POLESTAR 3 - SWEDISH TO ITS CORE by John Crawford

First up, I have to say this is a fabulous example of forward-thinking design, and the styling is clean and efficient. It looks fantastic. You can thank the CEO, and his design team. Thomas Ingenlath moved from the role of Volvo’s chief designer, to CEO of Polestar. Clearly his designer talents have influenced the final outcome.

There’s also something endearing about the Swedish approach to sustainability and efficiency when it comes to cars – they are so deadly serious about these issues. You only have to talk to a Swede from Volvo and you’ll get the picture pretty quickly.

 

The Polestar 3 SUV boasts about its use of sustainable materials, including Nappa leather produced in accordance with strict animal welfare standards, which is also chrome-free and traceable. The interior features black ash veneer, and the interior design team has focussed its thoughts on reducing scrap in production.

The Model 3 also features intense air filtration, with an onboard pollen filter.

As part of the premium Bowers & Wilkins audio system, each of the front seat headrests is fitted with two perfectly tuned 40 mm full range speakers, which Polestar says creates a fully immersive audio environment in the car.

 

The carefully-sourced interior materials are developed with circularity and traceability in mind.

 

Indeed, there’s an impressive focus on a really genuine approach to design and materials.

Not just for its own sake, but with sustainability top of mind.

Aerodynamic efficiency also gets a lot of attention with a unique and novel front aero wing which helps force air to flow along the hood and over the car, whilst the rear aero blades disturb the air to ensure a smooth release from the side of the car.

Yes, it’s an EV (which all Polestars will be), and it’s quite large (about the size of a Kia EV6), and weighs a hefty 2600kg. That hasn’t limited either performance or range. Polestar says it’s shooting for in excess of 600km, with dual motor AWD, and a DC charging rate at 250kW.

 

Polestar 3 uses a large 111kWh and 400V lithium-ion battery with a prismatic cell design and liquid cooling.

 

Needless to say, with a nod to its parent Volvo, the Polestar 3 has a complete complement of safety equipment including a unique Smart Zone Sensor Cluster up front housing radar and a camera to ‘see and hear’ what’s happening in front of the vehicle.

Polestar says the vehicle is constantly aware of its surroundings, looking out for potentially dangerous situations.

It won’t be cheap, and owning one will come with all the current frustrations with charging. However, it’s a pretty cool car and I see it attracting a lot of attention.

 

JOHN CRAWFORD