Polestar’s most luxurious SUV yet, is a designer’s wet dream, multiplied and electrified

Singapore – In late 2022, I had the opportunity to witness the unveiling of the new Polestar 3 in Copenhagen. Their largest thing yet, the new electric Swedish-ish vehicle is an imposing beast, swaddled in futuristic-looking sheet metal. It is everything that a modern performance civilised city SUV would be on its lower-half… whatever that means; while being topped-off to resemble many a luxury four-door coupe. If this were an Audi, think of what happens if their designers were to mash an S Q8 and an S7. You can sort-of get the picture.

Polestar’s squeaky clean brand identity can be largely attributed to one person. Back at the Lokomotivværkstedet in Copenhagen, where the Polestar’s then newest motor rolled into view of a sea of some 1,200 media representatives, Thomas Ingenlath, the brand’s then CEO, and former car designer stepped onto stage. Relaxed and composed, Thomas bore none of that flamboyance and perhaps undiagnosed ADHD seen in someone whose name sounds like Yilong Ma, but also, he channeled subtle undertones of Jobs, maybe because he donned a turtleneck beneath his jacket. Thomas made his mark at Škoda, penning cars like the very unique Yeti, before sailing off to join the Swedes at sister brand, Volvo.

At Polestar, where white, black and grey bring absolute contrast to the modicum of Swedish Gold, the brand is a visual treat for those indoctrinated in branding and design, like yours truly. This is a designer’s wet dream, and quite the very gold standard in how to make a brand look this good. Perhaps the one weakness that Polestar has, is in the confusing naming of their vehicles, since the later the number, the newer the car. Therefore, the Polestar 2 is the smallest, the 3 is larger, but the Polestar 4 is strangely in-between the two of them, but almost the size of the 3.

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Fett in more ways than one

The Polestar 3 is quite the large car. Built upon (sub)parent, Volvo’s Scalable Product Architecture platform (SPA), which also underpins cars like the Volvo XC90, EX90 and XC60, it also shares the same generous 2,985mm wheelbase as the Volvo EX90. But it takes a different path with its coupe-like stance, with its significantly lower, sweeping roofline. Over here, the behaviour of airflow is taken into greater consideration. A good example is with the integrated wing in the nose of the car, which Polestar says reduces drag. Overall, the SUV boasts a slippery coefficient of 0.29Cd.

The model here is the Long Range Dual Motor, with the Performance Pack, therefore within its gloss black 22-inch Performance machined wheels, it is fitted with Brembo performance brakes, endowed with Swedish Gold calipers.

As a reminder of its Volvo roots, the headlamps share that now familiar “Thor’s Hammer” motif.

An interior of episk proportions

The interior, like the outside, is minimalist. The dashboard is dominated by a portrait format 14.5-inch Google-sourced Android Automotive infotainment system, which I find quite the joy to use. It also has Google voice assistance, and to keep things up-to-date, it supports Over-the-air (OTA) updates. While everything here is Google-heavy, Apple users are not left out, as it also has Wireless Apple CarPlay.

As this is the crème de la crème car, it is also equipped with a Bowers & Wilkins for Polestar audio system, which delivers sound via 25 speakers. For the Beatles fan in you, the audio system has an Abbey Road Studios Mode, so that you can enjoy your moments while being that “Day Tripper”.

Occupants up-front benefit from ventilated seats, with 5 massage modes. Part of the Bowers & Wilkins audio experience is also embedded within the headrests. At the rear, legroom is surprisingly generous. There is just simply room to stretch, all this thanks to the Polestar 3 being endowed with a long wheelbase. Even with its sloping roofline, there is more than sufficient headroom to accommodate someone who is taller than 175cm. Unlike the Volvo EX90, the Polestar 3 is not built to be a three-row people carrier, but rather just for two rows, thus there is none in the way of compromise for passenger space.

Of-course they are Polestar, therefore the interior fittings are made with “greener” materials, which they make a point to highlight, like in its Bio-attributed MicroTech PVC used for its seats.

While Polestar does not post actual WLTP numbers for its boot size, they do claim that it has 484 litres, inclusive of the 90 litres of underfloor stowage, which can be expanded to 1,411 litres, with the rear seats folded.

Plenty power, monster torque

As this Polestar 3 is the Performance Pack variant, its drive is delivered via front and rear motors. Combined, they produce 517hp (380kW) and an earth-turning 910Nm – 28hp and 70Nm more than the “vanilla” Long range Dual motor variant. The 111kWh battery is capable of delivering a respectable and practical WLTP range of 567km, 69km less than the non-Performance Pack variant. On a rapid 250kW DC charge, the battery is able to charge from 10-80 percent in 30 minutes.

I’d be honest, that this is one of my better EV experiences so far. There is just so much torque on-tap, that everything that the EV does simply feels effortless. Even with more than 2,500kgs, the luxury SUV still clocks 100km/h in 4.7 seconds. While it is hard to ignore that the Polestar 3 is a large car with lots of heft, the adaptive active air suspension feels well sorted, reigning in much of that inertia that naturally rears itself. In-all it cruises comfortably, and without any fuss. To improve on aerodynamics, the air suspension also hunkers down at speed. Perhaps those large 22-inch wheels do transfer some road harshness into the cabin, but there are no dealbreakers here.

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Around turns, and even under the stiffest of drive modes, the suspension still offers that little bit of play, ensuring that the ride is comfortable, yet providing you with plenty of confidence to tackle the twisties.

Interestingly the Polestar 3 feels neater around turns than the less expensive Polestar 4, where the latter feels somewhat clumsy when pushed to its outer limits. An interesting nugget of information though would be that both cars are very unrelated, as the Polestar 4 is built upon a Geely-derived Sustainable Experience Architecture (SEA), which underpins many of the group’s Chinese vehicles, and also cars like the Lotus Eletre.

Looking this good can be an expensive bling

I mean, I really like this car. But with all the bells and whistles included the Polestar 3, loaded with the Performance Pack is going to set you back a hefty $541,000… about 50k more than the almost as quirky, recently facelifted BMW iX (with the M Sport package). It is clear that the customer base would be a very special niche.

Well, of-course you could opt for the watered-down variant without the Performance Pack option, which brings it closer into the price bracket of the regular BMW iX, Audi Q6 e-tron, Mercedes-EQ EQE SUV and Lexus RZ.

Photos & Text: Clifford Chow

ProsCons
Beautiful styling, a designer’s wet dreamPerformance Pack variant is way too expensive
Massive interior, luxuriousThis car needs a leather interior
Fab performance and ride quality

Polestar 3 Electric Long Range Dual Motor Performance Pack

DrivetrainFull Electric
LayoutDual Motor, All-Wheel Drive
Motor power / torque517hp / 910Nm
Battery capacity111kWh
Efficiency21.9kWh/100km
Electric Range567km
0-100km/h4.7 seconds
Top Speed210km/h 
VES BandA2
DealerWearnes Automotive
PriceS$541,000 including COE
VerdictBeing this fabulous costs money. The Polestar 3 Long Range Dual Motor Performance Pack has plenty going for it, provided you can stomach that price.