► Polestar 3 SUV: the CAR debrief
► 379-mile range, optional Performance Pack
► Priced from £79k for long-range model
The fully electric Polestar 3 launches in summer 2024, priced from £79,900 in the UK, or £1009 a month if you prefer to lease it. That’s the for the Launch edition of the SUV with Pilot and Plus pack bundled in, but cheaper, more accessible versions will arrive in due course.
The Polestar 3 is, as the name suggests, the third in Polestar’s burgeoning family and can’t arrive soon enough. The 1 was a rare-groove plug-in hybrid coupe and the company has had to make do with the 2 electric saloon since launch in 2020, going on to sell 24,000 in the UK.
Now the Swedish EV specialist is about to launch a barrage of new bodystyles, with two new electric crossovers due in 2024 to broaden its range signficantly.
Polestar 3: everything you need to know
The new electric SUV claims a pretty sizable range and potent performance figures, and first models are expected to arrive at the end of the second quarter in 2024. Expect a UK launch in May/June. ‘The Polestar 3 is a powerful electric SUV that appeals to the senses with a distinct, Scandinavian design and excellent driving dynamics,’ says Polestar boss (and mustard-coloured blazer enthusiast) Thomas Ingenlath.
The Polestar 3 takes a lot of design inspiration from the Precept concept car, including the angular double-blade headlights (likely in an effort to differentiate Polestar more from Volvo’s Thor’s Hammer light signature) and aerodynamic wing blades at both the front and rear of the car.
CAR has pored all over the first 3 in the UK and the aero addenda really stands out. Crouch down at the front of the car and you’ll see slats on the leading edge of the bonnet, channeling airflow – and the same at the rear by the integrated roof spoiler (see below).
It’s an unusual shape and its scale is hard to judge from photos. It’s big at 4.9m long, yet much lower than you might expect. For a car positioned roughly against the Porsche Cayenne SUV, it’s significantly lower-riding and more coupe-like.
As well as offering a crucial SUV to the world markets, Polestar says the new 3 will ‘take our manufacturing footprint to the next level,’ according to Ingenlath, ‘bringing Polestar production to the United States.’ So, as well as being built in the Volvo Group’s facility in Chengdu, China, the brand plans to also build the Polestar 3 at Volvo’s Ridgeville plant in South Carolina.
How quick is the Polestar 3, and how much range does it have?
The 3 is launching with one powertrain variant for now, which Polestar calls the Long Range Dual Motor model. A Performance Pack can be applied for some extra goodies, too.
As standard, the Long Range Dual Motor Polestar 3 features a sizeable 111kWh battery pack and two permanent magnet synchronous motors, developing 483bhp and 620lb ft of shove, good for a five-second 0-62mph time and a top speed of 130mph. Only one battery will be available at launch.
Spec the Performance Pack and power rises to a heady 510bhp and 671lb ft, shaving 0.3sec off the 0-62mph sprint. Regardless of whether the Performance Pack is applied or not, Polestar says the 3 is capable of up to 379 miles of range. Sounds to us like a useable 300 miles to us.
The Polestar 3 has adaptive self-levelling air suspension as standard with active damping, as well as four-piston Brembo brakes. On top of that, the 3 has dual-clutch torque vectoring technology on the rear e-motor that’s evolved from its initial application on the Polestar 1. A one-pedal driving mode is available, and the 3 can drive with just one motor active for better efficiency under low loads. As well as a power boost, the Performance Pack tweaks the geometry for the air suspension, adds unique alloys and accents the car in Polestar’s now traditional gold.
As for charging, the Polestar 3 can swallow up to 250kW at a time at a DC fast charger, or up to 11kW via an AC outlet.
And it’s brimming with tech elsewhere, I assume?
Yes, to the point that it might end up stealing the Volvo EX90’s thunder a little here. A standard Polestar 3 has five radar sensors, five cameras and 12 ultrasonic sensors inside and out, and the ‘Smart Zone’ where most of the forward facing equipment lives is placed where a grille would be on a combustion engined car, is something Polestar is proud to call a design cue all of its own.
The Polestar 3 runs on the same platform as Volvo’s new electric flagship so, like the EX90, the 3 can be had with a suite of safety tech (including LIDAR and eye-tracking cameras) that really moves the needle. The LIDAR sensors, supplied by Luminar, as well as thee more cameras and four more sensors are part of the Pilot Pack that will be available to order on Polestar 3 models from the middle of 2024.
Sensors inside also include ones to check you haven’t left anyone inside (Hyundai and Kia do this, too, but only by remembering you opened the back door before driving off in the first place) and the tech is also linked to the climate control system, which Polestar claims is designed to stave off heat stroke or hypothermia in extreme temperatures.
Google’s Android Automotive OS: does it work?
Elsewhere, the 3 benefits from Google’s Android Automotive OS – which originally debuted on the Polestar 2. Here, it’s evolved from the version initially seen on the jacked-up fastback Polestar’s been selling for a couple of years now, and the brand promises over-the-air updates and the potential for new software to be applied or installed after the car’s been built.
That OS displayed via a 14.5-inch touchscreen in a remarkably clean, low-fuss interior – just like the Polestar 2. The brand also says it’s been careful with its material choices, including ‘animal welfare-certified’ leathers and wool. We’ve sat in the Polestar 3 and can vouch for the quality on offer and the space. Don’t fret about the low roofline: it is a supremely roomy and spacious interior, with ample space in both rows of seats and a huge boot.
One niggle: the demisting and window heating buttons are positioned high up on the roof by the cabin lights. We’re not sure this is compatible with Swedish ergonomic best practice…
How much is a Polestar 3? Prices ,specs
You can order a Polestar 3 now from £79,900 for the long-range dual-motor version launching first, with the optional Performance Pack adding £5600 to the price tag. Much like the Polestar 2, expect the 3’s drivetrain options to expand over time, likely with single motor versions stretching the range downwards. It’ll land in the UK in late Q2 2024.
The Polestar 3 made its dynamic debut at the 2023 Goodwood Festival of Speed (above), where we discovered that the Swedish brand could add a hotter version of the electric SUV. Polestar engineers aren’t ruling out a BST version in due course.
What’s the Polestar 3 BST?
Short for ‘Beast’ and originally given to a one-off Polestar 2 for CEO Thomas Ingenlath, the BST package made it to series production on the saloon and the uptake surprised Polestar. Two series of BST-spec Polestar 2s have been produced and sold (accounting for 270 and 230 sales), and CAR understands the suits in Gothenberg are now weighing up a similarly bonkers version of the more practical (but still powerful) Polestar 3.
You only have to look at the mythical status of similarly silly cars such as the Volvo T5 R – a distant ancestor of the Polestar 3 – to see why this could work. Or, if you prefer something more contemporary, Hyundai’s decision to release an Ioniq 5 N, also shown at Goodwood. There appears to be a strong market for incredibly quick but practical electric SUVs, and the Polestar brand could cash in with a 3 BST.
The Polestar 3 BST hasn’t been confirmed, let alone the specs, but we can look towards the Polestar 2 BST for an idea of what to expect. Polestar engineers tweaked the car’s handling, fitting new Öhlins two-way adjustable dampers, an aluminium strut bar and also added software-based performance upgrades.
Nice work, if you can get it, but we suspect that cheaper, less powerful models will move the needle further. We’ll update this page once we hear more details of the Polestar 3 UK range in due course.