2026 Polestar 3 Performance Review: Faster, Smarter, Better

Polestar 3 Goes 800V

Probably the most elementary change is that as an alternative of the original car’s 400V architecture, the brand new model makes use of an 800V one. Which will appear to be a technical element, however it has a number of constructive implications. First, with an 800V system charging occasions will be significantly faster. Then there’s usually greater effectivity, and probably the power to ship larger motor energy.

The brand new 2026 Polestar 3 advantages in all three areas. The Efficiency model I borrowed now has 680hp driving all 4 wheels, the place the 2024 mannequin “solely” had 517hp. This implies it may speed up to 60mph in a staggeringly fast 3.8 seconds, 0.9 seconds sooner than earlier than. That’s insane for a automotive that weighs 2.5 metric tons. There are comparable enhancements with the non-Performance versions of the 2026 Polestar 3.

Surprisingly, the battery has gotten a bit smaller. The Efficiency now has 106kWh (102kWh internet), as does the Twin Motor, down from 111kWh (107kWh internet). The Single Motor Rear Wheel Drive now presents 92kWh, when earlier than it had the identical capability as the opposite members of the vary. Regardless of these diminished battery sizes, the vary has gone up, from 348 to 373 miles for the Efficiency, because of noticeably improved effectivity. One other advantage of the smaller battery is that the Polestar 3 Efficiency now weighs 2,525kg as an alternative of two,584kg.

Polestar 3: Nonetheless A Sensible Household SUV

Earlier than we get to one of many different most vital enhancements, just a few phrases on what was already good – the Polestar 3’s bodily traits. This can be a massive SUV, measuring 4.9m (193 inches) in size – greater than a Tesla Model Y. But it surely’s additionally pretty low at 1.6m (63.5 inches) and the design is modern. That is no slopey-backed coupe, however it nonetheless manages to look extraordinarily sporty. The black automotive with privateness glass I had for testing was fierce and menacing, with a powerful sense of presence and character. The yellow seatbelts and brake calipers and gold tire valve covers add to the sense of specialness.

However that is nonetheless an extremely sensible automotive. The cockpit is spacious, and there’s a big quantity of room for rear passengers too, with tons of legroom. The headroom is nice too, accentuated by the massive panoramic sunroof, which has a £1,600 ($2,200) electrochromatic choice that sadly wasn’t included with my check automotive. My rear passengers talked about the seats being a little bit exhausting for an extended journey, however we spent two six-hour journeys within the car so the Polestar 3 was going through steep odds within the consolation class.

Regardless of the sporty goal, the Polestar 3 additionally has loads of rear cargo house. With the rear seats up, you get an affordable 484 liters, which extends to 1,411 liters with them down. The rear seats solely have a 60-40 cut up, however the 60% portion at the very least has a built-in ski hatch. There’s a 32-liter frunk as effectively. The rear cargo house flooring is a little bit excessive, however 90 liters of the rear capability are below the ground – greater than enough for charging cables. The parcel shelf design makes use of a retractable blind and is straightforward to function. There’s a hefty 2,200kg braked (750kg unbraked) towing capability, too, with an electrically retractable tow bar that may be a £1,200 additional.

Sooner Polestar 3 Computing

This brings us to the opposite main under-the-hood improve with the Polestar 3 – a way more highly effective central pc. The 2024 automotive’s NVIDIA DRIVE Xavier delivered 30 trillion operations per second (TOPS). Now the 2026 mannequin’s NVIDIA DRIVE AGX Orin presents 254 TOPS, an over eight occasions improve. This theoretically will allow way more subtle ADAS features and even some self-driving potential, though autos that main on this such because the XPENG L03 have much more – 2,250 TOPS within the case of the L03 Extremely.

Button lovers received’t be completely enamored with the Polestar 3, nonetheless. It does have standard stalks for wipers, lights and drive controls. There’s a knob for media management too. However all the things else goes by way of the infotainment display screen. Because of this local weather management changes past temperature and fan pace are greatest carried out by a passenger, as they’re fiddly to entry when driving. Worst of all, window demisting is just not instantly accessible. Fortunately, Google Assistant is efficient for working these by way of voice.

One other slight flaw is that the wi-fi charging pad is off by default, requiring it to be turned on each time the automotive is began. The pad can also be shallow, in order that your cellphone will slide off below exhausting acceleration. There’s a transparent head-up show, however I discovered the pace restrict notifications might generally be mistaken, an issue not unique to many automobiles that use highway signal recognition. On the plus facet, the optionally available 1.3Mpixel HD LED headlights are adaptive and actually wonderful. They definitely facilitated navigating darkish single-track lanes in Devon, and are a really helpful £1,600 ($2,200) additional.

Polestar 3 Driving And Vary

The entire level of the Polestar model as a counterpoint to its sibling Volvo is driving expertise. The latter is meant to be the secure household choice. I’ve pushed the opposite members of the Polestar 3 vary, and whereas they deal with effectively, the Efficiency variant is on a distinct degree. It has Polestar’s trick lively air suspension, which mixes dual-chamber air springs with ZF lively dampers. These can supposedly modify 500 occasions per second. The system drops the automotive down barely at pace to cut back drag, and retains issues degree if the loading is uneven. Better of all, although, is the way it handles bumpy roads. We’re not fairly speaking Vary Rover air suspension right here, however the trip high quality continues to be the most effective I’ve skilled. But it’s additionally stiff sufficient for flat cornering.

In Efficiency mode with all the things stiffened up, the Polestar 3 is an absolute hooligan. The acceleration is sort of as brutal as a Tesla Efficiency automotive, and the steering surprisingly nimble and guaranteed. However that is additionally an distinctive freeway cruiser, with tons of torque for high-speed overtaking whereas feeling utterly planted. If you get caught in site visitors jams or common pace zones, the Adaptive Cruise Management with lane centering does an excellent job of holding you a secure distance from the automotive in entrance, whereas steering spherical corners mechanically. In my six-hour journey to Devon, it was a godsend. In different phrases, this automotive is an excellent long-range mile muncher, and it has the vary to again that up too.

On paper, the Polestar 3 Efficiency has a WLTP vary of 373 miles. Throughout my testing on a big selection of roads, however the majority motorways and A-roads with a 60mph restrict, I managed a median of two.7 miles per kWh, which might indicate a real-world vary of 275 miles. Whereas this isn’t super-efficient, it’s a lot better than many efficiency electrical SUVs I’ve examined. The superb Lotus Eletre only managed 2.1 miles per kWh when I tried that a few years ago. I wasn’t making a lot of an effort to save lots of power, both, since you don’t purchase a Polestar 3 Efficiency to drive slowly.

That is matched by how good the Polestar is at replenishing its battery. Whereas the unique automotive was no charging slouch, hitting a most of 250kW, the brand new model maxes out at 350kW. I examined my loaner on a brand new IONITY 400kW charger and noticed 319kW at 37% capability, and even at 60% capability the speed was nonetheless 168kW. Regardless of the massive battery, this automotive solely takes 22 minutes to go from 10-80%. Mixed with the first rate vary, this speedy charging makes the Polestar 3 Efficiency a really succesful long-distance automotive, albeit possibly to not BMW iX3 or Volvo EX60 ranges. After I drove from London to South Devon (and again), the automotive might have accomplished all 243 miles simply on a single 100% cost, however stopping was no hardship with such speedy charging.

Polestar 3: Quick, Sensible, However Costly

Total, there’s little to fault with the Polestar 3 Efficiency. It’s ridiculously fast and interesting to drive in essentially the most highly effective Efficiency mode, and it’s nonetheless fast sufficient even in Vary mode. The trip high quality is great, and there’s tons of house for passengers and cargo. It’s huge however not an entire legal responsibility on slim nation roads and in city environments. The one caveat is the worth. On the time of writing, there was a £10,000 ($13,600) low cost till the top of September, but you’ll nonetheless must half with at the very least £82,040 ($112,000).

That pushes it method above the chief on this class, the Tesla Mannequin Y, and can naturally maintain gross sales quantity low. The BMW iX3 and Volvo EX60 offer you extra vary however much less efficiency for much less cash. However the Polestar 3 Efficiency continues to be an enticingly full bundle, combining driving pleasure with household practicality and long-distance functionality. All that is unhealthy information for American automotive patrons, as a result of in June Polestar pulled out of the USA as a result of nation’s laws concentrating on automobiles manufactured in China. So this very good premium SUV received’t be accessible to Individuals, which is a disgrace for such an excellent all-conquering electrical automotive.