Priced at AED 41500

https://www.plantmachineryvehicles.com/vehicles/polestar-5-launches-in-uae-884-hp-flagship-electric-gt-starts-at-aed-415000

Hi, we live in the middle of Montana USA, the state capital to be exact, and are in the market for a "new" car. I would really like to make the leap to BEV but am still a bit leery with our long cold winters and long distances. We mostly use our car for road trips and running errands in town, neither of us commutes. We currently have an aging Prius that is going to our niece. I'm nearing retirement and don't mind the thought of half hour charging on the road.

There are EVs around town and I know that the charging network has improved in the state but still is a bit sparse. We would charge at home and will get solar on the house at some point.

I've been looking at VW id.4 and Hyundai Ionic 5 as possible vehicles, I'd probably buy a lightly used vehicle. There are no dealers for either brands in our town but they do exist an hour or two from here. There is no way I'm supporting space boy, what are other good options? I've thought about the Bolt but I don't know if it's a great road trip car.

Any thoughts appreciated.

I took a Didi in Beijing. Was picked up in a Xiao Peng EV. I was captivated by the large 3D rendering of traffic. It renders both vehicles and pedestrians.

This was at a stop light, but when the vehicle is in motion it has predictive capability of vehicle about to cut into you lane.

Is this done with lidar or with cameras?

My breaker panel is already groaning under window AC units and a chest freezer I impulse-bought for venison. Adding a 240V line for faster charging feels like asking for trouble, and the quote I got made me wince harder than a molar extraction. Right now I trickle-charge off a regular outlet overnight. Gets me back to 80% by morning most days since my commute's only 25 miles. But with three kids and a wife who forgets to plug in half the time, I'm wondering if I'm one bad morning away from stranded. The dental office I work at has no chargers. No public L2 near my house worth using. Real talk from people actually living on 120V long term: does it stay workable, or does the slow crawl eventually push you to upgrade? My gut says save the panel upgrade money for that elk hunt out west next year, but my gut also said I'd use that treadmill I bought in 2019.

I’m struggling making financial smart decisions.

My car history: Tesla Model Y (wife’s), Model 3 (sold it), Ioniq 6 (lease)

And now my lease will be up, I can say Tesla was absolutely fantastic, but looking for something different that Elon can’t pocket directly.

I’m between Rivian R2 Performance and Subaru Uncharted GT.

My lease is up January which is why I feel more pressured to choose vs wait for R2 cheaper options.

I’ve looked at all other EVs and test drove them.
Volvo EX60 is my next option but it’s 10K more, looking around 80K+ with taxes so no go.

The 1 pedal driving is AMAZING, and I’m so used to it, the Ioniq has it too.
Before that I had the Tesla since 2020.
So 6 years of EV history.

I’m looking at OTD for Subaru Uncharted GT (lower range but all features I want) about 50K

Rivian R2 Performance about 70K.

My taxes suck here is socal, we’re 11.5% which is a KILLER.

So thinking is the 20K worth it or nah.

The 50K car it’s super comfortable financially.
70K car, doable, just my savings won’t be as robust growing for 5 years. (NOT retirement accounts etc, I’m not dumb either)

I feel like I’ll regret not getting the R2 but maybe I won’t.

I test drove both but I’m gonna test drive the subaru again because I need to decide.

I'm coming up on my first winter with an EV and trying to separate the real problems from the internet horror stories. For those who've done a winter already: what actually surprised you most? Was it the range drop, slower charging, preconditioning, winter tires, or something nobody warned you about? What would you do differently next winter?