Polestar 3 details revealed: new electric SUV to have 600km range

This start-up has attracted a lot of interest with its first model, but this all-new design should turn even more heads with its striking design.

With a massive battery and a driving range to match, the first purpose-designed EV from Polestar aims to make a big first impression. The young Swedish brand revealed the all-new Polestar 3 in Denmark overnight.

The supremely stylish Scandinavian SUV has a 110kWh-plus battery pack. That’s enough electricity to supply a typical Aussie household non-stop for three or four days, or drive the Polestar 3 more than 600km.

This is a preliminary estimate of the EV’s driving range but Swedish automotive engineers are not prone to fibbing about this sort of thing.

The Polestar 3 goes into production in late 2023, and will reach Australia early the following year. Expect it to wear a price tag of about $135,000.

The Polestar 3 is the brand’s first purpose-built SUV. Picture: Supplied.

The variant with the attention-grabbing driving range, known as the Long Range Dual Motor, will be the first to roll off the assembly line.

Less costly versions with smaller battery packs and a single electric motor instead of the Long Range Dual Motor’s two are sure to be added to the line-up later.

Initially, the Polestar 3 will be made at a Volvo facility in Chengdu, China. Polestar is owned by Volvo, which is in turn owned by Chinese car giant Geely. The Polestar 2 already on sale in Australia is likewise produced in China.

The Polestar 2 is based on the same tech foundation as the Volvo XC40 and so designed to accommodate petrol and diesel internal-combustion engines, plug-in hybrid and battery electric power.

The Polestar 3 is expected to cost $135,000 when it lands here in 2024. Pic: Supplied.

Polestar 3 is instead built on an EV-only platform, designed for electric motors and a battery pack and nothing else. No compromises, in other words. Volvo will also produce vehicles based on it.

As well as a mammoth driving range, it’s promised the Polestar 3 Long Range Dual Motor will be quick. In standard form the motors in its front and rear axles pump out 360kW. Adding the optional Performance Pack, likely to cost about $10,000 in Australia, ups this to 380kW and cuts the 0-100km/h acceleration time from a quick 5.0 seconds to a very swift 4.7.

It will also be a quick to fill. The Polestar 3’s liquid-cooled 400-volt lithium-ion battery pack will be able to suck up to 250kW from a DC fast charger, placing it among the very fastest currently on the market.

The Polestar 3’s cabin is typical Scandinavian minimalism. Picture: Supplied.

The Polestar 3 will also bring advances in safety (they’re related to Volvo, after all) and on-board computing tech. The in-car operating system will run the Android Automotive OS, co-developed with Google. Lifetime OTA (over the air) vehicle software upgrades will be included in the price.

Its interior will be furnished with sustainable materials, air-spring suspension will be standard and the list of standard luxury equipment will be extensive.

Here and now the Polestar 3 is an enticing, state of the art EV. But will its range and style, tech and trimmings be just as attractive when it arrives in 2024? That’s hard to say for sure, given how quickly the EV world is evolving.