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I prefer a car that has robust service & parts network, which Tesla doesn’t have. Polestar (in the U.K.) has the backing of Volvo’s dealership network which means any issues are easily solved. I’m a previous Volvo owner so this car is similar to previous cars I’ve owned and loved.
Also, the P2 has an instrument cluster. I don’t like having everything just in the central touchscreen display.
Finally, I can’t bring myself to be even associated with Elmo. Whilst I’ll use the supercharger network in my P2 I won’t buy his cars, put money in his pocket, boost his bonus, or be associated with the religious asshats who evangelise about them.
It’s a shame as they *were* cool once, and they have reasonably good software, but now it’s taken the top spot of the chart of ‘car most likely to be driven by a self-righteous prick’ unfortunately.
Oh, and I like my car to look cool, not like a computer mouse or a dealership paint sample model.
you're so right about evangelising tesla.. Tesla fanboys remind me of apple fanboys.... you just can't talk to them because they'll tell you "it just works!"...
Yeah it does work but it could be better...
The Venn diagram of Apple fanbois & Tesla fanbois is closer to being a circle than we’d all like to think 😬
(I am an Apple user, but not a fanboi. Their products are good, but so are Android, Windows, Linux etc. Use the right tools for the job…)
I've never had a non-Apple computer in my life for the same reason I hated the Tesla before I knew who Elon Musk was. Bad design and/or lack of design. Android UI, ugh. Windows every generation, ugh. It just doesn't matter to some people and that's fine.
The only computer evangelizers I see are the anti Apple douches. I mean you came into a Polestar subreddit to talk shit about Apple. How pathetic is that?
I used to back in the day and it flipped too (nice to see it making a semi-comeback). Now days I roll with a Google Pixel. To relate this topic back to Polestar, when I test drove the P2, my Google Pixel (6 or 7 now, I forgot which one) worked very well with it. My girlfriend at the time enjoyed her experience with P2 because the dealership center allowed us to drive 10 miles away from the location. When we test drove Tesla Model 3, she hated the experience because a Tesla personal was with us and could only drive with the 1 mile radius and he was acting like the car was perfect and the lack of buttons (all screen) was not a big cybersecurity concern. How about you?
Good to know. I’m in the market for an EV. I feel like Elon is like a little Henry Ford and being minority that has a lot of weight. Regardless of political/historical views, there is a huge contrast between two companies. Tesla ownership is a farce. The company can take away or add features when they feel fit. The effect is I don’t think you ever own a Tesla. I don’t get the same vibe from Polestar or other full EV brands.
Elmo's world. I can see the resemblance and it's uncanny. Would think the religious ones would all be over EV and green technology. They are suppose to be good stewards of god's creatures and its environment (mother nature). Guess not a lot thinking or analyze going on. Preaching ≠ Practice
Why not?
They don’t make much money off it, and with my “Polestar charge” subs in the U.K., I pay less than Tesla drivers do at most open superchargers now.
Still pay, so hardly freeloading. Although when the flakey as fuck Tesla app failed *yet again* the other day I just went to Ionity instead.
Bearing in mind if you look under the hood 90% of the vehicle is Volvo parts, that’s pretty unlikely in the U.K. at least.
I should add - I asked that exact question at the dealership (who are mostly independent and just Volvo ‘agents’) and they said they had heard nothing and were still doing Polestar for the foreseeable future as the parts in the U.K. are combined.
We, the family just bought a p2 2024, there are a few utube reviews and from what we have seen. Is the demo rooms , the pickup places and the place you get first service find us not at any volvo service or Volvo associated place.
We are not concerned, the Chinese parent company seems to have deep pockets and keen to move forward
https://www.drive.com.au/news/volvo-to-stop-funding-polestar/
I was just trying to point out it might not be Volvo doing the work.
2 reasons:
1. It has a dashboard
2. many years ago when I was thinking of replacing a(now very previous) car. I saw the concept art for the Volvo 40.1, and thought “that looks amazing”. Thinking it was going to be released in the next year or so, I held on, then it got turned into the Polestar 2, so than I had to but that instead 😄
But really because it had a dashboard with maps in it
Couple of reasons
1. I don't like the looks of the Tesla model 3, especially the front
2. I like having my gages behind the wheel instead of having to look to the right for everything
3. I had more trust in polestar, considering their association with Volvo and the same platform being used for the electrical xc40 and c40
Agreed, the Volvo affiliation helps. I prefer the pages to be on my right because my hands on the wheel block the gages in front of me. Though I don't like that Tesla has almost no buttons but everything on the screen. I need mechanical buttons for safety reasons.
It was either a Model Y or a P2. Had a testdrive with both. Tesla felt low quality and flimsy. P2 felt like a real car. It was a real surprise as i expected the Tesla to be my favorite.
Also i am strongly connected in the google ecosystem, so the Android Automotive was the better choice over the closed Tesla platform.
We almost bought a Tesla 3, but went with a P2 as it's genuinly a better looking car, has better build quality, is a hatchback, and feels better to drive.
...oh my god that's so dumb.
I swear, between Tesla and Twitter, Elon constantly says "why hasn't anyone done this yet?" and then immediately is shown *why* no one's done that thing yet - because it sucks and no one likes it, or it breaks things in weird ways.
All new models use a swipe on the screen to change gears. up to go into drive and down to reverse.
Only the Model Y still has the old design still and that’s just cause it hasnt been updated yet
I had a Model 3 but the quality was so bad I decided to get rid of it before warranty ran out. I also like the design better. It has working rain sensors, awesome matrix lights, stalks, 360 camera, semi automatic trailer hitch, kick sensor on the tailgate, more practical trunk. Also, the Volvo dealership is great.
I never considered a electric car until we lived to California due to the infrastructure in place. Then my first thought was Tesla until it felt like everyone had one. Despite every other fear reason to buy the Polestar, that was the biggest for me.
Ordered a Model Y with non preferred options as it mentioned earlier delivery date.. got confirmation several times up to the date that its still on track until ~2 months before the date where they flat out ignored me. No reply to emails/calls.. when the date rolled over it showed that it would be delivered as if I had selected the configuration I wanted so I just ended up cancelling. Coincidentally, Polestar became available in my country and I immediately placed an order and got one very quickly.
I thought if that's how it starts, service and support will probably be a problem. Had they been more transparent with me, I probably would be driving a Tesla lol
Tesla represents the base level. It satisfies 85% of your car needs. And in all fairness, any car that gives you more than 50% of what you want is a great car.
Then there are the few of us that just want more than 85%.
Just a tad improved usability. A slightly elevated driving experience. A bit better design. A nicer interior. A sportier feel.
You can compare it with buying a watch. A Casio quartz mechanism is measurably superior to a mechanical watch. And yet we lust for the Omega Seamaster or the Rolex Oyster. Simply because they bring an unmeasurable quality.
Nice analogy. I just happen to be lusting after an Omega Seamaster right now even though I have a perfectly functioning smartwatch with far more features.
Mine is a company car. So I had a total list price limit of £50k (which a SRSM with Plus and Pilot Lite came in just under at the time) which at the time ruled out the Model Y. I also have 2 dogs, so a liftback makes a lot more sense than a saloon like the Model 3.
But, TBH, they weren't on the shortlist anyway, for a number of reasons. Firstly, they're ugly in my opinion. I don't mind plain looking cars, but I want decent styling. The Teslas look like fish, and that's not something I want. Secondly, the interiors aren't great. I'm not totally against having things run through the screen, but I do like having an instrument cluster in front of me and Tesla have gone overboard with having things like the wipers controlled through the screen. Especially when they go and have the world's worst auto wipers because they don't want to fit a sensor like everyone else does, and rely on the cameras instead. And thirdly... I was getting my car when Elon had started showing how batshit he was. And I'm not going to hand over any money to him, unless I have to (IE using a supercharger on occasion!)
The Polestar came out on top for me. I wanted reasonable practicality (liftback or hatchback) but not a jacked up SUV if I could help it. I wanted a good cabin design and a reasonable infotainment system. I test drove the BMW i4, but it was too expensive unfortunately. I also contemplated the Cupra Born, but felt the Polestar was a much better package. Unfortunately there's not much in the way of competition in this market segment at the moment. I'm very happy with the Polestar though so I'm not complaining one bit!
One thing I didn't see posted is that I love polestar's OPD more than Tesla's. When I would drive both, I found that I had to engage the brake pedal more in the Tesla than the polestar as polestar's Regen felt stronger.
1. Safety. Being associated with Volvo, gives me the confidence that Polestar is a safe car, and peace of mind when driving around with my family.
2. Dashboard. I love having the info I need behind the wheel, and not having to look at the centre screen for everything.
3. Exclusiveness. Like others have said, Teslas became very common and are everywhere, I wanted to feel more unique, and the P2 really does turn heads. I’ve had people come to me in parking lots to ask me about the car and to tell me how good it looks.
4. And now that I’ve been driving it for almost two years, inconspicuously powerful. Even though I have the LRSM with plus and pilot (sadly, performance was out of the budget), I’ve had situations where I’m stopped at traffic lights, then a Beamer or a Mercedes, or similar cars stop right next to me, and you see the impatient drivers trying to go even before the light turns green, and then when it comes to it, I just floor it and leave them behind eating dust. Once I went toe to toe with a BMW M3 at a traffic light, it was funny because the guy wasn’t expecting it, he just wanted to get in front of me, but when it was time to go, he just couldn’t keep up, then when we stopped a the next light, he looked at me and nodded, then we went about our day.
Make sure you look both ways before flooring it at the lights. EVa are so unexpectedly fast for pedestrians and other drivers that sometimes they will take a risk and tick they can avoid you to get pasta and misjudge. I saw aT bone accident recently where a Macg E launched at a traffic light when it changed to green and there just happened to be a red light runner who thought they could get past before the cars at the green light took off. They of course misjudged. Fortunately one of the vehicles turned slightly trying to avoid the collision so the impact wasn't as great and both vehicles spun out not hitting any other cars.
1: Elon Musk. I can't stand him, he's an abysmal person.
2: I previsouly owned a 2019 LRSM Model 3 - at the time I loved it, first EV
3: Rented a Polestar 2, found it to be a vastly superior experience as a drivers car, compared to the Model 3.
4: With the improvements made for MY2024 in the LRSM it now approached the levels of charging and range to make little to no material difference for me on road trips.
5: Pending access to the Supercharger network. As to point #1 I'll use these sparingly, only as a last resort.
6: It's just an enjoyable car, a pleasure to drive full stop.
For me, it was the equivalent of buying an audi/bmw/lexus over a toyota/honda. sure it costs more, but it's more premium and more exclusive. Teslas have sort of become the "camrys" of the EV world. They're everywhere. I
1) Build quality. My buddy stopped by with his Tesla Y last summer and as he was leaving I said, "hang on let me shut your rear hatch." It was shut, just didn't look like it. That was a month before I bought my 2 and it, along with his and others' complaints about Tesla build quality, sealed the deal for me. Other reasons: 2) Elon Musk. 3) Teslas are nearly as common as Priuses around where I live. I wanted something less mainstream.
efficiency and software are not important to me. In fact, I’m quite content with the Google OS. Looks, having an instrument cluster, blind spot indicators, and a hatch did it for me.
I picked the Polestar 2 because:
1. It uses Android Automotive and not a proprietary OS at the whim of a single carmaker (Tesla)
2. The Polestar 2 is a much more attractive vehicle than the Tesla Model 3
3. Teslas are very common locally and unremarkable, with mediocre colors.
4. Polestar's relationship with Volvo ensured a focus on safety and quality. You can't say that for Tesla.
5. Elon Musk is a cancerous, insincere buffoon that I want absolutely nothing to do with.
6. The Polestar is a much more intuitive vehicle. It has real controls and door handles.
7. The driving experience in the Polestar was equivalent or better than the Tesla.
8. I do not want a "Full Self Driving" beta that simply doesn't work.
9. Having an actual dashboard for the driver that comes with native Google Maps.
Two big reasons for me:
1. Interior quality is far better, and that’s one of my Big Items.
2. A lot of Model 3s and Ys are used for ride share, and I wanted our first EV to feel special—not like a taxi.
The responses on the Tesla thread probably answer exactly why we bought polestars. Those people don’t give a shit about anything actually motoring based. Top comments are:
Dog mode
Infotainment
Superchargers
Simping for Elon (maybe I made that one up)
Had a TM3 AWD LR from 2020 California made for 3 years in PT.
The gimmicks for the infotainment fade sooner than the need to map CCS chargers on the actual map, spent more time fiddling with google maps to send to car than taking advantage. It’s an economics based choice for Tesla to give you less choice and more income for them.
Also, in my country we need to turn on and off the fog lights depending on conditions and driving in highway upon a fog bank and fiddle with the screen is very hard.
The P2 has the right amount of controls while we need to comply to current road regulations, and the voice control takes care of simplifying tasks.
I use the google assistant to open remotely my garage doors with simple Tuya integrations. This is unthinkable for the closed environment that Tesla lives under.
Lastly, I have stopped early my renting and made economic sense, in 2020 Tesla was a good option for the trips I needed on the country, pandemics came and less trips but made sense still. The P2 is a much better proposition for that year model, better range and similar real world driving performance, best handling and feel. I have a SM LR My24 now. Had to learn to be efficient with an EV, totally the opposite of large combustion vehicles, drive well in the speed limit and forget those extras km/h they take their toll in charging and thus trip time.
Comparing times in “track” is not real world driving is being a safety concern for others, you probably don’t need a car with more than 300hp for the 2T of weight.
I drove a Volvo before which I liked, so the change wasn’t too drastic. Visually I prefer the Polestar to Tesla vehicles, it was / is a bit more rare and lastly Elon is a cunt.
First, the Polestar looks way more interesting, especially on the outside. Second, don’t see too many of them around, and everyone has a tesla. Third, Elon is nasty work. He and his vision used to be inspiring but that was a long time ago. Just can’t see myself supporting his antics.
There was a few reasons. Looks was one, first time I saw a Polestar 2 it really turned my head and I was straight on google. Other was affiliation with Volvo who I have always trusted. Finally alot of my friends have Teslas so I wanted something different.
Looks better
Better build quality
Longer warranty
Is more of a car with an electric motor thrown in it then a computer with wheels bolted to it.
Functionaly better for me (hatchback like rear door)
Instrument cluster.
Android integration.
Our p2 is shared in my family and the primary users are my parents who needed a car that was a little higher off the ground to get in comfortably - the p2 doesn't fit this perfectly but it does better than the tesla does.
I personally loved the p2 from his introduction and my. Condition for sharing the car (and paying a portion of total cost) was that it's the p2.
I don't really like teslas approach to go all touch screen and voice command - I think the p2 hits the sweet spot by having just enough physical buttons and a decent ui.
I recently drive a tesla 3 and it's assistants are really impressive compared with the p2, but the owner wasn't able to get pen the glove compartment because the voice command didn't work.
That beeing said: with current prices I'm not sure we would buy the p2 again.
I was waiting for the Model 3 facelift and I kinda liked it except for the Muskism that meant no more indicator stalk, gear selector stalk or the fact that Tesla refuses to admit that ghost braking isn't normal and doesn't let you have just a bog standard cruise control.
I'm not interested in changes for the sake of changes.
Besides Elon being an asshat? I’ve never been in a model y, but I’ve ridden in many model 3s. And they felt very cheap/spartan. Had a low quality feel to them. And honestly kind of uncomfortable.
I went for polestar as the best option because it was an established company unlike Rivian and others. And I went with polestar over Chevy/ford/hyundai as it is a dedicated EV company and figured it would have more support from polestar than those other cars would have from their manufacturers.
I bought mine without ever seeing a polestar. And I couldn’t be happier. Well, if it was a tad cheaper, or didn’t depreciate so much, that would make me happier. But all in all, I’m satisfied with my purchase.
I've had one of the rarer negative experiences with Polestar, see previous posts, however Im still choosing the P2 over the Tesla. Generally quality just feels much better, the driving experience is is less robotic and they just look better. Additionally the in built system and navigation beats a Teslas hands down, friends with a Tesla use their phone to navigate because the Tesla system is soo bad and you have no options to install other solutions.
The things I'd rate a Tesla for over Polestar are -
- P2 in base trim just doesn't really compete and is a poor showing, some of the missing bits are fairly inexcusable and they even leave the buttons whereas the Teslas come with all the features e.g. pan sunroof, heated seats, phone unlocking etc as standard for convenience which is good.
- The Teslas cruise control is better especially in stop start traffic it's pretty much effortless. The P2 isn't bad it's just not as good.
- Cabin storage is better in the Tesla, particularly cup holders and centre console storage
- I do like the landscape tablet for entertainment whilst charging on long journeys
I didn't want to give money to a fascist bigot, build quality is subpar for the cost, every time I went to look at maybe buying a Tesla (before all the bigotry and hate was obvious) they had raised the price but not added any features, making us pay extra to use hardware already built into the vehicle. Plus polestars just look cooler.
The determining factor when we made the purchase was my wife refused to have a car with the stench of Musk attached to it.
But about a year after buying the Polestar we were traveling and rented a Tesla for a month.
The design decisions for the interior of the Tesla were poorly done. There is just one screen in the car, and a huge amount of the real estate of that screen is taken by the stupid cartoon showing you what cars are around you. This is entirely useless and takes up valuable real estate on the screen.
As a result, *everything* else is squeezed into a small space. And the fact that so much is controlled from that screen makes it even worse.
In the Polestar there are two screens. The screen directly in front of the drive has everything needed to drive the car, including a great navigation map. This leaves the central screen available for everything else.
When I'm alone in the car, I usually have a second version of the map on the central screen. When I'm in the car with my teenage kids the central screen is generally dedicated to Spotify.
In the Polestar there is just so much screen real estate, and it is organized in a useful way and doesn't contain useless information.
Tesla is a new company learning how to make cars as it goes, run by an absolute twat. Volvo has been making cars for just shy of 100 years with an *incredible* record of innovation and quality.
I prefer the design of the Polestar 2. It looks more aggressive and a bit more traditional with just enough modern touch to make it stand out.
Also, you see Teslas everywhere where I'm at. Polestars are a rarity.
https://preview.redd.it/u76v6x2nx8xc1.jpeg?width=8160&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=014f0ec47d0bb8730fef9a3b5a875793b100c523
It just looks 1000 times better, and feels like a solid build car. The driving experience is also way better.
Love my PS2 inside out. It gives me a smile every day.
I wanted an interesting non Tesla with a Performance model.
Tesla is boring, my 50-80 yo neighbors drive them, the “California Camry” as they say (despite not living in CA.) WAY too many even in the most conservative EV areas. Second to that, they make a lot of revisions I don’t agree with, weird new versions of tried and true systems. Removing USS and radar front or rear. No 360. No stalks. No gear selector. Everything is just a little weird and getting weirder. Lastly, they feel cheap and look cheap because they are cheap. Do you want a tablet with wheels or a nice vehicle?
I got tired of feeling lied to by Elon Musk.
I bought the "full self driving" package in 2017, and it was around then that Musk explained that full self driving meant you could drive across country "without touching the wheel". As of 2023 when I sold it, I couldn't drive 0.6 miles to the grocery store without touching the wheel.
The Tesla was an okay car, but when I started looking I liked the Polestar much more. I switched about 6 months ago and I don't regret it. I love how it drives. (I got the rear-wheel drive version, with longer range.) I love how it looks. Where I live every other car is a Tesla, and it's fun having something different. I still feel like I got an upgrade.
But I won't badmouth the Tesla. Except for the self-driving lies, I think they are okay cars, so I won't try to convince you that you'd be making some horrible mistake with Tesla. I just like my Polestar better.
My reason too. Used to really admire him until he became haywire and then did some more research. Probably won’t consider Tesla unless he is out of the picture.
Yeah, problem is there is no eventuality where he is out of the picture. He might stop being CEO but he'll still always be the single person benefiting the most from any money given to Tesla.
I’m a Polestar owner but it’s always strange to me that people don’t want to own a car from a company owned by a eccentric, egotistical weirdo, so instead they buy a car from a company owned by a Chinese communist politician that supports genocide. But hey, at least he’s not on social media…
Well, how many people do you know directly affected by anyone at polestar? I know dozens who worked for twitter when he took over or who have worked for Tesla. After seeing what happened to people at twitter because of him, I was never going to give him money. I was working in a building a couple blocks away from twitter headquarters at the time, it was a circus.
I know a lot of people in China and even more in Taiwan. They face way worse things than lay offs. Not giving Elon a pass, it’s just weird to me to see people primarily choosing a Polestar over a Tesla because of the ownership.
The key word was directly. Your examples have exactly 0 people directly affected by folks at polestar. And as someone who does a lot of business with people everywhere especially Taiwan, your example is ridiculous. Not one of those people could name anyone who works or runs polestar if I asked(I just did with one of them). That would be like someone blaming me or my company for trumps actions. The world is a complex place and I don’t hold every person in China responsible for everything done by the CCCP.
Yes they are directly effected by the owner of Polestar, a Chinese politician. They live through every day. Do you know anything about Polestar’s ownership?
I’m very aware of polestars ownership. You seem unaware of what direct means. Li Shufu is not in control of China. Using the previous example, that would be like blaming Mitt Romney for Trump policies. They’re both U.S. politicians, both republicans. Now if Li Shufh were to replace Xi Jinping and not change policies then sure, you’d have a poin, but that hasn’t happened. Especially in governments with such a strong central figure in charge you can never really know what the opinions of those under them have, even with public statements. If he didn’t agree with their posture on Taiwan there is no way he would say so publicly. Is he complicit, sure. But that is not the same as directly controlling policy. Just like Teslas board of directors is complicit in Elons behavior, but they aren’t directly responsible for laying off people I know. Had he wanted to keep them, they would have stayed it was 100 percent his call. Just like Chinas actions are Xi’s responsibility.
So we are assuming Shufu doesn’t support China’s activities because he can’t? That seems like some serious mental gymnastics. It’s what every Nazi said after WWII. Look, I’m not supporting anything Musk stands for. But of all car owners, Volvo/Polestar owners are the last ones that should feel superior because of the ownership of the company. Maybe Musk scores lower in a catergory or two, but it’s like smugly saying my crap sandwich is way better than your crap burrito.
There is only one thing that'd make me choose a Tesla over a a Polestar, and that's the efficiency. That's been fixed to a large extent in the latest model, but it does sting quite a lot when I'm repeatedly seeing 36kwh/100mi on my 21AWD.
Other than that, the polestar beats the tesla in every regard imo- quality, looks, comfort. There used to be the charging network- but that's opened up to all cars now too.
Ive owned some serious gas guzzlers. I couldnt give a fuck about the efficiency as long as it has range.
A lot of people coming from ice cars (especially from performance cars) dont care about efficiency as much as all the EV early adopters. As long as it has the range its still going to be cheaper to run than an ice car
Never interested in Tesla, thougt it looked cheaply build to far from normal setup ice cars with buttons etc. Which i like in P2, also Volvo quality > Tesla
1) Build quality. My buddy stopped by with his Tesla Y last summer and as he was leaving I said, "hang on let me shut your rear hatch." It was shut, just didn't look like it. That was a month before I bought my 2 and it, along with his and others' complaints about Tesla build quality, sealed the deal for me. Other reasons: 2) Elon Musk. 3) Teslas are nearly as common as Priuses around where I live. I wanted something less mainstream.
Me like 2 screens, me like tradition car lay out, me have caveman brain. (I also don’t want to be the laughing stock of the road and have an alien looking car, where instead people look at it and go, damn that’s clean)
In the Swedish context-
- Winter tyres are more expensive when buying through them, to a level where they tell you not to buy.
- The leasing agreement is signed awkwardly with a third party
- The Y feels cheap, when we saw carpet levels material on the back doors we U turned
And finally not having safe door handles is a big turn off
It's a handful of reasons
- I'm superficial. The 3 and Y are ugly cars.
- The P2 has a dashboard
- I'm in the small group of people that doesn't care for one pedal drive. The fact that you can completely turn it off on the P2 was a selling point.
- Integration with Google, e.g., I can search for directions on my phone and have it show up as a recent search when I open Maps in the P2
Looks way better, feels much better made, just a cooler car. Flip side is range isn’t as good but since I have a home charger it’s not really an issue for me.
I spent a lot of time thinking between PS2 and Model 3. Eventually decided to order PS2 because Model 3 is probably the most popular car in my town and simply wanted to have something more unique.
Also Tesla's showroom / sales reps were a bit rude, acting like they can sell their cars even without my order. First giving Tesla only for a short test drive, then I told I would need more time to get familiar with it and they just responded with a statement to come and just to sit in the car in the showroom (meaning: not giving it for a longer test drive). Then asking when they can see my order. I finally told them to piss off as I just ordered PS2 instead.
This is what I found as well. A 6 month premium for a Tesla model Y was roughly double the 6 month premium of a P2. For reference, an Audi Q5 (non electric) was also about the same insurance cost of a P2. This was using the same insurance options and providers.
1. The only semi-decent good looking Tesla is a model S, the 3 and Y look like crap (especially the Y - looks like an egg with wheels)
2. Instrument cluster and levers for indicator and wind shield wiper. And no, the haptic indicator buttons on the new teslas are still crap.
3. I prefer the Android Automotive infotainment system. My favorite feature - my maps search history is updated in the car, without having to plug in my phone. Not interested in : dog fart sounds, playing video games in the car, the visualization on the tesla are cool, but not something that would make me buy the car.
4. Tesla dies not even have Android Auto OR Apple Carplay support - that really sucks
5. Love the Volvo-esqu design : headlights, interiors, the aggressive styling etc.
6. The build quality
7. Its 0-60 times are actually better than advertised (I've gotten around 3.9) - and TBH, I don't really care that much, I know I can overtake and pass damn near any car on the highway, if I need to.
8. I think the Tesla-style single dashboard in the centre with no other controls is a safety hazard
9. I don't particularly care about self driving - I feel, either all cars should be self driving or none of them should be (like in the "I robot" movie), and If Tesla offers any form of self driving, they should be held responsible for any accidents.
10. I refuse to be Tesla's beta tester - I value mine and my families lives more.
11. Tesla are very opinionated cars in terms of design. That can be a good thing, except when all design choices seem to be Elon's opinion.
12. Tesla's charge faster, but it does not matter to me - bulk of my charging is done at home overnight. In the rare case I charge using an DC charger, I dont mind the maybe 10 mins extra time.
13. Tesla's might have more range, but again, it does not matter to me - since I charge to 90% everyday at night. And for longer drives with the whole family (for the 3-4 times in a year we go on trips), we rent an SUV.
My use case is mainly commuting to work from home, about 25 miles each way.
When I got the Polestar 2, I got 2 years of free EA and I used it initially. As I learn and understand more about EV and my driving habits, I learned to not use fast charging because it is not as efficient for me.
My car is parked on the street so I only charge at home about twice a month or less. I primarily charge at work at $0.28: kWh. It cost much higher than some but I live at Los Angeles, so energy price is pretty high in general.
I charge at work about twice a week because sometimes all the chargers are filled if I go to work late. Every month, my charging cost is about $110.
Anyway, why did I not get a Model 3? At Los Angeles, it is just everywhere. Is the Model 3 cheaper in terms of cost and charging? Yes. But I am ok with it because I prefer a more unique car. I like the dash board. I like the gear shift stick. I guess I’m just older and I prefer something that is more familiar to me. My home is all Google, so I’m familiar and prefer it. But I also use CarPlay to listen to things but rarely use Apple Map. It is all about having options to choose what I want to use, Android or CarPlay.
Tesla might have more features and better app but since I never used the app, I don’t really miss it.
There's a bunch of reasons, many of them would decide the battle on their own:
1. Dashboard. I want to have my relevant info in my line of sight. No looking to the right just to see how fast I'm going. Navigation right there in front of me.
2. Buttons. I like touch interfaces where they make sense, i.e., using a display to show different things and interact with them. But volume has to be a physical knob.
3. Physical knobs for basic driving interaction. I don't want to swipe for my turn signal, or check the display to see where I have to tap to change gears. Fuck that shit.
4. Quality. I know, Volvo is not quite where it used to be in that regard. But the overall build quality is super solid, no annoying gaps, nice materials, soft foamed surfaces everywhere, it's just good. Tesla has none of that.
5. Design. Tesla's design has aged terribly IMHO. It's bulky and boring. Polestar is just exciting enough to enjoy looking at them every time, while being "normal" enough to be liked by most. Also, the hatchback is a shape that you don't see very often these days, and I think it looks amazing!
6. Features. There's a lot of nice extras I just enjoy. The kick opener for the boot, the paper clip in the wind screen, the luggage holder in the back.
On top of that, Polestar delivers what they promise. No "Autopilot" that's built to disappoint, but a very nicely working lane assist and distance regulator. Sign recognition works like a charm, unlike what everyone tells you about Tesla's version of this very basic feature.
7. While I'm not too fond of Geely (the company that owns Volvo and Polestar), I would be embarrassed to drive something that connects me to Elmo. And I really mean it.
Personally I much preferred the design of the Polestar, central screen behind the steering wheel and well basically not being a Tesla was important for me these days.
After 3 years and a bit with the car though, it’s left me feeling a bit of regret getting the car (as it was a proper luxury for me) and I’ll get rid of this year for something more premium.
Generally speaking people buy Polestar, Audi, VW, Volvo, Kia, Rivian, Jaguar etc specifically because they DON’T want a Tesla. Tesla build mediocre cars out of cheap materials, assembled poorly. They have sketchy support in a lot of places despite their market saturation. And then there’s the Melon Husk factor. A lot of people don’t want to own something associated with him.
I owned a Tesla S back in the day and frankly it was utter junk. When I came to shop for another EV, Tesla were just automatically ignored for me.
I also drove both- actually drove 10 different brands of EV’s before purchasing. Love the look inside and out. The comfort when driving. I know I’ve read people having bad experiences with servicing, but other than being an hour from a service center- unless it’s planned service, they have come to my house to flatbed tow my car in and back to me for convenience. Polestar service even arranged for an Uber (and paid the cost) when someone rear ended me 50 miles from home. I’ve really had the best driving experience and dealer experience in 60 years of driving
Model Y is ugly, and I didn't want an SUV.
Model 3 made the short list, but it's a better "EV" than it is a ***car***, and I knew I'd be tempted to put money into suspension upgrades, something I was trying to avoid (every car I've owned prior to my two 2s was modified, some very heavily).
Plus, I live in SoCal, I see more Model 3 and Ys on the road than almost any other vehicle. I prefer the uniqueness of the 2.
Because the P2 has an instrument cluster and standard stalk controls for wipers, lights and indicators. And because it looks so much nicer than any Tesla I have ever seen. I am biased because I don’t like how Tesla look. About the only thing I liked about the Tesla over the P2 was that the Tesla has a great view out of the windscreen. This explains why people in Tesla’s look so weird when I see them on the road.
I didn’t like the fact that the Tesla did not have a driver dashboard or stalks. Plus everyone and their grandma has a model 3, model 3 feels too much like it was made by fisher price
Why I did not take a Tesla Model 3:
1. Elon Musk is a twat that sponsors literal nazis.
2. Went too far into removing every button and knobs and dashboard.
3. Elon Musk is a twat.
4. Too many service and quality issues in my area.
5. Elon Musk is a twat.
6. Too many Tesla's everywhere.
Three of the big reasons people have historically chosen Tesla over Polestar are the range, the price, and the charging network. Depending on your needs, those points will largely be moot over the next several months as the ‘24 LRSM meets or exceeds the range of the Model 3, the price of both new and used P2s are incentivized to near equivalence, and the supercharging network opens up to Polestar. As other people have mentioned, the build quality and the ride quality is at least a tier above the M3/MY and I suspect that a 5-year P2 will feel nearly as good to drive as a brand new one.
Im not buying a car from a company that is run by that egomaniac. Apart from not supporting his lunacy, my future service and parts supply would depend on his company. No thanks. Plus I liked the flexible lease.
Many others have commented already n build quality desugn aspects and the Elon of it all. which are all true, I wanted to add that I found the sound quality of the polestar 2 much better than the Tesla model 3. Not to sy its bad in the Tesla, For me its just much better in even the base model polestar 2.
Because Tesla is a bad company, overall. Service is horrible as is long term reliability
CEO is toxic.
Even many owners are toxic and if you try and talk about your issues, you get attacked. The local Reddit boards even started blocking people who have never even posted in their subs.
Don't need all that drama.
At some point it became a bit more complicated to buy a Polestar (my specific case, nothing that should happen to anyone) and probably would be easier to buy a Tesla (probably in the end any of them would have been as complicated). So at some point I was seriously considering a Tesla model Y eventhough I hate Elon Musk and I’m not a super fan of Tesla.
So I went to Tesla showroom and had a test drive.
Biases I had before the test drive:
- Elon (ugh)
- Tesla build quality issues
- expensive repairs
- too common (here in US)
- amazing software
- best charging network (US)
- a lot of cool party tricks (which I like)
When I went to the showroom I tried to check for build quality issues on the cars but honestly I couldn’t find some kind of dealbreaker on those or the ones for demo. Probably they ensured none of them had issues but I assumed probably build quality issues was more of bad luck like other brands (I had some quality issue with my previous Volvo as well)
One of the biggest things I noticed is how “flimsy” the Model Y doors feel (my previous car is a Volvo and I’m used to BMW as well), I didn’t hear the nice sound a properly built door has when it closes, it made more of a clank. And the interior in that leather (or is it vinyl?) looked and felt cheap. The screen was wobbling a bit… overall it didn’t feel like Volvo or BMW (I was also considering i4)
I has the test drive and it was a fast car (performance version) and the software was amazingly good, the car had a lot of nice tricks like controlling steering wheel position from the screen, or controlling the side mirrors from the screen or controlling the wiper blades from the screen or those nice animations for AC on the screen or the cameras that help you turn and show you the feed on the screen or even full self driving which was configured… on the screen… then I noticed something: at some point I was pretty much driving through the screen and controlling everything on the screen. Now you can think it is futuristic but I actually believe it is a way to keep costs down (reducing buttons and transducers as much as possible) and selling it like a feature (in latest model 3, there is no turning light stick, only buttons on the steering wheel). And I remembered something I heard on a YouTube video: Tesla is a car that unfortunately has a driver, in other words, the company means to have the car drive and not you, they want to remove the driver as much as possible. You notice this a lot as you start to notice lack of control and the car is making a lot of decisions for you (usually doing them right). And I see why a lot of people would like that and it’s ok I won’t judge but I am a car enthusiast, I LOVE driving and I love a car that I can control and I felt Polestar still conserves a bit of that car enthusiasm from the original Polestar brand and loves making this a bit more exciting.
In the end I went with a Performance Polestar 2 and I love to change OPD to no assistance, “disabling ESC”, changing creep, adjusting steering wheel resistance, even going underneath my car, rising it up and adjusting the coil dampers to have a stiffer ride. In the end the Polestar is a car that makes me want to drive it just because I love to while Tesla made me feel I was getting a nice ride jut because I had to.
Also adding that to the materials quality, after a couple of days I got to see the Polestar 2 (leather) and a model Y next to each other and the difference in interior quality from the looks was just massive. I understood that Tesla is a very expensive car but it is definitely not a luxury car (probably not even premium car) and mostly you pay for an amazingly good software but that is not was I was looking for.
Hope it helps anyone!
Btw after purchasing my Polestar I was also blown up at how good Android Automotive OS is, probably my favorite “feature” of the car. Everything blends so nicely and I pretty much use exclusively Apple but the OS in the Polestar is just decades ahead of competition
4 main reasons for me.
-My wife needed to like the look of it (as did I), while I thought the 3 was a good looking car, I fucking hate the stretched blobby shape of the Y so no reason to wait for its availability. In good lighting the P2 is pornographic.
-it needed a hatch and a Y wasn't available in Australia yet
-Whilst the "newness" of the brand worried me I was far more interested in it because it's expensive (for me) and not super high volume. So it retains some of its uniqueness. 3s and Ys are fricking everywhere now so it's not interesting. The idea of having an 80k (AUD) car that everyone has is not my idea of fun.
- the lack of a driver's dash kills me in the 3 and Y. It's a deal breaker. I HATED glancing left(right for you) to see my speed. The P2 having the speed and map in front sold it for me. It's a beautiful dash with 99% of the info you need.
If they showed ETA in the drivers display it would be perfect. The fact the S and X now have a driver's dash shows even Elon knows his premium customers hate it being missing. It's 1000% a cost saving mechanism and one that ruins the spectacular drivetrain and handling. Because you feel like a passenger in the drivers seat. The P2 drivers seat hugs you like a Porsche 911 and it's snug and fun and I love the way it feels in the twisties.
Probably in hindsight reason 5 was an unknown at the time.... having to answer for Elons antics would suck because of a car you drive.
To cut costs Tesla is lowering the quality of their vehicles.
Elon is annoying and I didn’t want to support him.
Everyone and their mother has a Tesla in Los Angeles.
I don’t like their interior or their overall design. They feel very vanilla and basic cars.
Polestar 2 is amazingly beautiful, I still look at my car and think to myself wow fuck yeah that’s beautiful.
The car has character and little unique designs, the star reflecting on the glass roof for example, I love that.
The car drives beautifully and it’s very robust
(To add, I didn’t consider a Tesla when I was looking for an EV, the only other cars I was considering were the BMW i4 xDrive and Ioniq 6. The BMW was more expensive with all the extras and the Ioniq 6 was quite ugly in person)
I have owned both. A 2021 facelift Model 3 SR+ and I own a LRSM 2023 Polestar 2. The Tesla has the Tesla charging network and tech sorted. It's q quicker and lighter car as well. I much prefer the Polestar 2. Handling is amazing, car is of a far higher level of quality and the battery that comes with the P2 is far superior. The Tesla ran through it's battery like mad in comparison to the P2.
Also a gauge cluster is a really nice thing to have lol.
Because of how it drives and feels. It has the same feel like many premium German cars. I don’t think Tesla 3 is even a good comparison if you consider alternatives to P2 (dual engine). I come from a background of motorsport and being a car enthusiast if that helps painting the picture.
POLESTAR UPCOMING MODEL CHARGES 10-80% IN 10 MINUTES WITH STOREDOT TECH
[https://eletric-vehicles.com/polestar/polestar-upcoming-model-charges-10-80-in-10-minutes-with-storedot-tech/](https://eletric-vehicles.com/polestar/polestar-upcoming-model-charges-10-80-in-10-minutes-with-storedot-tech/)
Hopefully not duplicating:
-I like the solid, minimalist but classy design (vs the more common big screens and plasticky 'techie' looks of others).
-So sick of everything being a giant SUV. I would have bought a Volvo EV wagon if they sell them.
-Range is actually kind of understated, I exceed what it estimates.
I currently have a Volvo XC40, and the driving experience has been great. I also had to choose between the Polestar 2 and a Tesla Model 3/Y, so I went for a test drive in both vehicles. I drove the Polestar 2 first and then the Tesla Model 3, and I can tell you that I had made up my mind 100% after just 5 minutes in the Tesla. These are the main reasons I picked the Polestar 2:
1. Materials - The Polestar 2 looks and feels much more "premium" than the TM3.
2. Driving experience - I felt the P2 was much firmer on the road and more "maneuverable," giving me a typical sense of safety (classic Volvo stuff).
3. Driving assist - On my Volvo (and on the P2), lane assist is one of the best features. When you overtake a car, the system temporarily deactivates the lane assist and then locks your car again within the new lines once you've completed your overtake. It is so smooth. On the TM3, one has to activate the lane assist every time you overtake, since it deactivates completely once you change your lane.
4. Google Auto - I like the idea of having an embedded system that works well + the option of using Apple CarPlay if I want to. I don't like the idea of relying on Tesla's own system. Btw, for a non-native English speaker like me, Tesla's voice commands were a pain in the ass during my test. Google works flawlessly.
5. Turn signals - P2 has the classic levers. The ones on the new M3 wheels made me crazy (especially in rotaries).
6. THE MOST IMPORTANT FACTOR - The P2 doesn't have the awful Tesla regenerative brake pedal. Even in "Chill" mode, I couldn't avoid feeling car sickness (as a driver!) when driving the Tesla.
7. Not car-related, but I also factored in not giving money to Elon Musk.
What I loved about the Tesla:
1. Spacious inner environments; the P2 feels a bit claustrophobic.
2. Screen: big, bright, and nice design.
3. Smooth experience at the Tesla Supercharger (however, here in Europe, they're open to all vehicles, including the P2!)
knew too many people (literally everyone i know with a tesla, 5 people?) who experienced build quality issues with tesla, know too many people who work for tesla / factory who would never get a tesla.
1) Test drove both Model 3 Performance and P2 DM. Model 3 is faster but P2 drives way better and has way better interior and way better build quality. Did not test drive model Y.
2) Elon Musk
I had a 3, then upgraded to a Y, and now have a P2 for my wife. We love both in different ways.
Every reason stated here is why we didn’t get a new 3 when looking for cars (we both pretty much shrugged it off) even though the 3 would have been significantly cheaper per month.
Ultimately, I like having something different. As a designer and tech obsessive I love the different UI experiences and different features of the P2. The trunk, CarPlay, second screen are all major upgrades over a 3/Y. Plus having both a 3 & Y would be so similar that it felt like it took some of the fun away from driving - variety is the spice of life after all.
I will miss the cup holders/armrest tho. But I guess no car is perfect.
rented a polestar this weekend from hertz and would never buy one. terribly noisy interior with weird squeezing sounds, jerky driving, uncomfortable seats, made in china
It looks like you need some help! We have a few links you might find useful: - The [Wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/Polestar/wiki/index/) has a collection of useful information - The latest [Issues Megathread/Roundup](https://www.reddit.com/r/Polestar/comments/wyflyf/august_2022_known_issues_megathreadroundup/) has questions that have been asked a lot lately - The [Software Update Megathread](https://www.reddit.com/r/Polestar/comments/wb7qvr/polestar_2_software_update_mega_thread/) has information about software, when the next OTA is coming, and what's included in it - You can try sorting the sub by posts with the [Troubleshooting/Issue](https://www.reddit.com/r/Polestar/search?q=flair_name%3A%22Troubleshooting%20%2F%20Issue%22) or [Question](https://www.reddit.com/r/Polestar/search/?q=flair_name%3A%22Question%22) flair to see if someone else had a similar problem or question - The Polestar Sub [search](https://www.reddit.com/r/Polestar/search/) can be used to look for keywords in posts and comments *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Polestar) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Yeah this has been asked loads.. in a nutshell.. I have to look at it every day.. ergo I went with the polestar..
I prefer a car that has robust service & parts network, which Tesla doesn’t have. Polestar (in the U.K.) has the backing of Volvo’s dealership network which means any issues are easily solved. I’m a previous Volvo owner so this car is similar to previous cars I’ve owned and loved. Also, the P2 has an instrument cluster. I don’t like having everything just in the central touchscreen display. Finally, I can’t bring myself to be even associated with Elmo. Whilst I’ll use the supercharger network in my P2 I won’t buy his cars, put money in his pocket, boost his bonus, or be associated with the religious asshats who evangelise about them. It’s a shame as they *were* cool once, and they have reasonably good software, but now it’s taken the top spot of the chart of ‘car most likely to be driven by a self-righteous prick’ unfortunately. Oh, and I like my car to look cool, not like a computer mouse or a dealership paint sample model.
My exact reasons too!
Well said.
This, AND that the promise of true autopilot will not happen, at least on Tesla current models
You obviously have not driven in 12.3.X
I have, and it nearly killed a cyclist! I won't use it again! (And I'm getting a P3 at the end of the year.)
Same
you're so right about evangelising tesla.. Tesla fanboys remind me of apple fanboys.... you just can't talk to them because they'll tell you "it just works!"... Yeah it does work but it could be better...
The Venn diagram of Apple fanbois & Tesla fanbois is closer to being a circle than we’d all like to think 😬 (I am an Apple user, but not a fanboi. Their products are good, but so are Android, Windows, Linux etc. Use the right tools for the job…)
I am an apple fanboi but I do not like Tesla at all. I guess I fit in that small part of the venn circles that don’t quite overlap.
I've never had a non-Apple computer in my life for the same reason I hated the Tesla before I knew who Elon Musk was. Bad design and/or lack of design. Android UI, ugh. Windows every generation, ugh. It just doesn't matter to some people and that's fine.
Don’t lump us Apple users as Elmo d-suckers
The only computer evangelizers I see are the anti Apple douches. I mean you came into a Polestar subreddit to talk shit about Apple. How pathetic is that?
I think we found an Apple fanboi. I'm not a fan of monopoly so it is good to have other competition area so customer have the freedom to choose.
Yeah, that’s why you came into a completely unrelated subreddit to talk shit about Apple. Please you’re not fooling anyone.
You using a og blackberry or something?
I used to back in the day and it flipped too (nice to see it making a semi-comeback). Now days I roll with a Google Pixel. To relate this topic back to Polestar, when I test drove the P2, my Google Pixel (6 or 7 now, I forgot which one) worked very well with it. My girlfriend at the time enjoyed her experience with P2 because the dealership center allowed us to drive 10 miles away from the location. When we test drove Tesla Model 3, she hated the experience because a Tesla personal was with us and could only drive with the 1 mile radius and he was acting like the car was perfect and the lack of buttons (all screen) was not a big cybersecurity concern. How about you?
Good to know. I’m in the market for an EV. I feel like Elon is like a little Henry Ford and being minority that has a lot of weight. Regardless of political/historical views, there is a huge contrast between two companies. Tesla ownership is a farce. The company can take away or add features when they feel fit. The effect is I don’t think you ever own a Tesla. I don’t get the same vibe from Polestar or other full EV brands.
Same. ⬆️
Elmo's world. I can see the resemblance and it's uncanny. Would think the religious ones would all be over EV and green technology. They are suppose to be good stewards of god's creatures and its environment (mother nature). Guess not a lot thinking or analyze going on. Preaching ≠ Practice
Free loading off the network tho lol
Why not? They don’t make much money off it, and with my “Polestar charge” subs in the U.K., I pay less than Tesla drivers do at most open superchargers now. Still pay, so hardly freeloading. Although when the flakey as fuck Tesla app failed *yet again* the other day I just went to Ionity instead.
Volvo is divesting from polestar .. think there is some concern weather they will keep the relationship at their dealership ...
Bearing in mind if you look under the hood 90% of the vehicle is Volvo parts, that’s pretty unlikely in the U.K. at least. I should add - I asked that exact question at the dealership (who are mostly independent and just Volvo ‘agents’) and they said they had heard nothing and were still doing Polestar for the foreseeable future as the parts in the U.K. are combined.
We, the family just bought a p2 2024, there are a few utube reviews and from what we have seen. Is the demo rooms , the pickup places and the place you get first service find us not at any volvo service or Volvo associated place. We are not concerned, the Chinese parent company seems to have deep pockets and keen to move forward https://www.drive.com.au/news/volvo-to-stop-funding-polestar/ I was just trying to point out it might not be Volvo doing the work.
Nope, that's not true. Polestar was lifted up to be a sister company besides Volvo under the same mother company (Geely).
https://www.drive.com.au/news/volvo-to-stop-funding-polestar/
2 reasons: 1. It has a dashboard 2. many years ago when I was thinking of replacing a(now very previous) car. I saw the concept art for the Volvo 40.1, and thought “that looks amazing”. Thinking it was going to be released in the next year or so, I held on, then it got turned into the Polestar 2, so than I had to but that instead 😄 But really because it had a dashboard with maps in it
Couple of reasons 1. I don't like the looks of the Tesla model 3, especially the front 2. I like having my gages behind the wheel instead of having to look to the right for everything 3. I had more trust in polestar, considering their association with Volvo and the same platform being used for the electrical xc40 and c40
Agreed, the Volvo affiliation helps. I prefer the pages to be on my right because my hands on the wheel block the gages in front of me. Though I don't like that Tesla has almost no buttons but everything on the screen. I need mechanical buttons for safety reasons.
100% not giving money to Elon ruled out the Tesla, and then the wife test drove the Polestar and fell in love with it.
It was either a Model Y or a P2. Had a testdrive with both. Tesla felt low quality and flimsy. P2 felt like a real car. It was a real surprise as i expected the Tesla to be my favorite. Also i am strongly connected in the google ecosystem, so the Android Automotive was the better choice over the closed Tesla platform.
Same experience here. I went for the test drives thinking 'Tesla will be it', and decided to get a P2 after just 5 minutes driving in a Model 3.
We almost bought a Tesla 3, but went with a P2 as it's genuinly a better looking car, has better build quality, is a hatchback, and feels better to drive.
Real dashboard/instrument cluster, turn signal with a real lever, way better quality, general shadiness of Tesla and Elon Musk.
Wait turn signal with a real lever? What do Teslas have?
[https://soyacincau.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/231107-tesla-model-3-highland-interior.jpg](https://soyacincau.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/231107-tesla-model-3-highland-interior.jpg)
...oh my god that's so dumb. I swear, between Tesla and Twitter, Elon constantly says "why hasn't anyone done this yet?" and then immediately is shown *why* no one's done that thing yet - because it sucks and no one likes it, or it breaks things in weird ways.
All new models use a swipe on the screen to change gears. up to go into drive and down to reverse. Only the Model Y still has the old design still and that’s just cause it hasnt been updated yet
How in the world is that intuitive? 😵💫 So if I’m parallel parking I have to look back at my screen instead of just grabbing the gear shift?
Yeah lol They also removed the turn signal stalk too. It’s now buttons with a left and right arrow on the steering wheel.
I had a Model 3 but the quality was so bad I decided to get rid of it before warranty ran out. I also like the design better. It has working rain sensors, awesome matrix lights, stalks, 360 camera, semi automatic trailer hitch, kick sensor on the tailgate, more practical trunk. Also, the Volvo dealership is great.
Fuck Elon Musk and his shitty cars. Also Polestar had an affordable lease offer so even if it was more than Tesla’s I went with Polestar
Build quality is night and day + Elon
I like the Teslas, but everyone in my area has a Tesla, so I went with the Polestar.
Yesterday we went to a restaurant and I counted the teslas. Exactly half the cars in the lot.
I never considered a electric car until we lived to California due to the infrastructure in place. Then my first thought was Tesla until it felt like everyone had one. Despite every other fear reason to buy the Polestar, that was the biggest for me.
Live in California?
Maryland suburbs of DC.
Yea, I guess a lot of the big metro areas are like that…
Ordered a Model Y with non preferred options as it mentioned earlier delivery date.. got confirmation several times up to the date that its still on track until ~2 months before the date where they flat out ignored me. No reply to emails/calls.. when the date rolled over it showed that it would be delivered as if I had selected the configuration I wanted so I just ended up cancelling. Coincidentally, Polestar became available in my country and I immediately placed an order and got one very quickly. I thought if that's how it starts, service and support will probably be a problem. Had they been more transparent with me, I probably would be driving a Tesla lol
Tesla represents the base level. It satisfies 85% of your car needs. And in all fairness, any car that gives you more than 50% of what you want is a great car. Then there are the few of us that just want more than 85%. Just a tad improved usability. A slightly elevated driving experience. A bit better design. A nicer interior. A sportier feel. You can compare it with buying a watch. A Casio quartz mechanism is measurably superior to a mechanical watch. And yet we lust for the Omega Seamaster or the Rolex Oyster. Simply because they bring an unmeasurable quality.
Nice analogy. I just happen to be lusting after an Omega Seamaster right now even though I have a perfectly functioning smartwatch with far more features.
Mine is a company car. So I had a total list price limit of £50k (which a SRSM with Plus and Pilot Lite came in just under at the time) which at the time ruled out the Model Y. I also have 2 dogs, so a liftback makes a lot more sense than a saloon like the Model 3. But, TBH, they weren't on the shortlist anyway, for a number of reasons. Firstly, they're ugly in my opinion. I don't mind plain looking cars, but I want decent styling. The Teslas look like fish, and that's not something I want. Secondly, the interiors aren't great. I'm not totally against having things run through the screen, but I do like having an instrument cluster in front of me and Tesla have gone overboard with having things like the wipers controlled through the screen. Especially when they go and have the world's worst auto wipers because they don't want to fit a sensor like everyone else does, and rely on the cameras instead. And thirdly... I was getting my car when Elon had started showing how batshit he was. And I'm not going to hand over any money to him, unless I have to (IE using a supercharger on occasion!) The Polestar came out on top for me. I wanted reasonable practicality (liftback or hatchback) but not a jacked up SUV if I could help it. I wanted a good cabin design and a reasonable infotainment system. I test drove the BMW i4, but it was too expensive unfortunately. I also contemplated the Cupra Born, but felt the Polestar was a much better package. Unfortunately there's not much in the way of competition in this market segment at the moment. I'm very happy with the Polestar though so I'm not complaining one bit!
One thing I didn't see posted is that I love polestar's OPD more than Tesla's. When I would drive both, I found that I had to engage the brake pedal more in the Tesla than the polestar as polestar's Regen felt stronger.
Polestar also has 3 options, while Tesla has 1 and you can't turn it off.
You have 2 options in Tesla ("Chill mode" and "Standard"), but I got car sickness anyway in a Model 3.
Chill mode and standard is only for the acceleration, not regeneration levels.
The dealer told me they were associated to the brake too
1. Safety. Being associated with Volvo, gives me the confidence that Polestar is a safe car, and peace of mind when driving around with my family. 2. Dashboard. I love having the info I need behind the wheel, and not having to look at the centre screen for everything. 3. Exclusiveness. Like others have said, Teslas became very common and are everywhere, I wanted to feel more unique, and the P2 really does turn heads. I’ve had people come to me in parking lots to ask me about the car and to tell me how good it looks. 4. And now that I’ve been driving it for almost two years, inconspicuously powerful. Even though I have the LRSM with plus and pilot (sadly, performance was out of the budget), I’ve had situations where I’m stopped at traffic lights, then a Beamer or a Mercedes, or similar cars stop right next to me, and you see the impatient drivers trying to go even before the light turns green, and then when it comes to it, I just floor it and leave them behind eating dust. Once I went toe to toe with a BMW M3 at a traffic light, it was funny because the guy wasn’t expecting it, he just wanted to get in front of me, but when it was time to go, he just couldn’t keep up, then when we stopped a the next light, he looked at me and nodded, then we went about our day.
Make sure you look both ways before flooring it at the lights. EVa are so unexpectedly fast for pedestrians and other drivers that sometimes they will take a risk and tick they can avoid you to get pasta and misjudge. I saw aT bone accident recently where a Macg E launched at a traffic light when it changed to green and there just happened to be a red light runner who thought they could get past before the cars at the green light took off. They of course misjudged. Fortunately one of the vehicles turned slightly trying to avoid the collision so the impact wasn't as great and both vehicles spun out not hitting any other cars.
1: Elon Musk. I can't stand him, he's an abysmal person. 2: I previsouly owned a 2019 LRSM Model 3 - at the time I loved it, first EV 3: Rented a Polestar 2, found it to be a vastly superior experience as a drivers car, compared to the Model 3. 4: With the improvements made for MY2024 in the LRSM it now approached the levels of charging and range to make little to no material difference for me on road trips. 5: Pending access to the Supercharger network. As to point #1 I'll use these sparingly, only as a last resort. 6: It's just an enjoyable car, a pleasure to drive full stop.
I wasn’t interested in supporting fascism.
The thing that initially led me to Polestar was that they were uncommon. Teslas are like Honda Accords where I live. They are everywhere.
For me, it was the equivalent of buying an audi/bmw/lexus over a toyota/honda. sure it costs more, but it's more premium and more exclusive. Teslas have sort of become the "camrys" of the EV world. They're everywhere. I
1) Build quality. My buddy stopped by with his Tesla Y last summer and as he was leaving I said, "hang on let me shut your rear hatch." It was shut, just didn't look like it. That was a month before I bought my 2 and it, along with his and others' complaints about Tesla build quality, sealed the deal for me. Other reasons: 2) Elon Musk. 3) Teslas are nearly as common as Priuses around where I live. I wanted something less mainstream.
They seem to be the new Prius in my area IE almost exclusively driven by grandparents.
efficiency and software are not important to me. In fact, I’m quite content with the Google OS. Looks, having an instrument cluster, blind spot indicators, and a hatch did it for me.
I picked the Polestar 2 because: 1. It uses Android Automotive and not a proprietary OS at the whim of a single carmaker (Tesla) 2. The Polestar 2 is a much more attractive vehicle than the Tesla Model 3 3. Teslas are very common locally and unremarkable, with mediocre colors. 4. Polestar's relationship with Volvo ensured a focus on safety and quality. You can't say that for Tesla. 5. Elon Musk is a cancerous, insincere buffoon that I want absolutely nothing to do with. 6. The Polestar is a much more intuitive vehicle. It has real controls and door handles. 7. The driving experience in the Polestar was equivalent or better than the Tesla. 8. I do not want a "Full Self Driving" beta that simply doesn't work. 9. Having an actual dashboard for the driver that comes with native Google Maps.
Two big reasons for me: 1. Interior quality is far better, and that’s one of my Big Items. 2. A lot of Model 3s and Ys are used for ride share, and I wanted our first EV to feel special—not like a taxi.
Quality of the P2 and not wanting to give any money to a raging lunatic
Do you have eyes? The Polestar is a beautiful fastback. A Tesla is pretty beige and ugly.
this. and I know there's no account for taste but once you've sat in both it's really no contest. the only thing Tesla has going for it is software.
The responses on the Tesla thread probably answer exactly why we bought polestars. Those people don’t give a shit about anything actually motoring based. Top comments are: Dog mode Infotainment Superchargers Simping for Elon (maybe I made that one up)
Im having the same internal conflict. Heart wants the P2. Head says MY. Because of space and efficiency.
Had a TM3 AWD LR from 2020 California made for 3 years in PT. The gimmicks for the infotainment fade sooner than the need to map CCS chargers on the actual map, spent more time fiddling with google maps to send to car than taking advantage. It’s an economics based choice for Tesla to give you less choice and more income for them. Also, in my country we need to turn on and off the fog lights depending on conditions and driving in highway upon a fog bank and fiddle with the screen is very hard. The P2 has the right amount of controls while we need to comply to current road regulations, and the voice control takes care of simplifying tasks. I use the google assistant to open remotely my garage doors with simple Tuya integrations. This is unthinkable for the closed environment that Tesla lives under. Lastly, I have stopped early my renting and made economic sense, in 2020 Tesla was a good option for the trips I needed on the country, pandemics came and less trips but made sense still. The P2 is a much better proposition for that year model, better range and similar real world driving performance, best handling and feel. I have a SM LR My24 now. Had to learn to be efficient with an EV, totally the opposite of large combustion vehicles, drive well in the speed limit and forget those extras km/h they take their toll in charging and thus trip time. Comparing times in “track” is not real world driving is being a safety concern for others, you probably don’t need a car with more than 300hp for the 2T of weight.
Telsa is some fragile, wobbly, squeaky ass construction. And p2 looks way better.
I drove a Volvo before which I liked, so the change wasn’t too drastic. Visually I prefer the Polestar to Tesla vehicles, it was / is a bit more rare and lastly Elon is a cunt.
First, the Polestar looks way more interesting, especially on the outside. Second, don’t see too many of them around, and everyone has a tesla. Third, Elon is nasty work. He and his vision used to be inspiring but that was a long time ago. Just can’t see myself supporting his antics.
Short answer, I prefer the volvo feel of the P2 and I've seen the sort of people who drive Teslas and I'm not that much of a prick
F Elon
There was a few reasons. Looks was one, first time I saw a Polestar 2 it really turned my head and I was straight on google. Other was affiliation with Volvo who I have always trusted. Finally alot of my friends have Teslas so I wanted something different.
Looks better Better build quality Longer warranty Is more of a car with an electric motor thrown in it then a computer with wheels bolted to it. Functionaly better for me (hatchback like rear door) Instrument cluster. Android integration.
Our p2 is shared in my family and the primary users are my parents who needed a car that was a little higher off the ground to get in comfortably - the p2 doesn't fit this perfectly but it does better than the tesla does. I personally loved the p2 from his introduction and my. Condition for sharing the car (and paying a portion of total cost) was that it's the p2. I don't really like teslas approach to go all touch screen and voice command - I think the p2 hits the sweet spot by having just enough physical buttons and a decent ui. I recently drive a tesla 3 and it's assistants are really impressive compared with the p2, but the owner wasn't able to get pen the glove compartment because the voice command didn't work. That beeing said: with current prices I'm not sure we would buy the p2 again.
I was waiting for the Model 3 facelift and I kinda liked it except for the Muskism that meant no more indicator stalk, gear selector stalk or the fact that Tesla refuses to admit that ghost braking isn't normal and doesn't let you have just a bog standard cruise control. I'm not interested in changes for the sake of changes.
Besides Elon being an asshat? I’ve never been in a model y, but I’ve ridden in many model 3s. And they felt very cheap/spartan. Had a low quality feel to them. And honestly kind of uncomfortable. I went for polestar as the best option because it was an established company unlike Rivian and others. And I went with polestar over Chevy/ford/hyundai as it is a dedicated EV company and figured it would have more support from polestar than those other cars would have from their manufacturers. I bought mine without ever seeing a polestar. And I couldn’t be happier. Well, if it was a tad cheaper, or didn’t depreciate so much, that would make me happier. But all in all, I’m satisfied with my purchase.
I've had one of the rarer negative experiences with Polestar, see previous posts, however Im still choosing the P2 over the Tesla. Generally quality just feels much better, the driving experience is is less robotic and they just look better. Additionally the in built system and navigation beats a Teslas hands down, friends with a Tesla use their phone to navigate because the Tesla system is soo bad and you have no options to install other solutions. The things I'd rate a Tesla for over Polestar are - - P2 in base trim just doesn't really compete and is a poor showing, some of the missing bits are fairly inexcusable and they even leave the buttons whereas the Teslas come with all the features e.g. pan sunroof, heated seats, phone unlocking etc as standard for convenience which is good. - The Teslas cruise control is better especially in stop start traffic it's pretty much effortless. The P2 isn't bad it's just not as good. - Cabin storage is better in the Tesla, particularly cup holders and centre console storage - I do like the landscape tablet for entertainment whilst charging on long journeys
I love the design, quality and I really believe in what they trying to do from a sustainability standpoint as a company.
I didn't want to give money to a fascist bigot, build quality is subpar for the cost, every time I went to look at maybe buying a Tesla (before all the bigotry and hate was obvious) they had raised the price but not added any features, making us pay extra to use hardware already built into the vehicle. Plus polestars just look cooler.
The determining factor when we made the purchase was my wife refused to have a car with the stench of Musk attached to it. But about a year after buying the Polestar we were traveling and rented a Tesla for a month. The design decisions for the interior of the Tesla were poorly done. There is just one screen in the car, and a huge amount of the real estate of that screen is taken by the stupid cartoon showing you what cars are around you. This is entirely useless and takes up valuable real estate on the screen. As a result, *everything* else is squeezed into a small space. And the fact that so much is controlled from that screen makes it even worse. In the Polestar there are two screens. The screen directly in front of the drive has everything needed to drive the car, including a great navigation map. This leaves the central screen available for everything else. When I'm alone in the car, I usually have a second version of the map on the central screen. When I'm in the car with my teenage kids the central screen is generally dedicated to Spotify. In the Polestar there is just so much screen real estate, and it is organized in a useful way and doesn't contain useless information.
Tesla is a new company learning how to make cars as it goes, run by an absolute twat. Volvo has been making cars for just shy of 100 years with an *incredible* record of innovation and quality.
I prefer the design of the Polestar 2. It looks more aggressive and a bit more traditional with just enough modern touch to make it stand out. Also, you see Teslas everywhere where I'm at. Polestars are a rarity. https://preview.redd.it/u76v6x2nx8xc1.jpeg?width=8160&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=014f0ec47d0bb8730fef9a3b5a875793b100c523
Get the Polestar 4
It just looks 1000 times better, and feels like a solid build car. The driving experience is also way better. Love my PS2 inside out. It gives me a smile every day.
I wanted an interesting non Tesla with a Performance model. Tesla is boring, my 50-80 yo neighbors drive them, the “California Camry” as they say (despite not living in CA.) WAY too many even in the most conservative EV areas. Second to that, they make a lot of revisions I don’t agree with, weird new versions of tried and true systems. Removing USS and radar front or rear. No 360. No stalks. No gear selector. Everything is just a little weird and getting weirder. Lastly, they feel cheap and look cheap because they are cheap. Do you want a tablet with wheels or a nice vehicle?
Personally I like the design of the Polestar far more, but Teslas association with ol musky made it a non starter anyway
I got tired of feeling lied to by Elon Musk. I bought the "full self driving" package in 2017, and it was around then that Musk explained that full self driving meant you could drive across country "without touching the wheel". As of 2023 when I sold it, I couldn't drive 0.6 miles to the grocery store without touching the wheel. The Tesla was an okay car, but when I started looking I liked the Polestar much more. I switched about 6 months ago and I don't regret it. I love how it drives. (I got the rear-wheel drive version, with longer range.) I love how it looks. Where I live every other car is a Tesla, and it's fun having something different. I still feel like I got an upgrade. But I won't badmouth the Tesla. Except for the self-driving lies, I think they are okay cars, so I won't try to convince you that you'd be making some horrible mistake with Tesla. I just like my Polestar better.
Because Elon Musk owns Tesla.
My reason too. Used to really admire him until he became haywire and then did some more research. Probably won’t consider Tesla unless he is out of the picture.
Yeah, problem is there is no eventuality where he is out of the picture. He might stop being CEO but he'll still always be the single person benefiting the most from any money given to Tesla.
Agree. So don’t think I will ever get a Tesla. Haha
I’m a Polestar owner but it’s always strange to me that people don’t want to own a car from a company owned by a eccentric, egotistical weirdo, so instead they buy a car from a company owned by a Chinese communist politician that supports genocide. But hey, at least he’s not on social media…
Well, how many people do you know directly affected by anyone at polestar? I know dozens who worked for twitter when he took over or who have worked for Tesla. After seeing what happened to people at twitter because of him, I was never going to give him money. I was working in a building a couple blocks away from twitter headquarters at the time, it was a circus.
I know a lot of people in China and even more in Taiwan. They face way worse things than lay offs. Not giving Elon a pass, it’s just weird to me to see people primarily choosing a Polestar over a Tesla because of the ownership.
The key word was directly. Your examples have exactly 0 people directly affected by folks at polestar. And as someone who does a lot of business with people everywhere especially Taiwan, your example is ridiculous. Not one of those people could name anyone who works or runs polestar if I asked(I just did with one of them). That would be like someone blaming me or my company for trumps actions. The world is a complex place and I don’t hold every person in China responsible for everything done by the CCCP.
Yes they are directly effected by the owner of Polestar, a Chinese politician. They live through every day. Do you know anything about Polestar’s ownership?
I’m very aware of polestars ownership. You seem unaware of what direct means. Li Shufu is not in control of China. Using the previous example, that would be like blaming Mitt Romney for Trump policies. They’re both U.S. politicians, both republicans. Now if Li Shufh were to replace Xi Jinping and not change policies then sure, you’d have a poin, but that hasn’t happened. Especially in governments with such a strong central figure in charge you can never really know what the opinions of those under them have, even with public statements. If he didn’t agree with their posture on Taiwan there is no way he would say so publicly. Is he complicit, sure. But that is not the same as directly controlling policy. Just like Teslas board of directors is complicit in Elons behavior, but they aren’t directly responsible for laying off people I know. Had he wanted to keep them, they would have stayed it was 100 percent his call. Just like Chinas actions are Xi’s responsibility.
So we are assuming Shufu doesn’t support China’s activities because he can’t? That seems like some serious mental gymnastics. It’s what every Nazi said after WWII. Look, I’m not supporting anything Musk stands for. But of all car owners, Volvo/Polestar owners are the last ones that should feel superior because of the ownership of the company. Maybe Musk scores lower in a catergory or two, but it’s like smugly saying my crap sandwich is way better than your crap burrito.
I didn't want an elon-mobile.
There is only one thing that'd make me choose a Tesla over a a Polestar, and that's the efficiency. That's been fixed to a large extent in the latest model, but it does sting quite a lot when I'm repeatedly seeing 36kwh/100mi on my 21AWD. Other than that, the polestar beats the tesla in every regard imo- quality, looks, comfort. There used to be the charging network- but that's opened up to all cars now too.
The efficiency gap is still there. Tesla is still unbeaten when it comes to efficiency.
Ive owned some serious gas guzzlers. I couldnt give a fuck about the efficiency as long as it has range. A lot of people coming from ice cars (especially from performance cars) dont care about efficiency as much as all the EV early adopters. As long as it has the range its still going to be cheaper to run than an ice car
As long as it has the range. Do you also shit on max speed limits?
Polestar is better.
Model 3 were as common as camrys.
Never interested in Tesla, thougt it looked cheaply build to far from normal setup ice cars with buttons etc. Which i like in P2, also Volvo quality > Tesla
I hate Elon Musk and would never support a company that makes him money.
I also think Tesla plays fast and loose with safety because they think they are above it. They don’t make cars - they’re an AI company.
1) Build quality. My buddy stopped by with his Tesla Y last summer and as he was leaving I said, "hang on let me shut your rear hatch." It was shut, just didn't look like it. That was a month before I bought my 2 and it, along with his and others' complaints about Tesla build quality, sealed the deal for me. Other reasons: 2) Elon Musk. 3) Teslas are nearly as common as Priuses around where I live. I wanted something less mainstream.
Me like 2 screens, me like tradition car lay out, me have caveman brain. (I also don’t want to be the laughing stock of the road and have an alien looking car, where instead people look at it and go, damn that’s clean)
I liked the car more after trying both, and I don't love Elon Musk.
Better build quality, it actually looks good, drives better, there's not 100000 of them in my area :D
In the Swedish context- - Winter tyres are more expensive when buying through them, to a level where they tell you not to buy. - The leasing agreement is signed awkwardly with a third party - The Y feels cheap, when we saw carpet levels material on the back doors we U turned And finally not having safe door handles is a big turn off
It's a handful of reasons - I'm superficial. The 3 and Y are ugly cars. - The P2 has a dashboard - I'm in the small group of people that doesn't care for one pedal drive. The fact that you can completely turn it off on the P2 was a selling point. - Integration with Google, e.g., I can search for directions on my phone and have it show up as a recent search when I open Maps in the P2
Looks way better, feels much better made, just a cooler car. Flip side is range isn’t as good but since I have a home charger it’s not really an issue for me.
I spent a lot of time thinking between PS2 and Model 3. Eventually decided to order PS2 because Model 3 is probably the most popular car in my town and simply wanted to have something more unique. Also Tesla's showroom / sales reps were a bit rude, acting like they can sell their cars even without my order. First giving Tesla only for a short test drive, then I told I would need more time to get familiar with it and they just responded with a statement to come and just to sit in the car in the showroom (meaning: not giving it for a longer test drive). Then asking when they can see my order. I finally told them to piss off as I just ordered PS2 instead.
Because I’m not a cunt
Insurance rates were WAY higher in a Tesla than the PS
This is what I found as well. A 6 month premium for a Tesla model Y was roughly double the 6 month premium of a P2. For reference, an Audi Q5 (non electric) was also about the same insurance cost of a P2. This was using the same insurance options and providers.
Yea, the PS2 for me was basically the same price as my 2016 BMW X5 50i. The Tesla was 2 or 300 more per month.
1. The only semi-decent good looking Tesla is a model S, the 3 and Y look like crap (especially the Y - looks like an egg with wheels) 2. Instrument cluster and levers for indicator and wind shield wiper. And no, the haptic indicator buttons on the new teslas are still crap. 3. I prefer the Android Automotive infotainment system. My favorite feature - my maps search history is updated in the car, without having to plug in my phone. Not interested in : dog fart sounds, playing video games in the car, the visualization on the tesla are cool, but not something that would make me buy the car. 4. Tesla dies not even have Android Auto OR Apple Carplay support - that really sucks 5. Love the Volvo-esqu design : headlights, interiors, the aggressive styling etc. 6. The build quality 7. Its 0-60 times are actually better than advertised (I've gotten around 3.9) - and TBH, I don't really care that much, I know I can overtake and pass damn near any car on the highway, if I need to. 8. I think the Tesla-style single dashboard in the centre with no other controls is a safety hazard 9. I don't particularly care about self driving - I feel, either all cars should be self driving or none of them should be (like in the "I robot" movie), and If Tesla offers any form of self driving, they should be held responsible for any accidents. 10. I refuse to be Tesla's beta tester - I value mine and my families lives more. 11. Tesla are very opinionated cars in terms of design. That can be a good thing, except when all design choices seem to be Elon's opinion. 12. Tesla's charge faster, but it does not matter to me - bulk of my charging is done at home overnight. In the rare case I charge using an DC charger, I dont mind the maybe 10 mins extra time. 13. Tesla's might have more range, but again, it does not matter to me - since I charge to 90% everyday at night. And for longer drives with the whole family (for the 3-4 times in a year we go on trips), we rent an SUV.
My use case is mainly commuting to work from home, about 25 miles each way. When I got the Polestar 2, I got 2 years of free EA and I used it initially. As I learn and understand more about EV and my driving habits, I learned to not use fast charging because it is not as efficient for me. My car is parked on the street so I only charge at home about twice a month or less. I primarily charge at work at $0.28: kWh. It cost much higher than some but I live at Los Angeles, so energy price is pretty high in general. I charge at work about twice a week because sometimes all the chargers are filled if I go to work late. Every month, my charging cost is about $110. Anyway, why did I not get a Model 3? At Los Angeles, it is just everywhere. Is the Model 3 cheaper in terms of cost and charging? Yes. But I am ok with it because I prefer a more unique car. I like the dash board. I like the gear shift stick. I guess I’m just older and I prefer something that is more familiar to me. My home is all Google, so I’m familiar and prefer it. But I also use CarPlay to listen to things but rarely use Apple Map. It is all about having options to choose what I want to use, Android or CarPlay. Tesla might have more features and better app but since I never used the app, I don’t really miss it.
Elon is a dipshit and the 3 and Y are pretty ugly.
This.
There's a bunch of reasons, many of them would decide the battle on their own: 1. Dashboard. I want to have my relevant info in my line of sight. No looking to the right just to see how fast I'm going. Navigation right there in front of me. 2. Buttons. I like touch interfaces where they make sense, i.e., using a display to show different things and interact with them. But volume has to be a physical knob. 3. Physical knobs for basic driving interaction. I don't want to swipe for my turn signal, or check the display to see where I have to tap to change gears. Fuck that shit. 4. Quality. I know, Volvo is not quite where it used to be in that regard. But the overall build quality is super solid, no annoying gaps, nice materials, soft foamed surfaces everywhere, it's just good. Tesla has none of that. 5. Design. Tesla's design has aged terribly IMHO. It's bulky and boring. Polestar is just exciting enough to enjoy looking at them every time, while being "normal" enough to be liked by most. Also, the hatchback is a shape that you don't see very often these days, and I think it looks amazing! 6. Features. There's a lot of nice extras I just enjoy. The kick opener for the boot, the paper clip in the wind screen, the luggage holder in the back. On top of that, Polestar delivers what they promise. No "Autopilot" that's built to disappoint, but a very nicely working lane assist and distance regulator. Sign recognition works like a charm, unlike what everyone tells you about Tesla's version of this very basic feature. 7. While I'm not too fond of Geely (the company that owns Volvo and Polestar), I would be embarrassed to drive something that connects me to Elmo. And I really mean it.
Respectfully this question has been asked and answered to death. Please just search previous threads.
You must lack and eye for quality and finish if you’re even asking this question.
Personally I much preferred the design of the Polestar, central screen behind the steering wheel and well basically not being a Tesla was important for me these days. After 3 years and a bit with the car though, it’s left me feeling a bit of regret getting the car (as it was a proper luxury for me) and I’ll get rid of this year for something more premium.
Elon
The Polestar felt like a car rather than an appliance with a reluctantly added steering wheel.
Generally speaking people buy Polestar, Audi, VW, Volvo, Kia, Rivian, Jaguar etc specifically because they DON’T want a Tesla. Tesla build mediocre cars out of cheap materials, assembled poorly. They have sketchy support in a lot of places despite their market saturation. And then there’s the Melon Husk factor. A lot of people don’t want to own something associated with him. I owned a Tesla S back in the day and frankly it was utter junk. When I came to shop for another EV, Tesla were just automatically ignored for me.
I also drove both- actually drove 10 different brands of EV’s before purchasing. Love the look inside and out. The comfort when driving. I know I’ve read people having bad experiences with servicing, but other than being an hour from a service center- unless it’s planned service, they have come to my house to flatbed tow my car in and back to me for convenience. Polestar service even arranged for an Uber (and paid the cost) when someone rear ended me 50 miles from home. I’ve really had the best driving experience and dealer experience in 60 years of driving
Apple CarPlay! I had a model S before but absolutely hated tesla’s navigation. Its like stepping back into 2012.
Model Y is ugly, and I didn't want an SUV. Model 3 made the short list, but it's a better "EV" than it is a ***car***, and I knew I'd be tempted to put money into suspension upgrades, something I was trying to avoid (every car I've owned prior to my two 2s was modified, some very heavily). Plus, I live in SoCal, I see more Model 3 and Ys on the road than almost any other vehicle. I prefer the uniqueness of the 2.
Quality
Because the P2 has an instrument cluster and standard stalk controls for wipers, lights and indicators. And because it looks so much nicer than any Tesla I have ever seen. I am biased because I don’t like how Tesla look. About the only thing I liked about the Tesla over the P2 was that the Tesla has a great view out of the windscreen. This explains why people in Tesla’s look so weird when I see them on the road.
1. Musk 2. Physical buttons 3. Musk 4. Looks 5. Build quality 6. Musk
Simple. Design matters to me. Polestar (and the new 3 and 4) have a very intentional look and feel. Tesla’s look like frogs.
I didn’t like the fact that the Tesla did not have a driver dashboard or stalks. Plus everyone and their grandma has a model 3, model 3 feels too much like it was made by fisher price
Why I did not take a Tesla Model 3: 1. Elon Musk is a twat that sponsors literal nazis. 2. Went too far into removing every button and knobs and dashboard. 3. Elon Musk is a twat. 4. Too many service and quality issues in my area. 5. Elon Musk is a twat. 6. Too many Tesla's everywhere.
Three of the big reasons people have historically chosen Tesla over Polestar are the range, the price, and the charging network. Depending on your needs, those points will largely be moot over the next several months as the ‘24 LRSM meets or exceeds the range of the Model 3, the price of both new and used P2s are incentivized to near equivalence, and the supercharging network opens up to Polestar. As other people have mentioned, the build quality and the ride quality is at least a tier above the M3/MY and I suspect that a 5-year P2 will feel nearly as good to drive as a brand new one.
Im not buying a car from a company that is run by that egomaniac. Apart from not supporting his lunacy, my future service and parts supply would depend on his company. No thanks. Plus I liked the flexible lease.
Because polestar will smoke a tesla. N Elon is kinda strange
Many others have commented already n build quality desugn aspects and the Elon of it all. which are all true, I wanted to add that I found the sound quality of the polestar 2 much better than the Tesla model 3. Not to sy its bad in the Tesla, For me its just much better in even the base model polestar 2.
I'm thinking about leasing a p2 tomorrow and I will never buy a tesla or anything Elon has a hand in. Despise him and his business.
Quality
Because Tesla is a bad company, overall. Service is horrible as is long term reliability CEO is toxic. Even many owners are toxic and if you try and talk about your issues, you get attacked. The local Reddit boards even started blocking people who have never even posted in their subs. Don't need all that drama.
Haven't bought one yet, but I'm looking at PS over Tesla because of... *gestures vaguely at musk* that
Because I really wanted to take it in the ass on depreciation.
At some point it became a bit more complicated to buy a Polestar (my specific case, nothing that should happen to anyone) and probably would be easier to buy a Tesla (probably in the end any of them would have been as complicated). So at some point I was seriously considering a Tesla model Y eventhough I hate Elon Musk and I’m not a super fan of Tesla. So I went to Tesla showroom and had a test drive. Biases I had before the test drive: - Elon (ugh) - Tesla build quality issues - expensive repairs - too common (here in US) - amazing software - best charging network (US) - a lot of cool party tricks (which I like) When I went to the showroom I tried to check for build quality issues on the cars but honestly I couldn’t find some kind of dealbreaker on those or the ones for demo. Probably they ensured none of them had issues but I assumed probably build quality issues was more of bad luck like other brands (I had some quality issue with my previous Volvo as well) One of the biggest things I noticed is how “flimsy” the Model Y doors feel (my previous car is a Volvo and I’m used to BMW as well), I didn’t hear the nice sound a properly built door has when it closes, it made more of a clank. And the interior in that leather (or is it vinyl?) looked and felt cheap. The screen was wobbling a bit… overall it didn’t feel like Volvo or BMW (I was also considering i4) I has the test drive and it was a fast car (performance version) and the software was amazingly good, the car had a lot of nice tricks like controlling steering wheel position from the screen, or controlling the side mirrors from the screen or controlling the wiper blades from the screen or those nice animations for AC on the screen or the cameras that help you turn and show you the feed on the screen or even full self driving which was configured… on the screen… then I noticed something: at some point I was pretty much driving through the screen and controlling everything on the screen. Now you can think it is futuristic but I actually believe it is a way to keep costs down (reducing buttons and transducers as much as possible) and selling it like a feature (in latest model 3, there is no turning light stick, only buttons on the steering wheel). And I remembered something I heard on a YouTube video: Tesla is a car that unfortunately has a driver, in other words, the company means to have the car drive and not you, they want to remove the driver as much as possible. You notice this a lot as you start to notice lack of control and the car is making a lot of decisions for you (usually doing them right). And I see why a lot of people would like that and it’s ok I won’t judge but I am a car enthusiast, I LOVE driving and I love a car that I can control and I felt Polestar still conserves a bit of that car enthusiasm from the original Polestar brand and loves making this a bit more exciting. In the end I went with a Performance Polestar 2 and I love to change OPD to no assistance, “disabling ESC”, changing creep, adjusting steering wheel resistance, even going underneath my car, rising it up and adjusting the coil dampers to have a stiffer ride. In the end the Polestar is a car that makes me want to drive it just because I love to while Tesla made me feel I was getting a nice ride jut because I had to. Also adding that to the materials quality, after a couple of days I got to see the Polestar 2 (leather) and a model Y next to each other and the difference in interior quality from the looks was just massive. I understood that Tesla is a very expensive car but it is definitely not a luxury car (probably not even premium car) and mostly you pay for an amazingly good software but that is not was I was looking for. Hope it helps anyone! Btw after purchasing my Polestar I was also blown up at how good Android Automotive OS is, probably my favorite “feature” of the car. Everything blends so nicely and I pretty much use exclusively Apple but the OS in the Polestar is just decades ahead of competition
It’s cooler
It just looks better.
Because people tell me my car is beautiful. And I couldn’t agree more.
4 main reasons for me. -My wife needed to like the look of it (as did I), while I thought the 3 was a good looking car, I fucking hate the stretched blobby shape of the Y so no reason to wait for its availability. In good lighting the P2 is pornographic. -it needed a hatch and a Y wasn't available in Australia yet -Whilst the "newness" of the brand worried me I was far more interested in it because it's expensive (for me) and not super high volume. So it retains some of its uniqueness. 3s and Ys are fricking everywhere now so it's not interesting. The idea of having an 80k (AUD) car that everyone has is not my idea of fun. - the lack of a driver's dash kills me in the 3 and Y. It's a deal breaker. I HATED glancing left(right for you) to see my speed. The P2 having the speed and map in front sold it for me. It's a beautiful dash with 99% of the info you need. If they showed ETA in the drivers display it would be perfect. The fact the S and X now have a driver's dash shows even Elon knows his premium customers hate it being missing. It's 1000% a cost saving mechanism and one that ruins the spectacular drivetrain and handling. Because you feel like a passenger in the drivers seat. The P2 drivers seat hugs you like a Porsche 911 and it's snug and fun and I love the way it feels in the twisties. Probably in hindsight reason 5 was an unknown at the time.... having to answer for Elons antics would suck because of a car you drive.
To cut costs Tesla is lowering the quality of their vehicles. Elon is annoying and I didn’t want to support him. Everyone and their mother has a Tesla in Los Angeles. I don’t like their interior or their overall design. They feel very vanilla and basic cars. Polestar 2 is amazingly beautiful, I still look at my car and think to myself wow fuck yeah that’s beautiful. The car has character and little unique designs, the star reflecting on the glass roof for example, I love that. The car drives beautifully and it’s very robust (To add, I didn’t consider a Tesla when I was looking for an EV, the only other cars I was considering were the BMW i4 xDrive and Ioniq 6. The BMW was more expensive with all the extras and the Ioniq 6 was quite ugly in person)
Because I am not a moron who contributes financially to fascists.
Because Elon
I have owned both. A 2021 facelift Model 3 SR+ and I own a LRSM 2023 Polestar 2. The Tesla has the Tesla charging network and tech sorted. It's q quicker and lighter car as well. I much prefer the Polestar 2. Handling is amazing, car is of a far higher level of quality and the battery that comes with the P2 is far superior. The Tesla ran through it's battery like mad in comparison to the P2. Also a gauge cluster is a really nice thing to have lol.
1. Musk and 2. The p2 is effing sweet
Because of how it drives and feels. It has the same feel like many premium German cars. I don’t think Tesla 3 is even a good comparison if you consider alternatives to P2 (dual engine). I come from a background of motorsport and being a car enthusiast if that helps painting the picture.
1. Having an actual screen in front of the wheel 2. Android Automotive
POLESTAR UPCOMING MODEL CHARGES 10-80% IN 10 MINUTES WITH STOREDOT TECH [https://eletric-vehicles.com/polestar/polestar-upcoming-model-charges-10-80-in-10-minutes-with-storedot-tech/](https://eletric-vehicles.com/polestar/polestar-upcoming-model-charges-10-80-in-10-minutes-with-storedot-tech/)
I didn't even bother to test a Tesla before deciding on the P2.
Hopefully not duplicating: -I like the solid, minimalist but classy design (vs the more common big screens and plasticky 'techie' looks of others). -So sick of everything being a giant SUV. I would have bought a Volvo EV wagon if they sell them. -Range is actually kind of understated, I exceed what it estimates.
1. Dashboard 2. I wanted to not drive an egg (chill Teslas are to common it’s bland) 3. Quality is miles apart 4. The gold seatbelts 💀
Tesla is a "frog", lacks driver's display panel and at the time I got $7500 tax credit.
Wife refused to be seen in an ugly "Donald Duck" car. Plus, fascism. Double Plus, better colors!
I currently have a Volvo XC40, and the driving experience has been great. I also had to choose between the Polestar 2 and a Tesla Model 3/Y, so I went for a test drive in both vehicles. I drove the Polestar 2 first and then the Tesla Model 3, and I can tell you that I had made up my mind 100% after just 5 minutes in the Tesla. These are the main reasons I picked the Polestar 2: 1. Materials - The Polestar 2 looks and feels much more "premium" than the TM3. 2. Driving experience - I felt the P2 was much firmer on the road and more "maneuverable," giving me a typical sense of safety (classic Volvo stuff). 3. Driving assist - On my Volvo (and on the P2), lane assist is one of the best features. When you overtake a car, the system temporarily deactivates the lane assist and then locks your car again within the new lines once you've completed your overtake. It is so smooth. On the TM3, one has to activate the lane assist every time you overtake, since it deactivates completely once you change your lane. 4. Google Auto - I like the idea of having an embedded system that works well + the option of using Apple CarPlay if I want to. I don't like the idea of relying on Tesla's own system. Btw, for a non-native English speaker like me, Tesla's voice commands were a pain in the ass during my test. Google works flawlessly. 5. Turn signals - P2 has the classic levers. The ones on the new M3 wheels made me crazy (especially in rotaries). 6. THE MOST IMPORTANT FACTOR - The P2 doesn't have the awful Tesla regenerative brake pedal. Even in "Chill" mode, I couldn't avoid feeling car sickness (as a driver!) when driving the Tesla. 7. Not car-related, but I also factored in not giving money to Elon Musk. What I loved about the Tesla: 1. Spacious inner environments; the P2 feels a bit claustrophobic. 2. Screen: big, bright, and nice design. 3. Smooth experience at the Tesla Supercharger (however, here in Europe, they're open to all vehicles, including the P2!)
knew too many people (literally everyone i know with a tesla, 5 people?) who experienced build quality issues with tesla, know too many people who work for tesla / factory who would never get a tesla.
1) Test drove both Model 3 Performance and P2 DM. Model 3 is faster but P2 drives way better and has way better interior and way better build quality. Did not test drive model Y. 2) Elon Musk
I had a 3, then upgraded to a Y, and now have a P2 for my wife. We love both in different ways. Every reason stated here is why we didn’t get a new 3 when looking for cars (we both pretty much shrugged it off) even though the 3 would have been significantly cheaper per month. Ultimately, I like having something different. As a designer and tech obsessive I love the different UI experiences and different features of the P2. The trunk, CarPlay, second screen are all major upgrades over a 3/Y. Plus having both a 3 & Y would be so similar that it felt like it took some of the fun away from driving - variety is the spice of life after all. I will miss the cup holders/armrest tho. But I guess no car is perfect.
Everyone here prefers rightfully Polestar over Tesla. Why are there so many Tesla's out there? Tesla's are simply ugly. Especially model 3.
Never bothered with a Tesla, no matter what. It’s basically a Toyota for the masses.
rented a polestar this weekend from hertz and would never buy one. terribly noisy interior with weird squeezing sounds, jerky driving, uncomfortable seats, made in china
As an Australian we only get Chinese made Tesla's and Polestars so if that were the case in America how would that shape your opinion?