The New Polestar 3 Is Polestar's First Real Flagship

The 3 isn't just Polestar’s latest EV, it's arguably the most important product in the brand’s short history. The 3 is Polestar's first SUV, their new flagship, the most expensive model they will sell for a while, it has the longest range, fastest charging, and it's the first Polestar that was designed from the start to be a Polestar. It's also the model designed to take on Porsche. Yep, that’s what they say.

Sadly I can't talk about how it drives until June... but we can talk about almost everything else. So how on earth can it compete with Porsche? On paper things look pretty solid. The Macan EV is a bit smaller on the inside/outside, but the two are pretty close. Also similar in size: the Cadillac Lyriq, Mercedes EQE SUV, Acura ZDX, BMW iX, and Audi Q8 e-tron. The 3 looks a bit more like a shooting brake/wagon than the Macan, but looks can be deceiving because the interior is surprisingly roomy and it has the most clearance in this segment 8.3 inches (more in line with a Rivian R1S) and pump the standard air suspension up and you'll get 9.8 inches. That's electric G-Wagon matching.

How about power? 489 HP is standard, 517 is optional, and the rumor mill says this is just the start. Will it ever get the 884 HP system from the upcoming 5? Probably not, but expect Polestar to crank the up dial in the future. 0-60? Base model to base model, the Polestar is faster than all the competition (by a hair in some cases) save the iX.

I can’t talk driving dynamics, but I can help you connect the dots: The model we were drove had 265mm wide 22 inch tires up front, 295 in the back, and massive Brembo brakes.

Curb weight is ~300 lbs higher than the Porsche (which makes sense given the extra size and the battery that's 11% larger), but lower than the Audi, Mercedes, Acura, or Cadillac. BMW? It’s about the same… But Polestar has a trick up their sleeve: a mechanical torque vectoring rear axle that’s unique in the industry. In this segment, the only model with “real” torque vectoring is the SQ8, but it’s quite different. Audi uses twin 185 HP motors in the back, Polestar uses a single 272 HP motor with a twin-clutch torque vectoring / limited slip rear differential. This means that while the Audi can apply more power to the rear in a straight line, the Polestar can apply more yaw as it can direct 100% of the rear motor output to a single rear wheel. Think that doesn’t happen often? Think again. It’s pretty common for gas cars with torque vectoring axles to have aggressive 90/10 power splits from side to side on a winding road.

315 miles of range is below the max range Macan for now, but Polestar says a longer range single motor model is coming soon. Want the higher horsepower model? Range drops by 30-40 miles depending on your driving style. The long range is thanks to a 111 kWh battery that supports a 250 kW charge rate so DC charge times are on par with Tesla’s Model X.

How’s the interior? Most of the parts feel snazzier than the Audi, but Porsche’s switchgear and plastic trim parts feel more premium. The Mercedes and BMW are a hair nicer in some areas, but keep in mind that the Polestar is significantly less expensive than the Germans when comparably equipped. Vs the Acura and Cadillac the Polestar is solidly nicer inside. The infotainment software is more responsive than any of the German competitors, logically laid out and it’ll support CarPlay shortly after it goes on sale. The entire vehicle is OTA updatable.

We’ve been dancing around the price tag. $73,400 is where the 3 will start, that’s much, much lower than the iX and a solid discount vs the Audi and Mercedes. Porsche? The Macan starts a bit higher at $78,800 but it’s slower and smaller and options get really, really expensive. How spendy? Over $60,000 more than the 3 if you want a fully-loaded Macan Turbo EV. Yep, it’ll be faster and snazzier inside, but it’ll also cost you 60% more.

So what do you think? Is Polestar going in the right direction? The 3 is a significant step forward vs the 2 in refinement, features, range, etc. and well positioned vs the competition when you account for the pricing. Is that enough? What would you consider the closest competitor?

#Polestar3 #Polestar #Macan #Porsche #SUV #ElectricSUV #Polestar4 #EQE

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