Cornish Coast Road Trip
Driving down to the North Cornish Coast In Comfort and Style with the Polestar 4
But because it has a sunroof covering the entire top, there’s no room for darkness to creep in. I like how this gives the car ample light and a feeling of a bigger space.
As someone who practically drives for a living as a travel journalist, I often keep an ear to the ground for what’s new on the horizon in the automobile industry. As the fourth model of the Volvo spin-off fleet, the Polestar is a premium SUV and is on the road for £59.990, which is a good few thousand pounds cheaper than its rivals.
Another positive I found is that the Polestar gives its customers a small option list. They only need to choose between a single or dual-motor power-terrain (using the same battery), a few interior themes (a charcoal colour interior is standard), paint colour shades (Silver ‘Magnesium’ is the only no-cost option) and accessories. I believe sometimes there is too much choice.
Having familiarised myself with the car, I was eager to give it a good run. The Polestar team had organised for me to head to Mawgan Porth, Cornwall, where they would greet us and give us time to unwind with an overnight stay at Scarlet Hotel (more on that later).
Polestar has all the necessary buttons to press to get you into a comfortable driving position – it’s seriously spot on. There is some serious adjustability – the seats move forward and back, up and down or reclined. And of course, you can adjust the steering wheel accordingly to your preferred seating. To save you from having to make the adjustments each time you hop in the vehicle, it saves your preferences.
The other thing I had to get used to was the 8.9-inch digital rear-view mirror with the lack of a rear window. But behind the wheel, I was able to adjust the display’s brightness and view to make it look as natural as possible.
Drivers can opt for the one-pedal drive. This means you only ever need to press the accelerator. When you need to brake, all you need to do is lift the foot off it, which is great for start-stop traffic. I must admit this took a bit of getting used to, but once I did, I quickly became accustomed to it and had complete faith in the strongest setting, which brought the car to a halt at a predictable pace. I found it to deliver a decent amount of stopping power when I came off the throttle.
The ride in the Polestar 4 feels smoothest at low speeds around town and takes in all the speed humps with little effort. But on the long drive to Cornwall, it was a dream. Of course, on the motorway, there was little I needed to do but relax into the drive, but once on windy roads approaching Mawgan Porth, I switched the stability control into Sport mode to combat windy roads and found the rear of the car able to tackle well around tighter corners.
Charging the Polestar was a first for me. Although I have driven EVs before, I have never had to charge one because of the short distances I have driven them. The Polestar infosystem was incredibly handy as it identified the EV charging points for me and calculated how long I had to arrive at one. Still, I had to figure out how to use the charge point and whether to download an app or pay per visit.
Taking advantage of the fact that I had plenty of energy and being surrounded by water, I decided to go surfing. I’m new to surfing (a kook is slang for beginner), having only practised the sport a handful of times, so I was delighted that Lucy Campbell, seven-time National Women’s Surfing Champion, was on hand to give me a few tips. After getting out at King Surf Surfing School, checking the tides, we were ready to ride the waves.
One of the key skills to learn is the ‘pop-up’ position. This is where the surfer goes from lying on the board on the belly to a standing position. Lucy instructed me on how to get into a good position, get speed and look ahead at the beach. While my head understood this, it took my body several attempts to catch up. I managed to stand up, albeit for a few seconds.
Back at Scarlet’s Hotel, some two hours later, I was more than ready for some R&R. The hotel boasts a holistic spa with the sound of the calming crashing waves down below. I thoroughly enjoyed the hot tub on the clifftops and the reed-filtered natural pool. Bliss doesn’t get better than this.
The adult-only hotel is passionate about all things natural and doesn’t shy away from growing natural, flavourful food, allowing slow-aged steaks to be hung for weeks and catching seafood sustainably.
Guests can get involved by learning about foraging while being taken on a tour around the gardens surrounding the hotel. Head chef Jack shared his knowledge on all the sea herbs found in this space and how they are utilised in the kitchen. Suffice to say, dinner was every mouthful as flavourful and tasty as can be when using natural ingredients. Paired with wine selected by sommelier Nick (he also leads wine-tasting classes), the private room dining experience was every inch delightful on the senses.
The hotel’s bedrooms all have sliding doors so guests can listen to the soothing sound of the sea. Waking up to the sound of waves, gentle wind and gulls after a good night’s rest in my room felt like I was on holiday.
While I was sad to leave the comfort and charm of Scarlet Hotel, I didn’t baulk at the thought of driving the long distance home after my restful stay. The Polestar is a joy to drive. Sure, you need to plan when it comes to finding charging points and charging them, but as the EV world progresses, this will only get easier.
For more information on the Polestar 4, visit
https://www.polestar.com/uk
Scarlet Hotel, Tredragon Road, Mawgan Porth, Cornwall, TR8 4DQ. For more information, visit
https://www.scarlethotel.co.uk/
