Polestar 3 review

Is the Polestar 3 a good car?

The Polestar 3 is the company’s largest car to date, and it has electric rivals from the big German manufacturers in its sights. It aims to take on the Audi Q6 and Q8 e-trons plus the BMW iX and Mercedes EQE SUV by being big on tech, performance and battery size. 

Unlike many of those rivals, Polestar has kept the roof of its car relatively low; it’s roughly 80mm below the BMW’s, for example. Not only does that give the Polestar 3 a sleek and dramatic presence on the road, it also makes use of slick aerodynamic aids, such as the front spoiler at the leading edge of the bonnet. As a result, it enables this near five-metre-long, two-metre-wide SUV to return a slippery drag coefficient of 0.29Cd.

When it comes to space, range, charging speed and performance, everything looks great on paper, but in the real world, the Polestar 3 doesn’t quite deliver on all of those fronts. However, the well honed chassis means it’s better to drive than its substantial size would lead you to believe. 

How much does the Polestar 3 cost?

Given that it’s a premium electric SUV, prices for the Polestar 3 are on the high side. It starts from around £70,000 for the Long Range variant, while the Long Range Dual Motor version adds around £6,000 to the price. At the top of the tree sits the Performance model, which does what it says, and bumps up the power of the Dual Motor model above the mid-range model by an extra £5,500.

These three variants offer different power outputs, ranging from 295bhp for the Long Range model, through 483bhp for the Dual Motor version, and then 510bhp for the Performance variant. All three come with just one battery size, which has 107kWh of usable capacity.

Prices are high, but the Polestar 3 is very well equipped even in entry-level form. There are 20-inch alloy wheels, Brembo brakes, LED lights with active main beam, auto lights and wipers, electrically heated frameless door mirrors, a powered tailgate, three-zone climate control, heated front seats, a 14.5-inch central display with a Google operating system, built-in apps and 5G connectivity, plus a vast suite of safety systems. 

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The Polestar 3 range kicks off with the Long Range Single Motor, which sends 295bhp and 490Nm to the rear wheels. Given the 3’s significant size and weight, those numbers are enough for reasonable, if not especially rapid responses. 

A twin-motor arrangement lifts the output further. This places one motor on each axle to deliver four-wheel drive, with outputs of 483bhp/840Nm for the Long Range Dual Motor and 510bhp/910Nm for the Performance. With a heavy right foot, there’s enough power on tap to break traction on the front axle – albeit briefly – in Performance mode. Range mode softens things up, but by too much; the throttle becomes so unresponsive that there’s a long pause between squeezing the pedal and getting any action at all.

While some EVs use an electronic torque-vectoring system, which brakes the inside wheel to improve agility, the Polestar uses a pair of physical clutches to distribute torque from one side of the axle to the other. This set-up accelerates the outer wheel to give a sense of the rear wheels pushing through corners, which feels more akin to a traditional internal combustion car. It’s also able to disconnect the rear drive of dual-motor models when cruising, reducing energy usage.

What is the Polestar 3 like to drive?

In town

Compared with some EV rivals, the Polestar has limited scope for adjusting its brake regeneration. The choices come down to one-pedal driving, gentle recuperation and full coasting. You can’t make any adjustments on the fly, however, because the settings are adjusted via the touchscreen – we’d much prefer steering wheel paddles to tweak the levels easily. We also found that in one-pedal mode, the deceleration could become sudden and tricky to modulate. The switch between mechanical and regenerative braking isn’t as smooth as in an Audi Q6 e-tron, for example. 

The Polestar 3’s air-suspension system can be raised at low speeds, and while it doesn’t transform the car into an off-roader, it comes in handy when dealing with rougher roads. At 11.8 metres, the Polestar’s turning circle is reasonable for a long car, but the likes of the Mercedes EQE SUV and BMW iX are better, courtesy of their four-wheel steering systems.

On A- and B-roads

For a car of this size, the Polestar 3’s body control is impressive. While it can’t quite contain side-to-side movements at speed on bumpy roads, the ride is composed for the most part and body roll is well contained. The three suspension settings adjust the levels of stiffness; the Firm setting lives up to its name by producing a bit of jiggle, so we preferred to leave the car in Standard or Nimble, which weren’t vastly different from each other in terms of comfort or handling. The steering is light, quick, but not loaded with feel. However, it's accurate enough and feels well matched to the chassis.

On the motorway 

High-speed refinement is impressive, with a touch less road noise from the tyres than you’ll find in an Audi Q6 e-tron, but slightly more than you’ll get from the refined BMW iX. Ride comfort and stability are impressive at speed.

Electric motors, 0-62mph acceleration and top speed

The Polestar 3 Long Range Single Motor can sprint from 0-62mph in 7.5 seconds, which will be fast enough for most uses. Choosing the Dual Motor model with its extra power sees the 0-62mph time drop to a rapid 4.8 seconds, while the slightly more powerful Performance edition has a time of 4.5 seconds. As with every model in the line-up, the Polestar 3 has an electronically limited top speed of 112mph.

Three years’ free servicing is a big bonus for the Polestar 3, but it’s not a particularly efficient car by EV standards - especially in its top-spec Performance trim.

Electric range, battery life and charge time

Officially, the Polestar 3 Dual Motor models are claimed to return as much as 3.3 miles per kilowatt hour, with 2.7mi/kWh the most pessimistic estimate for these editions. However, we achieved a figure closer to 2.5mi/kwh. That equates to a range of around 260 miles, which isn’t fantastic given the size of the battery pack. 

The Polestar 3 features a virtual torque-vectoring system with a dual-clutch for the rear motor, meaning it can decouple the rear motor for improved efficiency.

At 250kW, recharging is competitive, if not quite class leading. With such a large battery to top up, getting from 10-80 per cent takes around 30 minutes using a DC fast charger. With a typical 7kW wallbox charger at home, it will take 17 hours to fully recharge a Polestar 3 from 0 to 100 per cent.

Tax

EVs are sadly no longer exempt from paying the standard vehicle excise duty (VED) rate, and due to costing over £40,000 when new, the Polestar 3 will be subjected to the additional luxury car tax, which applies from the second time the vehicle is taxed up until it is six years old. Company car users will be happy with the three per cent (for the 2025/26 tax year) Benefit-in-Kind (BiK) band.

Insurance groups

You’ll also need to set aside some budget for the cost of insurance, because the entire Polestar 3 line-up sits in the highest band, group 50. 

Depreciation

Residual values are impressive for the Polestar 3, because our experts predict that even the most depreciation-prone model (the Long Range Dual Motor Performance Plus model) will cling to 55 per cent of its value after three years or 36,000 miles. Go for the entry-level Long Range Single Motor, and it’ll hold on to 58 per cent of that initial cost.

To get an accurate valuation for a specific model, check out our free car valuation tool... 

The cabin of the Polestar 3 looks and feels great, but the user interface does throw up some ergonomic irritations that wouldn’t be present with physical buttons.

What is the Polestar 3 like inside?

The minimalist dashboard design is interrupted only by a vast central touchscreen that controls nearly all of the car’s main functions. While we don’t mind things such as the door mirrors being accessed via the screen, consigning the headlights to it is less excusable when they’re something that’s used nearly every time you drive. Not only that, but during our time with a Polestar 3, we found the headlight flasher didn’t respond well – and sometimes not at all – to the column stalk.

What is the interior quality like?

The Polestar 3 is up against some finely built competition, such as the BMW iX and the Audi Q6 e-tron, but it can match them for fit and finish. It feels expensive, and things are helped by wonderfully comfortable front seats.

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Sat-nav, stereo and infotainment

There is little room on the dashboard for physical buttons when a 14.5-inch portrait touchscreen occupies most of the space. We’d prefer the climate controls to be separate from the main display, which would allow more room for the best bits of the Android Automotive operating system, such as the fantastic Google-based navigation system. 

We did find it curious that it was possible to use the on-screen keyboard to enter an address on the move, though – we can’t see how this is any safer than using your own smartphone. Considering Polestar’s close ties with Volvo and its strong safety record, we expected to find the keypad locked out when driving.

Few cars at any price can match the Polestar 3’s rear-seat space, but considering the car’s size, the boot isn’t quite as cavernous as we thought it would be.

Dimensions and size

At nearly five metres long, the Polestar 3 is big, but a low roof height means it doesn’t look as bulky as some SUVs. It’s wide, too, which will make width restrictions tricky to navigate. 

How practical is the Polestar 3?

Seats & space in the front

With such a slim driver’s display behind the steering wheel, the view ahead is uninterrupted, which means that visibility is good for a car so large. The pillars are thick all around, though, and this is especially noticeable at the back, where a small window makes over-the-shoulder visibility limited. At least the Polestar 3 is littered with surround-view cameras and has large door mirrors.

Seats & space in the back

When it comes to kneeroom, few cars in any class allow you to stretch your legs quite so much as the Polestar 3. Rear-seat space is vast, and it feels all the more generous thanks to a completely flat floor. Headroom, though excellent, could be even better were it not for the lump in the ceiling caused by the trailing edge of the panoramic sunroof. The cabin is wide, too, to the point where the central passenger gets a seat that is as sculpted and comfortable – if a little narrower – than the occupants to either side.

Boot space

The area that the Polestar 3’s boot takes up is vast, with well over a square metre available, so it’s handy to have a folding partition to divide that area into smaller spaces. Tether hooks are also useful for securing items, and power can be drawn from a 12-volt socket. 

While the area is large, the distance between the boot floor and the window line is a little more shallow than in rivals such as the Audi Q6 e-tron, and as a result, the overall volume, at 484 litres, isn’t as generous. Fold down the back seats, and that figure grows to 1,411 litres. There’s plenty of underfloor storage, however, plus an extra 32 litres under that aero-optimised nose for taking a charge cable or two.

The Polestar 3 has been awarded the maximum five stars out of five rating by Euro NCAP, which is just as well, given the manufacturer’s ties to Volvo. That score was no doubt helped by its extensive list of standard safety and driver-assist tech; every Polestar 3 comes with nine airbags, adaptive cruise control, a collision-avoidance system (which can detect not only vehicles, but cyclists and pedestrians, too), lane-keeping assist, a driver-awareness alert and blind-spot detection. 

An advanced Lidar system is incorporated within the optional Pilot Pack (that costs just under £2,500), which adds acceleration, braking and steering support at speeds of up to 93mph, parking assist and lane-change assist. We tried out the lane-keep assist and found it to be one of the best systems out there, offering gentle movements of the steering wheel to keep the car in its lane. 

Polestar’s most recent entry into our Driver Power satisfaction survey was in 2023, where it finished a superb second overall.

Warranty

Polestar provides a three-year warranty as standard on the 3, with a limit of 60,000 miles. That’s pretty much standard among the premium brands that it competes with at this price point, but falls short of what is offered on cheaper cars from some Korean and Japanese brands, which offer cover of up to 10 years, subject to dealer servicing. 

The battery pack is covered by an eight-year, 100,000-mile warranty, though.

Servicing

Polestar offers free servicing for the first three years or 31,250 miles (whichever comes first) of ownership. The company believes that regular maintenance for a fully electric car should be much cheaper than an equivalent internal combustion-engined model because electric motors have far fewer moving parts, and it’s commendable that these cost savings are being passed on to owners. There are 93 Polestar service points in the UK. 

Polestar 3 alternatives

The large SUV sector is awash with electric options, so the Polestar 3 will have to fight for sales. It goes up against the likes of the BMW iX, Mercedes EQE SUV and even the Volvo EX90, a car that is based on the same basic platform. It’s arguable that the Polestar’s relatively distinctive shape will help it to draw buyers in.