The Car Connection Expert Review
Likes
- Athletic looks
- Real performance chops
- 0-60 mph in 4.5 seconds
- 315-mile estimated range
- Very well-equipped
Dislikes
- Overreliant on touchscreens
- Unknown brand value
- Steep starting price
- Very small dealer network
Buying tip
features & specs
The 2025 Polestar 3 shoots for the electric SUV moon, and strongarms the landing.
The 2025 Polestar 3 has an independent streak. With an emphasis on acceleration and sporty virtues, it’s distinct from, though clearly related to, the Volvo EX90.
What kind of car is the 2025 Polestar 3? What does it compare to?
The Polestar 3 has five seats, an electric powertrain, and a badge that’s all but unknown to U.S. drivers. Pitched as a performance SUV, it rivals the Porsche Cayenne, the Tesla Model Y, and the Mercedes EQE SUV.
Is the 2025 Polestar 3 a good car?
It’s a gorgeous vehicle with copious power and great grip, and it brims with luxury touches. We give it an unheralded TCC Rating of 9.0 out of 10, one of our very highest scores. (Read more about how we rate cars.)
What’s new for the 2025 Polestar 3?
This new five-seat electric SUV shares running gear with the three-row Volvo EX90. And while it’s traditional in its silhouette, its details—from the spiky LED headlights to the airfoil built into its nose—belie its heritage from a brand with no sacred styling cows. Its smartly proportioned exterior matches an elegant interior like those in recent Volvos, with banded wood trim and light-toned leather, capped by a 14.5-inch tablet-style touchscreen.
All Polestar 3 SUVs, so far, come with a dual-motor, all-wheel-drive powertrain with a 111-kwh battery. They generate 489 hp, or 517 hp in Performance Pack spec, and up to 315 miles of range. In peak shape despite a curb weight of nearly 6,000 pounds, the Polestar 3 launches to 60 mph in as little as 4.5 seconds. It offers a one-pedal drive mode and substantial 4-piston Brembo brake calipers to arrest progress when needed. Its brightest moment, though, comes when its air suspension and adaptive dampers tackle sweeping curves: it’s a natural athlete, with quick and light steering and top-drawer ride quality. It’ll go off-road, too, with ground clearance of 8.3 inches, and can tow up to 3,500 pounds.
Interior space delivers on the EV promise, with excellent seats and plenty of room in nearly every dimension, including front-end cargo space. Sublime fit and finish establish a calm and soothing feel, which you can obliterate with the high-output Bowers & Wilkins sound system on the plushly outfitted Launch Edition.
No crash-test scores have been published, but every version has automatic emergency braking and a surround-view camera system. Lidar’s an option, to support upgraded hands-free driver assistance functionality to come.
How much does the 2025 Polestar 3 cost?
The $80,300 Launch Edition includes a synthetic leather interior, heated front and rear seats, and a hands-free tailgate. With lidar and the Performance Pack, a 2025 Polestar 3 can top $90,000.
Where is the 2025 Polestar 3 made?
In Charleston, South Carolina.
2025 Polestar 3 Styling
The Polestar 3 takes subtle to a new plane.
The Polestar 3 is a sleek EV missile that cocoons its passengers in quiet luxury. It gets two points above average for its exterior and its interior, for a 9 here.
Is the Polestar 3 a good-looking car?
The Polestar 3 adopts traditional SUV cues but smooths the ends, roof, and body sides to optimize aerodynamics. Flush door handles and window edges mimic the fuselage of an airplane, but it’s the steep, flat, front end that embodies this duality between sport and utility. On its nose it sports one unusual cue: an inverted wing with three open slots that splits air over the hood and raked windshield, and pulls down air to reduce turbulence in the rear, which also has an integrated wing. Polestar’s logo here turns into a pickaxe of daytime running lights.
The rear looks more traditionally like an SUV with a tall tailgate, but the greenhouse sits on broad shoulders that are especially muscular in the rear. Aero blades flank the lower bumper to channel airflow for efficiency around the chunky rear. It rides on 20- or 21-inch or even 22-inch wheels, which stand out while they eat into efficiency.
Inside, Polestar outdoes Volvo with an even cleaner take on Swedish design. A single band of vents with a subtle light bar separates the soft upper lip of the dash with a hard lower lip made of available black ash. While its 14.5-inch tablet-style touchscreen looks a little after-thought-ish, it houses nearly every vehicle function in its menus, except for a tuner dial in the console. A low, wide, 9.0-inch digital instrument cluster mounts to the steering wheel. It’s meant to enhance the low dash that affords clean sight lines.
2025 Polestar 3 Performance
Swift and stable, the Polestar 3 has the right kind of grip on the road.
The Polestar 3 knits its battery pack, motors, and air suspension into a swift, stable road rocket. It’s a 9 here, with two points for its acceleration and two for ride and handling.
Is the Polestar 3 4WD?
Front and rear motors give it all-wheel-drive, and Polestar programs it with a rear bias.
How fast is the Polestar 3?
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0-60 mph: 4.8 seconds; Performance Pack, 4.5 seconds
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Top speed: 130 mph
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Range: 315 miles; Performance Pack, 279 miles
The Polestar 3 teams a 180-kw front and a 180-kw rear motor to a 111-kwh battery pack (107 kwh usable). Together, they put out 489 hp and 620 lb-ft of torque, though a $6,000 Performance Pack boosts output to 517 hp and 671 lb-ft.
The rear motor disengages at cruising speeds for increased efficiency. Aside from a low hum of regulated noise, it’s silent and speedy.
The combination unlocks scorching performance for a vehicle that weighs anywhere from 5,696 to 5,886 pounds. It’s a hustler, and the Polestar 3 surges forward at any speed with the kind of urgency usually reserved for wedding-night goodbyes (or blind-date adieus).
That makes stopping all the more important. Standard equipment includes 15.8-inch vented front brakes and 20-inch wheels with all-season tires; Performance Pack vehicles get 4-piston Brembo calipers painted gold, gold seatbelts, and 22-inch Pirelli P Zero tires. One-pedal driving is standard, but feels too gradual and progressive though it brings the SUV to a complete stop.
Drive modes flick between acceleration and range—as well as steering and suspension—but they’re buried in screen menus, with no convenient toggle to activate.
However, there’s little need to focus on how the Polestar 3 tackles a corner. In any drive mode, it’s incredibly agile and poised, and not just for its height and weight. A torque-vectoring, twin-clutch rear axle grants the Polestar 3 better agility at low speed and more stability at high speed, while a dual-chamber air suspension keeps its substantial weight in check and adaptive dampers change tack in response to road conditions. The result? The Polestar 3 feels supremely stable and confident when pushed beyond the usual family-SUV limits. Slewing through corners on EV-specific tires, with excellent light steering feedback, its air suspension does more than its fair share to sequester bumpy roads. With the suspension tuned to its firm setting, the poise remains, along with just enough compliance to erase the most pronounced pavement peaks.
An off-road mode raises the suspension nearly two inches from a standard ground clearance of 8.3 inches, and the self-leveling helps balance a max towing capacity of 3,500 pounds.
2025 Polestar 3 Comfort & Quality
The Polestar 3 carves out a fabulous, forward-thinking interior.
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Wheelbase: 117.5 inches
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Overall length: 192.9 inches
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Cargo space: 17.1 cubic feet (rear), 1.1 cubic feet (front)
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Cargo space behind front seats: 49.8 cubic feet
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Interior and cargo specs: Polestar 3
The Polestar 3 seats five, and offers exceptionally comfortable seats and fine materials on its way to a perfect comfort score of 10.
In front, the 3 offers up eight-way power front seats, which get heating and adjustment for side-bolster cinching, bottom-cushion angle and lumbar in combination with upgrades. They’re worthy of long hours spent strafing the interstates.
The second row’s only slightly less accommodating. Two 6-footers can sit comfortably behind other 6-footers, on well-shaped bottom and back cushions, with good headroom and at least three inches of kneeroom. Top versions come with headrest pillows, while all get airline-style hard seatback pockets and wide door cuts. Even the middle seat gets a flat place for feet and enough shoulder room.
The back seat has an armrest pass-through for longer items, and splits 60:40 to roll out more cargo space when needed. The seats fold flat to offer more than 70 inches of interior length from the trunk to the front seatbacks, while a small front trunk holds the charging cable or a pair of backpacks.
The 3 has its ergonomic foibles. The front passenger doesn’t get a grab handle. The driver-side power window must be toggled between front and rear window functions. The mirrors, steering wheel, and head-up display must be adjusted via the touchscreen and steering-wheel controls. You don’t need ESP to figure it out—we did, quickly—but would a knob or two hurt?
In almost every other respect, it’s a fabulous place to sit or to drive. Synthetic leather drapes the seats, the doors close with the kind of thunk that sounds like stacks of money hitting a granite table, and black ash or aluminum trim can pair up with nappa leather or a marvelous wool upholstery that we’d choose.
2025 Polestar 3 Safety
No crash-test data has been collected.
How safe is the Polestar 3?
We don’t have any crash-test scores to report, and thus we assign no score.
The 3 carries standard automatic emergency braking front and rear, blind-spot monitors, active lane control, a surround-view camera system, and adaptive cruise control that can restart from a stop. An option pack bolsters that with lidar sensors that could offer a greater degree of hands-free driving functionality with future over-the-air (OTA) updates.
2025 Polestar 3 Features
The 3 has great displays and lots of aftercare—but no Apple CarPlay.
The Launch Edition costs $80,300, including a $1,400 destination fee. Polestar trimmed the price to ensure the 3 would be eligible for a $7,500 federal EV tax credit.
For its standard equipment, high-tech options, and strong warranty coverage, we give it an 8 for features. However, it’s worth a note that Polestar has very few U.S. retail outlets, so for now, owning one only makes sense in one of those large cities where those exist.
Which Polestar 3 should I buy?
That one. It’s very well equipped, including 20-inch wheels and power features. Its Google Android operating system doesn’t offer Apple CarPlay yet, but does have Spotify and Tidal.
Launch Edition cars come with future Plus and Pilot Pack options, which include the air suspension, 25-speaker Bowers & Wilkins sound, a heated steering wheel, and a head-up display. A Performance Pack brings 22-inch wheels, Pirelli P Zero tires, and gold-painted brake calipers and gold seat belts.
Each model includes a 4-year/50,000-mile warranty with a 3-year/30,000-mile free maintenance plan.
How much is a fully loaded Polestar 3?
The forthcoming base 3 will cost $74,300. Stacked with the Performance, Plus, and Pilot Pack with lidar, the price surges to at least $91,300.
2025 Polestar 3 Fuel Economy
The Polestar 3 should earn great EPA ratings.
Does the Polestar 3 have good driving range?
Polestar pegs the 3 Long Range dual-motor SUV at 315 miles, or 279 miles with the Performance Pack. We expect efficiency of about 2.6 miles per kwh, for a 9 here.
Polestar 3 charging data and specs
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Heat pump for preconditioning and HVAC
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Bidirectional charging
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400-volt architecture
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Up to 250-kw fast-charging: 10-80% charge state in 30 minutes
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Home charging: 11-kw onboard charger, Level 2/240v/48a, about 11 hours
