Glastonbury Festival 2025 may be over, but the memories live on. And, for once, getting there and back wasn't a nightmare – thanks to the comfort, range and autonomous driving spec of the Polestar 4, which I had borrowed to test its long-range ability.
Without doubt, one of the major fears people still have with electric cars (EVs) is their battery life. The whole 'will I make it to the next charger?' range anxiety is real – but the 100kWh rating of the Polestar 4 (in its long-range spec) puts it up there among the most capacious on the market.
This isn't the first time I decided to skip the coach and/or train transport to get to Glastonbury – having last done so in a Mercedes EQS 450+ in 2023. I've been writing about EVs for 12 years now, so watching the improvements from all brands, year after year, is an encouraging development.
I Dream Of Wires
Glastonbury, which takes place on Worthy Farm in Somerset, is 150 miles away from my doorstep, so the 300-mile round trip isn't the kind of EV headache I wanted to overthink. But as that's doable on a single charge in a long-range Polestar 4, I didn't have to worry. Better still, recharging cost under £20 from my home charger.
Officially, Polestar quotes up to 385 miles per charge using the WLTP rating (Europe's standard). I never saw that quoted from the car itself, with varying calculations telling me sub-340 was always its maximum. Take into account variance owed to driving style and faster motorway sections, and it's a bit less – but still a solid innings.
Realistically, I've found the USA's EPA rating – which is typically more conservative yet realistic with the calculation – to be more accurate. Taking that system, the Polestar 4 quotes 300 miles.
A little tight for my intended Glastonbury journey (the drive, that is, not my spiritual one)? With loud music blaring, the aircon countering the hot summer rays, and the 526-litre boot (trunk, my American friends) stacked up on high with Wellies and various snack food items, the answer was 'yes'. But it was doable.
Are 'Friends' Electric?
The Polestar 4's settings offer a 'Dynamic' method to calculating its range, so when embarking on the initial 150-mile journey, even the car wasn't too sure regarding the likelihood of a full return journey. But the traffic stop-start and regenerative braking only helped to bring the distance counter up.
What was really nice about this Polestar 4's spec, too, was its inclusion of the Pilot Pack. This adds a high degree of automation, with full stop and start, distance adjustment, even lane-change assist, without needing to so much as press the pedal. When sleep is minimal, traffic volume is high, and roads aren't familiar, it's a great additional assistive layer to have.
So once I arrived at Glastonbury 2025, my main headache (aside from the incoming beer-induced ones) regarded stage clashes. Because this year's festival, which was far better organised than 2024's crushfest, had so much to see. Not out of the Polestar 4's rear, mind, as the windowless design has raised a few eyebrows – but I've found it fine given the myriad cameras to assist.
While my at-home 7kW charger isn't nearly as speedy as the 150kW InstaVolt chargers on the motorway (the Polestar 4 can max out at 200kW), so charging is far slower, it does work out at about £2.08 per 10% on my Octopus Energy tariff. And that sub-£20 recharge meant a few extra quid to spend on the farm in Pilton.
