2026 Polestar 3 | UK Review

Early update makes the sharp-suited 3 better to drive and quicker to charge

‘No legacy,’ Polestar proudly proclaims in the teaser video played before our drive in its updated 3. ‘No fake engine noise. No hybrids. No conquering Mars.’ Some of the statements to differentiate it from its myriad rivals are more specific than others, clearly, but it’s hard not to feel charmed by it all. Where the Jaecoos and Leapmotors of this world arrive with clearly influenced design languages – and in the former’s case, wisely so – anyone trying hard to buck the trends around it is a winner with us.

Different too is the Polestar approach to facelifts. It’s little over a year since Nic got to grips with a 3 on UK roads, yet here we are with a fairly comprehensive update – one with no nips, tucks or tweaked headlights to denote any change. It’s all beneath the skin.

The biggest news in that regard (to us lot, at least) is the advent of a new, more exuberant rear motor. Power is up across the board, the twin-motor cars proudly rear-biased in their delivery, while the front axle enjoys fresh steering and anti-roll bar setups for keener response. The battery tech is also new, the architecture soaring from 400 to 800 volts to hike the old 250kW max DC charge to a significantly more competitive (if hardly pioneering) 350kW. Behind its 14.5-inch central touchscreen lies an eight-fold increase in processing power, meanwhile…

Kicking things off at a mite over £76k (or £71k as we write, thanks to a ‘Seasonal Offer’) is the Polestar 3 Rear Motor, possessing a 92kWh battery, 374 miles of range, 333hp and a 6.5 second 0-62mph time. A further eight grand snares you a Dual Motor with a much more substantial 544hp peak and slimmer 4.7-second dash, while its larger 106kWh battery claims up to 402 miles of range. Topping the lot is the £92k (or £87k with discounts) Polestar 3 Performance, all 680hp and 3.9 second of it, which uses the same battery for a skinnier 373-mile range. Beyond air suspension (the reserve of the AWD variants), the kit list is vast across all three. If you only crave the look, you should be happy enough in the simpler, single-motor 3.

The spec you’ve chosen is typed discreetly on the lower front doors – or given away by your seatbelt colour. Black in the Rear Motor, black with a yellow (sorry, Swedish Gold) stripe on a Dual Motor and fully gold on a Performance. It’s a modern twist on the old L, GL and GLX structure and assuming plenty of these are business buys, might even encourage the same company car park flex as those Granadas and Sierras from decades before.

This hopes to be a lot more dynamic, however, still possessing a 50:50 weight distribution and claiming a centre of gravity comparable to the old Polestar 1 coupe, any faithful resurrection of which looks kiboshed by that ‘no hybrids’ claim. Christian Samson, Polestar’s head of product attributes, says “we take it up to a sports car level then bring it back,” suggesting the aim is to be “among the most inspiring and driver appealing cars in the segment” with a car that’s “predictable and easy, sophisticated but with a bite.”

It feels like they nailed it, too. We were already quite fond of how the Polestar 3 drove, and that nimbler, more composed front end is evident from the very first corner. You tuck this car in confidently, the steering eager in its response without feeling flighty in your hands. From there, you can quickly get on the throttle and feel its rear axle pivoting you through the turn, while the front works hard to keep your line precise. It’s not a hugely expressive car, yet it’s an endlessly assured one, even on P Zero tyres and chilly tarmac. It helps that, compared to some rivals (ahem, BMW) its steering wheel rim and circumference feel right-sized, ensuring you rarely take your hands from nine and three. It does an impressive job of feeling less than its 2.5 tonnes, too, feeling much nimbler than some without chasing frenzied dynamics to achieve it.

The new Dual Motor outpunches the outgoing Performance, and you could spend a lot of time driving one before realising you weren’t in the quickest Polestar 3. With the longest range of the configurator allied to the additional performance and handling breadth of its driven front axle, it’s arguably the one to have.

But switching into the Performance does reveal what you’re missing. Yes, it’s all a bit bewildering at full pelt, as large, overpowered EVs invariably are. Nothing this girthy needs to hit sixty in the sub fours. But there’s welcome progression to the throttle and the gold Brembos peeking through its exclusive 22-inch alloys are a sight to behold. It’s the least rational option, but sometimes they’re the most alluring. Yet whether you go Dual Motor or Performance, there’s a feeling akin to heated up Subaru Legacys and Foresters of yore when you hustle it across a decent B road, working each corner of the car and feeling both axles put in a shift. The Brembos (standard across the range, with 400mm discs up front) are ever-faithful and feel best with the regen in its middle setting.

With too much commitment, of course, the Polestar 3 does begin to reveal its heft, and the ride could certainly be calmer over broken surfaces. And given how much love has clearly been lavished on how the car covers ground, it’s easy to feel miffed there’s only one dimension to your engagement with its powertrain. Samson has tried the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N (and its virtual sounds and gearshifts) but remains adamant that Polestar should follow a different path.

“The way they’ve done it is entertaining, but I don't see us doing that,” he tells me. “It makes you smile, and we have assessed it from time to time. But it feels like a decoration that calls upon heritage or legacy. To us, it does not make sense to add that. We come from a minimalistic, futuristic, more contemporary place.” They meant what they said about ‘no legacy’…

As for the rest of it? I’m glad they’ve left the design alone, with the car's wheels pushed out to the corners and short overhangs. It's one of the neater silhouettes in its class, even if it dwells much closer to its rivals’ screen-led ethos inside. It would be remiss of me not to have a moan about how many operations are channelled through multiple screen prods rather than a swift button press, operation of its drive modes (and three-stage adaptive damping) included. But at least the menus are delightfully slick in their design, and there’s one font used across not only every display, but Polestar’s wider existence. This is the meticulous detail that Porsche or BMW have sweated for years and which visually hints at the consistency of the work beneath the skin.

Polestar’s retail sales were up 95 per cent in the UK in 2025; it claims the 3 is the second bestselling car in its segment, behind the BMW iX but ahead of the Mercedes EQE SUV and Lotus Eletre. Perhaps it’s missed a few rivals that appear increasingly common on UK roads – upper echelons of the Kia EV9 and Hyundai Ioniq 9 tally closely on price and power, while halo EV6s and Ioniq 5s undercut it – but let’s chalk the Polestar 3 as a success so far, despite seemingly fighting with one hand behind its back in outgoing 400V format.

You’ll be paying a premium (at least in list price) to swerve N division’s more slapstick approach and embrace the calmer, more astute world inside a Polestar 3. But it’s a jolly nice place to be and the satisfaction of its sharper steering setup – plus its lovely building of tension at the rear axle – gives you a solid sense of its engineers’ verve, no matter how quickly you’re driving it. All without having to activate any potentially gimmicky tech. As an everyday proposition, there’s a clear appeal to that.

SPECIFICATION | 2026 POLESTAR 3 DUAL MOTOR/PERFORMANCE

Engine: 800V lithium-ion battery, 106kWh (gross) capacity
Transmission: Asynchronous motor (front), permanent magnet synchronous motor (rear)
Power (hp): 544/680
Torque (lb ft): 546/642
0-62mph: 4.7/3.9 seconds
Top speed: 140mph
Weight (kg): 2,490/2,525
Range: 402/373 miles
Efficiency: 2.7 to 3.3 miles/kWh
CO2: 0g/km
Price: £84,540/£92,040

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