Tesla Model Y’s new rival: Polestar’s £80k 3 SUV unveiled

Performance electric car firm Polestar has launched its first zero-emissions SUV – the 3 – priced from £79,900 and with a range of up to 379 miles.

For an extra £5,600 you can have the addition of a ‘Performance Pack’ that will give you added oomph – though marginally reduce the range.

It will go into direct competition with the best-selling electric car in Britain this year so far, the Tesla Model Y.

Order books open online from today ahead of first deliveries from next year. Here’s everything you need to know…

Watch out Elon! Tesla’s volume-selling Model Y SUV has competition coming next year. This is the new Polestar 3 – an electric SUV with a range of 379 miles

The Swedish marque owned by Chinese car-giant Geely says the five-seater is ‘the SUV for the electric age’ and the first of its cars to be built on two continents – at factories in China and the USA.

Powered by an 111kWh lithium-ion battery pack, there are two dual-motor configurations for the green hi-tech car at launch, with a power bias towards the rear, and both with a top speed of 130mph.

The standard long-range car priced from £79,900 produces a total of 489 horsepower (360 kW), accelerates from 0-to-62mph in five seconds, with a range of up to 379 miles.

The version with the optional extra-cost Performance Pack benefits from an extra 28hp – taking it up to 517hp (380kW), reducing the 0-to-62mph time to 4.7 seconds (shaving off 0.3 seconds), but also reducing the range by 19 miles to 360 miles.

Powered by an 111kWh lithium-ion battery pack, there are two dual-motor configurations for the green hi-tech car at launch, with a power bias towards the rear, and both with a top speed of 130mph

The Polestar 3 is aiming directly for the Tesla Model Y. Some 20,654 examples of Elon Musk’s SUV have been registered in Britain so far in 2022, which makes it the eighth most popular new model of this year

The Tesla Model Y will be its stiffest competition. Some 20,654 examples of the American SUV have been registered in Britain so far in 2022, which makes it the eighth most popular new model of this year.

The Long Range variant, which costs from £57,990, is no match for the Polestar’s driving range, with the Model Y managing no more than 313 miles from a fully-charge battery.

The Model Y Performance is the logical rival to the Polestar 3 with the additional Performance Pack, which is far quicker to 62mph (it takes 3.5 seconds to reach 60mph) but only has a range of 319 miles. It currently costs £69,990 in the UK.

The new Polestar will benefit from having adjustable one-pedal driving and an electric torque vectoring dual clutch function on the rear axle to enhance stability, especially around corners.

The rear electric motor can also be decoupled, allowing the car to run only on the front electric motor to save energy under certain circumstances.

The new 3 blends a powerful and wide stance with aerodynamic styling, and aero wings integrated into the bonnet, rear spoiler, and rear aero blades.

The new Polestar will benefit from having adjustable one-pedal driving and an electric torque vectoring dual clutch function on the rear axle to enhance stability, especially around corners

The new 3 blends a powerful and wide stance with aerodynamic styling, and aero wings integrated into the bonnet, rear spoiler, and rear aero blades

The rear electric motor can also be decoupled, allowing the car to run only on the front electric motor to save energy under certain circumstances

Polestar said: ‘Scandinavian minimalism and purity work together with the key ingredients of a sport utility vehicle, defining the SUV for the electric age.

‘Polestar 3 makes the SUV not only more relevant and responsible, but also highly desirable.’

Materials have been selected for their green credentials include MicroTech, animal welfare-certified leather and traceable wool upholsteries. Polestar said: ‘Assessments will follow throughout its life cycle and work will continue to constantly find ways of reducing its carbon footprint.’

Polestar’s links with Volvo Cars means safety is to the fore. The new Polestar 3 incorporates Volvo’s latest advanced active and passive safety technology. This includes interior radar sensors that can detect the slightest movements to help protect against accidentally leaving children or pets inside. The system is also linked to the climate control system to avoid occupants suffering heat stroke or hypothermia.

The standard long-range car priced from £79,900 produces a total of 489 horsepower (360 kW), accelerates from 0-to-62mph in five seconds, with a range of up to 379 miles

For an extra £5,600 you can have a Performance Pack. This improves power by an extra 28hp – taking it up to 517hp (380kW) – and reduces the 0-to-62mph time to 4.7 seconds (shaving off 0.3 seconds). Though it also shaves 19 miles off the range

The infotainment system is powered by the latest Snapdragon cockpit platform from Qualcomm Technologies designed to deliver high-definition displays, premium quality surround sound and seamless connectivity throughout the vehicle.

In terms of processing power, Polestar 3 is also the first to feature centralised computing with the NVIDIA DRIVE core computer, running software from Volvo Cars as its ‘AI brain’. It processes data from the car’s sensors and cameras to enable advanced driver-assistance safety features and driver monitoring. It also has the latest Advanced Driver Assistance System technology.

As standard, Polestar 3 features a total of five radar modules, five external cameras and twelve external ultrasonic sensors to support various advanced safety features.

A SmartZone below the front aero wing collects several of the forward-facing sensors, a heated radar module and camera, and now becomes a signature of Polestar design.

Inside, two closed-loop driver monitoring cameras bring leading eye tracking technology from Smart Eye to a Polestar for the first time, geared towards safer driving.

Polestar said: ‘The cameras monitor the driver’s eyes and can trigger warning messages, sounds and even an emergency stop function when detecting a distracted, drowsy or disconnected driver.’

Inside, two closed-loop driver monitoring cameras bring leading eye tracking technology from Smart Eye to a Polestar for the first time, geared towards safer driving.

The portrait display in the dash is 14.5 inches. It uses the Android Automotive OS in-car operating system and can receive over-the-air software updates to add new features

The car’s 14.5-inch centre display uses an Android Automotive OS in-car operating system co-developed with Google, and receiving over-the-air software updates to add new features or improve existing ones.

Advanced chassis control is provided by dual-chamber air suspension as standard, allowing the car to adapt between comfort and dynamic suspension characteristics every two milliseconds.

Polestar’s chief chassis engineer Joakim Rydholm said: ‘Our goal was to offer the performance and precision that define all Polestar cars, without compromising the comfort of the daily drive.

‘To do this, we used new components like the adaptive air suspension to engineer the ‘Polestar feeling’ for this type of car.’

He added: ‘Polestar 3 is also equipped for bidirectional charging, enabling future potential for vehicle-to-grid and plug-and-charge capabilities.’

Advanced chassis control is provided by dual-chamber air suspension as standard, allowing the car to adapt between comfort and dynamic suspension characteristics every two milliseconds

It will be sold with an optional Pilot Pack with LiDAR – with more cameras and sensors – will enable enhanced 3D scanning of the car’s surroundings in greater detail and help prepare the car for autonomous driving

Spun off from Volvo in 2017 as a standalone Swedish performance electric vehicle manufacturer based in Gothenburg and owned by China’s Geely, it was recently listed as a public company on the Nasdaq

All Polestar 3 versions are well-stocked and include as standard: air suspension, a full-length panoramic glass roof, all-LED lighting inside and out, retractable door handles with proximity sensing, and 21-inch alloy wheels, with the Performance pack adding 22-inch forged alloy wheels and additional signature ‘Swedish gold’ details.

A Plus Pack and Pilot Pack are fitted as standard for the first model year and include premium, luxury and convenience features such as a 25-speaker audio system from Bowers & Wilkins with 3D surround sound and Dolby Atmos capability, soft-closing doors, a head-up display and Pilot Assist.

From spring 2023, the optional Pilot Pack with LiDAR – with more cameras and sensors – will enable enhanced 3D scanning of the car’s surroundings in greater detail and help prepare the car for autonomous driving.

Polestar 3 is the first car on a new all-electric technology base developed by and shared with Volvo Cars. Production is set to begin in Volvo Cars’ factory in Chengdu, China, from the middle of next year with first deliveries expected in the fourth quarter of 2023.

Additional features also include soft-closing doors, a head-up display and Pilot Assist. Images of the interior show a set of ergonomically-designed seats

Cars will also be built at Volvo Cars’ factory at Ridgeville, South Carolina towards the middle of 2024 to supply to North American and other markets Initial deliveries from this factory are expected around the middle of 2024.

With two models already launched – the 1 and 2 – Polestar will be launching four new models over the next five years following the same simple numeric pattern: the new 3 SUV launched today, the 4 compact SUV, the 5 high-performance grand-tourer GT, and the hard-top cabriolet sport-car 6.

Polestar CEO Thomas Ingenlath said: ‘Polestar 3 is a powerful electric SUV that appeals to the senses with a distinct, Scandinavian design and excellent driving dynamics.

‘It takes our manufacturing footprint to the next level, bringing Polestar production to the United States. We are proud and excited to expand our portfolio as we continue our rapid growth.’