The Polestar 3 has been revealed, giving you a Swedish-cool alternative to electric SUVs like the Mercedes-Benz EQE SUV and Audi Q8 e-tron. Polestar’s five-seater SUV has a range of up to 379 miles and offers up to 510bhp.
Polestar 3: styling and design
The Polestar 3 gets the same clean design that you’ll recognise from the rest of the range – which includes the Polestar 1 and 2 – but grafted onto an SUV body shape that makes it the most practical car the company has built.
As a result, upfront, you get the same ‘Thor’s hammer’ headlight design as we’ve seen on Polestar’s other models – not to mention numerous Volvos, that brand being Polestar's sister company – along with an aero-friendly smoothed-out nose. Where you’d expect to find a grille, you can instead feast your eyes on the Polestar’s ‘aero wing’ that channels air over the Polestar 3’s bonnet and towards the roof-mounted spoiler at the back of the car.
Below the wing, you’ll find the car’s SmartZone, which houses a range of sensors for the car’s autonomous driving aids
Admire the Polestar in profile and you’ll spot its black plastic body cladding, which protects the car's bodywork from scuffs and scrapes, but also removes visual weight when you see it in profile. It combines with the sloping roofline to make the Polestar 3 look muscular, but also sporty. You can also choose from wheels up to 22 inches in size.
There are yet more styling cues at the back of the Polestar in the form of an intricate rear light bar, while the car’s aerodynamic features are finished off with air blades that smooth the wake caused by the car’s rear wheels.
Polestar 3: interior design, practicality, infotainment and equipment
The most striking feature of the Polestar 3’s interior is its huge 14.5-inch portrait-style infotainment screen, which has been jointly developed by Google. Expect it to be extremely slick to use with quick processing speeds and eerily accurate voice activation. The main screen is backed up by a nine-inch digital instrument binnacle behind the steering wheel.
These big screens mean there’s no need for rows of conventional buttons, making the way clear for Polestar to stuff the 3’s interior with posh MicroTech textiles, as well as ethically sourced leather and wool.
But the Polestar 3’s interior will be practical as well as plush. It’ll have five seats – so it doesn’t step on the toes of the seven-seater Volvo EX90 – suitable for tall adults, and a large 484-litre boot that increases to 1,411 litres with the back seats folded away. Smaller storage spaces won’t be in short supply and include a capacious 32-litre bin in the front of the car.
In terms of equipment, all models come with a panoramic glass roof, ambient lighting and a 360-degree camera that’ll make the big SUV a doddle to park. Early models will also come equipped as standard with the Plus Pack and Pilot Pack, which adds kit like a 25-speaker Bowers & Wilkins stereo, soft-close doors, a head-up display and autonomous driving aids.
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Polestar 3: battery, performance, range and drive
The Polestar 3 comes as standard with a 111kWh battery, which should translate into a range of 379 miles between charges, although this is a preliminary figure released by Polestar. Charging speeds of up to 250kW mean you’ll be able to recharge the battery from 10-80 per cent full in 30 minutes, using a fast public charger. Bidirectional charging means you’ll also be able to use the car’s battery to power your house or share surplus power with the grid.
You get two versions of Polestar 3 to choose from, both of which have an electric motor at the front and the back for four-wheel drive. The standard model produces a healthy 482bhp, which should be enough to get it from 0-62mph in five seconds. The Performance variant raises power to 510bhp and drops the 0-62mph sprint down to 4.7 seconds. Both versions are limited to a 130mph top speed.
The Polestar 3 shares its SPA2 platform with the new Volvo EX90, but while the Volvo focuses on being comfortable, you can expect the Polestar 3 to be a sportier proposition. It has a rear-biased four-wheel drive system for improved agility, as well as air suspension and adaptive dampers that can be stiffened for more control in corners.
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Factor in the car’s 50:50 weight distribution – which should make it very predictable at speed – and powerful four-piston brakes from stopping specialist Brembo, and the Polestar 3 is one heavy SUV (it weighs up to 2,670kg) that you can look forward to driving.
Rather let the car do the driving? The Polestar 3 will be available with autonomous driving aids that include a lidar sensor that will, when UK law allows, make the Polestar 3 capable of fully autonomous driving.
In terms of practical matters, the Polestar can tow up to 2,000kgs and carry 100kg of luggage on its roof. Meanwhile, a 201mm ground clearance will keep the underside of the car safe from nasty speed humps.
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Polestar 3: price and release date
The Polestar 2 will go on sale at the end of 2023 and is expected to cost just under £80,000, while Performance models cost an extra £5600. Expect Polestar to also offer the 3 with a range of subscription deals that bundle the cost of the car together with servicing, tax and insurance into a single monthly payment.
We’ll have a full review of the Polestar 3 in the coming months.