Polestar announced a high-powered updated for the Polestar 3 for 2026. The all-electric crossover is gifted a stronger 800-volt architecture and will deliver lots more output as well a faster charging speeds.
2026 Polestar 3 – What’s new?
Says Polestar CEO Michael Lohscheller, “The upgrades to Polestar 3 are so extensive, it’s like an entirely new car. ... The already amazing Polestar 3 is now better than ever.”
We’ll see about that when the test drives begin, but in the meantime, here are the facts: the Polestar 3’s SPA2 platform now welcomes an 800-volt architecture. That means faster charging and a peak speed capacity of 350 kW. Polestar now promises the 10-80 percent charge trick can be done in as little as 22 minutes (about 25-percent faster than before).
For 2026, the 3 also gets a new permanent magnet synchronous rear motor developed by Polestar, which combines with the front motor to deliver a maximum of 500 kW or 671 hp (in the Performance version). The new rear motor also creates a more rear-biased drive.
That front motor now has a disconnect feature – seen previously on the Polestar 2 - that kicks in automatically when the motor isn’t needed, which should deliver efficiency gains (the company puts those at 6 percent).
Range
The figures provided by Polestar so far are for the more-generous WLTP European cycle. The Dual Motor version delivers a range of 635 km under it, which could translate into roughly 550 km in North America as per the EPA. For the Performance version, we’re talking 593 km in Europe, or roughly 510 km here.
Technology in the 2026 Polestar 3
Polestar says it refined the software governing the steering; together with the new rear motor and modified the anti-roll bars, the company promises a “more direct and engaging driving experience across all model variants”.
The company also vaunts the great computing power of the new Nvidia processor, and it’s worth noting that that will be offered as a free upgrade for existing Polestar 3 owners. That should be available early in 2026.
2026 Polestar 3 – Canadian pricing
For the moment, we have no further details regarding Canadian pricing; those should come as we get closer to the 2026 Polestar 3’s launch date. When that happens is also not known. Polestar plans to put the new 3 on sale first in the UK, where it says demand is highest, and expand it to other markets later.
