Following months of anticipation and a long string of teasers, Swedish-Chinese automaker, Polestar finally revealed the third car in its lineup; the Polestar 3. The Polestar 3 is the first SUV from the company and will be built in China and the USA. Polestar is a joint venture between Volvo cars and Geely, and its new model is an upgrade to the Polestar 2 in price and performance, and Polestar’s attempt to break into the already overpopulated SUV market.
When it finally hits the market, the Polestar 3 will have to compete against models from premium German brands such as Audi, BMW, and Mercedes. However, unlike the flashy luxury associated with the brands mentioned earlier, Polestar’s new SUV embodies Scandinavian minimalism.
Priced at $84,000, the EV SUV is armed with lots of tech, including the Volvo-built Nvidia advanced driver-assist software. It is also the first vehicle from the manufacturer to feature the Pilot Pack, a LiDar-equipped driver-assist package. The Polestar 3 comes with a 111 kWh battery pack and has a rear motor decoupling feature that allows the SUV to run on the front motor alone.
Chinese buyers can choose from two versions; a dual-motor high-performance version and a dual-motor long-range trim. The high-performance version churns out 380 kW of power and 910 Nm of peak torque, while the long-range version is capable of 360 kW and a peak torque of 840 Nm. While the long-range version does the 0-100 km/h in 5 seconds, it takes only 4.7 seconds for the performance version to do the same. Also, the long-range version has a 670 km CLTC driving range, while the high-performance version has a 620 km range.
Both options are equipped with a standard adjustable single-pedal mode and a dual-clutch electric torque vectoring system for the rear axle. For dimensions, the car has a size of 4900/2120/1627 mm in length, width, and height, respectively, with a wheelbase of 2985 mm.
Despite its features, the Polestar 3 will come under scrutiny as it carries a weightier price tag compared to its main competition, the Tesla Model Y. Its $84,000 price tag is $14,000 more than the $70,000 Tesla Model Y. But the biggest question marks will come from Chinese customers who have to cough up a whopping 880,000 yuan ($122,800) for the SUV.
In China, the Polestar 3 long-range model will sell for 880,000 yuan ($122,800). This is almost $39,000 more than the $84,000 MSRP announced by Polestar for the US and $31,000 more than the $87,200 price for Europe. On the other hand, the high-performance model will go for 1,030,000 yuan ($143,800). In comparison, the NIO ES7 costs $51,800 and has a better acceleration time from 0-100 km/h of 3.9 seconds.
Polestar announced that the SUV will debut in China at the 2023 Shanghai Auto Show, and production is expected to begin in mid-2023 at Volvo’s Chengdu Plant. According to the automaker, the first deliveries will commence in Q4 of 2023, while Volvo’s South Carolina plant will begin production in mid-2024.
Sources: Polestar, PCAuto
