Sat in it too. We own a 2018 Audi A3 and materials in the Polestar are as good or better. What Bjorn refers to as semi-soft are textile wrapped surfaces (upper door panel, glove box). Only complaint I have is the hard plastic used for the b pillar. Panel gaps probably have something to do with the cars being prototypes built before the factory was set up.
@@tx617 But to be fair the Audi A3 is the second cheapest Audi you can buy and a small hatchback, not comparable to the Polestar, you should compare the polestars quality to an Audi A4 or A6 or looking at the back space this is probably comparable size wise to an Audi A5, since its a fastback like the polestar.
@Nastasio It‘s not on par with the A6, but then again this car starts where the Polestar tops off, price wise. Materials in the current A4 are similar to the PS3
tali sson I was just waiting for her to offer to show him the awesome ambient lighting...her favorite feature, ya know 😁 But this one was pretty nice and unobtrusive! Great looking car, probably way out of my price range, unfortunately.
You do have to prereserve it. Only 20.000 first editions coming out at first. delivery planned for may-june next year. But only in some markets including Norway and the Netherlands.
Jan Andersson Hell yeah. Volvo should have just bought that brand name and made that their EV brand or something. Or just a design variant of the same product like how Seat and Skoda are basically VW.
I’m owner of a Tesla modele 3 AWD with performance pack. This Polestar 2 is the first real competitor for Tesla on the market with a nice design effort and the performance seems great 2. Wait and see when this car will be available. But this modele 3 is so good that it will be very difficult to compete for the other manufacturer. 😀. The step is very high.
Volvo definitely was heavily inspired by Tesla here, which is a good thing! This has the best Nav and Infotainment system I've seen out of every other Non Tesla EV.
Paul Milano I am pretty sure that Volvo is making a much better infotainment system than Tesla. Volvo is in an other class than Tesla. Volvo is premium. Tesla is not.
@@tor-ingejohansen3347 Google did the infotainment software! Doesnt look quite as good as Teslas but almost there. I like both Volvo and Tesla cars. Both feel premium to me.
@@tor-ingejohansen3347 Stating that Tesla's infotainment system isn't premium is as silly as saying iPhones aren't smartphones. Sure it may not be to your taste but the statement is blatantly false. Infotainment is one of Tesla's strengths. Interior quality and utility, however, is a much more reasonable point to criticize for its class.
@@Xanthopteryx That's a common opinion to have before having tried living with it for a few hours/days. Are you saying that you've done that and still feel that way? I'm surprised you think it's too bright because I think it's pretty decent at automatically adjusting screen brightness - and you can also adjust the relative brightness or go completely manual - and it can become _very_ dark.
By the way, headlight washers are mandatory according to EU regulation for headlights above 2.000 lumens. That's why it's present in cars with xenon headlights and some with LED headlights.
Interior is almost all same as XC60. I drove one for 2 weeks and found the comfort and ergonomics to be excellent. This car looks great and has a really purposeful and solid stance.
The dashboard is different and the xc60, to my eyes, is more luxurious. It's a Volvo like interior but different in some ways than the current Volvo interiors. The screen is bigger, the dash shape is different, the console, the door panels, things like that. The Polestar 1 is exactly like a Volvo interior.
LOve your work Bjorn. You handle the Sales staff politely, but without compromising your integrity of representing the public. Good assessment! Good to see the progress of EVs!
I've talked to the Polestar representatives at Frankfurt and they told me it's made using a Volvo ICE platform - that's why the tunnel is there. The ICE cars use it for transmission, which is unnecessary in an electric car, so they just filled it up with batteries.
@@OmniSzron Wow, I would have thought with all the publicity and new branding that they would have designed a dedicated EV platform. How disappointing.
@@npbetts1 I don't think they have the volume to do that yet. To be fair, they used the existing platform very efficiently, but they just couldn't get rid of that tunnel.
@@OmniSzron Yes, the cost of developing a platform and certifying it for all the regulations is very expensive indeed. With small sales, it is not affordable. But also consider that Volvo is owed by a larger Chinese company with a good amount of EV experience. And to get to large sales is going to require a dedicated EV platform.
@@rickslife not so much have changed here at HQ. Geely wanted to put their stuff in a Volvo and rebrand it, but geely:s stuff didnt meet the high standards volvo had. So in the end volvo makes their own stuff and have nothing to do with geely cars.
@@TheMoose2010 You still have Polestar tuned Volvos with Bembro brakes and Ohlins dampers. Polestar recalibrates the engine and transmission shifts as well. It even has the "gold" seatbelts like this Polestar 2 has. Polestar is still Volvo's performance division.
I would rather have the hump and a lower footwell than the high floor but flat all the way across. The door sill and the footwell shouldn't be the same height. Unless you like your knees around your ears
I've got a pre-order reservation on one of these. Couple of things you didn't pick up on - the frameless mirrors are smaller and an interesting design feature. It also has matrix LED headlights. Fully vegan interior. I currently drive a Volvo V90. If those seats are the same, they'll be the most comfortable seats in any EV ever.
It all seems a bit clunky to me. The big door handles, the conventional plastic interior with centre hump. The exterior doesn't look anything special. It reminds me of a mid-range Chrysler. The theoretical range looks impressive though. I like how Bjorn just gives his honest opinion regardless of the company rep sitting next to him.
chunky* volvo designs their cars for real world and specifically for use in extreme environments such as living its entire life in the arctic circle, not just some test date to slide around a few times like other cars. those door handles will come in useful when wearing thick gloves and heavy sheet of ice on the car, can still access your vehical. it is a chunky car bt its designed to live its life on and off road.. as a volvo owner myself, XC70 here with 265,000+ miles and owned it since now so even with my slight biased i agree, design isn't as sexy as a tesla or as sleek, but its infinitely more practical.. tesla's are design forward and i would love to own one myself my nerd side has wet dreams over teslas and i think they are fascinating!. volvos are more real world use forward, abd from my understanding of some of the insane volvo testing done before they allow a car to hit the market it should easily shut off careless driving far better than a tesla can.. like going through a ditch at highway speeds is a test Volvo physically does with their cars before they allow them on sale if they meet min score volvo sets.
@@Honeypot-x9s * Clunky - adjective: definition; solid, heavy, and old-fashioned. e.g "The one thing I like about your clunky Polestar is how I can open the doors with my thick winter gloves in Miami"
I love the design. It stands out by not having that forced "4-door" coupe shape like upcoming BMW EV sedan will have. The interior uses some pretty interesting materials although I think Volvo/Polestar could have been more daring and they should rethink that center console.
Yes decent panel gaps. There were a couple times I could tell he was wanting to make dirty joke if he was live-streaming he would have said but he was gentleman.
So thorough. Excellent as always Bjørn. God I LOVE this car. For me they have got pretty much everything right, and I love the look of it. Sat in it myself a few months ago and STILL happy watch 20 mins of someone else checking it out 😂😂
You left out some important information -- which would be more important to potential buyers than a lot of the stuff that you did mention: like putting the back seats down to see full cargo space, including removal of the cargo cover... like measuring the ground clearance ... Like talking about the glass roof, which the Polestar website says is electrochromic "smart" glass, like that on the passenger windows of Boeing Dreamliners ... ... sigh ...
I like it. I am following this car when they said that they will make an electric car. I can't wait to see how the final version will look like. I love Volvo's quality in fossil cars and their safety. As much as I know they are aiming to release them in May 2020 (with shipment for reservation holders). Price: around 60k eur which may go up after certification and applied taxes.
Volvo xc70 T6 in the family, so like the brand. But in the US, this EV will not be able to compete costing at least $10k over the model 3, which is what the price difference will be at a minimum. Also, only Tesla has a real serious long-distance travel fast charging infrastructure so far.
The android based system seems pretty good, maps super responsive, but for me it ended there, everything else seemed kind of "not that great".. a bit surprised, based on how they advertised this.
13:24 i hope these are not the final side mirrors, else they will blind you every day, they need a lid or they need to integrate the glass deeper into the housing like all the other cars do.
@Nastasio These are the same as on the production Polestar 1, intentionally frameless to reduce drag. Real life testing will show how they work, enough bad weather around Torslanda for them to have figured that out.
Very good video, thank you! One of the most surprising BEVs at IAA and my new favorite for replacing my I3s - instead of the MY. Very good - not SUV-like - design in combination with enough place where i need it (rear seats have less priority), Volvo-like quality impression, towing (1500kg) is possible, and a clever combination of online buying in combination with the existing Volvo service infrastructure. Some other details: Interesting prices for long term rental, covering all costs from assurance up to onboard Wifi hotspot. And on top the best mix of kind and competent IAA stuff ;-)
Tesla ruined all the cars for me. Basically every other car looks too futuristic, too many buttons or too many displays. Too big, too small, too normal etc. But man, this car. This is something...
Yeah it looks nice so far but it’s also a prototype. Talking of overkill with screens, I kinda liked the M-Byte even though it’s exaggerated. Opposed to the Taycan they are well thought out though and make sense for a car that is also supposed to self drive and entertain some day.
Great video Bjorn. I’ve seen Tesla haters call this the Model 3 killer, but it is obvious from this video it lacks many of the strengths of the Model 3, although it has a proper lift gate at the back which is good. Still a nice looking EV but I wish people would stop hating on Tesla and saying cars like this are better.
What strengths? The P2 has a hatchback (way better than saloon/sedan). It also has a more premium sound system, matrix lights, and Android native OS. The driver assistant is equivalent to Autopilot. What is it you believe makes the Model 3 better?
@@TheWitchfinderGenral Comical claims. First of all, for those that want a hatchback, Model Y will be arriving around the same time. Second of all, the Model 3 sound system as been widely praised as one of the best sound systems out there. Third of all, Matrix headlights will not be available in the USA, and apparently neither will this car. Fourth of all, their driver assistant is equivalent to Tesla?!?!?!? We need to visit your planet one day......
@@redbaron6805 The Model 3 has taken four years to reach European markets, and is still riddled with quality and paint issues. The Y might land here sometime in 2023 - who knows if Tesla will still be in business then with their current debt mountain. Matrix lights will be available in my country, unlucky the US doesn't allow them. Polestar 2's ADAS system will be the Zenuity system, you should look it up. Does Tesla even have road sign recognition yet?
@@TheWitchfinderGenral You should invest in a calendar. Production of the Model 3 started in 2017. The Model 3 already reached Europe in 2019. Last time I checked, 9 - 7 is not 4. But maybe your calculator is different than mine. As far as claims of "riddled with quality and paint issues" that claim is literally fake BS. As seen here: insideevs.com/news/353361/video-tesla-build-quality-improvements/ People keep saying Tesla will go out of business, yet they keep growing every single year. You don't get tired of recycling the same old FUD year after year??? And we'll see what the Chinese Polestar 2 has to offer in features and range when it arrives. I always find comical all these claims a car that hasn't even entered production has these grand quality forecasts. Even at the end of the day, the Polestar 2 is looking to produce 20k a year. By next year, that is around the production number Tesla will be making the 3 in about 2 weeks...
@@TheWitchfinderGenral As far as brand loyalty. Lets see who is the highest rated brand... 1. Tesla - Owner satisfaction score of 89% 2. Porsche - 86 3. Genesis - 85 4. Subaru - 75 5. Audi - 74 6. Ram - 74 7. Toyota - 74 8. Honda - 73 9. Kia - 73 10. BMW - 73 11. Volvo - 73 12. Ford - 73 Hmmm.... well... at least you beat Ford I guess...... evannex.com/blogs/news/experian-insights-tesla-owners-show-a-high-propensity-for-loyalty
Polestar is now 100% Volvo. It's not a Mercedes or Audi but Volvo are usually close. it's also the cheapest from their full electric variants (albeit slightly smaller). Starting price of polestart 2 (in Belgium) is 59.9k euros. Audi e-tron starts from 82.4k euros and the Mercedes EQC starts from 79.8k euros.
Bjorn how come you never adjust the seat to its lower position when checking headroom? Most cars i know about can adjust the seat to get lower.. If you dont and the settings are different, the fist check is not fair.
Agree on the Saab comparison... definitely has some resemblance.. it looks like a decent EV.. still behind where Tesla already is, in most respects though.. and Tesla is only getting better every few months..
Am i the only one who finds it hilarious when he gets in the car and just starts steamrolling through his list, beating on things with his closed fist while the poor PR lady sits there?
Honestly, if Volvo had released this car at the same time as the Tesla Model 3, I would have hesitated between the two ! But now, I really love my Tesla Model 3 !
and again...not a beep on over the air updates. This alone makes Tesla the only choice. Why would one want to be stuck in one time period for years of ownership. Thanks Tesla for keeping the bar high.
I get the sneaky feeling the actual range will be much closer to the Jaguar I-Pace when this is released. It does not look like it is particularly aerodynamic, and the WLTP range has been shown to be around 125% of actual range. Also, some features won't be available in the USA market like the Matrix headlights.
Great car, weirdly it's so nice there's literally nothing that stands out as extra beautiful like Model S' hips. The rear seats were a bit more cramped than expected, the big plastic panel towards the door is luckily something you do not touch with your side when you sit normally. Seat angle was surprisingly steep too. If this is the same car I even found a small paint defect on the edge of the right rear door when I ironically was scanning panel gaps, something I normally always forget.
Really nice looking design, and probably the best software ever seen in a non-Tesla car. Shame about that "transmission" hump - obviously converted from a fossil chassis.
Being a new concept you can be sure there will be issues but Volvo are easily as good as Audi or BMW and anyone who says otherwise has never owned a modern Volvo
Seems like all new cars have hatchback opening of the trunk and they all lack headroom in the back! Maybe that’s why Tesla M3 doesn’t have the hatchback? 🤔
I really like the more conventional cockpit ,overall the car give off a solid and quality build feeling, nice interface BUT even with an EV specific platform and similar exterior dimensions , from what i've seen, compared to a model 3, it has less space for cargo and passengers , also less visibility which give a more claustrophobic experience.
great overview. Agree that driver's display and center display are very responsive and Tesla like. If i had to replace my Tesla with another brand, the Polestar 2 is on the list.
I saw a 12-volt socket in the trunk. Yes, at 1:38. Polestar/Volvo is trying to put no leather in the car and use new materials. Plastics, I don't know. I'm disappointed in the rear seat headroom. This is not a sloping roofline and maybe the back seat is just too high. It also maybe should be a white headliner as the black makes the car look closed in. I like the exterior styling. Really, this is the Volvo Concept 40.2 It's exactly the same save a few details here and there. The interior, I agree about that center area next to the driver. I don't think it is that good. It's better on the current Volvo designs. For the price of this car, interior should match Audi or Mercedes as the Volvo s90/xc90 comes very close. But you do pay more for electric cars and the quality is better than Tesla. Overall, very good analysis from Bjørn.
And the base price is in the low $60k range. What on Earth were they thinking with this crappy interior? I'm definitely interested in this vehicle but would need to spend most of the $7,500 tax credit to upgrade the interior.
I really like the Polestar II. I really think it's a fancy car. I can't believe it is from Volvo. You can really tell when a company makes an EV from ground up. Not a fan of the door handles. The hump and placements of electronics could be better but trunk is good. Your a pro with getting it all on a review. Oh it's Android Auto like nav.... nice...
This will be definitely be my next car, I was going to get the Porsche EV, but for some reason this just made more sense. I mean the car is made almost entirely out of Carbon Fiber, no other sedan for under $ 300,000 on the market, luxury or otherwise has much as this does. It’s faster than the Porsches base model which also costs 20 grand more than this. I love the interior and Equipment, especially the display, that comes standard.Though the best of all, I got to drive one, and it’s fantastic. Now I’m just waiting for mine to arrive, I got the flat anthracite color, the special edition color a it looked the best. Though I will definitely be putting a wrap on it, a flat blue or purple metallic, haven’t decided yet.
Superb looks, design, ergonomics and range! Pleasantly surprised to discover it's a hatchback. Affordable maintenance - the typical bane of Volvo and Saab - should be less of an issue being an EV? Far better looking than a Tesla M3 at the front. Absolutely love it.
Nice review Bjorn. Looks like the center of gravity will be higher than tesla due to higher battery position. Navigation is close to tesla level but no supercharging stops for long distance travel. Nice looking car.
"It's like an Alexa or Siri" :( It is literally Google Assistant which is better than both of its competitors. They did the infotainment System together with Google, she should have mentioned it in every opportunity...
If I was living in Finland this would be a car I would consider. The only serious problem might be the ground clearance. Also, where is the station wagon model? Is there a towing hitch? Looks like I might have a chance to test drive one the next time I go to Chengdu in November.
Nice video They claim they go 500km with a 78kWh battery - which equals to roughly 16kWh per 100km. I don‘t believe that this is realistic. Expect it to be more like 20kWh per 100km which results in a 400km range - if you restrict yourself to drive economically and to call only like 90 of your 400 horses...
These are all amazing electric cars. But they're still electric dumb cars. Call me when they have anything close to Tesla's autopilot. When that happens, Teslas will be already driving themselves in the city. You can't possibly imagine what you're missing if you never tried living with autopilot on long stretches on the road. It makes ALL the difference.
@@ahlsn7346 I haven't looked closely at the XC40. If its that much cruder on the inside than my V90, I wonder if that is to keep the cost down, or a consequence of the car having less space to waste. The XC40 is a rather expensive car for its size, so they should have the money to make a nice interior.
I saw this car on display. Or at least a prototype in New York City. It's not cheaply built inside. It uses a lot of fabrics instead of leather, it uses straight up Volvo buttons and steering wheel and the plastics are of a good quality.
@@coppice2778 Yes, but it isn't cheap inside. It's more built down to a price. The v90 is a luxury car with excellent materials used inside. The xc40 feels like a premium but entry-level Volvo. But it has the same screen and feels quite solid.
@@TheWitchfinderGenral Yeah, well after seeing that tunnel in the rear and removed wind deflecting edges around the side mirrors even as a swede as myself I'm sceptical.
@@davidolsson The rear tunnel accommodates the shape of the battery pack, it means the outboard passengers have better legroom. I think I preferred it over the "knees up" flat floor in Teslas. Time will tell if the frameless mirrors work...
The problem is that the WLTP range is mostly fiction. The Jaguar I-Pace has WLTP range of 292 miles. I doubt anyone has ever gotten anything remotely close to 292 miles of range from the I-Pace. Bjorn got around 232 miles at 56Mph, with the A/C off. So, to get 292 miles, you drive at 25Mph??? Ironically, the EPA range is 234 miles, which is almost exactly what he got.
Nobody does first impressions like Bjørn. Brutally honest👊
No prisoners. That poor lady seemed really nice and all he could say was hmmmm. 😂
Lars Åkerlund
That’s right, his reaction PERFECT!!🤣😂😅
@@MrGonzonator she had a really soft and nice voice. quite nice to listen to
The little asian viking is the best. No bullshit allowed with Bjorn.
5:22 lol he doesn't give af, the poor girl is like trying to justify the quality, he's like this is not like a audi or a mercedez
I think her input was valuable. Bjørn didn't exactly make it obvious that it's a prototype.
It's just for show, basically seems these companies never heard of best foot forward
Sat in it too. We own a 2018 Audi A3 and materials in the Polestar are as good or better. What Bjorn refers to as semi-soft are textile wrapped surfaces (upper door panel, glove box). Only complaint I have is the hard plastic used for the b pillar. Panel gaps probably have something to do with the cars being prototypes built before the factory was set up.
@@tx617 But to be fair the Audi A3 is the second cheapest Audi you can buy and a small hatchback, not comparable to the Polestar, you should compare the polestars quality to an Audi A4 or A6 or looking at the back space this is probably comparable size wise to an Audi A5, since its a fastback like the polestar.
@Nastasio It‘s not on par with the A6, but then again this car starts where the Polestar tops off, price wise. Materials in the current A4 are similar to the PS3
I own a Model 3, but I'm Swedish so.... not too bad, especially for a prototype.
Polestar lady was sensible too, not annoying like the VW ID lady.
You have something against ambient lighting?
tali sson I was just waiting for her to offer to show him the awesome ambient lighting...her favorite feature, ya know 😁 But this one was pretty nice and unobtrusive! Great looking car, probably way out of my price range, unfortunately.
What's Swedish about Polestar?
China owned company and Made in China
Pius is an iPhone Chinese too then? Made in China by a Chinese company(Foxconn).
Anton Chinese owned and built, Swedish design and engineering
big like for the lady from sweden , amazing voice and very professional. Björn is a shy guy lol
Bjorn: "The Swedes, they know how to design t-"
*Rips the windshield washer fluid cap without any effort*
Bjorn: "Oh, ok..."
hahaha
shiiiiiiiiiiiiiittttttt :-)
It might be designed in Sweden, but it was built in China 😉
This one is one my shortlist. But no way I order it before Bjorn has driven it.
Please tell Polestar that so I can get an early test drive :)
You do have to prereserve it. Only 20.000 first editions coming out at first. delivery planned for may-june next year. But only in some markets including Norway and the Netherlands.
How much?
You have a really sharp eye to see the resemblencies with saab.. kudos to you, you are the New master of cars bjørn!
Jan Andersson Hell yeah. Volvo should have just bought that brand name and made that their EV brand or something. Or just a design variant of the same product like how Seat and Skoda are basically VW.
I’m owner of a Tesla modele 3 AWD with performance pack. This Polestar 2 is the first real competitor for Tesla on the market with a nice design effort and the performance seems great 2. Wait and see when this car will be available. But this modele 3 is so good that it will be very difficult to compete for the other manufacturer. 😀. The step is very high.
Volvo definitely was heavily inspired by Tesla here, which is a good thing! This has the best Nav and Infotainment system I've seen out of every other Non Tesla EV.
Paul Milano I am pretty sure that Volvo is making a much better infotainment system than Tesla. Volvo is in an other class than Tesla. Volvo is premium. Tesla is not.
@@tor-ingejohansen3347 Google did the infotainment software! Doesnt look quite as good as Teslas but almost there. I like both Volvo and Tesla cars. Both feel premium to me.
@@tor-ingejohansen3347 Stating that Tesla's infotainment system isn't premium is as silly as saying iPhones aren't smartphones. Sure it may not be to your taste but the statement is blatantly false. Infotainment is one of Tesla's strengths. Interior quality and utility, however, is a much more reasonable point to criticize for its class.
@@Xanthopteryx That's a common opinion to have before having tried living with it for a few hours/days. Are you saying that you've done that and still feel that way?
I'm surprised you think it's too bright because I think it's pretty decent at automatically adjusting screen brightness - and you can also adjust the relative brightness or go completely manual - and it can become _very_ dark.
@@Xanthopteryx You have the option to enable night mode all the time and set the screen brightness as low as you want like a smartphone.
By the way, headlight washers are mandatory according to EU regulation for headlights above 2.000 lumens. That's why it's present in cars with xenon headlights and some with LED headlights.
Interior is almost all same as XC60. I drove one for 2 weeks and found the comfort and ergonomics to be excellent. This car looks great and has a really purposeful and solid stance.
The dashboard is different and the xc60, to my eyes, is more luxurious. It's a Volvo like interior but different in some ways than the current Volvo interiors. The screen is bigger, the dash shape is different, the console, the door panels, things like that. The Polestar 1 is exactly like a Volvo interior.
The Polestar looks like it might be a dark horse in this electric race everything is just sensible here can't wait to see how it does in the wild.
LOve your work Bjorn. You handle the Sales staff politely, but without compromising your integrity of representing the public. Good assessment! Good to see the progress of EVs!
This one indeed seems to tick a lot of the boxes. Can‘t wait to check it out myself and looking forward to your first test drive with it!
I like the Google based infotainment. Exterior style is nice. Since this is an EV platform, the rear floor hump is disappointing.
Thats right. But anyway, this car is too small for 5 people, so in my opinion, it doesn't matter if it has the floor hump.
I've talked to the Polestar representatives at Frankfurt and they told me it's made using a Volvo ICE platform - that's why the tunnel is there. The ICE cars use it for transmission, which is unnecessary in an electric car, so they just filled it up with batteries.
@@OmniSzron Wow, I would have thought with all the publicity and new branding that they would have designed a dedicated EV platform. How disappointing.
@@npbetts1 I don't think they have the volume to do that yet. To be fair, they used the existing platform very efficiently, but they just couldn't get rid of that tunnel.
@@OmniSzron Yes, the cost of developing a platform and certifying it for all the regulations is very expensive indeed. With small sales, it is not affordable. But also consider that Volvo is owed by a larger Chinese company with a good amount of EV experience. And to get to large sales is going to require a dedicated EV platform.
This may be the only that could compete with tesla. Volvo has always been a great company
Except Volvo is not the same since Geely bought them. So there’s that.
@@rickslife True, they're far better. Finally free of the boneheads at Ford.
@@rickslife not so much have changed here at HQ. Geely wanted to put their stuff in a Volvo and rebrand it, but geely:s stuff didnt meet the high standards volvo had. So in the end volvo makes their own stuff and have nothing to do with geely cars.
Still Swedish all the way.
I must admit no one reviews EVs like Bjorn. Polestar is an emerging brand.
Lol, polestar is volvo. Used to just be a division under them but they spun off into their own brand.
@@TheMoose2010 You still have Polestar tuned Volvos with Bembro brakes and Ohlins dampers. Polestar recalibrates the engine and transmission shifts as well. It even has the "gold" seatbelts like this Polestar 2 has. Polestar is still Volvo's performance division.
I would rather have the hump and a lower footwell than the high floor but flat all the way across.
The door sill and the footwell shouldn't be the same height. Unless you like your knees around your ears
I genuinely like this car. The first EV that comes close to Teslas infotainment system and features. It also looks very nice. Thank you Bjørn !!!
I've got a pre-order reservation on one of these. Couple of things you didn't pick up on - the frameless mirrors are smaller and an interesting design feature. It also has matrix LED headlights. Fully vegan interior.
I currently drive a Volvo V90. If those seats are the same, they'll be the most comfortable seats in any EV ever.
It all seems a bit clunky to me. The big door handles, the conventional plastic interior with centre hump. The exterior doesn't look anything special. It reminds me of a mid-range Chrysler. The theoretical range looks impressive though. I like how Bjorn just gives his honest opinion regardless of the company rep sitting next to him.
chunky* volvo designs their cars for real world and specifically for use in extreme environments such as living its entire life in the arctic circle, not just some test date to slide around a few times like other cars. those door handles will come in useful when wearing thick gloves and heavy sheet of ice on the car, can still access your vehical. it is a chunky car bt its designed to live its life on and off road..
as a volvo owner myself, XC70 here with 265,000+ miles and owned it since now so even with my slight biased i agree, design isn't as sexy as a tesla or as sleek, but its infinitely more practical.. tesla's are design forward and i would love to own one myself my nerd side has wet dreams over teslas and i think they are fascinating!. volvos are more real world use forward, abd from my understanding of some of the insane volvo testing done before they allow a car to hit the market it should easily shut off careless driving far better than a tesla can.. like going through a ditch at highway speeds is a test Volvo physically does with their cars before they allow them on sale if they meet min score volvo sets.
@@Honeypot-x9s * Clunky - adjective: definition; solid, heavy, and old-fashioned. e.g "The one thing I like about your clunky Polestar is how I can open the doors with my thick winter gloves in Miami"
PukkaFactor most people don’t live In An area with a single season.
It look like muscle car. But i like this style more than tesla. (Tesla look feminine)
I love the design. It stands out by not having that forced "4-door" coupe shape like upcoming BMW EV sedan will have. The interior uses some pretty interesting materials although I think Volvo/Polestar could have been more daring and they should rethink that center console.
I already reserved one in the Netherlands, coming may-june 2020. I really enjoying it already.
That UI is pretty well thought out! More Swedish Helga please!
James Troup her accent sounds german though. but if Björn says so ...
I think Model 3 UI is still better.
@@philipptielmann Nah it most definitly sounds like a swedish accent.
Taxen okay. but as they both are germanic languages the english accent is probably very similar for both.
Philipp Tielmann She says “sharshing” instead of charging. Definitely Swedish!
(They also say “shildren” and “shina”.)
LOL.. "It's like Alexa or Siri", after she just said Hey Google....
exactly, Google Assistant is like Siri and Alexa
@@Maxzor11 yes, I agree
Yes decent panel gaps. There were a couple times I could tell he was wanting to make dirty joke if he was live-streaming he would have said but he was gentleman.
19:30 Loved it: "the swedishs, they know how to design things"
Let's hope the production versions will have camera washers, even Skodas have those.
That car looks pretty dang sharp doesn't it. A very compelling alternative to the Tesla offerings.
I dream of this car in Gunmetal Grey!
It has a muscle car stance. You could imagine it lowered with a body kit scraping the ground...
Tesla drive train would make it even better
It was nice of her to ask my phone to do a couple searches. Haha.
For next review check out the matrix-headlights and sidemirrors!
Bolt also has rear camera washer
So thorough. Excellent as always Bjørn.
God I LOVE this car. For me they have got pretty much everything right, and I love the look of it.
Sat in it myself a few months ago and STILL happy watch 20 mins of someone else checking it out 😂😂
This video wreaked havoc in my home! All the hey Google caused a lot of weird stuff to start on my Google homes 😂
You left out some important information -- which would be more important to potential buyers than a lot of the stuff that you did mention: like putting the back seats down to see full cargo space, including removal of the cargo cover... like measuring the ground clearance ... Like talking about the glass roof, which the Polestar website says is electrochromic "smart" glass, like that on the passenger windows of Boeing Dreamliners ... ... sigh ...
I like it. I am following this car when they said that they will make an electric car. I can't wait to see how the final version will look like. I love Volvo's quality in fossil cars and their safety. As much as I know they are aiming to release them in May 2020 (with shipment for reservation holders). Price: around 60k eur which may go up after certification and applied taxes.
Volvo xc70 T6 in the family, so like the brand. But in the US, this EV will not be able to compete costing at least $10k over the model 3, which is what the price difference will be at a minimum. Also, only Tesla has a real serious long-distance travel fast charging infrastructure so far.
Nice one with the washer fluid cap 😅👍
The android based system seems pretty good, maps super responsive, but for me it ended there, everything else seemed kind of "not that great".. a bit surprised, based on how they advertised this.
You should check out the production car. Alot has changed from the prototype 👍 No footwell hump, higher quality etc
13:24 i hope these are not the final side mirrors, else they will blind you every day, they need a lid or they need to integrate the glass deeper into the housing like all the other cars do.
@Nastasio These are the same as on the production Polestar 1, intentionally frameless to reduce drag. Real life testing will show how they work, enough bad weather around Torslanda for them to have figured that out.
Impressive. The infotainment looks superb. The car looks great.
We want more of this beautiful Polestar Lady, lol.
Up and down, in and out... Oh yeah -Bjørn
Very good video, thank you!
One of the most surprising BEVs at IAA and my new favorite for replacing my I3s - instead of the MY.
Very good - not SUV-like - design in combination with enough place where i need it (rear seats have less priority), Volvo-like quality impression, towing (1500kg) is possible, and a clever combination of online buying in combination with the existing Volvo service infrastructure.
Some other details: Interesting prices for long term rental, covering all costs from assurance up to onboard Wifi hotspot.
And on top the best mix of kind and competent IAA stuff ;-)
At 21:05 Was that Chris Harris from Top Gear that Bjorn helped with the trunk?
I like that car. :)
I think one of the best EVs in its class i would say. :)
Looks promising , thanks Bjorn , you have been one busy reviewer of late .
14:20 that gear selector is ridiculous... It's even in the way of the media button
Tesla ruined all the cars for me. Basically every other car looks too futuristic, too many buttons or too many displays. Too big, too small, too normal etc.
But man, this car. This is something...
As a Tesla owner I agree! I Will have to test drive this one for mye next car!
Yeah it looks nice so far but it’s also a prototype. Talking of overkill with screens, I kinda liked the M-Byte even though it’s exaggerated. Opposed to the Taycan they are well thought out though and make sense for a car that is also supposed to self drive and entertain some day.
Great video Bjorn. I’ve seen Tesla haters call this the Model 3 killer, but it is obvious from this video it lacks many of the strengths of the Model 3, although it has a proper lift gate at the back which is good. Still a nice looking EV but I wish people would stop hating on Tesla and saying cars like this are better.
What strengths? The P2 has a hatchback (way better than saloon/sedan). It also has a more premium sound system, matrix lights, and Android native OS. The driver assistant is equivalent to Autopilot. What is it you believe makes the Model 3 better?
@@TheWitchfinderGenral Comical claims. First of all, for those that want a hatchback, Model Y will be arriving around the same time. Second of all, the Model 3 sound system as been widely praised as one of the best sound systems out there. Third of all, Matrix headlights will not be available in the USA, and apparently neither will this car. Fourth of all, their driver assistant is equivalent to Tesla?!?!?!? We need to visit your planet one day......
@@redbaron6805 The Model 3 has taken four years to reach European markets, and is still riddled with quality and paint issues. The Y might land here sometime in 2023 - who knows if Tesla will still be in business then with their current debt mountain. Matrix lights will be available in my country, unlucky the US doesn't allow them. Polestar 2's ADAS system will be the Zenuity system, you should look it up. Does Tesla even have road sign recognition yet?
@@TheWitchfinderGenral You should invest in a calendar. Production of the Model 3 started in 2017. The Model 3 already reached Europe in 2019. Last time I checked, 9 - 7 is not 4. But maybe your calculator is different than mine.
As far as claims of "riddled with quality and paint issues" that claim is literally fake BS. As seen here:
insideevs.com/news/353361/video-tesla-build-quality-improvements/
People keep saying Tesla will go out of business, yet they keep growing every single year. You don't get tired of recycling the same old FUD year after year???
And we'll see what the Chinese Polestar 2 has to offer in features and range when it arrives. I always find comical all these claims a car that hasn't even entered production has these grand quality forecasts.
Even at the end of the day, the Polestar 2 is looking to produce 20k a year. By next year, that is around the production number Tesla will be making the 3 in about 2 weeks...
@@TheWitchfinderGenral As far as brand loyalty. Lets see who is the highest rated brand...
1. Tesla - Owner satisfaction score of 89%
2. Porsche - 86
3. Genesis - 85
4. Subaru - 75
5. Audi - 74
6. Ram - 74
7. Toyota - 74
8. Honda - 73
9. Kia - 73
10. BMW - 73
11. Volvo - 73
12. Ford - 73
Hmmm.... well... at least you beat Ford I guess......
evannex.com/blogs/news/experian-insights-tesla-owners-show-a-high-propensity-for-loyalty
i was thinking to order polestar2 a couple of months ago. Very happy I haven't done that.
Polestar is now 100% Volvo. It's not a Mercedes or Audi but Volvo are usually close. it's also the cheapest from their full electric variants (albeit slightly smaller). Starting price of polestart 2 (in Belgium) is 59.9k euros. Audi e-tron starts from 82.4k euros and the Mercedes EQC starts from 79.8k euros.
No 12 volt outlet? Also why battery go thru middle of car?
It's done that way so you don't have to sit with your knees to high up. More cpmfortable angle
@@fabiangustafsson1302 but then why is there no space in the back for grown-ups?
@@mattaut88 how far down your feet are and the angle of your legs have nothing to do with how much space they created from the seat to the ceiling
Your right why in the middle? Other companies like Chevrolet and Toyota did it with Volt and Prius but their sales wasn't as great as expected...
There's one in the trunk.
Bjorn how come you never adjust the seat to its lower position when checking headroom? Most cars i know about can adjust the seat to get lower.. If you dont and the settings are different, the fist check is not fair.
Agree on the Saab comparison... definitely has some resemblance.. it looks like a decent EV.. still behind where Tesla already is, in most respects though.. and Tesla is only getting better every few months..
Am i the only one who finds it hilarious when he gets in the car and just starts steamrolling through his list, beating on things with his closed fist while the poor PR lady sits there?
Very promising, infotainment looks good and yup, agreed there is something SAAB like about it.
Can we have the guide ladies voice as part of the UI? :)
Honestly, if Volvo had released this car at the same time as the Tesla Model 3, I would have hesitated between the two ! But now, I really love my Tesla Model 3 !
and again...not a beep on over the air updates. This alone makes Tesla the only choice. Why would one want to be stuck in one time period for years of ownership. Thanks Tesla for keeping the bar high.
Great car and EV in general, but those panel gaps...Nein, das ist nicht gut! (c) Bjørn Nyland
I get the sneaky feeling the actual range will be much closer to the Jaguar I-Pace when this is released. It does not look like it is particularly aerodynamic, and the WLTP range has been shown to be around 125% of actual range.
Also, some features won't be available in the USA market like the Matrix headlights.
Great car, weirdly it's so nice there's literally nothing that stands out as extra beautiful like Model S' hips. The rear seats were a bit more cramped than expected, the big plastic panel towards the door is luckily something you do not touch with your side when you sit normally. Seat angle was surprisingly steep too.
If this is the same car I even found a small paint defect on the edge of the right rear door when I ironically was scanning panel gaps, something I normally always forget.
Really nice looking design, and probably the best software ever seen in a non-Tesla car. Shame about that "transmission" hump - obviously converted from a fossil chassis.
In the production car it's gone
Being a new concept you can be sure there will be issues but Volvo are easily as good as Audi or BMW and anyone who says otherwise has never owned a modern Volvo
Seems like all new cars have hatchback opening of the trunk and they all lack headroom in the back! Maybe that’s why Tesla M3 doesn’t have the hatchback? 🤔
I really like the more conventional cockpit ,overall the car give off a solid and quality build feeling, nice interface BUT even with an EV specific platform and similar exterior dimensions , from what i've seen, compared to a model 3, it has less space for cargo and passengers , also less visibility which give a more claustrophobic experience.
Ever tried to fit some cargo through the letterbox opening in the Tesla Model 3? Good luck with that.
@@AndreDargan The Model Y is coming out for those with cargo needs.
great overview. Agree that driver's display and center display are very responsive and Tesla like. If i had to replace my Tesla with another brand, the Polestar 2 is on the list.
I saw a 12-volt socket in the trunk. Yes, at 1:38. Polestar/Volvo is trying to put no leather in the car and use new materials. Plastics, I don't know. I'm disappointed in the rear seat headroom. This is not a sloping roofline and maybe the back seat is just too high. It also maybe should be a white headliner as the black makes the car look closed in. I like the exterior styling. Really, this is the Volvo Concept 40.2 It's exactly the same save a few details here and there. The interior, I agree about that center area next to the driver. I don't think it is that good. It's better on the current Volvo designs. For the price of this car, interior should match Audi or Mercedes as the Volvo s90/xc90 comes very close. But you do pay more for electric cars and the quality is better than Tesla. Overall, very good analysis from Bjørn.
"here we have a wheel and you can press it"
info you won't find on other channels
Hey Bjørn, now that the Polestar 2 is displayed in Oslo, I would really love to see a banana box test of it. Do you think that could be arranged?
Saw the Polestar 2 in Los Angeles. That interior is the cheapest modern Volvo I have ever experience to date.
And the base price is in the low $60k range. What on Earth were they thinking with this crappy interior? I'm definitely interested in this vehicle but would need to spend most of the $7,500 tax credit to upgrade the interior.
Another 2 Pearson like Björn and she gone leave the job 😂😂 .great 👍🏻 job Bjørn
I really like the Polestar II. I really think it's a fancy car. I can't believe it is from Volvo. You can really tell when a company makes an EV from ground up. Not a fan of the door handles. The hump and placements of electronics could be better but trunk is good.
Your a pro with getting it all on a review. Oh it's Android Auto like nav.... nice...
"You can really tell when a company makes an EV from ground up.". But this is an ICE car adaptation....
This will be definitely be my next car, I was going to get the Porsche EV, but for some reason this just made more sense. I mean the car is made almost entirely out of Carbon Fiber, no other sedan for under $ 300,000 on the market, luxury or otherwise has much as this does. It’s faster than the Porsches base model which also costs 20 grand more than this. I love the interior and Equipment, especially the display, that comes standard.Though the best of all, I got to drive one, and it’s fantastic. Now I’m just waiting for mine to arrive, I got the flat anthracite color, the special edition color a it looked the best. Though I will definitely be putting a wrap on it, a flat blue or purple metallic, haven’t decided yet.
I want a banana box test with this car !
Superb looks, design, ergonomics and range! Pleasantly surprised to discover it's a hatchback.
Affordable maintenance - the typical bane of Volvo and Saab - should be less of an issue being an EV?
Far better looking than a Tesla M3 at the front. Absolutely love it.
The front sensor is heated ( so no wiper needed)
Most interesting EV in the mid price point so far. To bad I have to change car already within a few months and this won't be available yet.
By the time these guys "bring this to market next Spring", Tesla will have built over 25,000 Model 3's at their new Giga 3 factory in China.
I like how the Europeans put ladies in the car to show off the new car models. In USA, I don't see that, only people with dust wands.
Nice review Bjorn. Looks like the center of gravity will be higher than tesla due to higher battery position. Navigation is close to tesla level but no supercharging stops for long distance travel. Nice looking car.
Lloyd Christmas would love that haircut.
the infotainment is the new android auto embedded for cars
Looks good! Saab designers know their stuff.
"It's like an Alexa or Siri" :( It is literally Google Assistant which is better than both of its competitors. They did the infotainment System together with Google, she should have mentioned it in every opportunity...
ok google command always bugs me... it should also have a button u can press for speaking at it
224 km takes 60% of battery frankfurt to dusseldorf. That is 373 km maximum range extrapolated not 500km.
Google > Alexa > Siri ... so no complaints from me
If I was living in Finland this would be a car I would consider. The only serious problem might be the ground clearance. Also, where is the station wagon model? Is there a towing hitch? Looks like I might have a chance to test drive one the next time I go to Chengdu in November.
towing (about 1500kg) will be possible from the start - the friendly lady told me at Frankfurt.
Concerning the cameras in winter, the lady said they will be heated. No spray nozzle needed I think.
Heat can't get rid of salt. Every Scandinavian knows that.
@@bjornnyland and every nordic car with Nose-Charger ;)
I have just noticed that it is a hatchback but it doesn’t have a rear wiper...hmmm Bjorn !
Thanks for your work! You deserve lots likes!
Nice video
They claim they go 500km with a 78kWh battery - which equals to roughly 16kWh per 100km. I don‘t believe that this is realistic.
Expect it to be more like 20kWh per 100km which results in a 400km range - if you restrict yourself to drive economically and to call only like 90 of your 400 horses...
Those pre production claims always appear to fall flat when production starts and reality sets in.
I really really like that google map info system. Wish my Model 3 had it
okay. much better than I thought. I really like the trunk and how it opens. do they also plan a station wagon?
Roger too bad. but with the trunk opening like that we are halfway there. I wish the Model 3 hat the tailgate like this. it would be the perfect car
@@philipptielmann I thought the Model 3 with a tailgate like that is the Model Y....
Red Baron that would be really nice. not the case though
@@philipptielmann Why is that not the case? Not sure I follow your logic there. The Model Y will be more of a hatchback to address cargo space.
Red Baron sorry you are right. i misread your comment. yes the model y will be much better in that regard but also overall taller?
These are all amazing electric cars. But they're still electric dumb cars. Call me when they have anything close to Tesla's autopilot. When that happens, Teslas will be already driving themselves in the city. You can't possibly imagine what you're missing if you never tried living with autopilot on long stretches on the road. It makes ALL the difference.
A lot of the interior seems much more cheaply built than a Volvo, although many things, like the steering column, are straight out of a Volvo.
It's XC40 quality which is more plastic than the higher series.
@@ahlsn7346 I haven't looked closely at the XC40. If its that much cruder on the inside than my V90, I wonder if that is to keep the cost down, or a consequence of the car having less space to waste. The XC40 is a rather expensive car for its size, so they should have the money to make a nice interior.
I saw this car on display. Or at least a prototype in New York City. It's not cheaply built inside. It uses a lot of fabrics instead of leather, it uses straight up Volvo buttons and steering wheel and the plastics are of a good quality.
@@coppice2778 Yes, but it isn't cheap inside. It's more built down to a price. The v90 is a luxury car with excellent materials used inside. The xc40 feels like a premium but entry-level Volvo. But it has the same screen and feels quite solid.
Thanks Björn 👍👍👍👍😊😊😊😊🤓🤓🤓🤓
cant see how practical that boot opener will be in winter with all snow and shiiiiiit
It has a "virtual pedal" for opening
@@TheWitchfinderGenral Hope the sensor works thru snow and ice :)
@@davidolsson one would hope that a Swedish car company know how to design a car to cope with Swedish winters :)
@@TheWitchfinderGenral Yeah, well after seeing that tunnel in the rear and removed wind deflecting edges around the side mirrors even as a swede as myself I'm sceptical.
@@davidolsson The rear tunnel accommodates the shape of the battery pack, it means the outboard passengers have better legroom. I think I preferred it over the "knees up" flat floor in Teslas. Time will tell if the frameless mirrors work...
Good catch on the Saab design cues. That WLTP figure seems pretty good.
The problem is that the WLTP range is mostly fiction. The Jaguar I-Pace has WLTP range of 292 miles. I doubt anyone has ever gotten anything remotely close to 292 miles of range from the I-Pace.
Bjorn got around 232 miles at 56Mph, with the A/C off. So, to get 292 miles, you drive at 25Mph??? Ironically, the EPA range is 234 miles, which is almost exactly what he got.
Thank you !