Built on Volvo's new EV platform, the new Polestar 3 is big, heavy and expensive but then so are its competitors from BMW and Audi.
At just under €100,000 the Polestar 3 - now available to order if that's the kind of money you can afford to spend on a car - aims to attract conquest customers away from more established brands with a car that deceives in terms of the minimalism that is its selling point. Yes, the interior is minimalist but, thanks to a massive panoramic glass roof the rest of the interior is impressively spacious. Even the rear offers generous accommodation, despite its sloping roofline, and can easily cater for tall rear passengers.
Externally, the car has a large footprint and certainly the 22" wheels on the model I saw at a preview make it look even bigger. Yet any bulk you'd expect from an SUV has been trimmed away and the result is a very large car that somehow manages to look very sleek but solid at the same time. There are all sorts of interesting external features, some not so obvious, such as the inbuilt front and rear spoilers that are integrated into the bonnet and boot lid to allow for smoother air flow.
It weighs in at 2.5 tonnes - almost 20 per cent of that weight is battery - yet you're still looking at 483 horse power and a 0 to 100 kph time of just under 5 seconds. A performance version will offer 510 horse power ! The standard version has a claimed range of just over 600 km thanks to a big 111 kW battery - the dual caveats for claimed range apply here and there wasn't a driving opportunity for the preview event. The car can be ordered now and will be here later next year.
The centre piece of the interior is the Google-powered which, as we've come to expect from Polestar and Tesla, comes in with a very impressive 14.5" screen. There's a long list of standard equipment, from a large suite of safety equipment to sports seats, soft entry door handles that open as you approach, heated seats, air suspension and three-zone climate control.
I noticed on the snow-coloured version on show that the paint job costs an extra €1,200 and the "Animal Welfare Nappa Leather" upholstery comes in at €6,200, which brought the overall cost of this display model o €115,600.
The boot is 484 litres and the "frunk" accommodates your cables so they don't take up space in the rear. Polestar is also promising a very rapid charge time of 10 to 80 per cent in 30 minutes - if you can find an available charger with that kind of capacity, that is.
