US pricing announced for the Polestar 4 EV; starts at $54,900

NEW YORK—On Wednesday, Polestar formally launched its next electric vehicle in the North American market at the New York International Auto Show. Until now, Polestar’s range has been a little limited—there was the Polestar 1, a handsome if a little eccentric plug-in hybrid GT that went out of production after just 1,500 examples. And there’s the Polestar 2 sedan, now available as a more efficient, more fun rear-wheel drive variant. But the brand has lacked that most popular of body styles, the SUV—until now.

“We have been obviously waiting for this year so much in order to really accelerate now. So the two cars coming are SUVs, [which] is, for us, key to really get into the dimension that we want to be,” said Thomas Ingenlath, CEO of Polestar. “We have invested so much into the brand. We have so much invested into being in 25 countries. Of course we need now that kind of scale, a minimum of a three-car company to justify all of that,” he said.

The latest addition is called the Polestar 4, which slightly confusingly slots between the smaller Polestar 2 sedan and larger, more expensive Polestar 3—the other SUV that joins the range this year. It has a clear family resemblance to its siblings, with similar front styling to the Polestar 3 and a fastback rear that calls back to the Polestar 2. The decision to ditch the rear windshield will no doubt be controversial—instead the Polestar 4 uses a camera-based mirror that provides a wider-angle view of things behind the car than a normal passive mirror.

The cheapest Polestar 4 will start at $54,900 for the long-range single-motor variant. This has a 272 hp (203 kW) electric motor driving the rear wheels, powered by a 102 kWh battery pack that can DC fast-charge at up to 200 kW and should have an EPA range of more than 300 miles (482 km). It looks relatively well-specced, including adaptive cruise control, 360-degree parking cameras, and a heat pump all included as standard equipment.

Adding a second motor brings the price up to $62,900, but the Pilot Pack, which adds lane keeping and a more capable partially automated driving mode, comes as standard with this long-range dual motor version. The second motor boosts total power output to 544 hp (406 kW), but range then drops to about 270 miles (434 km).

There are three other option packages available. The $2,000 Pro Pack adds larger 21-inch wheels, black seatbelts with a gold stripe down the middle, and gold valve-stem covers. The Plus Pack adds $5,500 to the price of the base car but includes a heads-up display, auto-dimming mirrors, seats with more electrical adjustment, three-zone climate control, and a better audio system.

Finally, there’s the $4,500 Performance Pack, which is only available on the dual-motor Polestar 4. This gets you bigger 22-inch wheels, summer tires, better brakes, a tuned chassis, and gold-colored seatbelts and valve-stem caps. Tick all the option packs and your Polestar 4 will cost $72,900 (plus a $1,400 destination fee), which is $500 less than the starting price for the Polestar 3.

Polestar says it will start taking orders for the Polestar 4 in late April, with deliveries planned for the final quarter of 2024.