{"id":25919,"date":"2020-08-28T16:30:04","date_gmt":"2020-08-28T20:30:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/henrypayne.com\/?p=25919"},"modified":"2020-08-28T16:30:04","modified_gmt":"2020-08-28T20:30:04","slug":"payne-volvos-polestar-2-is-the-conservative-tesla-model-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/2020\/08\/payne-volvos-polestar-2-is-the-conservative-tesla-model-3","title":{"rendered":"Payne: Volvo’s Polestar 2 is the conservative Tesla Model 3"},"content":{"rendered":"

Coming to a dealership near you: \u201cSpawn of Tesla.\u201d<\/p>\n

America\u2019s best-selling\u00a0luxury electric automaker has inspired a wave of competitors from legacy rivals. The Ford Mustang Mach-E has its sights set on the Tesla Model Y. The Jaguar iPace targets the Model S. The Audi eTron takes on the\u00a0Model X.<\/p>\n

And now, the best-selling Model 3 finally has its first direct competitor, the Polestar 2.<\/p>\n

But where Tesla tore up the rulebook on how to make an all-electric car, Polestar parent Volvo hopes to attract customers with more familiar features.<\/p>\n

\"Hatchback<\/p>\n
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Flogging the Models 2 and 3 across the twisties of Hell, Michigan, I marveled at how Tesla has transformed green-car expectations over early market entries like the Nissan Leaf. Tree huggers? These athletes are road huggers. Like the Model 3, the Polestar 2 has nearly 80 kWh of battery in its belly and loves to attack apexes. Hustling along two-lane North Territorial Road in the Polestar, I encountered a sleepy Audi A7.<\/p>\n

Mash throttle. Zot! I was by him on a wave of electric torque.<\/p>\n

Polestar may be an electric startup, but it sprung from the bosom of a 93-year-old Swedish car company \u2014 not a mad genius entrepreneur in Silicon Valley. Legacy breeds conservatism.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n
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The Model 3 shocked us with a spare cockpit anchored by a single 15-inch screen. All controls are\u00a0in the screen, save two multi-purpose buttons on the steering wheel. Open the glovebox? It\u2019s in the screen. Windshield wipers? In the screen.<\/p>\n

Polestar 2, by contrast, modernizes Volvo\u2019s familiar cockpit with a vertical, 12-inch screen. Adaptive cruise-control is controlled via traditional buttons on the steering wheel. An instrument display is behind it. The glove box is opened with a button. The wipers are operated by a stalk.<\/p>\n

Given its more conservative nature, I doubt Polestar will sway the Tesla cult. Compared to hyper-growth Tesla, Polestar is suitably modest with its early sales projections. But it foretells a future of Tesla-like luxury vehicles.<\/p>\n

Tesla is to cars what Apple was to smartphones. Its big screen revolutionized interiors. Its operating system set a new bar for electronics.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n
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Think of Polestar as Android OS to Tesla\u2019s Apple. Indeed, Android is at the heart of the Polestar experience.<\/p>\n

Tesla follows Apple\u2019s vertically integrated business model from battery production to its own operating system. Polestar is horizontal,\u00a0contracting batteries to LG Chem and operating system to Android.<\/p>\n

Polestar is the first to use Android OS in a car. Forget screen-mirroring your phone with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. Polestar\u2019s Android system is the real deal \u2014 a smartphone on wheels like Tesla.<\/p>\n

\u201cHey, Google,\u201d I barked at the car, just as I would my Android phone. The big screen awoke; familiar, multi-color Google bubbles awaited\u00a0my command.<\/p>\n

\u201cNavigate to Hell, Michigan.\u201d<\/p>\n

The screen immediately plotted a course for Hell\u2019s playground (from my Ypsilanti starting point). Android voice-recognition and ease-of-use put parent Volvo\u2019s in-house OS (I recently used in a Volvo S60) to shame.<\/p>\n

The Polestar 2 will naturally attract Volvo customers with its familiar Thor\u2019s-hammer headlights, crisp styling\u00a0and safety systems. They will also appreciate its hatchback \u2013 opening more useful cargo space than the Model 3\u2019s standard trunk (the Polestar shares a platform with the Volvo VC40 SUV). And they will be impressed by the Android system \u2013 a big leap over Volvo\u2019s fussy system.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n
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The revelation extends to the digital, configurable instrument display which takes a page from Audi\u2019s playbook by duplicating your map route in the instrument display as well as console screen. Some Tesla buyers will prefer it to glancing sideways at a center screen.<\/p>\n

But, to my surprise, the Android system otherwise mimics Tesla. Take AM radio, for example.<\/p>\n

Tesla doesn\u2019t have it. Why? I\u2019ve never received a straight answer. \u201cBecause AM is so 15 minutes ago. No one uses it in California,\u201d a Teslaphile once told me. Really?<\/p>\n