WASHINGTON — Who says Chinese cars aren’t sold in the United States?

Produced by Chinese auto giant Geely, the Polestar 4 SUV debuted this year into the U.S. market’s most competitive luxury segment: electric vehicles.

Its Swedish design is wrapped around Geely’s Sustainability Experience Architecture — a platform shared with other Geely Group vehicles like the Zeekr 001 (and the Waymo Ojai autonomous vehicle currently cruising the streets of Detroit, Phoenix, and San Francisco). The 4’s assembly was recently moved to South Korea from Chinato bypass U.S. tariffs.

In design, concept and performance, it is one of the most daring EVs on the market and is aimed squarely at the best-selling U.S. model made by the company that has defined daring: the Tesla Model Y.

I flogged 4 and Y far and wide across roads from Oakland County to Washington, D.C., to Virginia’s North Neck. Tesla vs. Polestar. U.S. vs. China.

Here’s how the king and the contender compare, and which comes out on top in which areas.

Design: Polestar

In a market flooded with boxy SUVs, it’s hard to stand out. Polestar 4 and Tesla Model Y, however, have no problem getting attention.

“It looks like that Ferrari SUV,” said my friend Anthony, referencing the Italian marque’s Purosangue.

Sleek nose, sculpted rocker panels, muscular hips. A kinship, no doubt.

The Polestar 4’s split front headlights are a signature design element and a striking departure from Swedish parent Volvo and its Thor’s Hammer headlights. Below the Polestar’s high beltline and sweeping roofline, the scalloped rocker panels frame a menacing, crouched profile (along with yuge 22-inch wheels).

For 2026, Tesla has birthed its second-generation Model Y and it is sleeker and less bulbous than the original. Taking cues from the Cybertruck, the front and rear facias sport lean, horizonal LED-and-headlight signatures, which give Model Y a wider, more suitably sci-fi look. The rear is less athletic-looking than its Model 3 sibling, but its rear light signature is very distinctive when the sun goes down.

Then Polestar ups the ante with a daring design feature.

It eliminated the rear window (the Model Y’s window is a barely useful slit) for a roomier, better lit cabin. Want to see out back? The windowless design is paired with a 360-degree rear camera mirror and mirror-based blind-spot assist. Tesla settles for a standard rearview mirror — then adds its own creative blind-spot-assist solution in the 16-inch console screen, with a camera-view of the left and right flanks augmented by a red graphic if a car is there. Tech-tastic stuff.

Ergonomics: Draw

Polestar pairs its creativity with good ergonomic fundamentals like a shifter stalk, which Tesla has abandoned for a Lincoln-like, in-screen digital shifter. Tesla at least had the good sense to return the turn signal stalk to the steering column (after eliminating it for steering wheel buttons for the second-gen Model 3).

Alas, Polestar 4 has its own obsession with steering-wheel buttons, which require looking down from the road to adjust, say, radio volume. Y sticks with Tesla’s tried and true steering-spoke rollers, which control everything from volume to cruise-control speed to steering-wheel telescoping and mirror height.

Polestar (like EV maker Rivian) has copied much of Tesla’s ergonomics by secreting most functions (like those mirror and steering wheel adjustments) in the center screen. Polestar even has some fun with the solar system (following Tesla, natch) by allowing choice of planet as a screensaver: Mars, Jupiter, Neptune, etc.

Both cars offer superb AI systems alongside their minimalist interiors.

“Hey, Google,” I asked 4’s Google Assistant on my way to an IndyCar driver interview. “How is Santino Ferucci doing in the 2026 IndyCar season?”

A conversation followed with AI answering my questions — and suggesting other lines of inquiry.

So, too, did Tesla’s Grok AI, which is even more conversational.

“Hey, Grok, when did Thomas Lee purchase the property for Stratford Hall?” I asked as I approached the historic Virginia property.

Curiously, Polestar, does not follow Tesla in offering a frunk (front trunk) for additional, secure storage — much less Tesla’s optional drink cooler.

Performance: Tesla

ZOT!

Nail my Polestar Dual Motor Pilot+Plus and Tesla Premium All-Wheel-Drive models up an I-75 interstate ramp, and they’ll imprint your spine in the seatback on the way to similar, sub-4-second 0-60 mph times. The 4’s twin electric motors push out a healthy 544 horsepower, while Y achieves the feat with just 397 horsepower because it weighs a significant 800 pounds less than the 5,192-pound Polestar and its 100-kWh battery.

The fun ended in the Polestar when I rushed a corner in Oakland County’s twisties — the SUV’s heft forcing me to back down. The Tesla, by contrast, rivals the nimble chassis of the 4,500-pound BMW X3 X-Drive 30 or 3,907-pound Mazda CX-50 Turbo — my favorite internal-combustion-engine SUVs.

Exit a corner and Y blows away its ICE peers with an instant 389 pound-feet of torque. Credit Tesla’s more sophisticated 80-kWh battery compared to Polestar. Not only is Y lighter, it has better range (327 miles vs. 280).

Technology: Tesla

Tesla is in another league when it comes to hands-free driving.

“Navigate to Tesla Supercharger, Woodbridge, Virginia,” I barked to the Model Y as I exited Reagan National Airport. I didn’t touch the steering wheel again for 49 miles over interstates, bridges and two-lane roads until Y had parked itself in front of a charging stall in a Sheetz parking lot in Virginia.

I’m not making this up.

Polestar 4 offers good, hands-on adaptive cruise control. And thanks to a Polestar contract with Tesla, I could access the brand’s premier Supercharger network (with an adapter for its CCS charging port). Regardless, Tesla’s seamless integration with its charging network is unrivaled.

Were it not for my itchy right foot wanting to take over through the country curves, Y’s Full Self Driving system could have driven the entire 98 miles to the front door of historic Stratford Hall — including the farm’s gravel roads — without my touching the wheel.

It’s a remarkable technology that grew more comfortable with each passing day. On the return trip to Reagan National, I gave a friend a lift and — as we chatted in the car while navigating Metro D.C.’s heavily-trafficked, complex road network — I found it safer to let Y drive (a camera monitoring me to make sure I was paying attention) lest I miss a sudden traffic slowdown or road exit.

FSD is that good … and so is Tesla’s value.

Value: Tesla

At $53,380 ($50,380 base price) plus $1,188 annual FSD subscription, my Y AWD Premium was significantly cheaper than the $80,800 ($64,300 base) Polestar 4 Dual Motor Pilot+Plus.

FYI, the USA’s OG is still the GOAT.

2026 Polestar 4 Dual Motor

Vehicle type: All-wheel-drive, five-passenger SUV

Price: Base $64,300, including $1,400 destination charge ($80,800 as tested)

Powerplant: Lithium-ion battery pack mated to dual electric motors

Power: 544 horsepower, 506 pound-feet of torque (dual motor)

Transmission: Single-speed automatic

Performance: 0-60 mph, 3.7 seconds (mfr.); top speed, 124 mph

Weight: 5,192 pounds

Range: 280 miles (dual motor)

Report card

Highs: Adventurous design; stupid-quick acceleration

Lows: Lacks hands-free driving; small frunk

Overall: 3 stars

2026 Tesla Model Y All-Wheel Drive

Vehicle type: All-wheel-drive, five-passenger SUV

Price: Base $53,380, including $1,390 destination charge ($64,630 as tested)

Powerplant: Lithium-ion battery pack mated to dual electric motors

Power: 397 horsepower, 398 pound-feet of torque

Transmission: Single-speed automatic

Performance: 0-60 mph, 3.9 seconds (Car and Driver); top speed, 127 mph

Weight: 4.246 pounds

Range: 327 miles (Premium model)

Report card

Highs: Improved second-gen design; FSD everywhere

Lows: Shifter in screen

Overall: 4 stars

____

Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or Twitter @HenryEPayne.