Change and challenge are not alien to Polestar. Holding its poise as a challenger brand to the German luxury trio in the last decade, Polestar has now reengineered itself to be synonymous with electric and luxury. An outing with the Polestar 3, their flagship model, suggests that they are aiming at nothing less than pole position.
All you need to do know about Polestar for starters
The Polestar brand has undergone its own evolutionary journey since the turn of the century. Starting its life as a motorsport team, Polestar racing settled in as a modifier of Volvo cars, with notable prototypes like C30 Polestar Performance Concept and the S60 Polestar concept that could do a 0 – 100 sprint in 3.9 seconds and cross the 300 kmph mark on the speedo! In the fall of 2017, brand owners Volvo cars and Geely Holding set it apart as a standalone brand that developed electric cars. Soon, the Polestar 1 and Polestar 2 were introduced. Something unique about the Polestar brand is that it uses Volvo and Geely manufacturing facilities instead of building its own, while being headquartered in Gothenburg, Sweden. Polestar is brought to the UAE by Al Futtaim Electric Mobility and has three models on sale currently – Polestar 2, 3 and 4. This review gets to know the Polestar 3 closely, a sporty crossover-styled electric vehicle which can be termed their flagship.
Polestar 3 – elements of luxury
Moving on from its origins as a racing brand, the focus of Polestar is now on luxury electric mobility and the Polestar 3 can be dubbed as an SUV for the electric age, with a performance edge, well justified by its remarkable design that integrates aerodynamic sportiness with premium trimmings.
What defines luxury in the Polestar 3 cabin, or any cabin for that matter? I say Design | Space | Materials | Power | Comfort – each of these elements is an essential component of wholesome luxury, plus being an electric car, we should consider range – which should provide the luxury of worry-free everyday use. So, let’s find out on a test drive.
The design
The stellar sparkle of the Polestar logo is reflected all over the design and build of the Polestar 3, especially in the little touches of aerodynamic twists all along the fuselage, above the spoiler and tucked into the bonnet front, where wind is let to stream through. The 22” performance tyres seem to reinforce the SUV design.
The car’s key is a card that calls out the flush handles with a tap. Inside too, what struck me most is the Scandinavian minimalism of design, which leaves out everything that doesn’t add up to the experience of luxury. The materials used in the cabin, from the animal-welfare traced Nappa leather to bio-attributed vinyl, are all responsibly sourced. Polestar highlights that there is 50% less of virgin plastic in the cabin.
I love the way Scandinavian minimalism is reflected in every detail of the Polestar cabin – even the text on every page of the touch pad, elegantly formed in the classic Helvetica font.
Cabin tech and safety
The controls in the cabin are shared between a large vertical screen of 14.5” and a narrow strip behind the steering which is the driver info panel. However, many operations that begin on the central screen get completed on the steering, with a thumb scroll. For instance, the side view mirror adjustment is selected on the screen and the thumb moves on the cursor pad on the steering, tilting the mirror up, down or sideways. (The future sure looks fancy but the straightforwardness of having a thing to do your thing with those mirrors is still priceless in 2025!)
Coming to safety, the proximity to Volvo’s safety developments lends exceptional credibility to Polestar. As for some impressive ‘hardwared’ facts, how do 12 ultrasonic sensors, 5 radars, 5 cameras, 2 driver-monitoring sensors and 4 interior radars sound? One of the most desirable tech is the camera with its multiple views and clear vision. However, some weird perspectives like an extra-elevated view might need some getting used to.
In the Polestar 3 cabin, nine airbags can be counted among the front, side, inner-side, inflatable curtains and a knee airbag for the driver. From torque vectoring in corners to post-impact braking, electronic assistance is in place for monitoring, warning and intervention to ensure seamless safety and drivability.
What moves the Polestar 3
A 111 kWh battery is the power source of the Polestar 3, while a liquid-cooled pair of high-performance electric motors drive the car with 380 kW (or in more familiar terms, 517 hp) to clock a 0 – 100 kmph sprint in 4.7 sec – enough to deliver that drumroll right on your amygdala! The long-range dual motor also comes in a standard version with a range of 628 km as against the performance version that bears a 561 km WLTP promise. As the onset, the narrow drive info strip on my Polestar 3, lit up with the promise of 517 km. For a long time, it was maintained thus before the figures dropped to the 400 somethings after a few mixed drives. The DC charging time from 10 – 80% is 30 min.
Polestar 3 is built for a satisfying performance. Active air suspensions adjust the ride height for different driving modes and in another useful function, lowers the boot height for easier loading. With the performance pack comes 22” forged wheels that uses a manufacturing technique meant for racing cars, where the aluminium is pressed rather than melted, enhancing handling and road contact. These wheels are complemented by Brembo brakes, living up to the car’s performance side.
The essential Polestar 3
An unmistakable trait of a luxury vehicle is ‘unmistakability’ itself – I mean an identity of its own. Even the colours of Polestar are named to suggest a personality (or ‘carsonality’, if you will): Thunder, Space, Midnight, Jupiter, Snow and Magnesium.
By the way, if the Polestar price range ever deterred you from giving it serious thought, you’ll like this – their prices have been realistically revised and Polestar 3 now starts at AED 249,900 along with a 3-year or 100,000 km vehicle warranty and an 8-year or 160,000 km battery warranty.