SaltyNZ:

 

jarledb:

 

My main gripes with the Lexus is that it's small and expensive for what it is, the range is too short, and it is a BEV built on an ICE platform. AND it it uses CHAdeMO for charging. 

 

 

 

 

Exactly. For what will likely be a similar price when it gets here, the model Y will have significantly longer range and faster charging.

 

They are for completely different markets though. On size alone you are comparing an upmarket local commuter/shopping basket with a family suv/crossover.

The UX300e is a compromise vehicle where Lexus has jammed an electric powertrain into an ICE chassis to get something onto the market. It will appeal to people who want the Lexus quality in an EV (and have cash to burn). It doesn’t make sense on rational ‘my car is an appliance’ perspective, but there is a level of emotion wrapped up in a car for a lot of people.

Speaking of which, I have managed to tire-kick (look at, not test drive) both the Ioniq 5 and the Polestar 2. I found the Ioniq 5 to be very much in the ‘appliance’ end of vehicles, both inside and out. It’s exterior styling looks kind of Minecraft-ish that reminds me of an enlarged squared up Austin Allegro. The inside feels very sterile. It falls somewhere between minimal-ness of the Model3 and a conventional layout.

The more conventional is where the Polestar sits in my opinion. The least impressive aspect was the colour range on display. Very……..understated. It is smaller than I expected it to be from videos I had watched and not obviously an EV, which will suit some people and not others. I’m a fan of sedans and the Polestar is definitely more sedan-like than almost any other EV except the Model3 (and S). Now I have seen the size of it, I believe it is more of a competitor for the UX300e than the M Y is, and would be my preference. I’d have to check, but I think it can tow as well.