Geez, I had no idea you were so interested in my vision on a car 😊. I’m flattered. As my dear departed grandfather used to say: cool down before you judge. So, I did. I took long walks over the weekend, calmed down in the stiff breeze at Zeebrugge beach (don’t ask…).
Here it is: I like it. A lot. It has that little je-ne-sais-quoi that makes my car-heart miss a beat. It’s beautiful, it radiates controlled power, it’s virile without dripping testosterone all over the carpet, and my wife absolutely loves it.
It’s a car
I love Tesla. I am a Musk fan. But sitting down in a Tesla 3, an X, or an S, I’m always underwhelmed by the car-experience. They handle lovely. They drive like an F-15 on steroids. But when I sit in them, I can’t help seeing an empty dashboard with an oversized i-Pad glued on (sorry Wim). They all feel like they were stitched together on a bad Monday. Minimal art taken into an extreme, that lost me somewhere along the way.
But the Polestar still has that luxury car-feeling inside. Call me old fashioned, but seeing those dashboard lights makes me smile… and kudo’s to the designer of the shift stick. I want one.
A Vegan car?
As a storyteller, I love a narrative well thought through. Go electric, save the planet. Except this car takes it even further. It has a certified vegan interior. It takes the well-being chapter way beyond the usual boundaries. Every detail in its conceptualisation is carefully matched with the world of tomorrow, where less stress on environment and planet will gain even more importance. Later this week, I will let Polestar’s COO explain his vision: a world where the car even partakes in Mobility As A Service. Interesting.
It has my robot in dash
And then, there is the infotainment system. It has Google right in the dash. All navigation requests are directly powered by Google Maps. The Google assistant gives its trusty assistance, from the very soul of the car. Access to mail, Google Calendar and Google Play Music and Spotify… All the sudden, my phone got wheels. No connecting, no cable, in-dash.
What’s more, you can use the Google assistant to vocally control a plethora of the vehicle’s options from seat adjusting, heating, steering stiffness… this car listens, understands and executes.
But
So far, so good… but the devil is in the driving. Now, I want to take one out for an intimate and intense time together. The car, the road… and me.
