New Media of Outing 100 People, Focusing on the Evolution of the Automotive Industry Chain

By Zhou Changxian

Vehicle Details: Polestar 2

• Price Range: CNY 252,800 to 338,000
• Intelligent Driving Configuration: dot-matrix LED front headlights, Pilot Assist navigation assistance, ACC adaptive cruise control, 360° panoramic imaging system, blind spot monitoring system with steering assist function, reverse lateral traffic warning system with brake assist function and more.

To be honest, we have written several articles on the Polestar brand, but most of them are from the perspective of the industry, and we have never actually test-driven one before. Recently, we received an invitation from the brand to test drive the Polestar 2 in Chongqing, and surprisingly, I got to test drive it in the evening.

Filled with curiosity, I arrived in Chongqing one day after the summer solstice. As soon as I got off the plane, I was taken to the Chongqing Industrial Museum in Dadukou District. This place used to be the Dadukou Factory of Chongqing Iron and Steel Company, and it was built based on some industrial relics of the prototype steel factory of Chongqing Iron & Steel. It was very similar to Beijing’s 798 Art District and 79 Tank.

At the briefing, Chetan Kotur, the APAC Product Manager of Polestar, who was in Sweden at the time of the event, had a live connection with Chinese media and introduced the key selling points of Polestar 2.

In terms of appearance, compared with the popular Model 3 and XPeng P7, Polestar 2 is not outstanding. The most eye-catching features are the Pixel LED active front headlights and the frameless rearview mirrors that are the iconic features of Polestar.

The front headlight design of Polestar 2 continues the classic style of “Mjolnir” and has a high degree of visual recognition, which is pure Volvo lineage at first glance.

One side of the front headlight is composed of 84 LED light sources arranged in three rows of dot matrices. Compared with traditional headlights, it can more accurately control the direction and angle of each light source, and has a more flexible range of illumination.

Through the detection of the front camera, when there are vehicles in front or oncoming cars, the 84 LED dot light sources can dynamically adjust the distance of high and low beams, and dynamically adjust the height and direction of illumination to avoid glare interference to the same direction or oncoming vehicles while illuminating the road ahead.

According to the staff of Polestar, during a test in Ningxia, the Pixel dot-matrix front headlight of Polestar 2 can recognize up to 5 vehicles at the same time.The piercing full LED taillights on the Polestar 2 may not be the most attractive, but they are quite distinctive. Embedded with 288 LED light sources, they come with a sequential lighting and extinguishing effect, which can be automatically turned on or off, as well as adapt to the external light environment and automatically adjust the brightness. When the vehicle is unlocked and locked, it will form a special welcome light effect together with the pixel matrix LED headlights.

At 19:15, we set off from the Chongqing Industrial Museum, winding down the mountain and towards the first shooting location on the banks of the Jialing River in Yuzhong District.

The media in the car was visiting Chongqing for the first time, and had no idea about the road conditions here. Despite never having driven in Chongqing, I have been here more than ten times and am already accustomed to the complexity of the roads and the boldness of the locals when driving.

As we passed by Huangjuping, we heard a loud roar overhead. Looking up, we discovered a ground-level train darting through. Through the panoramic sunroof of the Polestar 2, I excitedly noticed that the Polestar logo was shining brightly, unable to tell if it was far away or just on the roof of the car.

In fact, there is also a logo embedded in the hexagonal hollow gearshift lever. When the driver sits down and starts the vehicle, the logo will be illuminated. At this time, the two illuminated Polestar logos on the sunroof and gearshift lever correspond to each other, creating a beautiful artistic conception.

45 minutes later, we finally arrived at the shooting location near Chaotianmen Wharf. At this time, it was still not completely dark and the nearby Raffles City Square was lit up, creating a magical atmosphere. Chongqing is known as the “Little Hong Kong” and it is not just a name.

Close to 21:00, we arrived at the second shooting location, a riverfront parking lot on Ciyun Road in Nan’an District. In the cover of darkness, the lighting of the Polestar 2 blended with the lights of nearby buildings, creating a unique artistic conception. During the test drive, Polestar’s public relations manager Liu Yang mentioned why they chose to test drive in Chongqing, saying that it was because of the city’s cold, cool nature, which matches the Polestar brand. This was not just empty talk.The second half of the journey takes us away from the bustling city towards the Melia hotel in Jiangbei district. Although the road is still winding, it is much wider and allows us to test the intelligent safety features of the Polestar 2 more confidently.

In Chetan Kotur’s presentation, he includes the Pixel LED active headlights with Pilot Assist navigation assistance system, Blind Spot Detection (BSD) system, and Lane Keeping Aid (LCA) system in the intelligent safety features. I was a little confused, but when I turned the dial on the left side of the steering wheel and the headlight with an “A” on the instrument panel turned blue, the wonders of the Pixel LED active headlights were revealed.

At this point, different areas of the light produce significant changes in brightness, which can reduce direct light shining on pedestrians and oncoming vehicles, while also enhancing the illumination of road signs. This lighting system also incorporates a follow-turning feature, which automatically illuminates the inside of a bend while driving on a multi-bend road like in Chongqing to avoid blind spots.

The physical button used to activate Pilot Assist navigation assistance system of the Polestar 2 is not as straightforward as Tesla, but it is easier to operate than traditional luxury car brands like Lincoln.

Overall, the LCA system of the Polestar 2 is quite stable, but the following distance is slightly greater, leading to the tendency of other cars to cut in. If the driver’s hands are off the steering wheel for a long time, the system will flash a red light warning.

It is worth mentioning that the Polestar 2 also uses the same single-pedal mode as Tesla, with three levels of off, low, and strong. I personally recommend the use of the low gear, as the strong mode has a significant delay that can make the driver uncomfortable.

In terms of intelligent interaction, the Polestar 2 is one of the first models globally to use the native Android Automotive OS system, with an intuitive and simple interface design and easy operation. The localization is done well, incorporating Chinese consumers’ familiar applications such as QQ Music, Himalayas, Amap, Tmall Genie, and Huawei Stores.

In terms of voice recognition, the Polestar 2 uses iFlytek’s solution, which has a high recognition rate, but there is not much else to say.

Before the test drive, I was worried about whether the in-car navigation of the Polestar 2 could adapt to Chongqing, known as the “8D magical city.” It is said that some people in the area have installed both Baidu and Amap on their car infotainment systems, and when the navigation fails, the two systems will even recommend using each other.During a one and a half hour drive, I basically gave up my doubts about the in-car navigation of Polestar 2 thanks to its deep cooperation with Gaode Map.

In addition to common functions, Gaode Map on the Polestar 2 also includes a new energy-specific function developed for pure electric vehicles, such as the “Battery Map”, which can accurately predict the arrival electric quantity and also suggest a range of drivable paths based on the vehicle’s current electric quantity and real-time traffic information. In actual testing, the data displayed by the “Battery Map” was indeed very accurate.

Finally, I also want to mention the passive safety configuration of the Polestar 2. Its entire series comes standard with eight safety airbags, including two front airbags, two side airbags, two inboard airbags, and two side safety curtains. In addition, Polestar pioneered the “SPOC module” and the Front Lower Load Path (FLLP) to ensure the mechanical structure integrity of the battery pack in the event of an accidental collision, thereby effectively protecting the safety of drivers and passengers.

Recently, Polestar 2 was awarded a five-star safety rating in the European New Car Assessment Program (Euro NCAP) test, making it one of the safest electric vehicles tested by the association.

It can be said that in terms of safety, Polestar 2 has inherited Volvo’s genes very well, no wonder it has attracted the attention of many Volvo owners. Everything has two sides. Most Polestar owners are low-key and prefer to enjoy their vehicle privately, unlike NIO and Tesla owners who are actively spreading the advantages of their cars in various ways.

Conclusion

Polestar CEO Thomas Ingenlath once said: “Regardless of the version, Polestar 2 will have the same minimalist design, cutting-edge technology, and driving pleasure. Even the most basic Polestar 2 will have great visual recognition and rich standard configuration.”

After a few hours of experience, we believe that Polestar 2 has indeed achieved this point. From a product perspective, there are many impressive features of Polestar 2, but from a market perspective, it does not have any particularly eye-catching design or function. In other words, it is a slow-burning product that requires you to play with it for a long time before you can feel its excellence.

The problem is that as a new energy vehicle model that appeared almost at the same time as the Model 3 and XPeng P7, due to the brand’s long decision-making process, Polestar 2 has already missed the prime time. Especially in the Chinese market, the Polestar brand almost has no influence, and new vehicles cannot be seen on the streets.

Earlier, Thomas Ingenlath said that 2021 is a key year for Polestar’s focused efforts. To this end, he dispatched Nathan Forshaw as the China CEO, and will also send the Asia-Pacific product manager Chetan Kotur to Shanghai-yes, the 90s young man who was interviewed in the test drive event.

Chetan Kotur is an engineer by profession and has been Thomas Ingenlath’s assistant for three and a half years, and is very familiar with both the product and CEO’s management style. As a confidant of the boss, his efficiency in communicating with the headquarters will surely be greatly improved. The downside is that, like Forshaw, he lacks an understanding of the Chinese market.

Nevertheless, Polestar has begun a new round of efforts in the Chinese market, and hopes to see it through.

This article is a translation by ChatGPT of a Chinese report from 42HOW. If you have any questions about it, please email bd@42how.com.