New Polestar 3 sports SUV brings 510bhp and 379-mile range

To ensure that a large SUV can offer what chief chassis engineer Joakim Rydholm called “the performance and precision that define all Polestar cars”, the 3 features dual-chamber adaptive air suspension, which can be electronically adjusted every two milliseconds. There are also 400mm Brembo four-piston brakes on the front.

There's a torque-vectoring dual-clutch function on the rear axle, too, while the rear motor can automatically be decoupled, so the car will run on the front motor only in certain circumstances to save energy. There's also an adjustable one-pedal driving option.

The 3 will be launched in Long Range specification, drawing power from a 111kWh lithium ion battery that features a prismatic cell design. It has an official range of up to 379 miles and a peak charging rate of 250kW. The car is capable of bidirectional vehicle-to-grid charging and features a heat pump as standard.

The 3 is underpinned by plenty of new infotainment and safety tech. It uses a new Nvidia Drive core computer that serves as an ‘AI brain’ to process data from the raft of sensors mounted to the car. There are five radar modules, five external cameras and 12 external ultrasonic sensors, which use Volvo’s latest safety software. 

An optional Pilot Pack with lidar will be offered next year and will add an additional Nvidia control unit, three cameras and four ultrasonic sensors and will enable enhanced 3D-scanning of the car’s surroundings to offer more accurate real-time data.

And the sensors don’t just monitor outside the car: Polestar claims Volvo’s interior radar tech can detect sub-millimetre movements in the interior to warn against leaving children or pets inside; and links to the climate control to prevent heat stroke or hypothermia. There are also two closed-loop driver-monitoring cameras that can give audio warnings or even automatically stop the car if they detect the driver becoming distracted or drowsy.

Polestar said materials for the interior were selected based on their sustainability credentials and include animal-welfare-certified leather and fully traceable wool upholstery.

As it did with the 2, Polestar says it has committed to producing a complete life-cycle assessment of the 3 when production begins, showing how much CO2 is produced in the car's build and use, and said it's committed to investigating ways to reduce its carbon footprint.

The 3's infotainment system is powered by the new Snapdragon Cockpit Platform. There's a 14.5in central touchscreen that runs a development of Polestar’s Android-based operating system, which was co-developed with Google and allows for over-the-air updates.

All versions of the 3 feature 21in alloy wheels, a panoramic glass roof, LED lighting and retractable door handles. The Plus Pack and Pilot Pack (including features such as a 25-speaker audio system, a head-up display and parking assistance) will be included on all models sold in the first year of production.