As a car person having a manual adjustable dampen setting on a consumer product is wild. I would expect stuff like this on a more performance enthusiast product. Seems a little odd in this sort market.
Yeah when he showed how to adjust them I thought "Nobody buying this Volvo will ever do that, they'll leave it on whatever setting from the factory and it'll never change".
@@Sizukun1 and so, as it isn't a Volvo but the more entusiast Polestar, maybe it tries to distinct itself from Volvo in general. It's not meant to be mainstream, still, making it that hard to adjust.... why not have it at the top end under the hood and some caps in the rear?
I'm surprised seeing them include them and then not include an easy adjustment solution in the back seat or something. Having to take the whole fender off everytime is brutal. Even just an easy access hatch in the fender liner would be better.
As a car person, watching Alex/anyone from Ltt, review a car is very intriguing to see from a completely different perspective than automotive journalist.
I like Alex reviewing cars because he knows all the numbers and manufacturer talking points. BUT he also get appropriately annoyed at things like a cupholder or arm rest situation. I've test driven lots of cars, and the deal breaker is usually something like the mirror position, or passenger seat adjustment. The little annoyances are super important when thinking about a spot you'll be sitting in every day, and these reviews seem to call out all of those details.
Idk the whole arm rest thing felt ridiculous to include. Who the hell actually uses them the way he was describing?? If you're holding the steering wheel in any decent way, it's not a problem
Totally agree! Love Alex’s reviews on cars. -ray your wrong hes a Mechanic in his personal life lol -jabba arm rest and cup holders are exactly the things i use daily 🤦🏼♀️
I watched countless videos on the polestar before I bought one and you’re the only one that mentioned the weird ass ergonomics of the cabin, comfort wise and getting in and out of the damn thing, didn’t notice on the test drive (too giddy I guess) but these are very noticeable. So thank you for pointing them out for anyone else in the future
Indeed. Was a bit surprised he didn't mention how the gear knob surround crowds your knee though - that was even more annoying for me than the armrests.
I sat in one at a mall and it was dog crap. Ha hadn't watched a single video about it and I came to my own conclusion that it was crap. Funny to hear the exact same things in the video.
I've had mine since Oct 2020. Apart from the left arm rest issue mostly everything is spot on. The centre issue is easily solved, I left my wife so we don't have to fight over the 2nd cup holder. Back to the arm left rest - I've done 18k miles in and not a had a problem, but if you did then definitely one for people to try out before buying one. Doesn't seem one size fits all. Best feature is Google maps.
Having been a passenger in one of these during a serious crash that involved the whole right wheel and suspension being ripped off. I can confirm they are very safe cars. Got out without a scratch.
Aging Wheels did great coverage of the car, one of the biggest issues is that not all volvo dealerships can work on the car, it can only be worked on at official Polestar support dealerships, which are pretty rare
I'm sure you guys already know this, but you should probably either repair or replace the sensor on the camera that was used here. There is a dead pixel in the lower left corner. Great auto review BTW. Loving it.
I get questions about my Polestar 2 all the time. People have stopped next to me in traffic jams just to ask what car it is. I can't do a border crossing without at least one border guard asking what brand it is. It's honestly the least anonymous car i've ever driven, i'm surprised LMG had a different experience!
@@slyffr8268 Only on highways do I trust this cars autopilot. Anything with lots of intersections, mixed traffic and redlights is a no go. But then again, I first didn't even want to spec the pilot package except for the safety features and the 360 camera. Tesla don't make me feel safe either, btw. It works quite a bit better but I still wouldn't trust it with my life.
One test that would be good for you guys to test in these EV reviews is whether the brackelights function properly in one pedal mode. i.e whether they turn on under a partial lift off. Some don't!
Little late to the party but when using the engine Break (is there a separate english term?) Doenst trigger the brake light, so when lifting it a little it acts like a engine break so i guess that would be an explanation
@@IR-MaNu you are correct that it is effectively engine breaking and so they aren't required by law to have the break lights come on. However EVs can decelerate much faster than ICE vehicles under engine breaking due to regen-breaking on one pedal mode which can be very aggressive on some models.
Good looks mean nothing if you're basically being *PUNISHED for driving it day-to-day* with probably the worst ergonomics in the EV market (even the poorly made VW ID's are much better on that front) and tech that's >5 years behind Tesla in addition to slipping reliability (Volvos have become very UNreliable following the Geely buyout)... 😮
@@odeiraoloap I didn't argue with the ergonomics, they were clearly presented as sub-par in the video. And yes, the software definitely needs an update as well. Haven't heard anything about reliability-issues but nonetheless, nothing of that takes away from the looks of the car, and that's all I commented on.
@@odeiraoloap I guess if depends on your size or something. I have no issue driving it from ergonomics point of view. I believe VW is pretty well build mechanically and Polestar build quality is pretty solid also. Things do not rattle like in many Teslas and generally Tesla is way way worse in reliability/quality, while having excellent drive train and fast infotainment.
You don't need to "press" the handle first to unlock, just put your hand in the handle and wait for like 0,2s before opening and it will unlock. The only time you need to use the touch button is when locking. ;)
In Ireland and UK we dont really use the door arm rest because we're sitting on the other side, we mainly use the centre arm rest for left arm while the right hand is on the wheel. Youre just driving on the wrong side of the road 😂
Interesting point few people would consider. Makes it logistically easier, just offer an electric power train option, but weight distribution and functional design features for one power train might make zero sense for another. Like a battery filled frunk would probably handle terribly. 😬
You say that, but I sit right next to a dual clutch 7 speed in my car and it's not even remotely close to that size. That said, I can't think of literally any market that cares about cup holders like America does. In most countries, you use them maybe for a takeaway coffee on occasion or like you have a water bottle on a longer road trip, we don't tend to use all of them all the time
@@helplmchoking Eeeeh, at least in Sweden most people I've ridden with always use their cup holders. Or they don't technically use them but there's always an old bottle or something in there so it's always in use
@@TheZoenGamingactually Geely in China is the parent company. They bought Volvo from Ford in 2010. Polestar used to be a name applied to Volvo’s high performance models. Geely is stated to be more hands off than Ford was. That’s a good thing as the Volvos designed under Ford’s ownership weren’t their best work.
Even the Canadian Government website does not include armrests as an aid to a better driving position and in the UK it would be considered bad control of the vehicle with poor hand positioning on the wheel. I'm sure they must be taught the same in Canada. If not I'm surprised.
Put me down as a happy owner of a 2021 (launch edition) Polestar 2 without the Performance Pack. Mine has the ventilated leather seat and I don't have any dampers to adjust. I also applied the Performance Software Upgrade so mine has the extra 68hp and is now even faster. I'm on the shorter side of drivers and for me, the seats and seating position (including armrests and knee position) are completely comfortable. While there are a few small things that Polestar didn't get 100% right, I still find it a much more enjoyable overall package than its main competition (Tesla Model 3). No complaints and it still puts a huge grin on my face even for short drives to the grocery 🙂
Absolutely agreed. The seats are more comfortable, and i have honestly never had any discomfort from my arm rest whatsoever. My only ergonomic complaint would be that i'd like a little more travel in the steering wheel adjust, but it's already pretty industry stadndard.
with so many electric cars being so tech forward i really like these reviews. stuff is pointed out that an enthusiast like myself wouldn't consider or car youtubers might not consider. i drove a polestar 2 and although the armrest wasn't an issue for me, i never considered the cupholders! still one of my preferred electric cars though
Cup Holders is less of an issue, open up the center bit, then you have two its honestly not the issue I thought it was. More of an issue is on very long trips the center console being so large hurts my knee so I put a pad against it, daily driving or trips under 4 hours you don't notice it so much.
We bought one earlier this year. It’s way better looking than a Tesla in my opinion, and the performance pack really rocks. Sure, it’s had some software hiccups, but it’s a new product, so I don’t really mind because it works so well.
It's worth knowing the Polestar 2 was based on the Volvo 40.2 concept which debuted next to the 40.1 concept that would go on to be the XC40. While the production version of the 40.2 concept (the S40) was cancelled, it was then picked up by Polestar. Hence the smaller size
I rented a baseline spec polestar two, maybe a little bit higher than that, and I found it to be a very pleasant rental car. For the android automotive system, I actually found that the voice controls worked very well. I was very confused by moving around the touchscreen system. However, it seemed like it was difficult to find things and you kept going around in a circle to get back to stuff, a little weird. My biggest issue with the car was how it decides that it’s ready to start or stop. Instead of using the key fob or a regular key, which I know nobody wants to use regular keys anymore. Whatever, the seat is the button. So if you have the fob in your pocket or it’s in the car, and then you sit in the front seat, then the car is available to you to start listen the radio, whatever. That was confusing at first, but I got used to it pretty easily. What was more confusing was getting out of the car and hoping that it would Turn off. It did, but it wasn’t confidence inspiring that the car would actually shut off and lock when you left it. Several times I had to wait to make sure that the vehicle actually was locked and power down. I don’t recall having the comfort problems that were noted in this review. I’m pretty sensitive to uncomfortable elbow issues. I did feel like the car was very Enveloping. Like everything seemed higher up than in other cars I’m used to. I didn’t use cupholders in there like that, so that may all be true. But the one thing that this car absolutely excelled in, and it was not the top spec, Was in acceleration. Especially on the freeway. Going from 40 or 50 mph to 70 or 80 mph was ridiculously powerful. It was very confidence building to make passes. I never felt like I was waiting for anything, the surge of power was just really intoxicating. It worked really really well. I also didn’t have the sunroof, which I appreciated, I’m not a big fan of the current crop of glass roofs that seems to be the trend. I don’t really want the sun on my head all the time. Nobody sat in the back, so I don’t have any impressions of that, but I did have a passenger and they had no complaints either. Charging worked reasonably well, no problems that occurred had anything to do with a pole star, there were some issues with charging stations that didn’t seem to initiate or whatever, but they didn’t have any to the pole star. But, the feature that told you were charging stations that were compatible Could be found work very well. I never felt like I wouldn’t be able to get to where I needed to go, even when they were problems with finding a charging station that was fully functional. And using the built-in, GPS navigation meant that I could say where I was going, and the system will give me several options for how to make sure I had enough charge to get there. I rented this for a trip from Los Angeles to San Diego and back, with one or two stops along the way each way. I never felt like I was going to be without charging, although I did end up at one mall where the mall itself closed while I was charging, and that caused me to have to walk all the way around the mall in a very strange way. But that wasn’t the fault of the car.
I’ll be honest - I LOVE the amount of car reviews you guys are putting out. They are really well done, and showcase tons of EVs I would never have heard of otherwise. Please keep it up!
Spot on review Alex! I had one of these for a long road trip around Norway. I agree with everything you mention but I must add that the center console is a real deal breaker for me. It's so frickin huge! My right knee was scuffed after the long road trip... Really weird designchoice. Probably batteries in there or something.
It's a performance sports sedan with a timeless design. It's a sensible car and when you need some power and fun, it has it. I wonder if Polestar will come to my country though
Complaining so hard about the armrest is wild to me bc I've never used a cardoor armrest in my life. In fact I just learned that's meant to be an armrest.
The best review of this car no other videos i watched had all those small things shown like adjusting suspension or sucky cupholders or the door hand rest.
@@pavelmusiyenko literally two years ago ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-DWgPlAX3Ar0.html. And if you've never seen a Kris Rifa review then you have NOT watched all reviews.
@@suvann540i no person on this earth will watch millions of RU-vid channels to find right review. People have fav CH they watch and they stick with them. I wasn't searching for reviews I was watching CH I like. People have jobs and lives outside of RU-vid. So if someone didn't see something you don't have to be a smart ass. I just said what exp I had that's it.
I rented one for a month, it’s great. I drag raced so many people at stoplights. I drove it from Virginia to Kansas and back, I ripped it through the West Virginia backroads and it felt so planted with the wide tires and weight on the floor.
The things like interior position and materials are the things that make you love or hate a car over the long run. Excellent review of why I won’t be buying this car - and I personally LOVE the looks and came looking considering to buy, but I’ve passed on others cars in the past (Audi TTRS looking at you!) for things like unusable arm rests - no matter how good the car is to drive, if you can’t get comfortable it’s junk.
I do own one, with the excellent Napa leather interior, performance pack, etc. Your review is pretty much spot on. A real drivers car, but finding that comfortable position can be a challenge, especially for taller drivers where your knee scuffs against the very high center console and the accelerator pedal is too far to the right, no room to rest your foot when using cruise. Yes, damper adjustment really should be electronic. Rears are not as bad as you demonstrate, you don't need to remove the liner as there is a velcro like section You just separate. Appearance inside and out is much nicer than the Tesla. I am glad I bought mine, but also understand why many buyers might prefer the Tesla.
Have a PS2. Great car. Nitpicks are spot on. I live in the SF Bay Area and Tesla’s are everywhere, so it’s nice having a different premium EV. It’s a fun car and perfect for our needs.
Agree, cant beat auto dimming mirrors. And yet what is stupid is how simple they are, a reactive tint with an electric wire and a switch (a sensor). Swedish cars have had them for decades and honestly I have always been surprised they were not more mainstream.
I've had mine for two years and I never experienced any problems sitting in the driver seat (on the door side), It can get a bit uncomfortable on the other side when using the front cup holder (I'm 190cm / ~6'2"). It probably depends a lot on driving style etc.
I have been in this car for multipe roadtrips across Europe that took 24-48 hours each and i was mostly sitting in the back and it was absolutely fine for me.
I'm tired of so many manufacturers being completely unable to figure out driver ergonomics. It's the most important part of a vehicle interior, if the driver isn't comfortable, nothing else matters.
My neighbour has one, and loves it. It definitely looks nice than the Tesla. They do however use the frunk, its something you get used to opening once you've done it a couple of times. Really interested to see what the EX30 is like.
@@coledeko I like ShortCircuit, but for everything that is car reviews I just come in, watch 30 seconds, dislike the video and move on (or leave a couple acid comments). I like Alex videos, but he doesn't belong in car review videos.
I love mine. The leather package is a must. It makes the interior SOOOO much more comfortable. The center console could be better and some of the technology could be better compared to Tesla.
I got myself a Polestar 2 LRDM performance, Midnight colour... Named the car "Threat Level Midnight". 🙈 Fun as heck to drive (on smooth roads preferably!) Can confirm, would buy again.
Tall ppl tend to be pround of being taller than most, then get confused that everything isnt made to their specifications. If ur in the top 95 percentile maybe ur not a priority for mass market products, swings n roundabouts tho- i am average n can hardly reach top shelf in new fridge freezers
Google (and Apple) really needs to start pushing for automakers to use their digital key (with UWB) so that someone other than BMW has that. The car basically runs on Android and they can't get them to use this feature. Also I've read that Polestar's own digital key stuff is not great.
I had a rental in Italy for 40 days....loved it,,,,but problem with interior space is that the chassis is a volvo car and not flat like most EV's....also, with lack of snow i Italy, I would have loved a rear wheel drive...also getting in and out was a hastle...so i set up 1 of the seat memories to lower the seat as low as it would go so i could get out....
I actually own a Polestar 2 but the single motor version with less hp. still a really nice driving car. Totally agree with Alex tough on all the complaints, espacially th armrest. Took me 10k kilometers to ge use to them. Would still buy one again but with more power 10/10 :D
Incredible car, but the only things I didn't like about it was that the A-Pillar limits the vision to the front sides a little to much and that apple car play only worked with a cable (at least the version I drove (2021/22 model))
I have never, to my knowledge, been in a car with armrests on the front row. I’ve never felt a need to use an armrest while driving. I used to test drive vehicles. How common is this feature?
I wonder, who actually uses cupholders outside of the US? I've never really seen anyone use one in real life to store anything other than some coins or some mints
I sometimes use them on longer drives but even then the bottle would be in the way and I'd rather ask my passenger to keep the bottle in the footwell and hand it to me when Im thirsty.
They're too expensive new, but right now they're a fantastic deal used (in the US). Planning on getting one in September after a vacation where we're renting one for a "test drive". I'm so stoked!
Am really surprised how the car industry hasn't thought things out about what makes a great car a great car. So many cars come out with so many weird mistakes that seem like they could've been avoided easily had they thought things through.
Love Short Circuit but i'd always take their car reviews with a truck load of salt. Not surprised most of the staff have Tesla's.. full of great tech, boring AF to look at and very meh in terms of driving experience. I don't get why people get so hung up on the dampers. I adjusted mine once and that's probably the only time I'll touch them... Yes, some questionable interior designing but for me, the Polestar is a driver's car. If you just need a car to get you from A to B with loads of tech, get a Tesla. I find the AAOS to be one of the best systems out there at the moment. Google Assistant is fantastic, imo, you don't need Android Auto.
I've spent a lot of time in a Polestar 2 hire car recently, my main concern was charging, which was terrible (didn't work with a lot of chargers in the UK). I think a software update may have resolved these issues because the charging support I spoke to said they didn't have many problems with Polestar usually. The second downside for me is that the windscreen is very low - compared to the Model 3, it's almost like you're sitting in a cave, especially combined with the dark interior. Also the non-haptic play and hazard light buttons are annoying and I accidentally hit both several times. Although the Model 3 and Polestar 2 are pretty similar on paper, I highly recommend trying both if you're considering a purchase. The m3 interior is minimalist and airy, the p2 is dark, like a cockpit, with surprisingly little headroom (non sunscreen version).
I can't see it at 1080p, but I got it at 2160p. Which is weird, because I have a 1080p display. Edit: nevermind, at 1080p it pops in and out sometimes. I suppose this is an artifact of youtube video compression.
Am I the only person who literally won't buy an EV if it means giving up physical controls for climate and audio/media? I don't understand why evverryyy model is getting rid of them. I do not want everything on a touch screen or stuck in a menu somewhere 🤦♂
I have a Polestar 2 and there are physical buttons for the important stuff. There is a display behind the wheel unlike the Model 3. You can use voice control for the climate and it works well.
Polestar 2 owner here as well. Definitely can agree with most of the points in the video (and I did offer them mine almost a year ago!). The biggest pain point is definitely the cup holder, but that was covered. Something that isn't shown here, probably due to filming, is that the car is getting access to Waze, RU-vid, and other big hitters that other brands have sat on for a while. Also looking forward to a nice update when the P*3 drops.
@@Lethaltail yes hold it. or are you too lazy to hold a drink lol. and if you drive why do you feel the need to take something to drink in the first place. just focus on driving. you people and your cup holder. i am 33 years old never EVER did i need a cup holder in a car. the most useless thing in a car you can imagine.
@@reahreic7698 well my parents had 3 kids me and my 2 sisters. we never needed a cup holder even if we had 4 of them. never used it once in any car we owned. but maybe its just me. then again we always bought bottles so we could screw the top on again.
I didn't realize that people used the rest on the door. I just assumed everyone drove with their left hand and rested their right on the center console.
@@MaximilianZ96 I didn't even realize it was an arm rest. I just thought it was there to house the controls at a usable angle and a place for the handle used to pull the door closed.
Finally he tries the Polestar 2 ! I almost bought one too, I didn't not because of anything in the car, just that it was so bad to deal with Polestar Vancouver that I bought an other car
I really loved drinving the Polestar 2, but my wife absolutely hated the arm rests. They were deal breaker bad. We got an XC40 Recharge instead which has all of the good bits from the Polestar plus tons more storage which is super useful since it's our only car. Anyway, that arm rest, it's so bad it really makes me wonder how they even made it to production
As someone who drives a Tesla Model 3 Performance, I take issue with you saying Teslas are boring 😂 0-60 in 3.1s never gets old. I was considering a PoleStar 2, but like you mentioned, the cabin just doesn't look and feel good. The tablet looks like a 2013 Galaxy Tab eyesore. Also, it's hard to recommend the PoleStar when the Model 3 undercuts it by thousands nowadays and you can get a Model Y for the same price. It's in a weird position
Doesn’t a model 3 performance (or even the boosted long range) blow the doors off this in a 0-60? How can the tesla feel weaker when being objectively more forceful and moving faster?
