2025 Polestar 3 Crossover Generally Hits the Mark, but It’s Pricey

• The long-awaited 2025 Polestar 3 two-row all-electric AWD crossover has been rolling out of a South Carolina plant for a month now, and the first US customers will take delivery in the coming weeks.

• The standard output with up to 315 miles of range is 489 hp and 620 lb-ft of torque. The Performance package gets you 517 hp and 671 lb-ft, but you lose some range, to 279 miles.
  

• This $93,100 (as tested) EV will have you looking in to all available tax credits. You can dial back on options and get out the door for as low as $73,400. The brand is now advertising a 36-month lease for $699 a month.

The heat is on for the world’s legacy automakers trying desperately to make even a mild splash in the waters that Tesla has been roiling for the better part of a decade.

If you’re concerned about the awkwardly shifting EV strategies for giants like General Motors, Ford, and Volkswagen, imagine what it’s like for much smaller Volvo and its upstart EV sibling Polestar.

There weren’t enough krona in Sweden to put either brand on sound financial footing for an EV marathon—despite the country’s deep ecological leanings—so it took Chinese ownership (and Chinese money) to make it happen.

China’s Geely Holdings now owns both Volvo and Polestar, and the company is counting on its investment in a manufacturing plant in Ridgeville, South Carolina, to start paying dividends.

The long-awaited 2025 Polestar 3, a two-row all-electric near-luxury crossover that looks and feels purely Scandinavian, has been rolling out of the Ridgeville plant for a month now, and the first US customers will take delivery in the coming weeks.

Based on a test drive last week along mountainous roads near Jackson, Wyoming, those customers are bound to be pleased with their purchase, assuming they are eager to spend well above the average $48,000 sticker price of a new car in America.

Range of up to 315 miles is more than competitive, and the uncluttered interior is easily navigated by young progressives who don’t need a lot of hard buttons.

The tall front end, big rims, muscular sheetmetal, steeply raked windshield, low roof line, narrow greenhouse, and coupe-like profile give the Polestar 3 a sporty disposition.

There are two propulsion flavors for this dual-motor, all-wheel-drive, five-passenger crossover with a 111-kWh battery. The standard output (with up to 315 miles of range) is 489 hp and 620 lb-ft of torque, capable of finding 60 mph in 4.8 seconds.

Spend more for the Performance package and you get 517 hp and 671 lb-ft of thrust, good for a 4.5-second sprint to 60 mph, but you lose some range, to 279 miles. Either way, top speed is capped at 130 mph.

The ride is supple but easily adaptable for firmness via the standard dual-chamber air suspension. Likewise, the steering is direct and predictable and can be set for whatever sensitivity the driver prefers.

The Polestar 3 has three distinct settings for steering, and you may quickly discover that two of them (Light and Standard) are much too twitchy—perhaps even nauseating—so Firm is the steady tiller you’re looking for.

Other modern vehicles also offer multiple modes and settings, so there really is no reason why anyone couldn’t set up a car to their liking. But the Polestar 3 has a really good method of accessing those settings, and you can tell the difference while cycling through the Android-based infotainment screen.

That’s right, instead of dialing through these settings, you find them through a simple touch of the car icon at the bottom of the 14.5-inch vertical tablet that floats in place of the center stack. Once there, tap the Settings tab at the top.

That opens individual screens where you can adjust (beyond steering feel) the car’s ability to creep, or turn on stability control or limited-slip sport mode, or set power delivery for all-out performance or to preserve range. You can easily adjust suspension feel for Standard, Nimble, or Firm—and actually tell the difference.

Study this process before hitting the road, and you’ll find switching any mode is much like switching a radio station of old. Very intuitive and hardly distracting.

One-pedal mode actually can be adjusted two different ways. In the main Settings menu, you’ll find a one-pedal tab that lets you pick Off, Low, or Standard. Smartly, Polestar also provides a one-pedal tab at the base of the homescreen, next to the car icon, so those adjustments can be made more quickly, without drilling into a separate menu.

This is the type of simple, user-friendly technology we’ve come to expect from the Swedes, like the familiar RND gearshift lever that needs no explanation on the right side of the steering column, or the stalk on the left to control windshield wipers and lights.

There’s really only one physical knob in the cockpit, and that’s the big, chunky volume dial laying flat in the center console, closer to the driver but still accessible to the passenger. There’s a simple horizontal driver display with the two things you need most: vehicle speed and range.

About the only head scratcher during our drive of the Polestar 3 was the capacitive switches on the left and right sides of the steering wheel. There are no labels, symbols, or icons telling you what they’re for, unlike on the Polestar 2.

Thankfully, a top Polestar engineer explained it, so I can share the secret: The left side controls are for changing speeds while using Pilot Assist adaptive cruise control, while the right side is a nifty (but complicated) way to adjust your mirrors and steering wheel, once you drill into the main menu for those functions. Saving those settings is easy.

The Swedes are seriously overestimating the American consumer’s patience with technology and willingness to learn. Will every US dealer pick up the slack here and explain exactly how to use these steering-wheel switches? Doubtful.

Our test vehicle was a fully loaded Launch Edition with three distinct packages: Pilot, Plus, and Performance. In addition to adaptive cruise, the Pilot pack includes headup display, 360-degree camera view, and lane-change assist.

We were on two-lane roads and never got to experience automated lane changes, but the lane-keeping technology inspired little confidence with its jerky robotic motions lacking any sense of human response to traffic dynamics, such as a truck lingering too close to your lane. Across the industry, these lane-keeping systems are not ready for prime time.

The Plus package comes with a sensational 25-speaker Bowers & Wilkins premium sound system, soft-close doors, heated rear seats, infrared-reflective windshield, and more.

The Performance package gets you (in addition to the extra oomph) special chassis tuning, 22-inch black polished rims, and Swedish Gold seatbelts and valve caps on each wheel. Another upcharge is the $5,500 ventilated Nappa leather.

Add it all up, and this $93,100 (with destination) EV will make you glad that it’s assembled in South Carolina, making it potentially eligible for tax credits.

You can dial back on the packages and get out the door for as low as $73,400—and have longer range. The brand is now advertising a 36-month lease for $699 a month.

Whatever your choice, the Polestar 3 carries a premium tag.

How do you think the Polestar 3 will hold up against the competition? Please comment below.