Posted on 10/12/2022 1:17:07 PM PDT by Red Badger
Polestar’s first SUV rivals BWM and Tesla with a 111.0-kilowatt-hour battery pack that can fast charge at 250 kilowatts.
2023 Polestar 3
The Polestar 1 was a niche but exciting product that helped to reframe Polestar as a new EV company, rather than Volvo's performance sub-brand. The all-electric Polestar 2 brought the automaker to the masses with an affordable luxury compact built to take on Tesla. And now, Polestar hopes to change the game with its first fully electric SUV.
The Polestar 3 is handsome and borrows heavily from the 1 and 2. Familial facial features like the five-sided grille and "Thor's Hammer" headlights carry over while the full-width light bar in the rear virtually mimics the Polestar 2's back end. But there are hints of the lovely Precept concept in this design, too, particularly in the upgraded spit lighting fixtures and the svelte coupe-like roof design, even the staggered 21- and 22-inch wheels look similar.
Polestar calls the 3 an "aerodynamic performance electric SUV" and it boasts a corresponding drag coefficient of 0.29. It's not the slipperiest in the segment, admittedly – the Mercedes-Benz EQS SUV (0.20), Tesla Model X (0.24), and BMW iX (0.25) all cut through the air with more ease – but it's certainly a strong option in the race for efficiency.
Speaking of efficiency: underneath the Polestar 3's stylish, slippery body is a 400-volt EV architecture that houses a 111.0-kilowatt-hour (107.0-kWh usable capacity) battery pack and two electric motors. That gives the Polestar 3 an EPA-estimated range of 300 miles in the US with 250-kilowatt DC fast charging capabilities that will recharge the battery from 10 to 80 percent in just 30 minutes. That's the fastest in the class. A mechanical heat pump comes standard, which will maximize range and help precondition the battery, while the Polestar 3 also features bi-directional charging.
That dual motor setup gives the Polestar 3 a healthy 489 horsepower and 620 pound-feet of torque with the ability to hit 60 miles per hour in 4.9 seconds. Adding the $6,000 Performance package bumps those figures to 517 hp and 671 lb-ft, and helps drop the 60 time to 4.5 seconds, while the Performance pack also adds new 22-inch wheels, standard Pirelli P-Zero tires (265 front and 295 rear), gold valve caps and seat belts, and a range optimization drive mode. But the Performance pack also drops the estimated range to 270 miles.
Here’s how the Polestar 3 stacks up compared to other electric SUVs:
Battery Capacity Power Range Max Charging
Audi E-Tron 95.0-kWh 355 HP / 414 LB-FT 222 Miles 150 Kilowatts
BMW iX xDrive50 111.5-kWh 516 HP / 564 LB-FT 324 Miles 195 Kilowatts
Cadillac Lyriq 102.0-kWh 340 HP / 325 LB-FT 312 Miles 190 Kilowatts
Mercedes EQS SUV 108.4-kWh 536 HP / 633 LB-FT 285 Miles 200 Kilowatts
Polestar 3 111.0-kWh 517 HP / 671 LB-FT 300 Miles 250 Kilowatts
Rivian R1S 135.0-kWh 835 HP / 908 LB-FT 316 Miles 220 Kilowatts
Tesla Model X 100.0-kWh 670 HP / 712 LB-FT 351 Miles 200 Kilowatts
A 14.5-inch touchscreen graces the center console with the latest version of Polestar’s Android Automotive operating system. The setup features built-in Google Maps, Google’s voice assistant, over-the-air updates, and now, wireless Apple CarPlay functionality for all the iPhone users out there.
Both the Plus pack and the Pilot pack come standard on the dual motor long-range model at launch, with the former adding a 25-speaker Bowers & Wilkins system, soft-close doors, a heated steering wheel and rear seats, and fancier 22-inch wheels. The Pilot pack gives you access to Polestar’s latest and greatest active safety equipment, which includes Pilot Assist (Polestar’s advanced adaptive cruise control with stop-and-go up to 80 miles per hour), parking assist, and a head-up display.
The Polestar 3 will launch in the long-range, dual-motor trim exclusively. But rumor has it that more – hopefully, more affordable – models will be available down the line. For now, the Polestar 3 starts at $85,300 with the $1,400 destination fee included. The $6,000 Performance pack brings the total cost to $91,300.
Polestar is currently taking pre-orders for the 3, but the first customer examples won’t roll off the production floor until later in 2023.
The specs on this car...umm suck. I have a 2022 XC60 T8 Plugin hybrid. It does 0-60 -4.5 seconds, has more room and basically the same interior. Plus I don’t need ANY special charger. I get 40 miles on electric only and that works. And it cost me 62k, I got 15k over my lease buyout when I got it and my lease payments are under $450, this thing at 91k....pffttt. Love Volvo’s, great cars but many better choices for an EV at that price point.
I always swim against the current on FR because I love EVs. Hate the forced EV push on the market though.
My usual disclaimers - range is such a BS topic. That is what one of your gas cars is for. 95% of daily driving comes in under 70 miles. Also, charging time is not that big of a deal as I always charge mine overnight. Had one for 7 years and 2 months - 62,000 miles.
Pretty nice HP on this one with the performance package. 4.9 zero to 60 is not too shabby.
Exterior looks nice. Interior is very lazy. Tired of these EV designers that think they will just have a basic dash structure and slap a giant tablet on top. Stupid.
Price point - About $20K too high IMO. Don’t mind dropping $60K for a 6 - 8 year run, but $90K is a little out there, especially when most people would think it was cheaper than that. If you are going to spend $90K, it would be nice for people to realize you have the ability to do it, by recognizing it on sight.
Meant to say the 0 - 60 isn’t too shabby, but not great.
My threshold to even consider electric is 400 mile rage with 80% recharge in 10 minutes with no wait at charging stations. All of that and for less than 40k. That’s not going to happen anytime soon no matter what Comrade Newsome dictates.
“I always swim against the current on FR because I love EVs. Hate the forced EV push on the market though.”
Yes, EVs can be very useful. A world where 20 to 30% of cars are EVs would be great. Cheaper oil, cleaner air, and energy independence are all good, conservative things.
The problem is not letting the free market decide and the gov’t forcing them on everyone.
Not bad with an 84 month loan payment ... could be up to a total 200k with interest.
“Cheaper oil, cleaner air”
Zero guarantees about that.
No!
That's NOT affordable for working to middle class people.
Until--or unless, and I doubt it--they come up with a cheap auto, these gadgets aren't going anywhere.
Henry Ford brought us into the modern auto-owning age because he brought a price people could afford.
So far, electric cars aren't affordable.
Imagine it’s Florida in September and a Cat 4 hurricane is going to hit. Everyone is told to evacuate. What do you think the death toll will be from people trapped in “dead” cars because they can’t get to a charger? How long do you think it will take to clear the roads of their cars?
I agree. I think about 25% of the cars is a good mix.
In general if there were about 25% EVs, then the air would be cleaner in the highly congested areas. Globally, most likely not.
“ They should have given it an exciting name from the animal world, like Polecat.”
Cougar would be good too
Most people don’t realize Volvo was bought out by Ford Motor Co in the late 90’s. After they made a hash of it, Ford sold it to China.
Let's see, I can have my paid-for home or TWO of these puppies! Wow, tough choice.
No thanks...already got a Polestar. Took me years...and lots of dollar bills...to find her.
After Banning Non-Electric Cars, Now California Begs EV Owners NOT to Charge Them (9.1.22)
Yes, EV technology needs to be pioneered imo.
But don't California junk science escapism elites understand that the EV-manufacturing brag of faster and faster charging times, times that still don't compete with time to fill a tank, means that increasingly more strain will be put on an already maxed power grid?
EV charging station line up in California (Non-FR; 7.4.22 )
Unlike desperate Democrats, Trump always does his homework before saying things.
Corrections, insights welcome.
British Wotor Morks
My first house cost a whole lot less than that. And it wasn’t a small house, either.
Then again, our gov't doesn't really identify with families, seems like. Have a child then abort it. Or carve it up reassigning a gender.
Actually, they’re pretty roomy.
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