Polestar 5

[prj]

I’ve just priced up a Polestar 5 with the options to try to match a Black Edition and it’s the same price as a new Taycan 4S Black Ed.

Yeah but you selected the performance version, didn't you? That's as fast as a Turbo in launch control.

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[Dabz]

Yeah but you selected the performance version, didn't you? That's as fast as a Turbo in launch control.

I did yeh, but more for the upgraded sound system and the wheels and a few other extras than the performance. It didn’t seem to let me chose the base model but upgrade the stereo

 

[prj]

I did yeh, but more for the upgraded sound system and the wheels and a few other extras than the performance. It didn’t seem to let me chose the base model but upgrade the stereo

So if you compare it power wise to a Turbo without PAR it's about 25% cheaper.
I don't know how it drives, but charging speed is a bit faster than the J1.2 (but larger battery, so overall it's ~same), range is better and there's a lot more room inside...

Realistically the Taycan now has actual competition in the form of the AMG GT EV and the Polestar 5. However it shows you how far ahead Porsche was. It took others 7 years to catch up and release something comparable (certainly the tech is better, but 7 years is a very long time too).

 

[Dabz]

Realistically the Taycan now has actual competition in the form of the AMG GT EV and the Polestar 5. However it shows you how far ahead Porsche was. It took others 7 years to catch up and release something comparable (certainly the tech is better, but 7 years is a very long time too).

Yes that’s a really good point - the Taycan was a great achievement from Porsche. It feels now like it’s going the same was as the iPhone/iPad though in that it’s not keeping up as the rest of the market evolves. 7 years on you’d hope for a 400+ mile range etc

 

[Sace]

Great to see some competition. However I also think the interior is a letdown vs the exterior. Polestar 2 is a very common car around here and for me it reminds me way too much of that car.

It's also pricey compared to the others. But let's see when we can test them out on the road.

 

[gnr3312]

I hate it! It is not thoroughly developed and dangerous at times. You cannot see the car behind you if it is a lowered car or if too close to the rear spare wheel, It is also useless if you have a trailer attached. The angle on the motorway is too wide and not natural.
The only positive side is if the boot is filled to the top, at least gives you an idea of what is happening behind you. This said, mine also had to be replaced during warranty wasting me time twice for issues.

In our case, better yet in the US, most vehicles are large that there’s never been an issue not seeing someone behind us. It’s never failed, I wish I could have it on the Taycan and had saved us many times. The only negative is when it rains, the camera gets blocked so visibility is greatly reduced.

 

[Dabz]

Great to see some competition. However I also think the interior is a letdown vs the exterior.

Yes the iPad stuck to the console puts me off. Zero effort given to design

 

[Jonathan S.]

Car and Driver doesn't seem to have bothered -- perhaps b/c it won't be coming to the U.S., since it's made in China.

And now it won’t be coming to the U.S. because the Commerce Department has banned all Polestar sales starting with the 2027 model year, essentially by virtue of the Chinese ownership, regardless of where each model is made.
Existing inventory of 2026 Polestar 3 and 4 can be sold, but then that’s the end of new vehicles sales for Polestar here.

 

[daveo4EV]

Polestar will no longer be sold in the US after 2026 - https://www.macanevowners.com/forum/threads/hmmmm-no-polestar.26842/

 

[daveo4EV]

And now it won’t be coming to the U.S. because the Commerce Department has banned all Polestar sales starting with the 2027 model year, essentially by virtue of the Chinese ownership, regardless of where each model is made.
Existing inventory of 2026 Polestar 3 and 4 can be sold, but then that’s the end of new vehicles sales for Polestar here.

it has to do with where the software originated - and Polestar software is written by Chinese software engineers…the US Govt. at this time does not trust that the software only does car things…

a modern vehicle as a rolling sensor platform crowd sourcing what ever data it can see/hear/encounter over period of days/months/years geographically distributed and mobile - is an interesting tool in the right or wrong hands…we already know what phones can "learn" and report on - a car with bigger battery power budget and volume could be a very potent platform and have almost no indication that it's doing more than what it's supposed to be doing.

It very curious to me that Volvo in general however isn't being pulled - as I believe they share a lot of software…

this an evolving story stay tuned…

 

[chun]

it has to do with where the software originated - and Polestar software is written by Chinese software engineers…the US Govt. at this time does not trust that the software only does car things…

No. It runs on Android Automotive OS made in USA, and uses volvo ECUs made by Veoneer and other european / Sweedish brands. There is of course expertise from the parent group Geely - but all the software needs to pass regulations in europe, aka it's not chinese software - it's needs to satisfy safety and privacy regulations for the european market, and the software is analyzed by europea specialist.

They simply banned it because it;s small enough to target, and because it's parent company is Geely. Volvo is not small enough to target, and would put up a fight through the legal system.

 

[Jonathan S.]

They simply banned it because it;s small enough to target, and because it's parent company is Geely. Volvo is not small enough to target, and would put up a fight through the legal system.

Perhaps in the U.S., Polestar's current profitability and future prospects are too small for Geely to bother putting up a legal fight.
But for either Polestar or Volvo, Geely is ultimately deciding whether to fight, and with a market capitalization of ~$24.5b (USD equivalent), Geely is certainly big enough to fight.
(Geely owns almost 80% of Volvo directly, and about the same % of Polestar via a combination of directly, indirectly, and through its chairman)

The ironic part is that this is a Biden Administration rule.
Although the rule's interpretation to ban Polestar (yet exempt Volvo) was of course from the current Trump Administration.

While we're on the subject of EVs from ostensibly Communist nations in Asian (how's that for a thread drift segue?), on Sunday while driving for my daughter's tennis tournament in Branford CT, I saw a car dealership for the marque of ... hmm, what is that symbol? Why, it's ...
VinFast!
Yes, that's right, the only VinFast dealership in all of New England (with only four others along the entire East Coast until Florida) is in Branford CT.
Where you can buy with only a little over $20k (and even less automotive sense) a barely used AWD VinFast with < 2k miles.
And that's just the initial asking price -- some negotiation might bring it down to ... some used tennis balls?
And a new AWD VinFast is only $249/month, all-inclusive, no downpayment.
(So that's, let's see, equal to the undiscounted price of a case of tennis balls plus the tournament fee plus what my wife spent on lunch & parking in downtown Branford while I was warming up with my daughter plus two sets of high-end string.)

 

[Dabz]

It's fascinating to see the world move backward from global trade

 

[gnr3312]

Call me skeptical but I like the decision on this side of the pond, but I also work in security so that makes me hyper aware of things too.

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