The Polestar range is expanding with the new SUV called 3. Able to accommodate five people on board, it is offered in two versions, with a maximum range of 610 kilometers WLTP. The first deliveries are expected in the last quarter of 2023, with manufacturing in China and the United States.
Promised thing due: it was on October 12, 2022 that the Polestar 3, the third model and very first SUV in the Swedish manufacturer’s range, was just revealed. A model all the more expected that the manufacturer, which we recall that it is the cousin of Volvo and also belongs to the Chinese giant Geely, that the announcements and teasers had multiplied in recent weeks. Photos here, autonomy there… This time it’s the right one, the Polestar 3 is here!
From 2023 in Europe (in France?)
The presentation of this model is also very scrutinized on the French market since Polestar is no longer in bickering with Citroën and DS, who criticized it for a brand logo too close to theirs. So the Polestar 3 should also arrive on our roads. But for that, we will still have to wait. A lot. Because the first copies will be produced from mid-2023, for deliveries expected from the last quarter of the same year.
Polestar 3 // Source: Polestar
Polestar 3 // Source: Polestar
Polestar 3 // Source: Polestar
Fortunately, to wait Polestar was not content, like some competing manufacturers, to show only a few shots. No, here we know the technical specificities, the power, the battery, the versions… Which we present to you without further delay.
A concept car design
Let’s start by looking around the owner. And it is clear that this Polestar 3 is rather large: 4.90 meters long, 1.62 meters high, 2.12 meters wide (mirrors included) and a wheelbase of 2.98 meters, it is almost as long as a Volvo XC90, and as tall and wide as a Tesla Model Y.
However, this Polestar 3 would almost hide its dimensions thanks to its soft and tapered design. Admittedly, it plays SUVs with its marked protected wheel arches and sills, and its ground clearance of 21 centimeters, but it has the fluidity of the 2020 Precept concept with this receding roof line. What marketing departments like to call abusively an “SUV-coupé”. But not at Polestar.
At the front there are lights inspired by the same prototype, a signature that we should have on the brand’s next models, while at the rear, the light strip over the full width recalls, in a thinner way, that of the Polestar 2. And also helps to visually establish this SUV.
As we could see on the teaser images, aerodynamics also plays a big role here, with an optimization in particular at the level of the hood which lets the air in under a kind of integrated spoiler. The rear spoiler does the same. However, with a Cx of 0.29, it does less well than a Tesla Model X (0.24) or a BMW iX (0.25).
Polestar 3 // Source: Polestar
Polestar 3 // Source: Polestar
Latest Android Automotive OS
Inside, Polestar has paid attention to the choice of materials, that they are durable. Thus, leather certified for animal welfare, organic MicroTech padding or traceable wool are juxtaposed. We know that Polestar is particularly invested in these approaches which reduce the carbon footprint. And a life cycle analysis (LCA) will also be published on the vehicle, allowing transparency on the environmental balance sheet of the production of the Polestar 3 throughout its production.
Let’s stay inside, but this time on the technology side, with a 14.5-inch touchscreen for infotainment, which features the latest version of the Android Automotive operating system. This evolution of the system found in the Polestar 2 obviously integrates Google Maps, the Google voice assistant, but also for those who have iPhones, wireless Apple CarPlay. Over-the-air (OTA) updates are obviously part of the system to evolve over time.
Note that the infotainment system is powered by Qualcomm’s next-generation Snapdragon Cockpit platform, which notably enables high-definition screens, superior surround sound and advanced connectivity throughout the vehicle.
A word on the cargo capacity of this Polestar 3, which offers a 32-litre front trunk and a rear trunk whose capacity ranges from 484 liters to 1411 liters once the rear seats are folded down.
One battery, two versions, four-wheel drive
Based on a brand new platform dedicated to electric shared with Volvo, most certainly for its next electric EX90, the Polestar 3 SUV presents a 400-volt architecture, and a lithium-ion battery with Nickel-Manganese-Cobalt (NMC) technology signed CATL of 111 kWh gross (107 kWh usable). A single battery, but two motors to enjoy four-wheel drive. And this, on the two versions offered: Long Range Dual Motor, and Long Range Dual Motor Performance Pack.
Technical characteristics
Here are the main technical characteristics of the Polestar 3.
| POLESTAR 3 | Long Range Dual Motor | Long Range Dual Motor Performance Pack |
|---|---|---|
| Battery | 111 kWh (107 kWh usable) | 111 kWh (107 kWh usable) |
| Powerful | 489 hp | 517 hp |
| Couple | 840Nm | 909 Nm |
| Max speed | 210 km/h | 210 km/h |
| 0 to 96 km/h | 4.9 seconds | 4.6 seconds |
| Autonomy | Up to 610km | – |
| Alternating current (AC) charging | Up to 11 kW – 0 to 100% in 11 hours | Up to 11 kW – 0 to 100% in 11 hours |
| Direct current charging (DC) | Up to 250 kW – 10 to 80% in 30 minutes | Up to 250 kW – 10 to 80% in 30 minutes |
Artificial intelligence at the service of security
Basically, the Polestar 3 is richly equipped: air suspension, panoramic glass roof, LEDs inside and outside, retractable door handles and 21-inch rims.
But beyond that, the family SUV is full of technologies, in particular to move towards ever greater safety. Thanks Volvo! Thus, there are also five radar modules, five external cameras and twelve external ultrasonic sensors as standard. Everything is notably managed by an NVIDIA Drive central computer, the real brain of the car which uses artificial intelligence to manage the safety functions, both to assist the driver, but also to monitor him.
Among the new technologies announced, the one that makes it possible to detect at the slightest movement, even of less than a millimeter, whether there is still a person or an animal on board, and thus triggers the air conditioning to avoid either being too hot, or too cold. A technology put forward by Volvo and explained in detail for its future EX90. SmartEye technology makes it possible to monitor the driver’s eyes via cameras and trigger alerts by messages, sounds or even an emergency stop in the event of a detected problem.
The Polestar 3 price
You probably guessed it, this high-end Polestar 3 will not really be cheap. We have already talked about a price of around 75,000 euros. Possible, but probably on a later version a little more basic, because the first announced price is 88,600 euros in Belgium. And count 95,200 euros for the Performance Pack.
Polestar 4 in 2023, and Polestar 5 in 2024
The new Polestar 3 SUV will be produced from mid-2023 in the brand’s factory in China, then also in the United States. The Swedish firm should continue to expand its range in the years to follow, with a smaller SUV from 2023, called Polestar 4, then the Polestar 5 in 2024, an elegant 4-door GT sedan, directly derived from the Precept concept. Before seeing the sublime coupé-cabriolet Polestar 6.
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