The Polestar 3 houses five occupants, boasts an all-electric drivetrain, and despite the attractive Polestar 1 plug-in hybrid two-door and the Polestar 2 all-electric four-door, carries a marque largely unrecognized by American motorists.
Locals in Spain, who glance at me with justified curiosity as I surge toward the north away from Madrid, are eager to discover what this vehicle is, and justifiably so. The icepick emblem reveals little about the automobile’s origins—and scarcely anything hints at its electric nature.
Nevertheless, the Polestar 3 is unequivocally electric, in numerous respects.
It’s an admirable venture by the fledgling electric car manufacturer rooted in China, with design operations stationed in Sweden. Committing itself to quickness, traction, and an understated elegant cabin, the 2025 Polestar 3 bears a striking resemblance to a refined Volvo SUV. This is understandable, considering its relation to the soon-to-arrive EX90.
Polestar posits the 3 as a competitor to the Tesla Model Y and the Porsche Cayenne, yet with its supreme handling on the road and electrifying haste, it’s more at odds with a controversial trending topic of the moment. It’s the automobile I’d choose to place an opponent of electric cars inside to persuade them to reconsider their stance.
The 2025 Polestar 3: Forging a New Design Voyage
In part, it achieves this by excelling in all its endeavors, particularly in terms of its allure. Its streamlined, aero-conscious exterior perfectly complements a cabin that could be featured in a Swedish lifestyle magazine. Dub it “Fuselodge,” and remember to send my royalties.
Commence with an SUV framework, scale down both ends and the sides, and pare down any element that impedes airflow, and thus, the Polestar 3 takes shape. With its contours merged, door handles integrated to be even with the surface, and sharply defined LED headlights, it offers a clean route for the air to glide past. An impressive wing underscores this objective—and it’s affixed at the fore of the SUV, where its trio of slits split and manage the airflow, right beneath its luminously branded emblem.
The rear adopts a more conventional design, where the lofty hatch and robust flanks are equipped with aerodynamic fins and deflectors to help maintain organized, laminar flow. The rise at the end of the roof pillar invokes images of that other Swedish trademark (not IKEA), and the rear wing is distinctly Polestar, perched above a narrow glass strip at the end of the vehicle, which in turn is supported by a strip of LED taillights.
The cabin presents Volvo’s contemporary interiors as overly decorated in comparison. A solitary streak adorns the dashboard like a meridian, with a lightly appointed upper panel and slender air vents positioned above, on a base of either black ash or aluminum trim. The pilot gazes upon a 9.0-inch digital instrument cluster set low, while a sizable 14.5-inch screen resembling a tablet adheres to the center of the dash as though by a magnetic holder.
Polestar supplies a dial on the broadened central console for various secondary operations, and embeds the remaining functions within on-screen selections depicted in slender, subtle lettering. This proves vexing during initial configurations: positioning the mirrors involves a mix of display sweeps and manipulations on the steering wheel that lack finesse and simplicity, all while striving to minimize distractions and concentrating attention on those sharp screens.
Each other surface is softened as though it were part of a digital backdrop. Therefore, the Polestar 3 oscillates between minimalistic and devoid of complexity; tasteful materials and chromatic decisions, like the golden safety belts in the Performance Pack variant, ensure it remains on the preferable end of this balance.
Polestar 3: A cosmic vessel
- Total dimensions: 192.9 inches
- Axle-to-axle distance: 117.5 inches
- Stowage volume: 1.1 cubic feet (front), 17.1 cubic feet (rear), 49.8 cubic feet (posterior to the front seating)
The craftsmanship and design propel the cabin into an exceptional realm, while the benefits of an electric car provide the ample capacity to surpass combustion engine counterparts. A 311-mile journey past swarms of bikers towards Segovia refined my perspective on the Polestar 3’s coziness and practicality.
It is challenging to identify a contender with superior anterior seating within its class. The eight-direction power-operated anterior seats are clad in faux leather as standard, yet options of nappa hide or woolen material are offered throughout the range. In the models I piloted, dressed in hide, the 3’s embracing lateral supports, an adjustable bottom seat panel, and inflatable lower back support permitted me to sculpt a seating posture that provided an outstanding forward view, unobstructed instrumentation visibility, generous head and leg room — and ample space for seating behind my own position in the second row.
For someone my size — roughly 6 feet — this feat is amplified by the Polestar 3’s even cabin floor and broad entryways. The seatback in the rear reclines for superior relaxation, and the most premium variants come equipped with doze-friendly nappa headrest pads. The backrests, partitioned in a 60:40 fashion, gravitate downwards enabling the Polestar 3 to haul a 5-foot ladder, while a charging unit fits neatly under the bonnet. The vehicle achieves all this with the acoustic heft of a luxury automobile worth six figures, which it isn’t — from the subdued thud of the door shuts to the tranquil buzz of its twin motors laboring. Transitioning to electricity implies foregoing any concerns about boisterous muffler tones and their potential reflection on your persona.
What is the acceleration rate of the Polestar 3?
- Acceleration from 0 to 60 mph: 4.8 seconds; with Performance Pack, 4.5 seconds
- Maximum velocity: 130 mph
- Autonomy: 315 miles; with Performance Pack, 279 miles
Eager to discover its performance? It’s dazzling. Winding between clusters of pedalists and radar traps, the Polestar 3 demonstrated agility and grace, although an enhancement in controlling its driving dynamics would be appreciated.
The 3 station a 180-kw dynamo in the anterior and an identical one in the posterior, energized by a 111-kwh energy cell (with 107 kwh of usable charge). In regular 3 SUVs, this duo releases 489 hp and 620 lb-ft of torque, sufficient for a 0 to 60 mph sprint in 4.8 seconds, as per Polestar’s assertion. Selecting the Performance Pack surges the output to 517 hp and 671 lb-ft, and shaves the sprint time to 4.5 seconds. The top velocity is restrained at 130 mph in both scenarios.
Silent yet swift, the Polestar 3 has the ability to disengage its rear-electric motor to heighten efficiency. Ultimately, it might boast 315 miles of EPA-certified range (279 miles with the Performance Pack) once it receives clockwork, official evaluations. It hits the golden mean for those unwilling to renounce the fiery bursts of, say, a Porsche Cayenne or the adaptability of a conveyance capable of a week’s journey on a solitary charge, whether by petrol or electrons.
Despite tipping the scales at a substantial 5,886 pounds in its heaviest guise, the Polestar 3 deploys and maneuvers with urgency, yet devoid of any abrasive suspension dynamics or erratic steering feedback. Its dexterity is innate within its underpinning design, comprised of twin-chamber pneumatic springs and adaptive shock absorbers that cushion its own mass without directly transmitting severe ruts and fissures into the framework. When dispensing with superfluous steering heft, the 3 zeroes in on directional shifts without resorting to excessive reactive steering (unlike a Stelvio Quadrifolgio, for instance). Polestar attributes this adroitness to its torque-balancing, dual-clutched posterior axle for proficient and effortless drive force distribution compared to a potential tri-motor arrangement.
A quick selection of single-pedal mode via a number of taps on the touchscreen endows the Polestar 3 with a more relaxed regenerative deceleration sensation than preferred. Nevertheless, it compensates with 15.8-inch vented disks and wheels of no less than 20 inches. Should one choose the Performance Pack, the brakes are elevated to 4-piston Brembo counterparts in gold tone, and the tires to 22-inch Pirelli P Zeros.
Maneuvering through the mountains to Segovia and back, the fundamental-spec Polestar 3 remained composed, outperforming the typical family-SUV dynamic boundaries, even as it traveled on specially designed EV tires. It was rewarding to cycle through its digital driving modes which toggle between energetic drive distribution and electric charge conservation, refining the responsiveness of the wheel and the suspension. Opting for stiffened springs and heavy steering feedback didn’t encroach on the vehicle’s calibrated equilibrium between driving dynamics and comfort. Given their less prominent placement, these adjustments typically become a “set-and-forget” matter — and no one fancies an unchanged mode when transitioning from winding routes back toward the straight arteries leading to central Madrid. In those stretches, the Poleholder 3’s adaptive cruise control with semi-autonomous hand-light support took reign for a span of miles, though the automatic lane switching competence of the prototype at my disposal remained untested.
A factor yet to be evaluated: the 3’s Off-road configuration, inflating the pneumatic springs nearly two inches beyond the typical 8.3 inches of ride height, as well as the auto-balancing assistance that could counterbalance a likely towing limit of 3,500 pounds.
How much does the 2025 Polestar 3 cost?
This is a premium device, yet not exorbitantly so. Initial Polestar 3 SUVs are marked at $80,300, which encompasses a $1,400 shipping charge—less than anticipated, since Polestar endeavored to make this vehicle qualify for the $7,500 federal electric vehicle tax reduction (although the first models will be constructed in China).
The initial editions feature all the customary functionality one expects in this category: automated emergency stopping and adaptive speed regulation, panoramic camera setup, 20-inch rims, artificial leather upholstery, and electrical amenities. Moreover, they include what will be known as the Plus Pack and Pilot Pack in forthcoming 2025 model-year versions—boasting enhancements from air suspension and projection display to a 25-loudspeaker Bowers & Wilkins sound system.
Additionally, an exclusive Performance Pack offers 22-inch rims clad in Pirelli P Zero rubber, golden safety harnesses, and gold-colored brake calipers. A Pilot Pack with lidar contributes additional detectors for enhancing future autonomous driving assistance, which will be available through over-the-air updates.
Accompanying a 4-year/50,000-mile assurance is a 3-year/30,000-mile no-cost maintenance package.
Eventually—metaphorically speaking, not directly to Madrid’s core where I left the vehicle with attendants and bystanders kept inquiring about its provenance—a standard Polestar 3 will begin at $74,300. When equipped to the brim with Plus, Performance, and Pilot Pack with lidar, the sticker price climbs to a minimum of $91,300.
Further developments are forthcoming. We’ll apprise you regarding the Polestar 4 sedan toward the month’s conclusion. Subsequently, a Polestar 5 and 6 are slated to debut, utilizing a newly minted platform crafted internally and put together at the company’s proprietary facility. A Polestar 7 rendition will ultimately take the place of the Polestar 2. Adopting a novel naming strategy might also be an apt maneuver beyond that.
Eventually, the designations will align, one day. Polestar is maturing in an uneven manner. As long as vehicles as impeccably realised as the 3 are at the forefront, the enigmatic emblem on the front fender won’t stay enigmatic for much longer.
Image Source: VanderWolf Images / Shutterstock
