Polestar 3 luxury SUV sets new benchmarks
This high-end SUV promises to redefine the high-end segment, pushing prestige rivals to produce better vehicles.
Polestar is pushing up-market with its second electric car.
Set to arrive in Australia early next year, the Polestar 3 is a premium electric SUV similar in size to the Porsche Cayenne.
It promises to be one of the best cars in its class.
Priced from $132,900 plus options and on-road costs, the Polestar 3 has an enormous 111kWh battery that claims 610 kilometres of range measured using the WLTP standard. Front and rear electric motors send 360kW and 840Nm to all four wheels, returning a five-second sprint to 100km/h.
The China-built model costs about as much as the electric Mercedes-Benz EQC (300kW and 760Nm, 417km range) or the entry-level BMW iX (240kW and 630Nm, 420km range) while improving on their performance.
Standard equipment includes 21-inch wheels with air suspension, a panoramic sunroof and premium interior trim.
Infotainment is accounted for by a 14.5-inch central touchscreen co-developed with Google, linked to a digital dash, head-up display and 25-spealer Bowers and Wilkins stereo with Dolby Atmos capability.
Advanced driver assistance tech is standard and customers can choose to ramp up its capability with a $6000 LIDAR scanning system that provides more information to the car’s computer, returning a smoother experience – and the potential for self-driving features in the future.
An optional Performance Pack ($9000) makes the Polestar even more impressive, lifting outputs to 380kW and 910Nm while reducing its 0-100km/h sprint to 4.7 seconds.
The downside is that Polestar’s performance pack reduces 560 km, thanks in part to a switch from low rolling resistance tyres to Pirelli P-Zero performance rubber.
Cheaper versions with fewer features may follow in the future.
But Polestar believes customers will be drawn toward fully-loaded versions that raise the bar for premium electric SUVs.
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