293
Feds Killed Polestar and Spared Volvo. That Should Terrify You (www.thedrive.com)
submitted 2 months ago by to c/technology@lemmy.world
125 comments fedilink hide all child comments
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] 5 points 2 months ago* (2 children)

We ended up with a 4 year old ID.4, 😋
We could have had a more powerful Polestar cheaper, except my wife didn't want anything Chinese, and insurance was more than 50% more expensive on the faster Polestar.
But we got a nice ID.4 77 kWh battery, and with literally all the options included.
One of our neighbors however went with the Volvo, which is also very nice.

Driving electric is really nice IMO, it feels absolutely super luxury compared to a similar ICE car.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 4 child comments
    •
  • [–] 5 points 2 months ago (1 child)

    Absolutely agreed, I can't imagine going back to an ICE car for my daily driver unless I absolutely have to.

    I periodically have to rent a car for work (I travel a lot) and never realized how much noise engines make until it was conspicuously missing from car. The PS is also just super comfortable and feels great on the road, while my rentals rarely are/do.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 2 child comments
    •
  • [–] 3 points 2 months ago* (1 child)

    The PS is also just super comfortable and feels great on the road,

    If the seats are as good as in the Volvo, they are absolutely stellar. We have luxury seats in our ID.4, but the ones in our neighbors Volvo are even better.
    We always had European style cars with very good driving capabilities, but I'm still impressed that the ID.4 as a CUV is able to match them, it is a good deal higher than what we are used to, but the low weight balance because of the batteries, makes it way better in road capability than it looks. 👍
    One of the things I really can still enjoy, is when turning into a bigger road, that smooth quiet confident way the car handles.
    But not having a manual gear is also a first for us with this car, so that is part of it, probably not much of a factor in USA.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 2 child comments
    •
  • [–] 3 points 2 months ago (1 child)

    Yeah, the seats are fantastic. I also know exactly what you mean about turning into the road with confidence- the ID.4 was the first EV I test drove and that feeling absolutely sold me on electric!

    I never had the opportunity to drive a manual, so I don't really know what I'm missing I guess. Automatic transmission is the de facto standard here. I don't love the little gear shift on the PS and find having a separate parking button unintuitive, but it's still miles ahead of the cars with weird buttons or dials for shifting. I didn't mind the shifter on the ID.4 either, I learned to drive on a truck with a stalk gear shift like that.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 2 child comments
    •
  • [–] 3 points 2 months ago (1 child)

    When I borrowed a car recently for a few days, it had a manual stick. It was kind of a nostalgic feeling, and I understand Americans better now that enjoy driving manual ( To us Europeans it was the default before the EV ) . It's hard to describe, but I guess it's a bit like when people like Vinyl records to play music. It somehow feels like you are more in contact with it, and you are more in control.
    Still the automatic is superior for comfort and convenience.

    Regarding the park thing, I've been using that button on our ID.4 for more than half a year now, and only recently I found out I don't even have to, it goes to park automatically when I open the door. 😋

    I like how they placed the gear knob on the ID.4, I only have to move my hand a few centimeters to use it. But somehow I feel like they could have made it even better, so I didn't have to move my hand behind the steering wheel, but a bit more flux to it.
    But maybe that's to avoid accidental gearshifts?
    With all the automatics in this car, I'm sometimes flustered a bit that it can't figure out to change into forward by itself after I've backed out of the garage. And why the door doesn't open when I approach the car.
    Some of the new Chinese cars open the door for you. 😎

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 2 child comments
    •
  • [–] 3 points 2 months ago (1 child)

    Haha I feel that, nostalgia is more oowerful than we give it credit for imo.

    I always use the park button even though my car will also put itself in park when I get up, I just don't trust it. I wouldn't mind if the door would open for me, though my trunk has one of those foot sensors which is pretty convenient.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 2 child comments
    •
  • [–] 2 points 2 months ago (1 child)

    When I open the door, the seats also slide back a little, so it's a bit easier to get in and out, and then it slides back into position when the car is put in drive. 🤣🤣 Maybe it's a bit silly, I find it mostly kind of cute.
    But I too absolutely love the foot sensor for opening the trunk. It was also one of the first things I tested before we bought the car.
    And the close button on the hatch is actually also surprisingly convenient.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 2 child comments
    •
  • [–] 2 points 2 months ago

    Driving electric is really nice IMO, it feels absolutely super luxury compared to a similar ICE car.

    Even better for those of us who can charge at home or work. It’s so nice never having to go to a local gas station

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent