2026 Polestar 5 | PH Review
Polestar's alternative to the Taycan is finally here - can it steal what's left of Porsche's thunder?
While a number of high-profile European carmakers have turbocharged their efforts to produce affordable, compact electric cars (most in the forlorn hope of heading Chinese rivals off at the pass), several more are going in the opposite direction, hoping to offer customers the kind of aspirational, upmarket product which, thus far, cannot be easily replicated by CPC-backed carmakers. It is not an entirely novel idea, of course - Audi, Porsche and Mercedes have been ploughing a similar furrow for years - but the likes of Polestar and Jaguar are convinced that now is the right moment to launch the kind of low-slung, six-figure flagship model that will have buyers swooning in showrooms.
Precisely how many buyers we’re talking about remains a slightly touchy subject. Not so worrying that Polestar regards its mention as the third rail - but it seems to prefer it shunted into a siding, where it can be discussed more as a theoretical concept than bottom-line prediction. Suffice it to say, the brand declared itself content so far with the level of interest the new 5 has so far summoned up during its lengthy gestation process (a process made to seem all the more lengthy by the fact that the car’s appearance hasn’t changed a great deal since it was revealed as a concept back in 2020). Some markets have apparently sold out their initial allocation, some definitely haven’t. Make of that what you will.
At any rate, Polestar has other models it can point to when it comes to the business of appealing to fleet managers. Indeed, that’s what virtually everything so far has been all about. The 5 is at least partly about brand building; about showing what its designers and engineers can do when not sweating the more mundane stuff. Moreover, Polestar makes no bones about the manufacturer in its gunsights: in terms of passenger space, its 5-metre-long GT is intended to rival a long-wheelbase Panamera; in performance, the Taycan. It hardly needs reiterating on this website that challenging Porsche in a segment it holds dear tends to be an uphill battle. Attempting a two-for-one ranks as nigh on vertiginous.
Still, the 5 possesses some trump cards. Perhaps its absurdly long run-up from Precept show car to actual production model has done it no particular favours in terms of wow factor, yet Polestar can be credited with sticking to its game plan. And for reasons that defy understanding, very few carmakers seem interested in EV game plans that are undeniably easy on the eye. But the 5 is. People raved about the Precept when it was unveiled, and with good reason: the concept looked sensationally good, and so does the production version. Put it this way: if you’ve been moaning about the absence of a conventionally good-looking EV, you can stop now.
Indeed, Jaguar’s argument, that only controversy can be expected to overcome monotony (or the Chinese facsimile machine), is made to seem like nonsense by the sleek, wantonly shark-nosed Polestar. That it would be better looking than a plain Jane Taycan, we’ve known for some time; the fact that it also makes the new Ferrari Luce look like an upturned soap dish is a revelation we’re just now coming to terms with. Naturally, you’ll need to make your peace with the ‘virtual rear window’ (designer code for eliminating a real one), though it is for this reason, alongside the repositioning of the rear crossbeam, that the 5 is able to incorporate such a dramatic, plunging roofline - as well as the panoramic roof that extends over the heads of passengers in the back.
The latter, unsurprisingly, functions partly as an enabler for the former; much nicer to have a roof you can see through as it swoops low overhead. Together with plenty of legroom and the now familiar gouge in the floorpan for your feet, the 5 easily qualifies as a bona fide four-seater (a temporary middle pew is accessed by raising the dual-purpose armrest, though it is for short journeys only), and a 365-litre boot, with an additional 62 litres available under the bonnet, means you’d probably squeeze in carry-on luggage for the whole gang. It would make for a stylish ride, too; the cabin conveying Polestar’s usual knack for business lounge meets Scandinavian spa.
The seats are excellent, even more so upfront where Polestar has partnered with Recaro for just the right kind of sporty armchair - one that provides the driver with precisely the sort of low-slung hip point you’d hope for in a low-riding GT. Elsewhere, you might look unfavourably on the manufacturer’s decision to migrate its Android-powered 14.5-inch touchscreen (and 9-inch driver display) to its flagship - and a good argument could be made for a return to at least some physical switchgear in car intended to rival Porsche for driver-centric usability - but given the extent to which some rivals have dramatically increased screen space across the horizontal, it is almost comforting to find the Tesla-style portrait system intact. At any rate, the odd peccadillo aside, it generally doesn’t provoke outright bafflement.
It helps that in the 748hp Dual Motor version - as distinguished from the range-topping 884hp Performance variant - there isn’t too much drive mode faff to wade through. And that’s because, somewhat remarkably for a 2.5-tonne EV, the more affordable Polestar 5 is passively sprung. No air springs, no sophisticated anti-roll system, no four-wheel steer. Which doesn’t necessarily mean it wants for sophistication - the firm has a credible track record when it comes to lavishing money on chassis components, and here the high-capacity dampers feature hydraulic bump stops on rebound and compression - but otherwise we're talking about coil springs, lighter (by 12kg in unsprung mass compared to Polestar 3) Brembo brakes and whatever torsional advantage has been gleaned from the new bonded aluminium Polestar Performance Architecture underneath.
Old school, then? Well, its maker prefers ‘authentic’ - but whichever descriptive best fits the merits of traditional chassis tuning, you can apply it here. The Dual Motor 5 is that rare thing in 2026: a car that feels like it was developed with a specific ride and handling compromise in mind, one ideally suited to how an electric GT ought to drive. And boy is the proof baked into the airy soufflé that has resulted. Plainly, the Taycan provided a lofty benchmark, and it is some compliment to suggest the perfectly balanced 5 comes close to rivalling the poise of Porsche’s electric sports car - but if you favour the kind unruffled, intuitively well-controlled progress that makes long journeys seem effortless, then the entry-level Polestar 5 might even have eclipsed its closest rival.
In some ways, ‘effortless’ undersells it. Like all the best GTs, the 5 lets you dip into its dynamic repertoire almost at will. It will go from benignly swift to supersonic without button pushing, and without threatening to overwhelm you either. Its capacity for concealing its kerbweight, for seemingly not pushing down on its contact patches like an elephant would on its feet, is quite something. Equally, if you want to sit back and forget all about it, you’re encouraged to relax not just by the car’s fundamental refusal to strike road furniture like a runaway trolley jack, nor its cathedral-like refinement, but by the level of assurance brought to bear on the control surfaces. The steering is accurate and assured, while the brakes, certainly in terms of initial pedal modulation, are the best fitted to any EV this correspondent has encountered. So good that resorting to its single-pedal functionality seemed like a crime on a fast-flowing road. Yours truly rarely did.
Moreover, Polestar’s reluctance to tie the 5 down in the manner we’ve come to expect from most similarly fast EVs is generally to the benefit of its handling character, simply because a flowing primary ride becomes its more prominent feature. Much like Aston Martin achieved with the greater latitude afforded to the DB12 S’s dampers last month, so the 5 gains from the decision not to have it strain unnecessarily for the kind of hard-nosed attitude that increases lateral performance to the detriment of pliancy. Granted, the more communicative Taycan is also eminently able to dismiss a drain cover mid corner, seemingly no matter how loaded up the chassis - but in terms of ensuring its occupants remain blissfully unaware of the challenge being laid down to its double wishbones, the 5’s analogue way of doing things is deeply impressive.
Doubtless it helps that Polestar is targeting a consciously narrower dynamic profile. The Porsche was modelled to impress 911 owners; by its maker’s own admission, the 5 need only be predictable on its limit and ideally feel ‘lighter than the scales show’. The Dual Motor has both facets amply covered. It is exceptionally easy to drive at eight-tenths (by which point you’ll be going very quickly indeed), and if you’re inclined to go beyond that point, it will either gently push or else make it obvious that the stability control system has stepped in. If you knock this into its sport setting, it will assume you’re more interested in feeling the car rotate under duress, although only in the Performance variant, where there is more power available at the in-house designed rear motor, will it really amplify the sensation.
If that revelation has you pondering the additional premium required to unlock the final 136hp - and 150lb ft of torque besides - we’d encourage you to think long and hard about that decision. Firstly, because the Dual Motor version is already plenty fast enough, and in a way that mostly complements its chassis smarts. The Performance’s greater-than-half-a-second advantage to 62mph doesn’t increase driving pleasure for its own sake, it simply increases the longitudinal load on your neck, not to mention the very real possibility that anyone not holding a steering wheel might be sick if you take full advantage of it. Secondly, while the introduction of adaptive MagneRide dampers does provide a more multifaceted choice of ‘Standard, Nimble and Firm’ settings - and the incrementally greater speed at an apex you might expect from being progressively more hunkered down - you sacrifice too much of the passive suspension’s composure to make the trade-off appealing.
Much as we’ve found with previous iterations of Polestar’s lineup (and in other purely electric models, too), the more modest version - helped by the £15k saving it represents, though not beholden to it - is arguably the one to go for. Or the one to go for if you want to enjoy a battery-powered grand tourer for the pleasure of going a very long way in great comfort, while looking, and occasionally feeling, a million bucks. And if there are obvious riders to that sentence, let’s deal with the less important one first: the Dual Motor is WLTP-certified to offer 421 miles of range from its 112kWh battery, which in the real world is going to mean more like 350 miles. Whether or not this qualifies as ‘a very long way’ is a personal thing, though courtesy of 350kW charging, the day will soon come when you’ll only have to wait around for 20 minutes or so to buy you another couple of hundred miles. Adequate, is how best we’d term that.
The second is to do with how often, and to what extent, you’re going to feel like a million bucks. Again, a subjective quality, but a crucially important one, too, if Polestar is to convince anyone that a 5 is worth shelling out for over, say, a 2 or a 3. That it looks good, clearly, is an advantage. As we’ve covered, similarly configured EVs are apparently determined to fail the shop window reflection test; the 5 does not. It is pleasant enough inside, too. And via its quietness, rapidity and innately pleasing sense of control, it is also very pleasant to drive. It will shrink distances, confidently; it shrinks occupant stress downright consummately. Not for nothing either, but it undercuts the starting price of the Taycan 4S - the 598hp model that best emulates its on-paper performance - by more than £6k. So there’s also that to feel warm and fuzzy about.
By all these measures, the Polestar 5 makes a compelling case for itself. Easily sufficient for it to rank as one of the best EVs yet launched, and a rousing testament to the effort poured into it. But the fact remains: the model’s case for being would be eminently more impressive if its direct rival (and chief motivating factor) were still a huge-selling success story. But the Taycan isn’t; it is listing so badly that Porsche is reportedly pondering its early retirement. And on the basis that it covers so much of the same conceptual ground, it is not immediately clear how the 5 - or indeed anything like it - separates itself from the cautionary tale and convinces high-end buyers that its furrow is a new and interesting one.
Which is achingly unfair, because in a straight shootout between Dual Motor and 4S, based on this first go, we’d recommend the Polestar - a dizzying achievement, and justification perhaps for the firm starting down the road in the first place. Devout EV customers, or anyone convinced that grand tourers must be silent to truly satisfy the billing, need look no further, and the 5 itself will look fabulous no matter where it is parked. Yet if it were a 500hp Panamera GTS on the other side of the imaginary scale, half a tonne lighter and endowed with a barrel-chested 4.0-litre V8, it wouldn’t even be close. The fact that this can be attributed almost exclusively to the million bucks it keeps beneath its accelerator pedal will be of cold comfort to Polestar. Hopefully for its sake, there are sufficient buyers left who take the opposite view.
SPECIFICATION | POLESTAR 5 DUAL MOTOR
Engine: Dual electric motors
Transmission: Single-speed, all-wheel drive
Power (hp): 748
Torque (lb ft): 599
0-62mph: 3.9 secs
Top speed: 155mph
Weight: 2,500kg
Battery: 800V, 112kWh capacity
Efficiency/range: 28.6kWh/100miles, 421 miles
Max DC charging: 350kW; 10-80% charge in 22mins
Price: £89,500
I have but one issue with this, and it applies also to the rest of the range. The colour choice. It's shocking. You can only have the car in "suicidal winter" hues. Evidently, it's a brand thing - and something I refer to as "Blandi Scandi". Porsche puts the customer first - you have a wide range of colours - but Polestar does not, and it's a real shame. I would be in the market for this car, but not if I have to own a car whose colour makes me depressed.
PS as my purchase is likely to be a company car, putting a wrap on the car is extremely unlikely.
And if these things are £90k then I reckon it'll make an even bigger dent in the Taycan used prices.
Unfortunately, I think that the team responsible for its development has now been largely disbanded.
The UK is flailing around in this new automotive landscape, the sort of thing that an industrial strategy would hopefully solve by seeing joined-up thinking across government to support our car industry, pursue opportunities, and mitigate against threats.
Also unfortunately, a large proportion of UK car buyers couldn't care less about our industry, as can be seen by the number of Jaecoos and other Chinese wheeled slop driving around on our roads.
If I see a Chinese SUV with an England flag fluttering from the window this summer, I think I will hurl.
The Porsche Taycan and Audi eTron cost £30k+ more, plus another £10k+ on options.
The new Jag EV is expected to easily cost over £100k
te?I wonder if the welfare of the small children digging for rare earth minerals on the African continent is also similarly acknowledged? Printed somewhere on the battery perhaps?
I've been looking at replacing my current car and this actually seems like good value. I'm loathe to switch to EVs but this is the first one that actually appeals, and a new car will have none of the issues my current fleet of tired sports cars and temperamental German lump have.
Wonder what the lease deals will be like?
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