2023 Polestar 3 due in Australia mid 2024

One of the most popular electric car brands in Australia is set to expand its local line-up with a striking new model that promises some big things.

The Polestar 3 large SUV.

Electric car brand Polestar has unveiled its next Australian-bound vehicle.

A pre-production version of the Polestar 3 has landed in Australia to give customers a glimpse of the machine before its arrival mid-next year.

The 3 was originally slated to arrive at the start of 2024, but software issues have pushed the date back.

Prices will start at $132,900 plus on-road costs and there is a substantial options list.

This is a large SUV that will compete with vehicles such as the BMW iX.

Design is a strong point of the 3.

Nahum Escobedo, who was responsible for the exterior design of the 3, says he didn’t want to fall into the trend of designing an electric car that looks like all the others.

Nahum Escobedo, Polestar exterior design manager, and the Polestar 3.

He says the car can’t just be about aerodynamics but it has to be functional as well.

“There is this trend, to pursue the most aerodynamic car and eventually you are boxed in this area where all the cars look like jelly beans – I call them potatoes – and that’s a trend we really don’t want to follow.”

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A back and forth debate with the aerodynamicist led to the creation of one of the car’s signature features – a front wing on the bonnet between the headlights – that allows the 3 to avoid the rounded front end seen on other electric cars.

The Polestar 3 is a large SUV.

It’s a bulky looking SUV with plenty of road presence. It has a powerful stance sitting low and wide with plenty of crisp body creases and an elegant silhouette.

Escobedo says interior space is the new benchmark luxury feature, so despite the 3 being almost as long as a Toyota LandCruiser it only has seating for five.

Space is the new luxury benchmark.

Polestar also lowered the seating positions and moved the second row back, which allows for greater space in the rear.

Photo of the Polestar 3, due in Australia in 2024

The counterbalance to that is the second row seating position now sits so far back the occupant’s view out the window is obstructed by a pillar and the high window line may make it uncomfortable for kids.

Another standout feature of the 3 is its enormous 111kWh battery that enables a driving range of up to 610km in standard form.

It only has seating for 5.

A pair of electric motors provide all-wheel drive and produce 360kW and 840Nm.

Adding a performance pack reduces the range to 560km but ups the motors outputs to 380kW and 910Nm and drops its 0-100km/h time to 4.7 seconds.

Few machines can match this performance for the price.

Polestar also has a strong focus on sustainability using plenty of recycled and repurposed materials.

Leather is an option, but it only uses leather that’s a by-product of the meat industry and has been treated sustainably.