Polestar 3 - Range, charging & running costs
There’s a big battery, but poor efficiency means the Polestar 3 doesn’t make the most of it
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.
| Model | Battery size | Range | Insurance group |
| Long Range | 111kWh | 438 miles | 50 |
| Long Range Dual Motor | 111kWh | 392 miles | 50 |
| Long Range Dual Motor Performance | 111kWh | 347 miles | 50 |
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 valuation tool...
