• Auto123 gets in a first drive of the 2025 Polestar 3 in big sky country – not the friendliest place for an EV, at first glance.
Jackson, WY – As time marches on, so does the Polestar lineup. A brand that started as a tuning and race prep division for Volvo, then branched off to create a car all its own, the GT-like Polestar 1 plug-in hybrid, now has three models to its name.
Hence the “3” to name this lithe all-electric crossover, which is here to draw a line in the sand that says “the Polestar brand is real, and it’s here to stay.” What Genesis did almost 10 years ago, Polestar is doing now, planning a new model offensive that has it releasing four all new models over the span of less than a decade.
The 3 is important in that it sits in a more competitive segment than Polestar ever has before. It’s also the first time we’ve seen a Polestar coming off the line in the brand’s new dedicated EV production facility in South Carolina - a line it shares a line with Volvo’s all-new EX90.
2025 Polestar 3 – What’s new?
The 3 is all-new to the Polestar lineup. Unlike the Polestar 2, there’s no longer a strong connection with gas-powered Volvos, so the engineers and designers were given a fresh new platform to play with. That has allowed for some spectacular styling, more interior space and athletic dynamics.
Design of the 2025 Polestar 3 – 9.0/10
This is technically a crossover, yes, but such is the length of the hood, the rake of the rear window, the width of the track and the squat stance that it looks more like a sporty hatch or shooting brake. Add exquisite headlight design up front and a full-length light bar at the rear, and you have the most unique-looking Polestar yet.
There are optional two-tone 22-inch wheels (21s are also available) and the gold-coloured Brembo brake calipers that come as standard on the Performance Pack and optional elsewhere.
The detailing is spot-on as well. It looks great from all angles, but our favourite has to be the rear three-quarter view which provides a great view of the 3’s long roof and haunches, not to mention the steamroller-like 295-section performance rubber sitting on those 22-inch wheels.
Note that even the non-Performance Pack trim gets the option of those wheels, which get a unique style all their own, not shared with the PP.
Other neat touches include a functional air splitter mounted atop the hood’s leading edge as well as frameless wing mirrors. There really is nothing out there that looks like this. With so many modern luxury crossovers just looking too similar, Polestar’s 3 that there’s still room for an OEM to break the mold, if they’re willing.
Interior
Inside, keeping things clutter-free is the order of the day. There are few buttons to speak of - no start/stop button, no button for various drive modes and no climate control dials. Even the way the shift lever is mounted to the steering column seeks to keep things clean.
The digital gauge cluster is also a low-profile affair, though there’s quite a bit of info on there, achieved by having certain commands – your wiper settings, for example – appear for a second upon activation and disappear shortly after.
The cabin is a very airy place as a result, with nothing really to snag bags on and plenty of space to rest your arms.
Speaking of which, you’ll surely feel rested after a long drive in a 3 because these seats are epic in terms of comfort. They support the body but have the right cushioning, and they also get an optional massage feature. The way the seats are adjusted is also unique. Forget traditional seat adjust controls; instead you have a single joystick-like control for all of it. You twist to move the seat forward and back, and press buttons to adjust the seatback. Pressing the middle button, meanwhile, calls up a menu that lets you use the same control to play with the side bolsters.
There’s a cost to all that de-cluttering. Polestar worked hard to ensure that the few controls in place do as much as possible. To wit: a button on the steering wheel is used for adjusting both it and the mirrors, but you first need to activate one or the other via the central 14.5-inch touch display. It’s a bit laggy, and a bit redundant.
Then there are the window controls. Instead of the usual four buttons, one for each window, here there are two, and whether they’re controlling the front or rear windows is determined by first pressing a button to switch between the two. Why? De-cluttering, maybe but also probably to save on cost.
There’s a good amount of storage and cargo space with a generous trunk with deep underfloor storage, as well as a frunk that’s divided in two, and perfect for charge cable storage. The frunk cover folds back like an iPad case.
Technology in the 2025 Polestar 3 – 7.5/10
Tech in the Polestar 3 is very much a tale of two cities. The optional 25-speaker Bowers & Wilkins audio system is fantastic (and the tweeter atop the dash a joy to look at), the displays feature crisp graphics and fonts and the infotainment interface is slick.
It’s great but issues start to spring up when you consider what’s contained within that display. Now, displays are often used for an outside parking camera or climate controls. But not so much for the mirror controls and steering wheel controls, or the glovebox, or the drive modes (without a hard button on the console, say).
Here all of it is in the display. At least there’s still a volume knob. Throughout our drive we never quite got used to it and it fell on the passenger to help make adjustments, especially when it came to the drive mode controls.
Those aren’t really modes either, but a bunch of different settings that you can tweak, from throttle response, to steering weight and on and on. A few baked-in modes – or at least a button that lets you call up some sort of individual mode – would have helped. Polestar did say that a future update in that vein isn’t out of the question.
Powertrain of the 2025 Polestar 3 – 8.5/10
When it comes to the powertrain, things are much rosier. The Polestar 3 comes standard with a 111-kWh battery and dual permanent magnet synchronous EV motors that make 480 hp and a generous 620 lb-ft of torque; those climb to 517 hp and 671 lb-ft when the 3 is equipped with the Performance Pack.
Needless to say, throttle response off the line (especially if you’ve selected the more aggressive of two options) is rapid. It’s rated at 4.7 seconds from 0-100 km/h but it feels like a whole lot more than that. While the vehicle weighs a hefty 2,600 kg or so, that powertrain helps hide the weight.
Yes it will start to run out of oomph as you crest the 110 km/h mark (especially if you have less than 60-percent charge) but that’s common to all EVs. Even with that dip at higher speeds, passing on the highway was an absolute breeze and confidence-inspiring, especially on the two-lane roads we were on.
Unfortunately, the powertrain doesn’t get 800V charging architecture, meaning you’re limited to no more than 250 kW of charge speed. That will get you from 10-80 percent in about 30 minutes, but with the likes of Porsche, Tesla, GMC and the Korean brands all switching over to 800V, Polestar has lost a step here.
Driving the 2025 Polestar 3 – 8.5/10
It seems the chassis engineers got the same memo the powertrain engineers did. Disguise weight at all costs. Because like the throttle response and acceleration, the Polestar 3’s dynamics through the turns will have you thinking you’re in something lighter.
Steering response is spot on, and the fact you can add weight with a button press is nice. The main issue I had with the steering isn’t really a steering issue at all, but an electronics one, and that’s a much too aggressive lane-keep assist system that cannot be turned off. I should say, there’s a button that allows you to do so, but even then, it still stepped in just as annoyingly as if we hadn’t deactivated it at all. Hopefully that can be rectified with an over-the-air update.
For the rest, a trick torque vectoring system makes use of both a clutch and the EV motors to help you rotate through turns, and it works a peach. The ride is good as well, as even with the large wheels, you don’t so much feel the bumps as hear them when the fat tires slap over expansion joints and the like.
All the while, the body is kept nicely in check with adaptive dampers so roll is kept to a minimum, providing just enough to allow you to feel what the car’s doing through turns without turning your stomach and those of your passengers.
2025 Polestar 3 pricing in Canada
- - Polestar 3 Long Range Dual Motor - $95,900
- - Polestar 3 Launch Edition - $97,400
- - Polestar 3 Long Range Dual Motor With Performance Pack - $102,900
Some of your questions about the 2025 Polestar 3
Which version of the Polestar 3 gets the best range?
Polestar claims 506 km of range for the lighter base model and 449 km for the version with Performance Pack.
Is there a single-motor option, perhaps with more range?
For now, both trims come with the dual-motor set-up as standard. A RWD single-motor version is on the way, which will make 295 hp and 361 lb-ft.
The final word
There is so much to like with the new Polestar 3. From the power to the handling to the frankly gorgeous and segment-defining styling, it impresses on many levels. Polestar– still a young brand – is serious about competing, so they have to build models that don’t just keep up with the competition, but exceed it. The 3 is a great start.
Next up are the Polestar 4 hatch, the Polestar 5 grand touring sedan and the Polestar 6 roadster. We can’t wait.
Competitors of the 2025 Polestar 3
- – Acura ZDX
- – BMW iX
- – Cadillac Optiq
- – Genesis GV70 Electric
- – Lexus RZ
- – Tesla Model Y
