The 2025 Polestar 4: Great handling and a small CO2 footprint stand out

““If you’re going to make a car and use all that energy, it has to be a good car,” said Thomas Ingenlath, CEO of Polestar. Ingenlath was referring to the company’s latest electric vehicle, a mid-size SUV with striking coupe looks, the Polestar 4. While Ingenlath is right about sustainability, it also makes good business sense. The Polestar 4 has to be a good car to stand out as it enters one of the most hotly contested segments in the market.

In fact, Polestar uses less energy to make its latest electric car than anything else in its range; the company cites a carbon footprint of 19.9 tons of CO₂ from cradle to gate. Like some other carmakers, Polestar is taking a mono-material approach to the interior to make recycling easier, for example by choosing the same base plastic for all the components in a given piece of trim.

The rugs are made from recycled fishing nets or plastic bottles. The vinyl chairs use pine oil instead of the stuff mined from the ground, and the knitted upholstery fabric — also recycled plastic bottles — is designed to leave no residue.

The fastest Polestar ever

In addition to being the greenest Polestar yet, it’s also the best performing. We tested the Long Range Dual Motor version, which can send up to 536 hp (400 kW) and 506 lb-ft (686 Nm) to the wheels. Opt for this version and you should get 270 miles (434 km) from the 100 kWh battery pack. In a suitable location, like a highway toll booth, the car will reach 60 mph in 3.7 seconds (100 km/h in 3.8).

At least that is when you are in performance mode. Switch to range mode and the clutches disengage the front permanent magnet synchronous motor and reset the throttle for better efficiency. A heat pump is also available as standard. The car can charge DC fast at speeds of up to 200 kW, which means the battery pack can be charged from 10 to 80 percent in 30 minutes. At home, on an 11 kW AC charger, 0-100 percent SoC takes about 11 hours.

There’s also a Long Range Single Motor variant with exactly half the power and torque but an EPA-rated range of 300 miles (482 km). Driven by the rear wheels only, the Polestar 4 has more modest performance — 60 mph hits in 6.9 seconds, 60 mph in 7.1 — but it also carries a $10,000 lower price, starting at $64,900. New tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles have been blamed for the increase, but Polestar told Ars it will honor the original prices for customers who had already placed orders. Production of Polestar 4s for the U.S. market will begin in South Korea next year, meaning significantly lower import tariffs.

It's surprisingly good to drive

It has to be said: getting an electric car to go fast isn’t particularly difficult. Electric motors generate most of their torque almost instantly, and unlike an internal combustion engine, increasing peak power doesn’t really result in an efficiency hit lower down the performance spectrum. So even a three-ton monster can be thrown around the road fast enough to embarrass a whole lot of supercars.

The Polestar 4 isn't that heavy (2,355 kg), so it forgoes air suspension in favor of conventional coil springs and dampers. These are passive in the Single Motor, but the Dual Motor comes with active dampers as standard, and if you opt for the performance package it is upgraded with stiffer springs and anti-roll bars and a new damper tuning.

Our test car was so equipped and it was a noticeably firm ride, especially if you were in the back. There was also some wind noise at speed, but more tyre noise, probably thanks to the 22-inch wheels in the performance pack.