Experience with Polestar?

[Great Gatsby]

2025 MY Polestar 3 are like $21k off as they prepare to release the 2027 MY (they skipped 2026 in the states).

I've always dug the way it looks but had a bad experience here at the Atlanta showroom a few months ago so have postponed anything further with them since.

Anyone own(ed?) a Polestar before and can share what the experience of owning one is like? Software, service, range estimates, etc.

Currently waiting for the R2 but the deals that Polestar has now are great and hearing their sound system is one of the best is very promising as that my main concern about the R2 and if it can deliver good sound quality with 9 speakers.

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[Mos Eisley]

No personal experience other than a friend who had a Polestar 2 and almost from the get-go had problems. She traded her Tesla S in for it and it spent more time in the shop than in her hands. She got pretty cranky with the dealer. Just one data point FWIW.

 

[elatrickWheels]

I have rented two, each for a week at a time. I really enjoyed driving them.

 

[Trinculo73]

Our 2nd vehicle is a 2021 P2. It's a lot of fun to drive if you want a sporty vehicle - big Brembo brakes, manual Ohlins dampers, very stiff ride. Kyle from OOS has an amusing video where he takes one well above reasonable speeds thru the back country

Software is Android Automotive natively, also supports Android Auto and CarPlay of you prefer those. The 2021 is definitely very quirky tho, lots of little glitches and the UI is pretty slow.

Battery is small coming from Rivian, has about a 240 mile range, but it's primarily used as a commuter car for us so that's never mattered. But we have road tripped with it a few times and it's do-able.

For the price we paid, tho? Used 2021 model, 25k miles, for only $25k? Worth every penny.

 

[TSD]

I drive a 2 Launch Edition daily, and just passed over 100k miles with only routine service, and a lot of tires. It’s had some expected degradation but otherwise excellent so far.

The 3 is a different animal entirely. Many early ‘25s suffered on-board charger (GHCA) failures, or software issues that brick them, and were in service for such extended periods that owners initiated buybacks. Polestar is essentially giving them away now.

If you live near a Space with a good service department, it’s a lot of vehicle for the money, just make sure they’ve done all the updates before taking the plunge.

 

[Dark-Fx]

I liked my 2, didn't have many issues with it outside of the software being slow and issues with the rear view camera. I don't miss it though.

 

[Great Gatsby]

Our 2nd vehicle is a 2021 P2. It's a lot of fun to drive if you want a sporty vehicle - big Brembo brakes, manual Ohlins dampers, very stiff ride. Kyle from OOS has an amusing video where he takes one well above reasonable speeds thru the back country

Software is Android Automotive natively, also supports Android Auto and CarPlay of you prefer those. The 2021 is definitely very quirky tho, lots of little glitches and the UI is pretty slow.

Battery is small coming from Rivian, has about a 240 mile range, but it's primarily used as a commuter car for us so that's never mattered. But we have road tripped with it a few times and it's do-able.

For the price we paid, tho? Used 2021 model, 25k miles, for only $25k? Worth every penny.

They seem great if not a tad overpriced when new. Just a weird spot of performance and range not being that competitive but I do like the package offered on the 2, 3 and now the 4. My heart is on the 3 though, which even with discounts, still north of $70k new and around $50k used. That is still a hard pill to swallow for an unproven product. I do love the styling though. Glad to hear you have been enjoying yours!

Even if I don't get one now, given how depreciation has hit these, I will very likely snag a used PS3 performance if they end up around $35k in the used market. All a matter of if I have that kind of patience lol

 

[Trinculo73]

They seem great if not a tad overpriced when new. Just a weird spot of performance and range not being that competitive but I do like the package offered on the 2, 3 and now the 4. My heart is on the 3 though, which even with discounts, still north of $70k new and around $50k used. That is still a hard pill to swallow for an unproven product. I do love the styling though. Glad to hear you have been enjoying yours!

Even if I don't get one now, given how depreciation has hit these, I will very likely snag a used PS3 performance if they end up around $35k in the used market. All a matter of if I have that kind of patience lol

Absolutely, I think if we'd paid full price for this new we'd have a vastly different opinion of ours :-D

 

[Great Gatsby]

I drive a 2 Launch Edition daily, and just passed over 100k miles with only routine service, and a lot of tires. It’s had some expected degradation but otherwise excellent so far.

The 3 is a different animal entirely. Many early ‘25s suffered on-board charger (GHCA) failures, or software issues that brick them, and were in service for such extended periods that owners initiated buybacks. Polestar is essentially giving them away now.

If you live near a Space with a good service department, it’s a lot of vehicle for the money, just make sure they’ve done all the updates before taking the plunge.

Yeah I've seen some horror stories on reddit and the polestar forum regarding those issues but it sounds like those were early builds and they have stabilized (at least it seems). The 2027 model should come with the new chip that fixes most of those issues and has an 800v architecture. I'd imagine it will probably be heavily discounted as well in a few months. Service is about 30-40 minutes from me but not sure how they are doing (I believe it is also at a Volvo dealership). That is probably my third main area of concern aside from range and then software. It is a lot of vehicle though for sure.

 

[savethemanual]

Polestar is no longer able to sell here in 'Merca!

https://insideevs.com/news/799796/polestar-exits-us-market-authorization-denied/

 

[josh0]

I’ve put quite a few miles on rental Polestar 2s. They’re not bad cars, but they are, for me personally, not comfortable to drive. Just something about the layout of the driver’s seat and controls doesn’t work for me. The right-hand drive ones were noticeably more comfortable, actually, though my wife didn’t enjoy riding in either. I do, however, know people who own and enjoy them, so your mileage may vary.

 

[Doggman]

Had a launch edition P2 as a daily drive for 4 years, never had a problem with it except it ate tires like Oreos and the range was insufficient when my work situation changed. I found that the build quality was exceptional and on par with ICE vehicles of equivalent and higher price (the wife's X5 for example), miles ahead of the Model 3's and Y's at a time when Tesla couldn't seem to hang a door straight. Though my R1 is objectively a smidge faster off the line to 60mph the P2 (with the performance upgrade) felt faster being so low to the ground and with much tighter (sometimes harsh) suspension. Though they've never been a big player in the US it's a shame to see them exit the market the way they are. Seems like there are some who won't be satisfied until we are all back cruising to the drive-in in our Grand Marquis and Crown Vics getting 7 mpg.

 

[savethemanual]

Had a launch edition P2 as a daily drive for 4 years, never had a problem with it except it ate tires like Oreos and the range was insufficient when my work situation changed. I found that the build quality was exceptional and on par with ICE vehicles of equivalent and higher price (the wife's X5 for example), miles ahead of the Model 3's and Y's at a time when Tesla couldn't seem to hang a door straight. Though my R1 is objectively a smidge faster off the line to 60mph the P2 (with the performance upgrade) felt faster being so low to the ground and with much tighter (sometimes harsh) suspension. Though they've never been a big player in the US it's a shame to see them exit the market the way they are. Seems like there are some who won't be satisfied until we are all back cruising to the drive-in in our Grand Marquis and Crown Vics getting 7 mpg.

Yeah, sad to see them being forced out. Sounds like it's regarding the alleged spying/privacy issues with anything Chinese. Polestar is currently working on an all new 2, sure it's going to be good. Personally I was kind of hoping to pick up a used 3 if they were going to sell the updated 800v one here in the States, but not anymore!

 

[Mos Eisley]

You can't beat em? Ban em.

 

[Doggman]

Sounds like it's regarding the alleged spying/privacy issues with anything Chinese.

Yeah, while I can stretch my imagination and semi-understand where the paranoia around the CPC having access to some information the car might be collecting comes from, realistically what can they be harvesting that Android Auto, Car Play, my phone, my Television, not to mention any number of IOT devices, shit, even my toothbrush, aren't already selling on the consumer data marketplace? If you're a super secret agent, fine, by American but I'm much more inclined to be paranoid about Flock/ALPR cameras catching me picking my nose at stop lights that I am about Xi Jinping knowing how may times a month I eat at Chipotle.

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