Even people who don’t know much about cars seem to have Polestar on their radar. Which is all the more amazing considering that word is only displayed as a small sticker on the front doors of all models. That’s right, there is no Polestar badging, only tiny examples of the word etched into the headlight modules plus the stylised star logo on the front and back ends. Yet the tall hatchback and its two newer siblings stand out in a world of often forgettable EVs.

What this officially Swedish brand has needed for some time is more models. Now, not one but two have landed. Where the 2 is around the same size as the Tesla Model Y, the new 3 almost touches the five-metre long mark.

This SUV has a long yet low roof and a near-vertical back window, almost in the style of the original Honda Civic CR-X from forty years ago. Height is a mere 1,614 millimetres, which is great. A pity then that the 3 is as excessively wide as most of its rivals. I often wonder which OEM will be first to exploit the huge opportunity for narrow-body EVs in markets where parking spaces and garages are tight.

US-built for (LHD and RHD) Europe

Polestar is also about to roll out the equally new-to-Europe - more than a year after its debut in China - 4. This is slightly shorter than the 3 and costs less. By way of contrast, the sleek SUV-Coupé has no glass in the tailgate, a feature which some will love and others won’t. I recently drove both at a UK media preview but impressions of the 4 are under embargo until 30 September so for now I am only allowed to talk about the SUV.

Production of the 3 started in February at a Geely Group plant in Chengdu. For reasons we know all about, this has caused some major issues for Polestar when it comes to exports; in particular to the USA and Canada along with European Union markets. Britain remains an exception with no official quotas or hefty import duties threatened for made-in-China vehicles. Yet Polestar can hardly sell its cars here with significantly lower pricing than it charges in other European countries. In any case, the UK market 3 is manufactured in the USA.

No longer just shopping centre showrooms

There are also major changes going on to how the brand retails its vehicles in the UK. So-called ‘Spaces’ are being supplemented by actual dealerships. The official line says Britain is “…one of the first European markets where Polestar moves to a non-genuine agency sales model, in line with Polestar’s strengthened business plan to reach profitable growth next year”. Now, in English: the no-dealers idea is dead.

The brand has certainly had it ups and downs (the share price in particular), and the CEO was replaced in August. You get the feeling that the start-up phase, along with years of sometimes volatile sales volatility, is officially over. Certainly that is what the Gothenburg-based company and its new chief executive Michael Lohscheller are seeking. He is ex- DaimlerChrysler, Mitsubishi Motors, Volkswagen, Opel-Vauxhall, VinFast and Nikola.

Mixed results in 2023, better news in 2024

For all the criticism and losses, worldwide Polestar managed to sell 20,371 cars in the first half of 2024 and more than 160,000 (almost every one of these a 2) since its debut, in 27 markets. Next year sees brand launches in a further seven: Brazil, Thailand, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Hungary and finally, after a lot of legal complications, France. This was due to a legal challenge by PSA, then Stellantis, over the alleged similarity of the badge to the one used by Citroën.

Things have finally improved in China, where the brand struggled for a long time. Looking at data myself rather than relying on what any company may or may not claim, there is in fact a good story to tell. However that was not always the case.

Total self-reported Chinese market retail sales for H1 were 1,632 units, a year-on-year gain of 140 per cent. Yes, 2023 was tough and 2024 is way better. The 2 was the best seller (862) for 1 January to 30 June, ahead of the 4 (770).

In August, the brand rose to 90th place in the market, up from 99th in August 2023 (wholesale data) with 252 deliveries and 1,057 YtD. When numbers for Q3 are issued, the 3 should have greatly helped with boosting volume in the home nation of Polestar parent firm Geely.

The UK: better than China for Polestar

Britain is a stronger market, and in fact Greater Europe is really where the brand has found the most favour, helped too by the general trend towards EVs in Scandinavia. A pity then that ACEA does not collate data for Polestar. We know about France, and Germany is presently a tough place to sell any electric vehicle. Italy too: Polestar has retailed just 152 cars YtD, a 76 per cent plunge. Sweden is a major contrast, with 360 registrations in August and 3,541 for 1 January-31 August.

A tough 2024 in Britain

Looking solely at the UK, August was a terrible month (-54 per cent) with only 374 cars delivered versus 818 in August 2023. By contrast, last year was outstanding with 8,982 cars sold during the first eight months. With registrations of EVs crashing, Polestar has not been immune, the equivalent total being 3,932, according to SMMT data. So the two new models are landing at just the right time.

Even though this has really been a Chinese company for the last few years - consider where every Polestar has been manufactured plus the HQ of its majority owner Geely - the Swedish spin has worked. Open the door of a 2 and you could be in a Volvo, for example. For the new 3, the idea is to change that though, creating an equally premium but distinct feel and look. Has the idea of high tech minimalism worked?

SPA2 platform for the 3

Certainly, the links to Volvo Cars are there. Even the second factory which now produces the 3 - Ridgeville in South Carolina - is a Volvo plant. The S60, though still made in China, is now out of US production, effectively replaced by the Polestar 3 and EX90, an electric Volvo SUV which while around the same size, costs way more.

The EX90 and 3 also share a platform, this being SPA2, an evolution of a pre-Geely era architecture. There are one- or two-motors powertrains, the top-spec having as much as 380 kW (517 PS) and 910 Nm (671 lb-ft).

Buyers going for the entry level have 220 kW and 490 Nm, while two motors in standard form produce 360 kW and 840 Nm. The extra 20 kW and 70 Nm are part of a Performance pack model grade. Air suspension features for every 3 and this can be utilised to raise the body for as much as 25 cm of ground clearance.

Lots of room, length and width

It may be 4.9 metres long but the 3 has only two rows of seating, something the model has in common with its officially named competitors, those being the BMW iX, Audi Q8 e-tron and more curiously, the Porsche Cayenne. The low-ish roof still offers a lot of headroom and makes you wonder why so many SUVs need to be as tall as they are. Boot space, at 484 litres, is great too. A small secondary space under the bonnet is where the cables can be stashed.

High-tech features are also to the fore, these including Luminar-supplied LiDAR and a BorgWarner dual-clutch transmission with built-in torque vectoring on the back axle. There are also five radar modules and the same number of external cameras as well as twelve ultrasonic sensors. The same 400V lithium-ion CATL battery is fitted to every 3.

It might be futuristic to look at, with its aero slot panel on the bonnet, giant wheels and all manner of track-the-road wizardry behind the body-coloured grille, but the 3 is far from feeling complicated or even characterless to drive. You do sit fairly high yet the doors open wide and there is no sensation of a big battery below the occupants compromising room.

Performance is sensational, with zero to sixty miles per hour quoted as 7.5, 4.8 or 4.5 seconds for the RWD, AWD and AWD with Performance pack respectively. Top speeds are 112, 130 and 130 mph with WLTP ranges of 403, 392 and 349 miles.

Genuine luxury car ambience

The view from the driver’s seat is fairly normal and even the slot-like rear window is fine. Mirrors are huge but cannot be rapidly folded if another vehicle gets too close: the controls are on the touchscreen. Ah yes, so that issue. The central screen is where you find almost all functions and in the main, this works fairly well. A smaller display above the steering wheel is for speed, remaining miles and so on.

Those who live in hot countries might find the standard glass roof - incredibly, there is no blind - is not what they want. In Britain this shouldn’t be too much of an issue, however. Materials feel nicely premium, you can see some parts are shared with the Volvo EX90 and happily, vents can be adjusted with physical toggles. That is not the case with the 4, alas. Minimalism is great, until it becomes maddening or dangerous.

Nothing much causes major irritation in the 3; in fact driving the car is delightful and you almost cannot believe the thing weighs in excess of two and a half tonnes. Perhaps tellingly, Polestar does not mention mass in its otherwise comprehensive data for the media. In any case, the 3 grips the road beautifully and with little lean, braking is superb and it really is quite enjoyable to hustle even on wet Welsh B roads.

Conclusion

New dealers, new CFO, new CEO, new UK MD, new models, a recently freshened 2, a 5 to come in 2025, a 6 in 2026 and a 2-replacing 7 in 2027: there is a lot happening with Polestar. The segment into which the 3 has landed is not a large one in the UK yet this model with its stand-out stance, might well help the brand to a strong fourth quarter. And perhaps even a promising 2025.

The new Polestar 3 comes in three versions: GBP69,990 Long range Single motor, GBP75,900 Long range Dual motor, and GBP81,500 Long range Dual motor with Performance pack. The battery, which has a capacity of 107 kWh (111 kWh gross), can be charged at up to 250 kW.

"Polestar goes big as 3 SUV lands" was originally created and published by Just Auto, a GlobalData owned brand.

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