Despite the Polestar 4’s puzzling omission of a rear window, it offers a firm and comfortable drive with lots of space, sleek design and intuitive tech
Geraldine Herbert test drives the Polestar 4. Photo: Paul Herbert-Kane
There is, of course, already a word for a vehicle without a back window: van. So when Polestar launched the Polestar 4, our test car this week, without one, I’ll admit I was briefly confused. This isn’t a builder’s Transit, after all, it’s a premium coupe.
The official line is that ditching the rear glass improves head room, keeps passengers comfortable and enhances the car’s aerodynamics. In its place, you get a wide-angle camera feed where the rear-view mirror used to be. Polestar reckons this provides “a wider, unobstructed rearward view”. In reality, it doesn’t reflect the world as a mirror does, so, like a van driver, you’ll end up relying almost entirely on the door mirrors. At which point, you might as well start delivering parcels. Step inside and things improve. Buyers can choose between Nappa leather or textiles crafted from recycled PET bottles, bio-attributed MicroTech and traced wool.