Polestar 4 vs Toyota Landcruiser 70 Series

What's the difference?

Polestar may be a Tesla rival but the Polestar 4 looks and feels much more premium than the Model Y. The brand has taken its time to get the cabin just right and the sustainable materials don’t feel cheap in any way. In fact, this car feels special.

I may not be a fan of some of the tech - the digital rear-view mirror, for example - but many people will be drawn to the car because of these features.

On the road, the Polestar 4 is a cracking EV, with excellent driving range and a fun factor that can’t be denied. That aftersales offer is just the cherry on the cake.

This is Polestar’s best chance yet of being accepted by the masses.

Note: CarsGuide attended this event as a guest of the manufacturer, with travel, accommodation and meals provided.

It looks like a house brick, it drives like a busted truck, it has less safety gear than a go-kart and fewer standard features than a shopping cart, yet there’s still so much to like about the 2026 Toyota LandCruiser 76 Series.

It’s fun to drive (if you know what to expect), it’s highly functional (for the job-site or camp-site) and one of the best 4WDs straight out of the showroom. And in GXL guise it makes a lot of sense as a work wagon or a touring vehicle.

Sure, Toyota pushes the boundaries of brand loyalty – consistently doing the bare minimum to keep buyers coming back for more – but in the case of the 76, I don’t mind that because this is one of the old-school 4WDs that should always be available.

Polestar pitches itself as a design-led brand and so far that checks out. The Polestar 2 is a striking sedan, the 3 is a bold, boxy, big SUV and now the 4 is the latest sexy addition to the range.

As mentioned, it is technically a medium SUV but it has a distinct fastback look. Polestar calls it a coupe-SUV. Whatever it is, it looks smashing in the metal.

The sleek silhouette pairs nicely with the split LED headlights and low-set front end. While there is an elevated ride height, it manages to sit low enough to the ground to look sporty.

The most interesting angle of the Polestar 4 is the rear. This car does not have a rear windscreen. The tailgate is made up of aluminium panels instead of glass, but the massive panoramic roof stretches back to the top of the tailgate.

The squared-off rear sits up high and houses gorgeous tail-lights that span the width of the car. Even though the rear is controversial given the lack of window, it’s probably the Polestar’s best angle. It’s unique and striking.

The Polestar 4’s interior design is best described as stylish minimalism. It is much more interesting than Tesla’s appliance-like cabin design, and it’s clear a lot of thought has gone into the interior. There are virtually no buttons which helps the look, but that can impact practicality. 

The integrated air vents look stunning as does the flat-bottom steering wheel.

A mix of whites, and light and dark grey materials are broken up by pops of colour like gold seatbelts. 

Recycled material is found throughout including the floor mats, dash toppers and seat upholstery, some of which is inspired by the fashion and sportswear industries. But being Polestar, it’s with a sustainable twist.

The 76 Series is boxy and blocky at 4910mm long (with a 2730mm wheelbase), 1870mm wide and 1940mm high. It has a listed kerb weight of 2300kg.

This is a straight-up-and-down 4WD wagon whose hard edges have been somewhat softened through the most recent significant upgrade.

The cabin retains its spacious but spartan look and feel. Function wins out over form here.

The five seats sport a hard-wearing grey cloth trim which fits in nicely with the 76 Series’ spirit of utility.

Sliding into the driver’s seat, the first thing I notice is how high the centre console sits. This is clearly a Polestar thing because it’s similar to the 2. This adds to the sporty feel of the cabin, but I don’t know if it needs to be that high.

It does however liberate a massive amount of storage space under the console. You could fit a handbag, shoes or other items there, and Polestar offers accessories like bicycle-esque bottle holders. 

There’s more storage in the smallish central bin which also houses two USB-C ports, a half-hidden phone charging pad, and door bins that will fit a larger bottle, but only lying down.

The seats are comfortable and the cloth-like sustainable material in the Singe Motor grade looks great, but it can grip on to clothes a little. The perforated Zinc-coloured ‘animal welfare’ Nappa leather in the Dual Motor is stunning and probably what I would opt for. Which is rare given I am no leather fan. But whatever the material, there’s a decent amount of support on offer. 

If you opt for the Nappa upgrade ($7000) you get Harman Kardon speakers embedded in the front headrests. It’s an interesting addition but it sounds quite cool when you realise where the sound is coming from.

Aside from the ‘play’ dial on the console, there are very few visible buttons. Meaning every function is housed in the central 15.4-inch landscape digital display.

I recently spent some time in another new Geely Group product - the Volvo EX30 - which has a similar set-up.

Thankfully, the menu is easy to navigate and the main screen is split between nav (running Google Maps of course) and up to four other functions, including apps like Spotify, a quick link to often-used controls and whatever else you want to customise.

Aside from the visually appealing graphics and colours, the display is crisp and easy to get your head around. The air con is easy to access and you use the screen to change the direction of the vents, which oscillate on the passenger side. 

The ambient lighting which is solar system themed is pretty cool, too. You pick the colour by planet. And the ‘Hey Google’ command appears to work well.

However, functions like opening the glove box should still be a physical button. There is no reason it needs to be housed in the screen. Also, adjusting the exterior mirrors and steering wheel required a lesson from the Polestar team. You can do it via the screen, or by using the smart controls on the steering wheel that change depending on what function you need. 

Again, this is very clever tech, but is it that necessary? Just because Tesla does something, doesn’t mean every other EV brand on the planet needs to follow suit. 

Then we get to the digital interior rearview mirror. While the lack of a rear windscreen does not impact the look of the car negatively, it’s another element that feels like tech for tech’s sake. Is there really enough of a benefit to interior space to justify this radical change to the car?

The display is clear but when you look at it then the exterior mirrors, the object in the display seems closer than the mirrors. There’s also no washer for the camera, with Polestar suggesting the angle means it doesn’t need one. The question remains, what happens if it malfunctions? 

I realise you can’t see out the back of plenty of vehicles, like trucks and, often, delivery vans. It’s also something you have to navigate when you pack your car full of gear for holiday and can’t see past all the luggage. And I appreciate many more people will be drawn in by the tech of it all. But for me it remains the answer to a question no one asked.

Moving to the rear, the slightly bucketed seats are plush and supportive and there is acres of legroom thanks to the Polestar 4’s 4.8-metre wheelbase. It is a spacious cabin no doubt, but the placement of the battery pack under the floor means your knees sit up higher than they would in an ICE car. It’s a similar phenomenon in Tesla models. There’s also no toe room under the front seats. 

You can, however, recline the rear seats slightly, making for a more relaxed vibe back there. There are amenities like rear digital climate controls, more USB-C ports, chest and knee-level air vents, and a fold-down arm-rest with cupholders, but big bottles won’t fit in the doors.

The boot appears shallow but there is under-floor storage where you can house the charging cable as well as flatter items. All up you get up to 526 litres of cargo space (that includes 31L under-floor), increasing to 1536L with the 60/40 split rear seats folded, while a front cargo space swallows 15L.

Polestar only offers a tyre repair kit for the 4, so no temporary spare. 

The 76 cabin is practicality maximus, albeit with a basic interior that feels like it was delivered here from the 1970s by a disco-ball-equipped time machine.

It is unashamedly purpose-built for work and in GXL guise this five-seat wagon is well-suited to job-site duties and/or touring life.

The cabin layout has a nice familiarity about it and it’s an easy space in which to quickly become comfortable.

All controls are easy to locate and operate – dials or buttons as per most Toyota cabins – and the 76 Series has a new multimedia screen. But it’s nothing to get excited about. It’s too small, too dark and it’s difficult to operate. So, that’s a fail.

The cabin is roomy, however, even if storage spaces are few and far between and some of them are small or awkwardly shaped or both.

There are two outboard cupholders, a narrow centre console bin, a cupholder and narrow smartphone spot to the left of the gear stick and door pockets. There is also a shallow shelf for something below the front passenger's outboard air vent.

It's a spartan interior, but as plain as it all is, it fits in with the 70 Series ethos of being functional.

Cloth seat and door trim retain that rough-and-ready feel the model is renowned for and there are expanses of hard plastic surfaces everywhere to endure whatever work and life can throw at them.

The carpet floor in our test vehicle was topped with rubber mats.

Storage spaces up front include a glove box, centre console with lid, dual cupholders between the driver and front passenger, pop-out outboard cupholders and door pockets big enough for a water bottle.

Rear-seat passengers each get a seatback map pocket… and that’s about it.

Front seats are as comfortable as you’d expect in a 76 Series, offering adequate rather than exceptional levels of support and comfort, and the rear seats are squeezy for adults, so better left to children.

Payload is listed as 1210kg and the expansive squared-off rear cargo area could probably cop most of that weighty burden. That space can be expanded to fit even more work or camping equipment if you tumble-fold the 60/40 split second-row forward.

Access to the rear is via the 60/40-split barn-type tailgate.

As a reference, the Ineos Grenadier Trialmaster offers very comfortable Recaro seats at the front, as well as slightly more space and comfort in its second row and more amenities throughout its cabin (as well as quirky touches, such as aircraft-style switchgear and the like).

The 2026 Toyota LandCruiser 76 Series in GXL trim, with a 2.8-litre, four-cylinder, turbo-diesel engine, five-speed manual gearbox and diff locks as standard costs $77,800 (RRP).

As tested, this five-seat vehicle costs $79,293.10 (RRP) because it has an EBC brake kit (module) ($242.50, RRP, estimated fitted), wiring kit, brake controller (harness, $394.95 RRP, estimated fitted) and a towbar ($855.65 RRP, estimated fitted)

Standard features include a 6.7-inch multimedia touchscreen system (with Bluetooth as well as wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto), AEB, cruise control (not adaptive), a reversing camera, lane departure alert, speed sign recognition, hill-start assist, power-operated wing mirrors and 16-inch alloy wheels.

Exterior paint choices include 'French Vanilla', 'Graphite', 'Merlot Red', 'Silver Pearl', 'Eclipse Black', 'Midnight Blue', and 'Sandy Taupe', which is on our test vehicle.

For reference, the 76’s closest rival, the Ineos Grenadier Trailmaster (with a 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo-diesel engine), offers much more in terms of standard features onboard but has a starting price around the $120,000 mark, before on-road costs. A Ford Everest Tremor 4WD 3.0 V6 diesel auto costs around $76,590, BOC, and easily tops the 76 in terms of features and refinement and a Nissan Patrol Warrior (with a 5.6-litre petrol V8 engine) has a price-tag of $110,660, BOC, and also easily tops the 76 for features, refinement and all-round driveability.

The battery electric Polestar 4 comes with two powertrain options. 

As its name suggests, the Long Range Single Motor has one motor driving the rear wheels only, and it pumps out 200kW of power and 343Nm of torque. That’s enough to help propel the SUV from zero to 100km/h in 7.1 seconds, on the way to a 200km/h top speed. 

The Long Range Dual Motor has a second motor on the front axle for all-wheel-drive grip, and the power and torque is bumped to 400kW and 686Nm, respectively. You’ll get to 100km/h a lot quicker at 3.8 seconds, too.

This 76 Series GXL has a 2.8-litre, four-cylinder, turbo-diesel engine producing 150kW from 3200–3400rpm and 450Nm from 2400–3000rpm and a five-speed manual gearbox.

It has part-time four-wheel drive and auto-locking hubs, and this GXL variant has locking front and rear diffs as standard.

The Polestar 4 uses a 400-volt, 100kWh lithium-ion battery.

The Long Range Single Motor has a healthy EV driving range of up to 620km on the WLTP standard, and energy consumption ranges from 17.8 to 18.1 kilowatt hours per 100 kilometres.

Range in the Dual Motor drops to a still very useful 590km and efficiency sits between 18.7 and 21.7kWh/100km.

We were in and out of different grades at the launch so didn’t capture real-world efficiency but we will when we do a full review soon.

AC charging is at a rate of 11kW, but if you opt for the $8000 Plus Pack that increases to an impressive 22kW which ensures a zero to 100 per cent home charge (32-amp) in just five and a half hours.

DC charging capacity is up to 200kW and Polestar says you should be able to get from 10 to 80 per cent full in about 30 minutes. 

These add up to solid figures for the price and segment. 

It comes with a type 2 and CCS2 charge port and a home charging cable.

Official combined cycle (urban/extra-urban) fuel consumption is listed as 9.6L/100km.

Fuel consumption on my test was 11.4L/100km and that was recorded after a variety of driving (suburbs, highway, back roads and bush tracks) with a full day of 4WDing thrown into the mix.

The 76 Series uses diesel and has a 130-litre fuel tank. Driving range is 1354km (based on the official fuel-use figure) and 1140km (based on my fuel-use figure on test).

Some EVs tend to blend into one another when it comes to the drive experience. Thankfully, that’s not the case with the Polestar 4, which is the fastest Polestar model to date.

I drove the Single Motor and Dual Motor with the Performance Pack back to back, and both hold appeal for different reasons. 

The Single Motor is the everyday Polestar 4 and it is the one I would choose. There is ample power and torque on offer and that 7.1-second 0-100km/h sprint time is nothing to be sniffed at.

Riding on the standard 20-inch aero wheels with a high sidewall, the Single Motor is composed with a comfortable ride quality. The drive from Adelaide via various winding and pockmarked roads to the Barossa Valley highlighted how well the Single Motor can handle these sorts of surfaces. It’s not as comfy as a Camry, but Polestar has ironed out most of the firmness.

Steering feels light but super sharp in the Single Motor and while there is a hint of body roll, it is still exceptionally capable on the twisty stuff. It also doesn’t feel anywhere near its 2230kg kerb weight.

The Dual Motor is a different beast, especially when paired with the Performance Pack. That pack adds, among other items, Brembo brake callipers and a ‘Polestar Engineered’ chassis tune.

It is brutally quick from a standing start. Like ‘pull your face back’ quick. Zero to 100km/h in 3.8sec to be precise. It’s a hoot, but it is much more than just a straight-line speed machine. 

The Dual Motor carves up corners, again with slight roll, but it has no business being this sharp given its dimensions and weight. We sprinted (safely) through bends better suited to a tiny performance hatch with ease. 

You can adjust the chassis to your preference. Suspension runs from 'Standard' to 'Nimble' and 'Firm', and steering is either Standard or Firm, the latter adding quite a bit of weight to the steering. Power delivery is either 'Range' or 'Performance'. Obviously, the latter is the most fun. 

Even in Standard suspension mode, the ride is much firmer than the Single Motor, which isn’t helped by the massive 22-inch wheels. It is, however, never unbearable. In fact, it’s more than fine on some of the average roads we encountered. 

The Polestar 4 is well insulated, ensuring a hushed cabin. 

It’s a lot of fun, but be prepared to drop any expectations of comfort and safety and simply enjoy the all-in experience of driving a vehicle that steers around like an old school mini-bus and exhibits the ride and handling characteristics of a sugar-cane harvester.

From the massive throw of the big gear stick and old-armchair-like cloth seats to the low-key rumble of the turbo-diesel engine and commanding driving position, spending any drive time in the LC76 is a shedload of fun.

This is not an insubstantial wagon and it’s unwieldy on suburban back streets and parked-in city lanes, especially if you're used to driving zippy urban-friendly SUVs.

When you drive it, the 76 feels tall and narrow, but it still somehow feels well planted on the road, unless you're driving over-energetically, and you soon get used to its lumbering attitude.

Visibility is impressive all-around and that turbo-diesel offers ample responsiveness when you need it to, Unfortunately, it doesn’t have the deep rumble of the ol’ V8 but it’s pleasing, nonetheless.

Steering is truck-vague, there is body-roll when you pitch it into sharper corners and the brake-pedal action is spongy, rather than direct.

The five-speed manual gearbox is well matched to this four-cylinder engine and with the taller fifth gear sorted out a few years back the LC76 overtakes with ease and is an easy drive on open roads. Though Toyota has fine-tuned the gearbox to better suit this engine, I wouldn't mind another gear in this thing.

The 76 is noisy because it's a tall, boxy wagon that monsters its way through the air as opposed to slipping smoothly through it like a 4WD ninja. And there's wind-rush around this 76's big wing mirrors and its chunky snorkel (mounted on the driver-side A-pillar in our test vehicle).

It always feels like a window's open or a door's not shut properly in the 76 because this wagon is as draughty as an old house. But those quirks are part of this wagon’s charm and I don’t mind them, at all.

Anyway, to the off-road bit.

This is a purpose-built 4WD wagon and it remains as brutally effective off-road as it's ever been.

As standard, the 76 has part-time four-wheel drive and auto-locking hubs. And in GXL guise it has locking front and rear diffs as standard.

Off-road angles are 33 degrees approach and 23 degrees departure, as well as 290mm of listed ground clearance and a 700mm wading depth, which all check out.

Its suspension set-up – coil springs at the front, leaf springs at the rear – yields a comfortable ride over poorly maintained back roads and corrugated gravel tracks.

Low-range gearing is great and there's plenty of torque available at low revs and the 76’s 4WD set-up offers impressive flexibility when you're in low-range 4WD.

The 76 also has front and rear diff locks (dial-operated from the driver seat and standard on the GXL), as well as driver-assist tech, such as hill-start assist, to call upon.

The 76 has live axles front and rear and wheel travel is decent, so you're generally able to stretch a tyre to the dirt for more traction.

It’s worth noting the 76's wheel tracks are still set at different widths from front to rear – 1555mm wide at the front (because of the line-up's now discontinued V8 engine and large radiator) and 1460mm wide at the rear – but that’s of little consequence in general daily driving or even 4WDing.

This 4WD rides on bush-friendly 16-inch alloys, shod with light-truck construction Dunlop Grandtrek AT1 (265/70R16 115R). Good size rubber and there’s a full-size spare as back-up.

Unbraked towing capacity is listed as 750kg while braked trailer capacity is 3500kg. The 76 Series has a gross vehicle mass (GVM) of 3510kg and a gross combined mass (GCM) of 7010kg.

For reference, the Ineos Grenadier offers a GVM of 3550kg and a GCM of 7000kg, so it’s a close weight race with the 76.

In terms of ANCAP safety ratings, the 2026 Toyota LandCruiser 76 Series 2.8L is unrated.

Standard safety gear onboard includes two airbags (one each for the driver and front-seat passenger), as well as driver-assist tech such as autonomous emergency braking (AEB, including pedestrian detection and daytime cyclist protection), cruise control (it’s not adaptive though), traffic sign recognition, lane-departure warning (overly sensitive and beeping annoying but minus intervention), automatic high-beam headlights (now LED), hill descent control and a reversing camera.

But it’s missing blind-spot alert, rear cross-traffic alert and driver attention warning.

In contrast, even though the Grenadier is not overloaded with safety gear and driver-assist tech it does have six airbags, reversing camera, rear parking sensors, a tyre pressure monitoring system and front parking sensors. But, again, the Grenadier costs more than the 76.

Covering the Polestar 4 is a five-year, unlimited kilometre new-vehicle warranty, and an eight year, or 160,000km battery warranty. 

Complimentary roadside assist covers you for five years too.

The service schedule is every two years or 30,000km.

But the big news is that Polestar won’t charge you a cent for servicing for the first five years, or 100,000km of ownership, whichever comes first - it’s complementary.

This is an outstanding aftersales offer.

The 2026 76 Series is covered by a five-year/unlimited km warranty.

Service intervals are scheduled for every six months/10,000km (whichever occurs soonest) and it has to be said that those intervals are short compared to other vehicles.

Cost per service for the LC70 is $545 for five years or 100,000km (up to the first 10 services) for a total cost of $5450.

For reference, Ineos offers a five-year/unlimited km warranty for the Grenadier, with servicing scheduled at 12-month/15,000km intervals at a total approximate cost of $4626.