Polestar unveils Polestar 3 electric SUV, rolling up your driveway in 2023 with 379 miles of range
Premium, powerful, but pricey.
With electric vehicles becoming ever more popular, relative newcomer Polestar is back with a new car to jump inside. The Polestar 3 is an electric SUV from the Volvo-owned company – its third car but first SUV. It promises big power, high performance, and Polestar’s minimalist designs.
All that comes at just under £80000, a hefty price tag, but one that undercuts other premium offerings. The brand showed off the new car earlier this year, with some futuristic snaps. And now, Polestar has officially taken to the stage to unveil the Polestar 3.
With the Long Range Dual Motor spec, you’ll find an impressive 489hp under the hood (well… frunk) that powers a 0-60mph in just five seconds. This speed is particularly impressive, as it’s just 0.5 seconds slower than the same spec Polestar 2, despite the extra SUV heft. If that wasn’t impressive enough, the Performance Pack upgrades these stats to 517hp, with a 4.6 second 0-60mph.
You’ll find a rather large 111kWh battery crammed inside the Polestar 3, larger than other offerings out there. Polestar reckons this’ll take you 379 miles in the standard spec, or 360 miles with the Performance Pack. EVs tend to over-estimate their range, so expect the true range to be somewhat closer to 300 miles. The electric SUV supports charging speeds up to 250kW, which translates into 0-80% in half an hour (good luck finding a charger, though).
Looking at the car, you’ll find the familiar sleek, Scandinavian lines from other Polestar models. It’s a unique, modern design – perfectly fitting for the electric wizardry inside. Polestar packs plenty of space into this SUV as well, with 484l of storage in the rear, and an additional 32l in the front. This does make for a heavier vehicle, clocking in at 2,670kg. Luckily, Polestar’s dual-chamber air suspension will be able to tackle this no problem. We commended the Polestar 2 for its handling in our review, so we’d expect similar performance from the new car.
As with most electric cars, sensors absolutely cover the Polestar 3. Everything from radar, cameras, and ultrasonic to LiDAR is crammed onto the SUV. This enables Polestar’s Pilot Assist self-driving feature, and even lets the car let you know when the driver is paying attention. The Pilot Pack adds a bunch of extra sensors and cameras, ready for more autonomous driving. For the centre console, Polestar still uses Android Automotive (different from Android Auto) as its base software, with its own skin on top.
If you’re currently pricing premium electric SUVs for a future purchase, the Polestar 3 deserves a spot on your list. The new vehicle is currently available to pre-order directly from Polestar with a £1000 deposit. Retailing for £79900/$88000, the new electric SUV is priced ahead of Tesla’s Model Y but undercuts some other alternatives on the market. You’ll still have a while to wait before getting behind the wheel, as first deliveries aren’t expected until Q4 2023.
Connor Jewiss