2026 Polestar 4 Long Range Dual Motor Performance review

A luxury car needs to tick a lot of boxes. Namely it needs to be comfortable, it has to feel dynamic to drive, and more often than not, it needs to have a bit of gusto.

The three big German marques, Audi, BMW, and Mercedes Benz, have set the standard in this area for a long time, but now Polestar with its all-electric driving range has entered the mix for a modern interpretation of luxury.

There's no doubt the brand is facing an uphill battle given the cooling reception to electric vehicles (EVs), but the technology has also matured enough where the range anxiety and poor build quality of earlier electric cars are largely gone.

The Polestar 4 is available in two different forms – the Single Motor rear-wheel drive (RWD) or the Dual Motor all-wheel drive (AWD) priced at $78,500 before on-road costs and $88,350 respectively.

Now, depending on how you want to look at things, that price point could be a good or bad thing.

As an all-electric premium sedan/SUV, the Polestar 4 is surprisingly affordable, undercutting established German rivals.

The BMW 3 Series kicks off at $94,900, the Mercedes-Benz C-Class starts from $89,900, and the Audi A5 can be had for as little as $79,900 – but all three are petrol-powered and offer less power and torque than any Polestar 4. All prices mentioned before on-road costs.

In terms of electric-vehicle (EV) rivals, the only real competition against the Polestar 4 is the BMW i4 (from $88,900 plus ORCs), as the Hyundai Ioniq 6, MG IM5, and Tesla Model 3 do not carry the same badge cachet as the Swedish marque.

On test, we have the top-spec Dual Motor AWD variant, which produces a supercar-scaring 400kW and 686Nm – making it one of the most potent sub-$100,000 cars available in Australia.

You get the same power, and an additional 109Nm, from an i4 M50, but BMW asks at least $133,900 for its flagship mid-sized electric sedan.

Standard equipment in the Polestar 4 Long Range AWD includes LED headlights, a power-operated tailgate, retractable door handles, eight-way power-adjustable seats with driver’s side memory, heated front seats, wireless smartphone charger, 10.2-inch digital instrument cluster, eight-speaker sound system, and dual-zone climate control.

However, our car is fitted with almost all options available from Polestar Australia.

The Plus Pack ($8000) adds a host of upmarket equipment highlighted by a premium Harman Kardon sound system, pixel LED headlights with adaptive beams, a head-up display, hands-free tailgate, and tri-zone climate control.

While some of these features like the kick-operated tailgate and tri-zone climate control are expected in a premium model around this price point, the Plus Pack adds a total of 13 features to the Polestar 4 making the dollar-to-equipment ratio pretty good.

There is also the $7200 Performance Pack, adding larger brakes, 22-inch alloy wheels, a Polestar-tuned chassis, and tweaked dampers, but whether these changes are justified will be covered in the driving section.

On top of these options packs, the electrochromic glass roof, rear privacy glass, white interior upholstery, and white exterior colour add $2200, $700, $1400, and $2300 to the bottom line respectively.

In total, the options total $21,800, taking the before on-roads of this Polestar 4 to $110,150, or a drive-away price in New South Wales of $125,991.

It’s not an outrageous amount to shell out for a premium model of this size, but coupled with the fact that the Polestar 4 is all electric with a substantial level of performance, and the price is bang on.

You could make the argument that less money could be spent on something like a Tesla Model 3 Performance, or even the upcoming Hyundai Ioniq 6 N, which offer comparable levels of performance, but where the Polestar edges them both out is with a more upmarket interior, design, and overall feel.

The first thing potential buyers should know about the Polestar 4’s practicality is that it does not have a rear windscreen. Instead, the rear view is a camera feed that displays on an 8.9-inch screen where the mirror would be.

It takes some getting used to, especially because the rear camera’s field of view is different from what you would get from a mirror, but it’s not as daunting as it sounds after some time with the car.

This also makes parking a bit tricky, as rearward visibility is non-existent, and the C-pillar windows are very small.

Luckily the standard fitment of a surround-view monitor makes things a little easier, but there will be a transition period where drivers will need to get used to the different visual cues.

The Polestar 4 is sized bigger than mid-size premium sedan rivals, but only just.

Polestar calls the 4 an SUV, but it is lower than traditional high-riders like an Audi Q5 or Porsche Macan, yet still taller than a usual sedan.

Clearly, the Polestar 4 sits between these two body styles, but it means easier ingress and egress without sacrificing good driving dynamics.

However, a bigger difference with similarly sized sedans and SUVs is in width as the Polestar 4 is much wider, like wider even than a Toyota HiLux SR5.

And while that might make it hard to slot into a narrow car park, it also means there is ample interior space for passengers and a second-row that is useable in all positions.

Of course, front-seat practicality is a standout, with a cabin that afford various storage solutions to empty your pockets such as two cupholders and door pockets.

The centre console, while thick and chunky, still offers good storage thanks to a two-tiered arrangement with a flat shelf below for things like your wallet or phone (if you opt not to use the wireless charger).

As for room in the second row, it is excellent for passengers in the outboard seats, but a little tight for those sitting in the middle.

The flat floor helps in this regard, but the outboard seat’s bucket design means the middle position has an elevated position that would get tiresome over longer journeys.

And while shoulder and leg room are both great, the sloping roof line does mean taller passengers will find head room lacking.

For reference, two forward-facing car seats will fit in the back of the Polestar 4 without any issue, and leaves plenty of room for front occupants to be comfortable.

Of note, the installation of the top tether can be finicky as Polestar fits a small, hard-to-remove parcel shelf to separate the cabin from the boot.

Speaking of which, pop the rear door and there is 526 litres of volume for items like prams, groceries, gym bags, and more.

The boot floor is deep, so longer items can be accommodated, but the shape of the rear means the storage cavity is more of a wedge shape rather than more oblong-like areas in SUVs and sedans.

Fold the rear seats down, and the Polestar 4 can fit 1536L into the boot, while the Plus Pack also adds a side net pocket – how fancy.

Positioned front and centre of the cockpit of the Polestar 4 is a massive 15.4-inch infotainment touchscreen display, with wireless functionality for Apple CarPlay, but no Android Auto support.

However, you will seldom feel the need to use Android Auto because the Polestar’s software is already based on the same Google platform. This means, natively, you will have Google Maps, and the software feels quick and snappy.

I’d even argue that using Apple CarPlay takes away from the ownership experience, because so much of the basic functionality is embedded into the infotainment software, which means you would have to exit out of smartphone mirroring if you wanted to do something like tweak the active safety systems.

Yes, Polestar has opted to bury lots of user controls into the touchscreen – like Tesla – in the name of minimalism, which can be very annoying when wanting to tweak things on the fly.

However, once you set up the Polestar 4 exactly how you want to, things become a little easier to live with.

The Polestar 4 infotainment software also allows shortcuts to be added to the home screen, meaning if you frequently want to turn off the overspeed warning or lane-keep assist that defaults to on, you can do it with a single tap when set up properly.

In my week with the car, I only experienced a single software glitch, which reset all my settings and favourites to the default setting. This was fixed upon a vehicle restart.

Aside from Apple CarPlay, other features found in the Polestar 4 software include digital radio and a 5G modem for connected services. The latter means over-the-air software updates are possible, as well as emergency services being contacted in the event of a serious accident.

Buyers should know, however, that these services are only included for 12 months with a new Polestar 4 purchase, and a subscription fee will then need to be paid to use them afterwards.

ANCAP has awarded the Polestar 4 a maximum five-star safety rating from testing in 2025, based on Euro NCAP’s assessment.

The Polestar 4 scored the highest in the adult occupant and child occupant protection tests, notching a 92 and 87 per cent respectively. However, the vulnerable road user protection test and safety assist examinations also yielded strong scores of 81 and 79 per cent.

This rating applies to all variants of the current Polestar 4 line-up.

To achieve that maximum five-star safety rating, the Polestar 4 not only needs to physically protect its occupants in the event of an accident, but also serve up technologies to help avoid collisions in the first place.

To this end, the Polestar 4 is equipped with advanced driver-assist systems.

While all these features are exactly what you would expect from a modern premium vehicle, it must be noted that it all works well without annoyance or false positives.

On top of all that, there are also front, rear, and side parking sensors that work in conjunction with the surround-view monitor to make parking and manoeuvring a little easier.

As stated above, the lack of a rear window can make the Polestar 4 tricky to reverse park, but the rear sensors and camera view leave a generous amount of room to ensure you don’t bump the boot onto something you cannot physically see.

The only area of slight annoyance is the driver monitoring system that will chime in even when doing basic head checks or quickly glancing over at the infotainment screen, but this can be disabled.

Like all new Polestars, the Polestar 4 comes with a five-year/unlimited-kilometre vehicle warranty with roadside assistance over that timeframe, as well as an eight-year/160,000km assurance period for the battery and high-voltage components.

In addition, there is also a 12-year corrosion warranty for all bodywork.

As for the service intervals, Polestar uses a conditional schedule based on vehicle diagnostics, but says broadly that the model “doesn’t need to be serviced for up to two years or 30,000km”. Additionally, this is a complimentary offering for the first five years/100,000km of ownership.

Cost of maintenance, therefore, is unknown ahead of time, but generally electric vehicles are more affordable in servicing than petrol-powered counterparts due to no oil changes and less moving parts that could wear out.

All Polestar 4s share a 100kWh battery pack, of which 94kWh is usable, good for a claimed driving range of up to 620km in European WLTP lab testing for the Single Motor.

But opting for the Dual Motor cuts that to 590km, and adding the Performance Pack, on larger wheels and stickier tyres, slashes that further to 500km.

Over a week of testing – across city, suburban, highway and plenty of country-road performance driving – we returned indicated energy consumption of 21.6kWh per 100 kilometres against Polestar’s claim of 21.7kWh/100km.

That’s very thirsty for a vehicle of this shape and size – given a taller Tesla Model Y Long Range can use energy in the 14kWh/100km range – but Polestars have never been the most efficient cars in their respective classes, and the battery is, at least, big.

We saw consumption below 20kWh/100km in urban driving, while in sporty driving it was closer to 25kWh/100km. In range terms, that means an estimated 380km to 480km from a full charge depending on how and where you drive the car.

On a 110km/h highway test loop we use for other electric cars that pass through the Drive office, the Polestar used an indicated 21.1kWh/100km (yes, less than our combined average) – equating to 445km of road-trip range.

DC fast charging at up to 200kW is available, for a 10 to 80 per cent recharge in a claimed 30 minutes.

On a 350kW Evie plug, I completed a similar charge in 31 minutes and 5 seconds, the car peaking at 208kW at 20 per cent, and held close to its claimed maximum charging power until after 30 per cent.

It’s a good result, quicker than a cheaper Tesla Model 3 Long Range or Performance (33min), but far from class-leading – an Audi Q6 e-tron can cover 10 to 80 per cent in 24 minutes as tested by Drive (or 20min claimed).

AC charging at up to 22kW – as good as it gets for an EV – with the Plus Pack optioned, as it is on this test car, for a claimed empty-to-full recharge in 5.5 hours. Standard 11kW AC charging doubles that time.

The Polestar 4’s best attribute is the way it drives.

Spending up to the dual-motor version nets you front and rear motors developing 400kW and 686Nm combined – more than any other Polestar, as well as most Teslas – with the traction of all-wheel drive.

Performance is prodigious, with the instant thrust we’ve come to expect of electric cars, which pulls all the way to the higher RPM of the motors – rather than losing steam just before the speed limit. It’s far too quick to enjoy fully on public roads.

Switching the drivetrain to Performance mode makes for snappier and more urgent response, but the car can be set to Rain mode for a surprisingly docile feel. It’s almost too docile in some cases, such is how progressively power rolls on, but you can change power modes from the steering wheel – think of it like a ‘push-to-pass’ button.

A well-calibrated, long-travel accelerator pedal allows drivers precise and delicate metering out of performance without any jerkiness, though the transition from power to regenerative braking as you’re trying to hold a set speed is not as smooth as a Tesla or Audi.

Polestar claims a 0–100km/h acceleration time of 3.8 seconds; we returned repeatable 3.9-second sprints with launch control on, using satellite VBox timing gear. There’s no doubt this is a seriously quick car.

Drivers can choose between Standard, Nimble and Firm for the adaptive coil-spring suspension – specially tuned with the Performance Pack – as well as various settings for the stability control, power delivery, regenerative braking, and more.

Firm mode is, unsurprisingly, firm, and too stiff for our tastes in the daily grind. The story flips on a country road: stiffer dampers tie the body down over undulations for a more planted feel that encourages drivers to enjoy the car.

Occupants feel bumps in the road, sure, but it doesn’t disrupt the car’s composure, even over bigger potholes or repeated impacts. It’s impressively compliant.

Standard mode – or even the middle Nimble setting – softens the suspension off for around-town use, and while there is a taut edge to how the Polestar absorbs bumps, it’s never harsh, and strikes a good balance between comfort and control.

Find a winding country road, and the money you’ve spent on the Performance Pack becomes apparent.

It drives like a Polestar, which means it inspires an exceptional amount of confidence in its driver, and on the road it always feels like the car can be pushed faster and harder than your skill level – and licence – will allow.

Grip from the Pirelli P Zero tyres is excellent, the steering is quick, direct, and linear in its weighting, and the car does a great job of managing its power to keep the car travelling in the direction the steering wheel is pointed.

In its normal mode, the handling balance is secure and neutral – it doesn’t do anything lairy, but also doesn’t constantly want to run wide into understeer – but ESC Sport mode loosens the leash, and helps the car pivot out of corners.

It runs into the problem most electric cars face, though – there’s no emotion. You find yourself revelling in the car’s capabilities, rather than listening to a charismatic engine or shifting through gears. Simulated sound and gear ratios akin to the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N would help greatly here.

At close to 2.4 tonnes, it’s not a light car, but the Polestar masks its weight well, through tyre grip and clever use of its motors and traction-control software.

It’s only when you come to slow down for a tight corner that the mass can be felt, but the Performance Pack pulls up well, thanks to a mix of Brembo front brakes and regenerative braking from the electric motors that can suck back in a lot of energy.

That said, the transition between the regenerative and ‘friction’ brake discs can be a touch vague and hard to judge when you’re driving the car quickly.

I recorded a 100km/h to zero stopping distance of 37.3 metres on satellite timing equipment, which is good for a car of this mass, but I wouldn't be lying if I said I expected better, given the performance tyre and brake package. For context, a Cadillac Lyriq EV – which is 500kg heavier and on less aggressive rubber – needs only 0.2m longer to stop.

There are three regenerative braking modes – Off, Low and Standard – with the further option to have the car come to a full stop at low speeds or creep like a petrol car. They’re all well calibrated, and in their most aggressive mode work like a proper one-pedal setting.

Tyre roar and wind rustle are relatively well isolated, though the Pirellis can kick up some noise on rough roads.

Visibility out the front and side is good, but I struggled to get used to the lack of a rear window, even over 750km of driving.

Sure, the camera delivers an equivalent field of vision, and sounds like a perfect solution on paper, but we found needing to re-adjust the focal length of our eyes – not necessary with a normal mirror – when glancing at the mirror from the road annoying. It’s also harder to judge distances behind you when merging.

Surprisingly, the all-electric premium Polestar 4 is rated to tow at a braked capacity of 2000kg.

With 686Nm on tap, the Polestar 4 has plenty of pulling power, but keep in mind towing will add weight and reduce driving range and performance.

Owners should also keep in mind the car’s 455kg payload capacity, which is enough for families, or four adults, leaving a little wiggle room for gear.

The Polestar 4 is a fantastic electric car that delivers on all counts: style, comfort, technology, fit and finish, range, performance, comfort and handling.

For performance-oriented customers, the top-of-the-range model with the Performance Pack drives like a fast electric car should.

But buyers pay for the privilege. Nearly $130,000 drive-away as-tested is a power of money for a relatively unknown brand, especially when about $25,000 of that is tied up in options – many of which should really be standard.

And the rear window, while a novel concept, may prove too tall of a hurdle for some customers to cross.

If you like the formula, but are happy to skip a few features and the Dual Motor’s power, we’d recommend sticking with the Single Motor – and only ticking one or two option packs – to keep the price within a more reasonable realm.

Tung Nguyen has been in the automotive journalism industry for over a decade, cutting his teeth at various publications before finding himself at Drive in 2024. With experience in news, feature, review, and advice writing, as well as video presentation skills, Tung is a do-it-all content creator. Tung’s love of cars first started as a child watching Transformers on Saturday mornings, as well as countless hours on PlayStation’s Gran Turismo, meaning his dream car is a Nissan GT-R, with a Liberty Walk widebody kit, of course.

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