to tell you, dear reader, the new ninth-generation Toyota Camry is that good!It’s easy to dismiss the Camry as the Uber driver’s car of choice, or the sort of vehicle your grandpa drives, but after a week behind the wheel of the SL grade I am convinced it’s one of the best cars released this year.The hybrid powertrain (there’s no petrol-only grades anymore) is smoother than before, it’s still incredibly efficient and it has the best ride quality of any car I have driven this year. In even more surprising news, it’s actually pretty fun to drive on twisty roads as well.Of course the cabin is spacious and there’s plenty of room for cargo too.This is truly all the family car most people will need. Forget the dreary reputation of Camrys past. Because this big sedan has got its mojo back.Hyundai Santa Fe - Well isn’t this a bold new look? While it might be too bold for some, the new-gen Santa Fe improves on what was already an excellent family SUV and takes its place at the top of the segment.Lexus LBX - The latest Lexus model is also the smallest, but that doesn’t mean it’s any less premium. The LBX looks sharp, has hot hatch vibes and was one of my clear favourites this year. Bring on the spicy Morizo RR version!Mini Countryman - In its third generation, the Mini Countryman finally grows up into a family friendly small SUV. In a win for value for money, the entry-level petrol grades are just as compelling as the higher-end EV variants.Peugeot 408 - A cousin to the Citroen C5 X (RIP Citroen), the 408 is plug-in hybrid only and one of the most striking cars to launch this year. It ain’t cheap but it’s a joy to drive and it offers buyers a sleek European alternative to all of the generic small SUVs.Renault Megane E-Tech - I have only just driven this spunky French EV but I am already in love. Stunning exterior design, a surprisingly spacious interior and keener pricing combine with a joyful drive experience. Renault is on the march, finally!

Polestar is set to get a sales boost in 2025 from its two new models, but the company admits it hasn’t been easy to build momentum with just one model on sale.The Geely-owned marque recently launched the Polestar 3 large SUV, quickly followed by the Polestar 4 medium coupe-style SUV, adding to the popular Polestar 2 mid-size sedan.The 2 has been Polestar’s sole offering since it launched in late 2021 but with two models in the SUV segment now available, that’s expected to increase.Polestar Australia Managing Director Scott Maynard acknowledged that only having one model to sell for the past three years has been a challenge, but said the Polestar 2 had been a great car to launch the brand with.“Limiting ourselves to what looks a lot like the medium sedan market has made for a bit of a difficult sell for Polestar, but the products are good. So Polestar (2) has been great, like it's been a really, really good car, and it's done a great job for Polestar,” he told CarsGuide.“Also the things that have been done to enhance that car, it's been life cycled really, really well, like they haven't just given it a series of nips and tucks. They've also increased battery capacity, charge times have improved, performance has improved, so it's evolved really well, and so that's made it easier.“But yes, it's lovely to now have a bit of a range, a broader product portfolio, and critically, a line into the medium and large SUV markets, which is critical in Australia.”Polestar’s Australian sales are down by close to 22 per cent to the end of October compared to the same period in 2023.However, Maynard said the EV specialist will see “a bit of a boost, maybe not straight away”, and detailed some of the reasons for the downward sales.“It's pretty clear to us from the pre orders that we've got on book that there were a lot of customers waiting to see what Polestar 4 would be like, customers wanting to see Polestar 3, and then, importantly, customers wanting to see both and compare the two.“And so we had expected just a bit of a rollback in straight order intake while those cars were heavily publicised and not yet available. And so now we've got them available, we would expect to see that start to pick up again.”Maynard declined to detail Polestar’s sales targets for the new models, but said the plan was to err on the side of caution when it comes to ordering and numbers.“We've got internal numbers, but we've been quite deliberate in setting those internal planning numbers quite modestly. We don't want to push those vehicles into an overstock position, so we're carefully controlling just how available and exclusive they are, and so I'm pretty confident we can overrun the internal numbers we've got.”Maynard said that the Polestar 4 is expected to become the brand’s top seller given its value proposition, sizing and packaging, and the fact that both grades slide in under the Federal Government’s Luxury Car Tax threshold.Up until recently, Polestar models have only been produced at Geely Group’s Chengdu, China factory, but the company is also going to produce the Polestar 3 in South Carolina in the USA, while the Polestar 4 will be produced at a new facility in South Korea.Maynard said that while the two new plants open up possibilities for the brand, it’s unlikely production for the Australian market will shift from China.“Cars will still come from China for now, but we've got the option then, if, for whatever reason, we need to source out of the US, or say out of Korea, then, yes, we’ve got the option of being able to pull out of there. But for now, it actually works best for us. China gives us the shortest lead time. It gives us the quick order to build. So it works really well for us at the moment.”

While a number of car brands backtrack on electric cars and embrace hybrids, one EV manufacturer has no plans to offer petrol-electric powertrains.Polestar only sells battery electric vehicles including the Polestar 2, 3 and 4 — with another couple on the horizon — but other carmakers have tweaked their electrification strategies in response to slowing demand for EVs globally.Hyundai Group, which includes Hyundai, Kia and Genesis, has launched a number of EVs across all brands but recently announced plans to increase hybrid offerings in response to market demands.Mercedes-Benz backflipped on its decision to drop plug-in hybrids from its range and will add PHEV grades to some of its popular models like the C-Class.MG, GWM, Honda, Nissan and Suzuki are all in on hybrids as brands try to cash in on what Toyota has known for a long time — hybrids sell.In Australia, EV sales continue to climb steadily on 2023, with this year up 6.7 per cent to 76,640 units. Meanwhile, hybrid registrations have skyrocketed by 83 per cent to just over 144,000 units, and plug-in hybrid sales have increased by 104 per cent to 18,000 units.Still, those numbers have not spooked Polestar Australia Managing Director Scott Maynard, who questions the green credentials of hybrid vehicles.“I don’t have any concerns about it, because our sustainability story still seems to be ringing true with lots and lots of people that choose our brand and a hybrid doesn't have that story,” he told CarsGuide at the recent Polestar 4 launch.“It's the worst of both worlds. You've got all of the complexity of jamming an electrical drivetrain into an engine bay that's already got a petrol or a diesel engine in it. You're still burning fuel. You've still got to dispose of the whole thing. It's not a green solution.“Yes, it burns… lots less fuel during its time. But it's not a clean solution at all, but it's a marketable one. And yes, people are capitalising on that for now. But it'll have its day, and then there'll still be those that will seek out the truly green alternative and a car that does have a lesser impact. And that's where EVs will rise again.”While Maynard is keeping the faith in electric cars, he acknowledged that the wider car market in Australia is a way off adopting EVs on a massive scale.“It will continue to work its way up to its natural position,” he said when asked what Australia’s EV market will look like in a few years time.“I don't think we're at a point yet where we could see a spot on the horizon where you’d say ‘we will be 100 per cent electrified by that point’. I don't think that point is visible to us. It's been called out a few times along the way, but not well, and I don't think that point is visible just yet.”Maynard added that different elements will nudge EV uptake and sales along, including improvements to charging infrastructure, the variation in product and schemes like the Federal Government’s New Vehicle Efficiency Standard (NVES).“As government incentives are lined up nationally, instead of this disparate state-based system, that'll nudge it along. NVES… will assist, which is the government's intent. So there'll be lots of little bits that will see it nudge up.”He highlighted challenges around countering misinformation about EVs, but is confident that Australia will see the environmental benefits of electric vehicles in the long run.“And so working against it are things like the continued spread of misinformation, and the talk about, ‘how long does a battery last, and is it actually serviceable?’ And all of those little bits and pieces that perhaps push back against it, from time to time, and so you know that toing and froing will determine just what its rate of climb is, but it will continue to climb.“And I think everyone can see that, for reasons of environmental sustainability, we need to get there. The pace at which we do it will probably spit and spurt, but we'll get there.”

The Polestar 2 has been given a stack of new standard equipment and a price cut. For 2025, all Polestar 2 variants will be priced well below the Luxury Car Tax (LCT) threshold, starting at $62,400 (before on-road costs) for the entry-level single motor standard range variant, and rising to $80,830 for the top-spec long range dual-motor with Performance Pack.

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With order books already open, the first pre-production examples of the Polestar 4 SUV coupe have landed on local soil with CarsGuide recently attending a pre-sale preview of the new pure-electric five-seater.

The Polestar 4 is now on sale in Australia, but don't let the price fool you - this has everything you need... apart from a rear window.

The 2024 Polestar 4 will land in Australia next year priced from $81,500, giving the all-electric Swedish brand an SUV answer to the Tesla Model Y.While the Tesla starts at $65,400, making the Polestar around $15k more expensive, an argument could be moun

You won't have to wait long for the Polestar 2 with the brand saying production issues are clearing up for its China-sourced cars.

Polestar will soon join Kia as one of the few electric vehicle makers testing vehicles in Australia before tuning them for Australian conditions, with the brand confirming plans to send its chief test engineer and vehicle dynamics engineer Down Under to v