WDB
Full Member
Posts: 7,425 
|
Post by WDB on Apr 13, 2024 17:55:49 GMT
Well, I’ve had a first clamber on, and in, a 4. MrsB1 and I, and about 40 other people, answered an invitation to a launch day at the Polestar centre north of Oxford, from which I drove the 2 last year. After some disappointing coffee (I think the machine was struggling to cope with the numbers — and the place needs more than one loo for that many visitors) and some amusing but superfluous video that we could have watched at home, the black cloth was pulled off to reveal a LHD 4 in the rather nice gold paint.
And we all got to have a go inside. The interior design — pale nappa leather in this one, but samples of the textile alternatives were on display — is gorgeous. The frameless windows add a bit of gratuitous coupétude. I like frameless windows. I got to set the driver’s seat to my liking and then get in behind. And to play with the electric rear seat recliner. And when I was in there, I didn’t even notice that there was no glass behind me. Nor did I get to play with the rear view display, not that it would tell me much in a showroom anyway.
But I did notice my head touching the roof lining, even with the seat reclined. And my legs didn’t have a vast amount of spare space, especially if the seat in front was set low. The front seats are very nice but the back ones — given the huge design decision made to improve them, are only OK for space. An iX3 — taller and mumsier and generally far less radical — has far better headroom and roughly similar legroom in the back.
An elf ran me through a configurator and built me a single motor car in gold for a price in the low 60s, which could be delivered in late summer. That raises two concerns:
(1) that price is very similar to the one DtD quoted me last week for a new iX40, exactly to my liking and about £14k off list. Does the 4 beat that on anything but (arguably) looks and (unarguably) battery range?
(2) iXs are being built today in Bavaria (not China) and BMW could deliver me one in July. How confident are we that Polestar can deliver the 4 at all, given the apparently endless delays in bringing the 3 to market? (The 4 has overtaken it, perhaps because Polestar reckons it will sell more units and generate a quicker return.)
A nice morning out, with some excellent canapés and friendly, knowledgeable elves who are there to chat, not to sell. And some initial curiosity satisfied. And yes, I’ll take a test drive when the opportunity arises because, well, it’s fun. But I feel the car doesn’t quite live up to its coupé-limousine promise, and I do have enough doubts about Polestar’s ability to pull this off to delay placing an order until I see actual RHD 4s on the roads. And, even assuming that does happen in August, how long after that would I have to wait?
When the 4 was announced, I thought the timing was about perfect. But it’s been a long wait to even see this car, and I’m quite keen to stop fannying about and actually buy something. I still have no real idea when I could get one of these.
What we did get today was a very nice lunch — at our expense, not Polestar’s — in a yurt near Middle Aston. I’d very happily go there again.
|
|
bpg
Full Member
Posts: 2,809
|
Post by bpg on Apr 13, 2024 18:46:39 GMT
Your not kidding anyone, why would you even consider P* ? fortune.com/2024/02/23/volvo-cuts-polestar-stake/It might be your employers money, less risk to you, if it's your own money it's a non-starter given how EVs are depreciating anyway. You're a BMW man, have been for years, get the BMW ordered. |
|
WDB
Full Member
Posts: 7,425
|
Post by WDB on Apr 13, 2024 21:26:35 GMT
The money will be mine. Because of some savings shuffling I’m doing, and the tax efficiency of pensions, I’m not paying enough higher rate tax to make salary sacrifice beneficial. Even if it was, the net leasing rates seem barely better than gross rates I could get on the open market. And BIK rates start to escalate from 2025, so it’s no longer the no-brainer it might once have been.
I read the Volvo-Polestar announcement as being more about Volvo than Polestar. It frees Volvo capital for investment in its own EV programme. Polestar simply becomes a more direct subsidiary of Geely. That may actually remove some bottlenecks between development and production, but I’d want to see some evidence of that before I made a commitment.
I wonder whether the DtD iX offer is the first sign of makers adjusting prices to achieve their 22 percent quota. There may also be deals on iX3s but my old difficulty still troubles me. I followed a white mummywagon this morning and until it accelerated to pass a cyclist and blew a smoke ring from its exhaust, I wouldn’t have known it was an X3 rather than an iX3. There was another at our lunch venue in Phytonic Blue; I’m warming to the colour but it turned out to be another X3 and that styling is a problem for me. Whatever the Internet thinks of the iX’s styling, nobody is in any doubt about what it is, and I like that about it. I haven’t actually been in one yet, of course. Might need to put that right quite soon.
|
|
bpg
Full Member
Posts: 2,809
|
Post by bpg on Apr 13, 2024 21:53:28 GMT
I read the Volvo-Polestar announcement as being more about Volvo than Polestar. It frees Volvo capital for investment in its own EV programme. Polestar simply becomes a more direct subsidiary of Geely. That may actually remove some bottlenecks between development and production, but I’d want to see some evidence of that before I made a commitment. I find it quite a strange setup, a Swedish company being registered in the UK and listed in NY. I get NY has access to more investors and increased visibility however most EU companies are switching to Amsterdam for a favourable regulatory environment. With Geely being the major shareholder will it not be the case that US investors view Polestar with some skepticism ? |
|
|
|
Post by EspadaIII on Apr 14, 2024 9:13:53 GMT
One of my acquaintances I see regularly has had some Polestar on order for months (I think possibly even over 12 months) now without it appearing. So he cancelled his order and going PHEV of some description.
|
|
WDB
Full Member
Posts: 7,425
|
Post by WDB on Apr 15, 2024 7:13:14 GMT
These, incidentally, are my knees as photographed by a Polestar elf on Saturday  The space is certainly decent but the seat base seems a little low and the headroom still not huge. But I expect most people who aren’t me or my immediate family would be comfortable enough in there. It’s frustratingly hard to find a calm but informed analysis of Polestar’s situation. Ownership and shareholdings per se are not the problem; Geely has always been the ultimate majority owner and that continues. It’s the production delays that bother me; the 3 should be a familiar sight by now but it may not appear till December. The 4 has been leapfrogged ahead of it (or the 3 has sinkmoled behind) but still won’t even be available to test drive until August — and that’s today’s projection, which could still slip again. But on the other hand, the journalists who’ve driven the pre-production cars seem very impressed. It seems to fulfil the promise of that stylish exterior and be genuinely entertaining to drive. I really hope Polestar can make this work; it will be good for us consumers if it does. |
|
|
|
Post by EspadaIII on Apr 15, 2024 8:04:47 GMT
There does seem to be a distinct gap between the underside of your thighs [cough] and the seat base. It doesn't look comfortable in that I get the sense your back in not a relaxed position?
|
|
WDB
Full Member
Posts: 7,425
|
Post by WDB on Apr 15, 2024 8:18:39 GMT
It’s not perfect but very little is. The electric recliner is cute but doesn’t actually help me as it just changes which bit of the roof my head touches — so I don’t quite have room to use the backrest properly — but I’m a short-legged 6’6”, so I have a lot of torso to accommodate. In any case, I’m not really buying a car so I can sit in the back, just looking for something that will elicit fewer complaints from those that do.
The 4 was a little disappointing in that respect. It’s better in the back (and the front) than the EV6, which is probably the closest thing to it in concept available now. But less good than the Ioniq 5, and I suppose I was hoping the 4 would be like that, only sleeker.
I tried unsuccessfully to persuade MrsB1 to look at an iX with me on Sunday. There are quite a few used ones at local dealers but she’d had enough of my electromotive experiments for one weekend.
|
|
|
|
Post by dixinormus on Apr 16, 2024 6:35:59 GMT
I wouldn’t stump up a deposit for a new vehicle without a firm delivery date. Did that once, learned my lesson. Would rather buy something in stock, or at least in-country, that I know exists.
Bit like buying a new house off-plan, dates tend to slip and you are left in limbo.
|
|
bpg
Full Member
Posts: 2,809
|
Post by bpg on Apr 16, 2024 7:08:18 GMT
Are any of these vehicles running AAOS, WDB ? That would be a huge red flag for me. Some manufacturers are running AAOS on Android several versions behind the current Android 14. What are residuals going to be like on an unsupported, connected vehicle ?
I can't find anything suggesting how long an AAOS equipped vehicle will be supported for.
A cheap phone you can deal with only having support for two or three years. I'd expect substantially more on a vehicle costing £60k+
|
|
WDB
Full Member
Posts: 7,425
|
Post by WDB on Apr 16, 2024 7:16:17 GMT
The order deposit is only £150 and the online form suggests delivery in ‘September-October 2024’. But the forums have a lot of frustrated customers who’ve been waiting a year for a 3 — delayed by Volvo software problems, apparently, also delaying the EX90 — and the 4 has been ‘coming soon’ for almost as long. A Porsche Macan 4 is about the same size and surprisingly close in price — but you can’t actually buy one of those yet either.
I watched a long and detailed YouTube video on the iX from an opinionated US channel, which had a lot of information about the build process and the battery assembly. That concluded with the view (I did tell you it was opinionated) that none of today’s EVs will be worth owning in even a few years because newer battery technology will have rendered them obsolete. Leasing à la Esp (already much more popular in the US) is the only way, they suggest. Not sure I agree — you have to have a very good reason to keep funding year 0-3 depreciation — but they may be right, in that market at least.
In that sense, PCP may be a useful safety net, offering the break point of a lease with the option to continue if the price is right. Now, how about that interest rate reduction we were supposed to get by now…?
|
|
WDB
Full Member
Posts: 7,425
|
Post by WDB on Apr 16, 2024 7:23:46 GMT
Are any of these vehicles running AAOS, WDB ? Yes. I suppose you might argue that the Google connection is reassuring, being more certain of being extant in five years than Polestar itself. 😟 Polestar continues to push technology towards a more entertaining, connected and autonomous future in all its cars. In Polestar 4, the infotainment system powered by Android Automotive OS and the Snapdragon Cockpit Platform now utilises a 15.4-inch landscape-oriented screen.
With Google built-in, including Google Assistant, Google Maps and Google Play, Polestar continues to offer a leading connected experience. The close collaboration with Google allows Polestar to keep pushing the boundaries of the system.
A Harman Kardon audio system is available as an option with 12 speakers and 1,400-Watt channel-hybrid amplifier. An additional two headrest speakers are added to each front seat with the optional Nappa Pack– raising the total to 16. Naturally, Apple CarPlay is included.
As with all other Polestar cars, regular over-the-air (OTA) updates allow for new features and improvements to be sent remotely to all vehicles, removing the need to visit a workshop to gain the latest software. |
|
bpg
Full Member
Posts: 2,809
|
Post by bpg on Apr 16, 2024 7:48:05 GMT
That reads like a mobile phone sales brochure. A car is around much longer than any mobile phone. Google will support an OS for a few years it doesn't fit the business model to have an OS running for 15 or 20 years. You can't keep upgrading the OS in the car as the architecture changes.
Based on the obsolescence being built into new cars, leasing is the only model which makes sense but defeats the environmental argument for switching to EV. Making something with a price tag approaching six figures a throwaway item is criminal.
4G modems, finite life software platforms, doesn't make sense. I don't see how having the ability to play Mario Kart in McDonald's car park is saving the planet. It's a shiny gimmick.
|
|
|
|
Post by Humph on Apr 16, 2024 8:17:09 GMT
Clearly the manufacturers think these things add value to their vehicles, and maybe they do, but I don’t want or need anything like that in my car. I occasionally use the radio to break the tedium of a long journey or simply catch up on the news, but I don’t need anything more than that.
|
|
bpg
Full Member
Posts: 2,809
|
Post by bpg on Apr 16, 2024 8:27:25 GMT
Until it is known how long support for these auto platforms is going to last it could well destroy the residuals of the previous strong performers. Who is going to pay 50 or 60% of new price for a product, at three years old, which may be 60% through its working, supported life ? Buy shares in barge poles.
|
|
