Polestar 4 has once again found itself in hot water—this time for its inability to accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in under 12.7 seconds, a far cry from its claimed performance.
The flaw was brought to light during a test conducted by the Swedish automotive magazine Teknikens Värld. Their findings showed that the rear-wheel-drive electric vehicle delivered significantly less power than Polestar’s official specifications suggest.
According to Polestar, the car should achieve 0 to 100 km/h in just 7.1 seconds. However, during the initial test day, it took a staggering 12.7 seconds to reach the same speed.
Experienced test leader Ruben Börjesson ensured the measurements were repeated to rule out procedural errors. The results were consistent: the Polestar 4 was disappointingly sluggish, failing to deliver the promised performance.
But then, something strange happened.
On the second day of testing, the car suddenly performed as expected, hitting 0 to 100 km/h in under 7.1 seconds.
Polestar responded by sending a replacement vehicle for testing. Yet, the issue reappeared, complicating further investigations as the car seemingly began "correcting" itself.
The Swedish magazine attributes the fault to a software glitch—a theory Polestar’s press manager, John Eriksson, confirmed.
Eriksson explained that the issue may stem from the electronic stability program’s ‘sport’ setting, which, ironically, limits the car’s horsepower. Turning off the setting doesn’t resolve the problem entirely. However, the glitch sometimes temporarily resolves itself if the car is left idle for 20 minutes.
“We appreciate this being brought to our attention. We take the problem seriously and are working diligently to find a permanent solution,” Eriksson assured when pressed by the Swedish media.
This isn’t the first time Polestar 4 has faced technical issues. Reports of flaws surfaced as early as the initial press test drives, adding to the growing list of challenges for this ambitious electric car.
