The Polestar 5 Could Be the Taycan's Greatest Rival
Posted by NISMO1968@reddit | cars | View on Reddit | 95 comments
Posted by NISMO1968@reddit | cars | View on Reddit | 95 comments
larryinthesky@reddit
I don't really see Porsche buyers buying a Volvo. But maybe that's just me (former Porsche owner).
cookingboy@reddit
Plenty of Porsche owners own other brands. I have a BMW for a daily for example, and I would choose this car over a Taycan if it’s not so big.
larryinthesky@reddit
Sure, but surveys after surveys have shown that the Porsche branding is a huge factor in purchase. That’s why I find it hard to see Porsche buyers getting a Volvo
strongmanass@reddit
It's people who'd be shopping the segment and don't necessarily lean toward Porsche. I'd cross-shop them and the Taycan wouldn't have any advantage. The Porsche brand doesn't carry any personal significance for me. I just want the best car for my criteria.
larryinthesky@reddit
Sure, there are people who don't buy Porsche for the brand, but I would say that's pretty small. Like 10%-20% max. The vast majority of people who buy Porsches (non 911s) are definitely brand aware. They want a step up from BMW/Audi/MB. Of course the car (Taycan, Cayenne, etc.) still has to be good, but branding is still a huge part of why they would pick a Cayenne over an Audi Q7. I mean if it's not branding why would anyone pay $30k extra for a Porsche when there is an equivalent BMW/MB/Audi?
strongmanass@reddit
I'm speaking strictly about the Taycan and as a prospective buyer in that segment.
There's no equivalent BMW, the equivalent Mercedes has a more expensive entry point, and the equivalent Audi isn't much less expensive because it's shared with the Taycan. I have my issues with all of them, which is why they hold no advantage over the Polestar. Again, I want the best car for my criteria.
One of the problems legacy brands are having is that EV buyers aren't nearly as brand-loyal as ICE buyers. And why should we be? What have legacy brands done to appeal to me as an EV enthusiast?
UnknownColorHat@reddit
Miss me with the tablet in dash look. Interior is not even close to a Taycan.
cookingboy@reddit
The Taycan interior only looks fine in pictures. The infotainment and software is pure garbage. The lower center screen is so low res and unresponsive and even gets hot for some reason.
UnknownColorHat@reddit
I agree the PCM needs some help, but I would still take it over what the Polestar is offering. Way too minimalist for me.
I've never had an issue with the lower screen, it does its job. The rear camera could be better for sure. A recent recall on mine seemed to help it a little and give more of a view behind which makes me think its still software limited.
strongmanass@reddit
People don't like it when I say the Taycan interior sucks for over $100K. Infotainment, software, touch points. I guess it's typical Porsche where performance is what you pay for. But in a luxury sports sedan I'd trade some performance I can't use on public roads for a nicer place to sit.
mantenner@reddit
5500lbs
Christ.
My wife's XDrive X3 weighs 1500lbs less.
They're gonna get weight under control with these things eventually, right?
strongmanass@reddit
It doesn't really matter. Yes it's heavy, but that's how cars in that class are. It's very unlikely to stop any buyers or be a hindrance for how the car is used. You'll feel it in slow corners, but it will be fine otherwise, and what it gains you in range and cabin space will be worth it for most buyers.
SushiRoe@reddit
isn't this a touring car? like it's intent is to be a plush ride that has a bit of pep when you hit the go fast pedal. seems to deliver on that aspect.
ZannX@reddit
Taycans do extremely well in autocross. These cars are nimble too.
SushiRoe@reddit
That’s true but Volvo seems so far removed from their racing heritage
strongmanass@reddit
Yeah, more like an electric Panamera than a Taycan (the Panamera is bigger and has more room than the Taycan).
sioux612@reddit
So you compared an ICE vehicle in a different vehicle class with an EV?
At least compare the iX3 (5000 pounds) as a smaller EV that weighs less, or the i5 (5300 pounds) as an EV in the same class
DaBanninator@reddit
Tesla Model S 4500lbs.
sioux612@reddit
4500 pound hasn't been the actual weight of a Model S since the 70kwh battery days
The 100kwh battery ones were around 5200 pounds but also had 10% less battery than the polestar has
markeydarkey2@reddit
The 2026 S Plaid is 4802lbs, Tesla has its faults but weight reduction is one of their strengths.
DaBanninator@reddit
WRONG!
https://youtu.be/SS5satMiPj8?si=bvL69iE1JJVgMMky
vexx786@reddit
It's unfortunate you're being down voted because it literally says ~4500 for the standard Model S and ~4800 for the plaid on Tesla's website right now.
DaBanninator@reddit
Yeah but on the other hand Elon hurt their feelings therefore Tesla bad.
Fettekatze@reddit
Compact SUV*
mantenner@reddit
Sure, the point is the polestar is in a physical size class below in terms of practicality but weighs almost 50% more.
_Floriduh_@reddit
Now put performance side by side. There’s a good reason these things are heavy AF.
mantenner@reddit
Straight line performance maybe, but drivetrain and tyre wear, cornering performance, braking ability etc suffer.
People are so focused on power figures and 0-100 times with these cars, yet the argument of efficiency seems to go out the window when you consider maintenance and wear cost/time frames.
thesprinkl@reddit
I mean if we're JUST talking about performance, the average non-car person probably cares more about straight line speed than cornering ability.
Tires may need to be replaced more, but lack of oil changes/spark plugs and other wear items typically reduces maintenance cost in EVs. Regenerative braking means that brakes don't need to be replaced as often either.
jimbojonesFA@reddit
oil and spark plugs (which btw change intervals are usually in like the 100k km range) are not that expensive relative to tires though. over 200k kms oil changes and spark plugs prob cost me about 1500 dollars, tires cost me about $1200 per set x2 sets, 2 full brake pad set changes (pads are about 90 per axle) $360 + rotors once ~400 total = 760 total. so grand total ≈$4,660 ish
tires for an ev in the same mileage (based on my single experience with a model y) would cost ab $1600 per set every ~50k kms = 4x1600 = $6400, if they last longer say you only do highway, maybe only 3 sets to 200k kms so $4,800, plus maybe 0-1 brake pad changes (~$1000 for a full set at tesla service center).
Granted, i do my own maintenance (not on the tesla), so its basically parts cost only for me (except for tire mounting) but this is based on a sports car for which some of these parts and intervals are more expensive and frequent. and I'm not including the regular tesla service intervals which for our model y cost about $400/yr (only owned for 2 yrs tho).
all in all i think tires alone for evs add up to offset the regular maintenance costs with conventional cars.
SushiRoe@reddit
i still think straight line speed is the most practical when it comes to performance numbers. it's used by most drivers to either get up to speed on on ramps or to pass a car. as someone looking at EVs as my second car, I know I'll get great acceleration, but I'm now considering how quickly it can stop to be something to be aware of.
and yeah maintenance seems so much cheaper when all you're going to be going through are tires, fluids, and windshield wipers. my cars getting up there in mileage and it seems like every 10k miles, something is starting to wear down or needs to be fixed. and that's not including the semi-normal maintenance like DSG
FearlessTomatillo911@reddit
There are these things called batteries and it turns out they are heavy as fuck, who knew?
DaBanninator@reddit
There are EVs available under 4000lbs. There's no excuse.
strongmanass@reddit
Sure, and they're not in the same class as this. There are also some ICEVs under 4000 pounds and some over 5000 pounds.
zductiv@reddit
Solid state batteries will make a big difference.
GoldenState15@reddit
Any day now
Plastic_Willow734@reddit
Right? Swear I’ve been hearing out solid state batteries being just around the corner for the last fifteen years
FearlessTomatillo911@reddit
They are coming out right after cold fusion.
x3nhydr4lutr1sx@reddit
For EVs, it won't be until they can hit 500 miles EPA AND L3 charging matching gas station parity before they start optimizing for weight again. Will likely need to wait for next gen of solid state-like tech for weight reduction.
Fighter_M@reddit
Please define “we”, because say, Mazda has promised that the next MX-5 will actually be lighter than the current gen they manufacture.
fhs@reddit
No, the car buying public overwhelmingly doesn't care about weight. Even enthusiasts buy porky cars and scoff at light underpowered cars
NISMO1968@reddit (OP)
Nope, I don't think so... People want range, range means battery, battery means weight, so here we go again!
BassWingerC-137@reddit
So as much as an M5?
DaBanninator@reddit
Why are you comparing it to that x3 toy?
FallenLlama@reddit
The comparison you should be drawing when calling out the Polestar’s weight is the Taycan’s, which is still ~500lbs lighter in its heaviest configuration.
strongmanass@reddit
It's larger than the Taycan, has a bigger battery, more range, and more rear seat room. Those are decent trade-offs for weight.
mantenner@reddit
Fair point.
modrenman864@reddit
Really need more sponsored content like this
localtuned@reddit
Just don't post it from a blog. Lol
KingMario05@reddit
Cool.
Affordable EVs, Volvo.
That's what we want.
imightgetdownvoted@reddit
Volvo isn’t a premium brand and this is their flagship.
Easy-End-2852@reddit
This is not made by Volvo, nor affiliated with them.
cat_prophecy@reddit
I don't know why people expect affordability from Volvo. That basically ended in the early 2000s. The latest models are just as expensive as their European rivals.
NISMO1968@reddit (OP)
A friend of mine bought a new XC90 with Yamaha-built 4.4L V8 back when they came out. It stickered at around $45K in 2005 or 2006, which is roughly $75K in today's money... What's crazy is, that for that inflation-adjusted price you got a transverse an absolutely phenomenal V8 with lots of torque, a pretty decent AWD, seven seats, all-leather, and genuine Volvo premium build quality. Try finding anything comparable for 75 long today!
V8-Turbo-Hybrid@reddit
Because they’re owned Geely. Geely has had advantage in price cutting. They could make Volvo with Toyota price if Geely and Volvo could agree that.
amazinjoey@reddit
Except that Volvo is their premium brand that competes with BMW Mercedes in their C/D/E segement. It's basicly Lexus for for Toyota
kicksledkid@reddit
And polestar is meant to be a step up from volvo, so I don't know why people are shocked these things cost
But also they are competitively priced with similar luxury offerings in my area. I live in a city filled with civil servants in audis and mercs, and I'm seeing a whole lot more polestar lately, certainly more than electric mercs.
amazinjoey@reddit
Not a stepup but a step on the right side, polestar is their high-performance EV brand focused on driving experience and younger people with money
While Zeekr is premium, tech-focused to the left side. Basicly
Lynk is under Volvo is for People under 35-40
kicksledkid@reddit
I am very Canadian and do not know what either zeekr or lynk is
amazinjoey@reddit
Both are car brands from Geely. Zeekr used to be CEVT, Geely Volvos development arm in Lindholmen Gothenburg and in china. Basicly bunch of old Saab and Volvo engineers developing platform and other tech. For example developed the London taxi and tech for other brands
Both brands do amazing cars
localtuned@reddit
People remember the dirt cheap wagons and turbo diesels.
ZetaM3@reddit
No, this is not Volvos flagship. This is a polestar.
Volvo is divested of Polestar.
KingMario05@reddit
It is, though?
visceralintricacy@reddit
The polestar 2 is actually pretty cheap. It looks like it's about to get a big refresh also.
KingMario05@reddit
Thank you! Hope it looks good.
eggdropk@reddit
If you want an affordable Volvo EV, the EX30 and EX60 are relatively affordable.
This isn’t a Volvo, it’s a Polestar, which is a completely different brand now, intended to compete with higher end offerings such as the Taycan. So yes, this is cool, if you wanted an alternative to the Taycan.
amazinjoey@reddit
Yeah polestar is the more youth, bold brand with more focus on coolness, driving experience, tech and Performance. Basicly smiled per Watt
As someone who has a polestar 2 and had a EX40 and ex30. The polestar is so much more fun to drive and more of a drivers car. Ex30 is like a go-kart
ScienceMechEng_Lover@reddit
The target demographic for affordabke EVs are too poor to own a house and have an EV charger at home as a result. Using external chargers significantly diminishes the cost benefits of owning an EV.
Lord_Strepsils@reddit
But it’s not Volvo, it’s polestar? You don’t go to Lexus and say hey Toyota why are your cars so expensive and out of touch
EasyE1979@reddit
There's nothing affordable in the Polestar... WTF😂😂😂
heisgone@reddit
This car style is quite boring. It looks like a stretched model 3.
localtuned@reddit
The polestars look nice. But I read an article about their no welds body and something tells me that is not sustainable at scale.
cat_prophecy@reddit
So you're willing to dismiss it based on something you don't know is true and even if it were true, don't understand?
localtuned@reddit
Nah not dismissing it. I'm just wondering how they plan to build a lot of cars using the bonded aluminum process. So I'm interested in the vehicle. Not dismissing it.
Bottlely@reddit
A big part of what makes the 5, their flagship car, so important was that the UK skunkworks team behind it had developed a way to scale up production of such an exotic unibody.
These engineers had previously worked for McLaren and Lotus, and Polestar had been making a lot of noise about this chassis and how they made it work when the 5 was revealed years ago. Unfortunately, given Polestar's sales struggles as an EV maker and the disbanding of that UK skunkworks team, we may not see any other models using that Polestar chassis for some time, if at all (assuming the 6 Roadster isn't shelved entirely)
FormalOperational@reddit
I don’t think they plan on building a lot cars using this process tbh
localtuned@reddit
I didn't know that. So that makes sense. Thanks for being cool.
strongmanass@reddit
They don't plan to build a lot. It's exclusively for the Polestar 5 and 6 (if it gets produced), which are both small volume cars.
MNAAAAA@reddit
The MotorTrend article on this car (that came out yesterday) mentions it being really difficult to produce at scale: https://www.motortrend.com/reviews/first-drive-2026-polestar-5
strongmanass@reddit
Do you have the same complaints about carbon monocoques? Or do you just accept that they're expensive and low-volume?
localtuned@reddit
I didn't realize these were low volume cars. Why be like that? We all like cars here
strongmanass@reddit
That's fair, sorry I came across snarky.
The story goes back a few years, before the Taycan got released. The Model S was all the rage and Polestar wanted to be the sophisticated upscale choice. So they developed a platform with more range and better driving dynamics. There's supposedly a superior environmental bill of materials too for sustainability. The downside was that it made everything any the car expensive.
But at the time EVs were still cool with a certain group and the target buyer was a dual 6 figure household with lots of money. It wasn't unreasonable to think they'd pay for it. And then they released the roadster concept on the same platform and people actually put down real money. Polestar was flying high and it looked like that big investment would pay off.
localtuned@reddit
Thanks for the context. I didn't know much of the history of how the polestar came to fruition. But this makes sense.
NISMO1968@reddit (OP)
Not necessarily! Lotus used no welding at all, relying instead on aerospace-grade adhesive bonding for the aluminum chassis in the Elise and Exige. They built something like 50,000 of those frames over the years, and there haven't been many reports of chassis-related issues.
Brothernod@reddit
At that price it’s not really gonna sell “at scale” anyway.
localtuned@reddit
True. I can imagine they will find a way to make it cheaper. But when I see the word bespoke. My eyes go $$$. lol
Brothernod@reddit
I really hope they push through and make the convertible on the 5’s platform but with all their Geely resources I don’t see them doing much more than having a halo car.
strongmanass@reddit
IMO their fortunes would have to turn around very fast for it to make business sense. The smart thing would be to see the reception to the P5 and P7 and watch whether Porsche, Audi, and Longbow have any success with their models. All of that combined should tell Pplestar whether the P6 makes sense.
Kobebeef9@reddit
The interior is pretty lackluster for what they are charging, basically the same to their much cheaper alternatives.
It’s a nice car but pricing it similarly to a Taycan is a bit ambitious as these will depreciate like crazy over the next years.
masterventris@reddit
You get 300 more horsepower for the same price as the base Taycan so that is something, but you can only have it in 6 shades of grey (I'm not joking)
wywywywy@reddit
What's their obsession with super wide cars? It's 2015mm ffs! Not very usable in Europe
koopa00@reddit
The design decision to not have a rear windshield...I just don't understand. Looks interesting otherwise.
DankeBernanke@reddit
I rented a Polestar 4 with the same "feature" and I absolutely hated it, total dealbreaker for me.
NISMO1968@reddit (OP)
Rear windshield is useless on most supercars, even if they have one anyway, so... Makes some sense, IMHO!
Insanity-Paranoid@reddit
They wanted to move the overhead bar on the C pillar further back to have more headroom for the rear passengers. If they put a window in the rear, it would have been essentially useless for rear visibility, so instead they made it metal for lower complexity and installed a digital rear-view mirror.
In my opinion, it's not the worst, as I find a digital rear-view mirror more useful than a regular one in the cars I've driven with one.
Dragonasaur@reddit
I could grow an extra foot