Polestar is pivoting. Hard.
The Swedish electric brand has been listening. Really listening. To its angry, enthusiastic, or just plain frustrated owners. They’re fixing software glitches. Tuning their Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS). And yes—
bringing back buttons.
You might have thought Polestar was done with the “everything on a screen” philosophy. They aren’t. Not entirely. But the feedback was too loud to ignore.
“Customers are very outspoken about that… ‘We want more buttons.’ It’s that simple. And, yes, we will do buttons,” Michael Lohscheller told Autocar.
He didn’t mince words. The CEO of Polestar, Lohscheller, seems genuinely surprised by the intensity of the response. There’s a community of 60,00 owners out there. Writing constantly. Critiquing everything. Polestar has direct access to this data because they use an agency retail model. No dealers buffering the complaints. Just straight-up talk from user to builder.
It changes how you design a car.
The Physical Shift
For years, since the Polestar 2 launched in 2020, the brand’s interiors have been sleek, flat, and dangerously touch-reliant. Great for photos. Less great for actual driving.
Lohscheller admitted it.
He looked at Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz, Ferrari. Brands that realized drivers don’t want to hunt through digital menus at 60 miles per hour. Polestar is joining the club.
“It is important to ensure any design decisions are user-focused.”
Minimalism has its limits. When safety and usability are on the table, clean lines lose the argument.
What Changes Now?
Next year brings the first tangible step. The Polestar 3.
The steering wheel currently has four blank pads. Haptic. Silent. Confusing. You can’t find the right one without looking down. Which is bad. Really bad.
So?
They’re putting labels on them. Clear, physical buttons. Maybe switches soon too.
This isn’t a total teardown of the Polestar identity, but it is a concession. A practical one. Drivers need utility while the car moves. They can’t be tapping a giant screen every time they want to adjust cruise control or check the navigation.
The brand has four new models lined up for the next two years. The 5 GT. The 4 Estate. The 7 Crossover. And the next-gen 2 Saloon. All of them will inherit these lessons.
The feedback loop is tighter now. Closer.
Lohscheller says the community is “really interesting.” Maybe. Or maybe just really annoying in a way that saves you from your own design arrogance.
Either way.
Buttons are coming back.
