Polestar’s sporty luxury

Polestar’s and Volvo’s customers have a sense of patience and waiting that few other car customers are equipped with. On October 12, 2022, yes, it’s almost two years, Polestar opened for orders a large and lavish SUV that shares a platform and has been developed in parallel with the Volvo EX90, the latter of which will replace the XC90 in the autumn. Indicated delivery in Europe was then in the fourth quarter of last year.

The Polestar 3 hasn’t appeared yet, and the customer cars won’t either until summer turns to autumn, but at least it arrives before the Volvo.

Premium car experience

Then it is said that he who waits for something good does not wait in vain. The buzz clearly applies to the Swedish-developed and Chinese-built Polestar 3, great as it is with advanced electronics and mechanics to control all the forces, and high comfort wrapped in a premium car experience. The links to and the many common features with Volvo’s large SUV means that the Polestar 3 has long been seen as the sporty, five-seater alternative to the even larger family member from Gothenburg, the seven-seater Volvo EX90.

Now, Polestar 3 must also bear the weight of Polestar’s general financial challenges so that the company does not succumb due to weak world sales as well as the development costs for several expected models. At least there is no shortage of optimism in the Polestar camp.

Very fast

It’s easy to pick out the party speeches when the Polestar 3 is on the podium. 489 hp/840 Nm which in the performance version is boosted to 517 hp and 910 Nm makes the nearly five meter long and 2.6 tonne heavy SUV a real mess. 4.7 seconds to 100 km/h definitely belongs in the sports car division, and when Volvo throttles its cars at 180 km/h, the Polestar 3 easily crosses the 200 km/h limit where it is legally allowed to stretch out.

Polestar 3 is the first model on Volvo’s SPA2 platform (Scalable Product Architecture), further developed exclusively for battery-electric models. With two engines, it pulls on all fours, but later, more affordable variants with 2-wheel drive and a shorter range will be produced.

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For those who enjoy driving

Adaptive air suspension and dampers that adapt to the surface in milliseconds make the car sportier than the high weight would suggest, and not least thanks to torque distribution technology developed by BorgWarner for Polestar and Volvo, the Polestar 3 can really be pushed to the delight of everyone who appreciates cars that are fun to drive. Highly active engine braking makes it possible to travel with just one pedal. Speed ​​is controlled with Brembo’s brake technology, clearly visible with yellow calipers.

Several times during a long trip on everything from motorway via country road to winding mountain roads, I bring up the same smile as during the first meeting with the Maserati Grecale Folgore.

Developed in Gothenburg

The entire development of the Polestar 3 has taken place in Gothenburg, but even though it is large, Polestar has not succumbed to the temptation to turn the car into a cramped 7-series, but opted for the 5-seater solution to ensure the comfort of the rear seat passengers. The boot holds 484 liters when 90 liters under the floor are included. In addition, Polestar has cleared space for 32 liters of luggage in the front, in practice for charging cables and other small things that tend to lie loose in the luggage compartment.

The Polestar 3 is without a doubt the car for long journeys. Not only because of comfort, space and performance, but also because within normal speed ranges it should be able to roll 600 kilometers before the 107 kWt large and lead-heavy battery pack screams for more power. And the power is consumed at speeds of up to 250 kW.

If the range and consumption stated at 20.1 kWh/100 km are in line with reality, BilAutofil can tell you more about when we have gone through the Polestar 3 more thoroughly than a day’s driving up to 1,860 meters in the Spanish mountain home can reveal.

2.2 tonnes on the hook

In typical Volvo fashion, the boot is divided in two by folding the floor and placing it on a high edge so that carrier bags can hang on three hooks without being thrown forward during braking. The Polestar 3 tows up to a 2.2 tonne heavy trailer.

The 40/60 split rear seat back (with ski hatch) makes it possible to sit quite comfortably in the middle of the back seat as well. And although the Polestar 3 also suffers from a slightly too low seat height above the floor, the legroom is so good that you just have to stretch them forward to sit comfortably. Plus soft head pillows and loose pillows to put in the back for those who need it. Fixed also with speakers in the headrests and lovely with soft-close doors.

Minimalist interior

Under the guise of Nordic simplicity, the driver’s environment is almost as minimalistic as possible. Where the Polestar 4 has a width-mounted dashboard screen, it is mounted vertically in the Polestar 3, with the advantages it provides for map display and disadvantages in that the setting functions for the air conditioning are located relatively low. By attaching the small instrument screen to the steering column, the screen follows the steering wheel adjustments.

The Nvida central processes data from the car’s cameras and sensors and allows for fairly advanced safety monitoring, driver monitoring and driver support. The optional Pilot package includes Lidar from Luminar and helps, together with cameras and ultrasonic sensors, to make the Polestar 3 almost self-driving.

Fortunately, cumbersome driver support such as the legally required speed warning can still be switched off relatively easily.

The Polestar 3 is delivered from Chengdu in China, but eventually Volvo’s production facilities in South Carolina will also build the Polestar 3 in parallel with Volvo’s electrified model program.

SUMMARY

The sporty alternative to Volvo. A delicious, advanced and large SUV for anyone who likes to drive, but even in this class the competition is fierce.