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Ooof. I own a Model 3 and was really looking forward to my Polestar 2 rental in NZ over the holidays. It felt like a massive downgrade in pretty much every way

Ooof. I own a Model 3 and was really looking forward to my Polestar 2 rental in NZ over the holidays. It felt like a massive downgrade in pretty much every way to me. The biggest thing was the responsiveness, it was on par with a standard ICE vehicle in terms of how sluggish it was. I was incredibly disappointed given that I would love to look elsewhere (from Tesla) for my next vehicle.

squokko 3y ago
Not everyone wants Lamborghini acceleration. I find that riding in a Tesla makes me ill because of how fast it's always lurching forward.
- phinnaeus 3y ago
  Okay, you're welcome to buy a golf cart or something. You're also welcome to drive a Tesla and turn the driving mode to "chill" or "comfort". In a Polestar you don't have a choice -- their "sport" mode just turns off traction control. An electric car being incapable of responsive driving is objectively bad.
  - squokko 3y ago
    The Polestar 2's 0-60 time is 3.7 seconds. That is faster than a Ferrari F430.
fiddlerwoaroof 3y ago
Yeah, I rented a Polestar from Hertz and this was my takeaway too: less fun to drive than my 3, clunkier control surface and not particularly better in any noticeable way.
mulmen 3y ago
I rented a Tesla from Hertz recently. The throttle response was incredible. Everything else about the car was truly awful. Opaque touch UI. Fiddly steering wheel buttons with unclear functionality. Dangerously unpredictable self-driving. Insistent seat memory that constantly tried to crush me on entry. Had to install an app to unlock the car. Really a terrible vehicle. A friend of mine rented a Kia Nero EV and it was excellent. It’s just a car that happens to be electric. I didn’t even realize it was an EV until the third day.
- tempestn 3y ago
  I do tend to agree that a lot of peculiarities of Teslas are unnecessary and/or bad, but for what it's worth most of the ones you listed are less of an issue for a vehicle that you own. Unlocking with the phone is convenient, you tie seat memory to the user, and you learn the button functions. (Some aspects are still definitely stupid, like the intermittent wiper function, the auto high beams, and autopilot on anything but clearly marked highways. And of course the lack of stalks on the new ones.) Anyway, they're a terrible choice for a rental fleet. You want rental vehicles to behave as much as possible like the average vehicle, so there's a minimal learning curve. Next to manual transmission vehicles in North America, Teslas have to be about the worst choice for that.
  - mulmen 3y ago
    Yeah but the Tesla implementations of these features still suck. "You get used to it" is a shitty sales pitch. Basically any other car with these features has a better implementation. Tesla does it different but not better. It isn't a matter of familiarity, these designs are just bad. My 15 year old BMW: Has seat memory tied to the key. I don't have to fiddle with a menu to save the setting. It just... remembers. Has steering wheel buttons with labels. Using steering wheel buttons and three fingertip-reachable and physically distinct stalks I can run my (intermittent rain sensing!) wipers, cruise control, blinkers, headlights, radio, and phone (which can stay in my pocket!). Has an iDrive knob that controls all non-driving-critical features but can still be safely operated when driving. This includes the navigation system but also things like car settings. Keyless entry where I just grab the handle and pull (this is one operation, not two) and the car unlocks. This works on the front doors and the trunk. It also works to start the car. No phone interaction required. The key fob stays in my pocket. In 8 years of ownership I have changed the fob battery once. There's a physical lock cylinder in the door if my key fob or the car battery die. I can lock the car with a touch as well. Has physical buttons for almost everything (except car settings and nav). Seats (including heaters), mirrors, windows, blinkers (including hazards), head lights, cruise control, radio (volume, tuner, track, presets), dual zone climate control, hill descent, etc. The Tesla isn't just unfamiliar, it is worse.
eps 3y ago
Give BMW i4 a drive. It's excellent.
- phinnaeus 3y ago
  I absolutely will, thanks for the recommendation!
- anakaine 3y ago
  BMW is well known for their poor longevity with electrical systems. I wonder how this will play out in their EV lines, or if because they've removed the ICE related electronics and things such as engine bay heat if matters will improve.
  - tirant 3y ago
    Actually in the EV world BMW is known for the longevity of its batteries. BMW had EVs in the market already in 2013-2014, the BMW i3. And the reported degradation of those batteries has been minimal. BMW is currently having all excellent EV cars, and that’s even with shared architecture with their ICE counterparts. Specially their electrical motors are above everyone else’s, due to the lack of permanent magnets, which allows for finer control of their power and instant disconnection. I am expecting to BMW to beat Tesla completely when they finally offer their dedicated EV platform in 2025-2026.
    - danans 3y ago
      > BMW is currently having all excellent EV cars Maybe excellent, but they have nothing as affordable as what other EV makers are offering AFAICT.
jquery 3y ago
This tracks, seems people like Tesla for the zoom zoom factor. In my experience everything else about Tesla is F-tier. Personally I care more about an elegant ride than a fast, jerky one.
callalex 3y ago
I’m confused, you were driving a rented car on a racetrack?

squokko 3y ago

Not everyone wants Lamborghini acceleration. I find that riding in a Tesla makes me ill because of how fast it's always lurching forward.

phinnaeus 3y ago
Okay, you're welcome to buy a golf cart or something. You're also welcome to drive a Tesla and turn the driving mode to "chill" or "comfort". In a Polestar you don't have a choice -- their "sport" mode just turns off traction control. An electric car being incapable of responsive driving is objectively bad.
- squokko 3y ago
  The Polestar 2's 0-60 time is 3.7 seconds. That is faster than a Ferrari F430.

fiddlerwoaroof 3y ago

Yeah, I rented a Polestar from Hertz and this was my takeaway too: less fun to drive than my 3, clunkier control surface and not particularly better in any noticeable way.

mulmen 3y ago

I rented a Tesla from Hertz recently. The throttle response was incredible. Everything else about the car was truly awful. Opaque touch UI. Fiddly steering wheel buttons with unclear functionality. Dangerously unpredictable self-driving. Insistent seat memory that constantly tried to crush me on entry. Had to install an app to unlock the car. Really a terrible vehicle. A friend of mine rented a Kia Nero EV and it was excellent. It’s just a car that happens to be electric. I didn’t even realize it was an EV until the third day.

tempestn 3y ago
I do tend to agree that a lot of peculiarities of Teslas are unnecessary and/or bad, but for what it's worth most of the ones you listed are less of an issue for a vehicle that you own. Unlocking with the phone is convenient, you tie seat memory to the user, and you learn the button functions. (Some aspects are still definitely stupid, like the intermittent wiper function, the auto high beams, and autopilot on anything but clearly marked highways. And of course the lack of stalks on the new ones.) Anyway, they're a terrible choice for a rental fleet. You want rental vehicles to behave as much as possible like the average vehicle, so there's a minimal learning curve. Next to manual transmission vehicles in North America, Teslas have to be about the worst choice for that.
- mulmen 3y ago
  Yeah but the Tesla implementations of these features still suck. "You get used to it" is a shitty sales pitch. Basically any other car with these features has a better implementation. Tesla does it different but not better. It isn't a matter of familiarity, these designs are just bad. My 15 year old BMW: Has seat memory tied to the key. I don't have to fiddle with a menu to save the setting. It just... remembers. Has steering wheel buttons with labels. Using steering wheel buttons and three fingertip-reachable and physically distinct stalks I can run my (intermittent rain sensing!) wipers, cruise control, blinkers, headlights, radio, and phone (which can stay in my pocket!). Has an iDrive knob that controls all non-driving-critical features but can still be safely operated when driving. This includes the navigation system but also things like car settings. Keyless entry where I just grab the handle and pull (this is one operation, not two) and the car unlocks. This works on the front doors and the trunk. It also works to start the car. No phone interaction required. The key fob stays in my pocket. In 8 years of ownership I have changed the fob battery once. There's a physical lock cylinder in the door if my key fob or the car battery die. I can lock the car with a touch as well. Has physical buttons for almost everything (except car settings and nav). Seats (including heaters), mirrors, windows, blinkers (including hazards), head lights, cruise control, radio (volume, tuner, track, presets), dual zone climate control, hill descent, etc. The Tesla isn't just unfamiliar, it is worse.

eps 3y ago

Give BMW i4 a drive. It's excellent.

phinnaeus 3y ago
I absolutely will, thanks for the recommendation!
anakaine 3y ago
BMW is well known for their poor longevity with electrical systems. I wonder how this will play out in their EV lines, or if because they've removed the ICE related electronics and things such as engine bay heat if matters will improve.
- tirant 3y ago
  Actually in the EV world BMW is known for the longevity of its batteries. BMW had EVs in the market already in 2013-2014, the BMW i3. And the reported degradation of those batteries has been minimal. BMW is currently having all excellent EV cars, and that’s even with shared architecture with their ICE counterparts. Specially their electrical motors are above everyone else’s, due to the lack of permanent magnets, which allows for finer control of their power and instant disconnection. I am expecting to BMW to beat Tesla completely when they finally offer their dedicated EV platform in 2025-2026.
  - danans 3y ago
    > BMW is currently having all excellent EV cars Maybe excellent, but they have nothing as affordable as what other EV makers are offering AFAICT.

jquery 3y ago

This tracks, seems people like Tesla for the zoom zoom factor. In my experience everything else about Tesla is F-tier. Personally I care more about an elegant ride than a fast, jerky one.

callalex 3y ago

I’m confused, you were driving a rented car on a racetrack?