Polestar 3 points the way to the Daintree
Getting to Queensland during school holidays is a challenge, travelling through Melbourne to Brisbane, then Cairns — and spending hours on the tarmac in Alice Springs on the way back because air traffic control won't let us leave.
Don't ask . . .
I'm in the Daintree Rainforest on a whirlwind lifestyle retreat taking in a drift down the Mossman River, a stone's throw from our luxury bolthole Silky Oaks Lodge.
Just 24 hours.
Getting there from Cairns is half the fun, the road trip in a Polestar 3 Long Range Dual Motor (there are two variants; I'll explain in a moment) pitched as 'the SUV that drives like a sports car'.
The drive is a dream, winding along the coast overlooking the Coral Sea.
Coming out of a Perth winter and a frosty morning in Melbourne, it's deliciously warm; T-shirt weather. It's dry season.
Without delays, we'd make it in 90 minutes, but there are endless roadworks along the way, so I lose track of time.
But who cares when the scenery is this stunning.
'Caution. Falling coconuts', a sign warns at a rest stop.
Polestar 3 is the Chinese-owned Swedish brand's second all-electric vehicle — and first SUV (there's also a Polestar 4), sharing the same SPA2 electric vehicle platform as the Volvo EX90, which has just arrived in Australia.
Hopping inside, I find it hard to tell driver features apart, right down to the quirky volume control dial on the centre console, which is otherwise bare in the best tradition of minimalistic design.
All functions are otherwise accessed via the 14.5-inch portrait-style infotainment touchscreen, including the glovebox and side mirror adjustments.
But, look closely at the detail, and the Polestar 3 is even more pared back than the EX90.
Love it.
Polestar is part of China's Geely automotive empire, which owns the likes of Volvo, Lotus and Zeekr.
It started as an independent racing team called Flash Engineering in 1996, later developing performance tuning software for Volvo.
In 2009, Polestar became Volvo's performance tuning partner and, in 2015, Volvo fully acquired Polestar, using it as the model name for its high-performance wagons and sedans.
In 2017, Polestar was established as a standalone company by Volvo Cars and Geely Holding, listing on the Nasdaq in 2022.
Polestar senior exterior designer Nahum Escobedo describes the Polestar 3 as a 'celebration of technology'.
There's no front grille; instead a cluster of cameras, radars and sensors for the ADAS (advanced driver assistance system).
At first glance, it's not obvious what it is. There's no chrome badge. No model name. Just a body-coloured logo, front and rear, consisting of a symmetrical stylised star representing Polaris, otherwise known as the Pole Star or North Star, that has guided travellers throughout history.
Look at the bottom of each of the front doors and you'll see the vehicle's battery size and power output in subtle black text.
Design is beautiful and sleek, with an aerodynamic roofline, frameless door mirrors and Volvo's signature Thor's Hammer daytime running lights that resemble, well, a hammer, the moniker deriving from Thor, the hammer-wielding Norse god of thunder, lightning, storms, wrestling, oak trees, strength, fertility and more . . .
Oh, there are full LED headlights with active high beam and optional 1.3-megapixel HD LED headlights with adaptive driving beam consisting of more than a million mirrors that can be controlled individually for higher definition illumination.
At the rear, a light bar with 168 LEDs.
Polestar 3 got three accolades in the 2024 Good Design Awards, regarded as the most prestigious in Australia, picking up gold in the Product Design category, the Automotive Design Award — Best Exterior Design, and the Best in Class Award for the Automotive and Transport category.
Judges said it was 'a symbol of a new era in mobility, offering a sophisticated, sleek silhouette with a striking road presence'.
Luggage capacity is 484 litres with seats up and there are plenty of storage options in the cabin, including a compartment under the centre armrest that can take up to four 500ml bottles, plus a 32-litre frunk under the bonnet.
Innovative materials in the cabin include bespoke woven flax fibres in seat shells that reduce both plastic and weight, optional animal-welfare certified wool and, also, optional animal-welfare Nappa leather from Bridge of Weir, which upcycles hides that would otherwise go to landfill.
Polestar Australia managing director Scott Maynard says sustainability and traceability are the cornerstones of the brand.
'For Polestar, electrification is just the beginning — you need to go beyond the usage phase of an EV to truly de-carbonise and effect positive change,' he explains.
'With this commitment comes a need for true transparency. Lifecycle assessment reports are shared by many brands, but none go as far as Polestar in sharing the methodology behind its reports.
'In the case of Polestar 3, the report was conducted to an ISO standard and audited by global engineering firm Ricardo.
'Since Polestar started measuring its impact in 2020, the company has reduced its carbon footprint per car sold by a quarter (24.7 per cent). This is despite introducing two SUV models in Polestar 3 and Polestar 4.
'The most significant contributing factors to this achievement include the use of low-carbon aluminium in all models, improvements in battery manufacturing, 100 per cent renewable electricity in manufacturing plants and more efficient logistics combined with the increased use of biofuels on certain ocean routes.'
He emphasises traceability is also key to ensuring a more ethical and transparent supply chain.
'Major risks associated with mining minerals include child and forced labour, weak rule of law, corruption, artisanal and small-scale mining and environmental pollution,' he explains, adding the brand uses blockchain technology to help trace these materials so risks can be identified and action taken where necessary.
'Polestar 2 was the first electric vehicle to trace the cobalt in its battery using blockchain technology. Since then, the program has been extended to include mica, lithium and nickel.
'In addition to vegan leather alternatives such as WeaveTech, Polestar offers an animal welfare-traced Nappa leather upholstery, which is a waste product from meat consumption, and welfare-certified wool for interior upholstery.'
Significantly, Mr Maynard says that while Polestar is Geely-owned, it's regarded as a European brand — so Swedish design with European and/or US component testing for quality control.
Look carefully at specs because a lot of the things you might like to have are in upgrade packages, including the Plus Pack ($9000):
+ 25-speaker Bowers & Wilkins for Polestar sound system with active road noise cancellation
+ Head-up display
+ Infrared windscreen
+ Acoustic lower rear window
+ Foldable load floor
+ Heated rear seats, steering wheel, wiper blades
+ Air quality system (PM2.5 sensor and air filter)
+ Power-operated steering column
+ Soft-close doors
The Nappa upgrade ($7500) comes with:
+ Perforated Bridge of Weir Nappa leather
+ Front headrest-mounted speakers
+ Front seat ventilation
+ Front seat massage with powered side support
+ Black ash deco
If you're wondering if it's worth it . . . well, the 25-speaker Bowers & Wilkins audio is phenomenal and means you get Abbey Road Studios Mode in settings with four presents drawing on the sound of the legendary London studios that mastered countess era-defining recordings.
It's the closest you'll get to the real thing.
Polestar 3 Long Range Dual Motor
+ Power and torque: 360kW/840Nm
+ 0-100km/h: 5.0 seconds
+ Driven wheels: Dual-motor all-wheel drive
+ Battery capacity: 107kWh (usable)
+ Battery type: Lithium-ion (nickel manganese cobalt/NMC)
+ Claimed range (WLTP): 610km
+ Maximum AC charge rate: 11kW
+ Maximum DC charge rate: 250kW
Polestar 3 Long Range Dual Motor with Performance Pack
+ Power and torque: 380kW /910Nm
+ 0-100km/h: 4.7 seconds
+ Driven wheels: Dual-motor all-wheel drive
+ Battery capacity: 107kWh (usable)
+ Battery type: Lithium-ion (NMC)
+ Claimed range (WLTP): 560km
+ Maximum AC charge rate: 11kW
+ Maximum DC charge rate: 250kW
The Polestar 3 has a five-star ANCAP safety rating for build dates from March 2024 onwards, scoring 90 per cent for adult-occupant protection, 94 per cent for child-occupant protection — the second-highest score achieved to date — 79 per cent for vulnerable road-user protection and 79 per cent for safety assist.
There are nine airbags, including a centre airbag, which provides added protection to front-seat occupants in side impact crashes.
ADAS features include autonomous emergency braking (car-to-car, vulnerable road user, junction and crossing, backover and head-on) as well as a lane-support system with lane keep assist, lane-departure warning and emergency lane keeping.
Notably, none of the ADAS features are intrusive and there are four interior radar sensors that can detect movement to help prevent locking a child or pet inside the car.
There's no stop/start button. Just open the door, hop inside and put the card on the wireless charging pad (you can take it off once you're moving).
I drive the Polestar 3 Long Range Dual Motor from Cairns to Silky Oaks Lodge and the Polestar 3 Long Range Dual Motor with Performance Pack back to the airport, sharing the ride with a colleague, weaving through cane fields along the way.
Both handle winding roads effortlessly; dare I say, 'like a sports car'.
Honestly, it feels like we're riding on rails, the handling is stable and confident.
I keep steering set to 'firm' — and one-pedal drive set to 'standard' (there's also 'light'), which means I can ease off the accelerator without needing to brake on winding roads.
Polestar's one-pedal drive is perfectly calibrated, gently bringing the car to a stop, even in 'standard' setting, without the abruptness of many other EVs.
Obviously, you need to gauge the road, bends and distances using it, but it makes driving so much easier — and, of course, you slam on the brakes in an emergency, as you would in any other car.
Needless to say, the 360-degree camera has crystal-clear resolution.
Everything is perfect, except . . . there's wind noise coming over side mirrors and it gets progressively louder in the cabin getting up to 100km/h.
Am I being a brat?
I accept Polestar has accomplished no small feat in controlling road and driveline noise in an electric car that has no engine, so maybe it's a big ask to mask the sound of air running over exterior mirrors.
Perhaps, smaller digital side cameras could have been used; this would, however, have cluttered the cabin with screens.
If price is no object, the Performance variant is the one to get — the one with 'Swedish gold' seatbelts.
You're looking at 20kW more power and 70Nm more torque, plus:
+ Polestar Engineered performance chassis tuning
+ Brembo brakes with Swedish gold calipers
+ 22-inch Performance wheels
+ Pirelli P Zero tyres
+ Swedish gold valve caps
+ Laser-etched interior line in Swedish gold
Energy consumption, however, is obviously more. I finish the drive on 23.3kWh/100km in the Performance versus 16.5kWh/100km in the Long Range Dual Motor.
Like many EVs, both variants have a large panoramic roof, which I don't like, especially in Australian summers.
The idea is that it improves the roominess and airy feeling of the cabin.
I haven't seen the engineering spec for this, but Polestar says it's made of high-tech laminated glass which reduces noise and solar radiation in the passenger compartment to a greater degree than a traditional glass roof with sunshade and maintains integrity in a crash.
Polestar 3 Long Range Dual Motor:
$132,720
Options
+ Plus pack: $9000
+ Nappa upgrade: $7500
+ Thunder exterior paint: $2000
Total with options:
$151,220
Polestar 3 Long Range Dual Motor with Performance Pack:
$144,420
Options
+ Plus pack: $9000
+ Snow exterior paint: $2300
Total with options: $155,720
Note:
There's also a Polestar 3 Long Range Single Motor priced from $118,420, excluding on-roads.
The Polestar 5 will be unveiled later this year.
It's expected to arrive in Australia in 2026, though it's already been undergoing local testing for the past four months as part of its global validation program.
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West Australian
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Silky Oaks Lodge, part of the Baillie Lodges group, has had an architectural redesign in the past few years as part of a $20 million refurbishment with custom furniture that includes king beds and commissioned artworks. Set along the banks of the Mossman River, adjacent to the rainforest, it has a main lodge and 40 luxury treehouse-style guest suites, all with verandas, hammocks, and names drawn from local fauna. I'm staying in the 'Green Frog', which is $2250 a night and includes a private deck with an outdoor bathtub and open-air shower. Oh, there's no TV, which I don't notice till someone points it out — and that's the whole point of it because there's a lot more to life than staring at moving pictures on a screen in a room when you consider the rainforest is anywhere between 130 million and 180 million years old. Older, even, than the Amazon. Breathe. This is as pure as it gets. Sir David Attenborough famously described it as 'the most extraordinary place on Earth'. Pricing is 'dynamic', changing with season and demand, but accommodation is all-inclusive, so you get breakfast, evening drinks and canapes, a four-course dinner menu with matched wines, fully stocked mini-bar that's replenished daily, access to the Fig Tree Rapid trails, morning yoga and one return set-schedule shuttle to Port Douglas per day. Food is delicious, the menu curated by executive chef Mark Godbeer, and the kitchen garden you can walk through reveals a very short plant-to-plate journey. Rustle, rustle . . . I'm having a steamy soak at midnight and there's a creature in the forest. No, it's not a crocodile, they're in the mangroves, but more likely a wallaby or scrub fowl. Either way, I'm too relaxed to care. It's been a busy day, taking in a drift-hike on a 'river sled' — basically an industrial-strength li-lo — along the Mossman River with Back Country Bliss Adventures, which runs guided tours just downstream from the lodge. Putting on wetsuits and dive boots, my group is assured it's too high, too cool and too clear for crocs. But the rainforest is full of other dangers, our guide drawing everyone's attention to the stinging tree menacingly close to the water as we trek along river channels to the starting point. Otherwise known as gympie-gympie, a name from the Kabi Kabi people of south-eastern Queensland, it's part of the Urticaceae family that takes in the common prickly nettle found in Europe and North America, and has the dubious honour of being, arguably, the most painful plant in the world. The sting is in its fine, needle-like hairs, which contain a neurotoxin similar to that of a spider, scorpion or cone snail — and the effect, if touched, can last for days, weeks, months and, in some instances, years, according to our guide. I ask if it has medicinal properties. Apparently, yes, and these are being studied, including the plant's anti-inflammatory properties and its potential for developing a non-opioid painkiller without harmful side effects. Finally, we get to drift. It's a bit of a balancing act, steering clear of granite boulders and tree roots. Just when I think I've got the hang of it, splash. I'm totally soaked as the guide tells us about the river's sacred role in Aboriginal Dreamtime. To think the rainforest was logged, cleared or converted to crops and pasture for more than 100 years of European colonisation till Daintree National Park was declared in 1981 and amalgamated into the UNESCO-listed World Heritage site Wet Tropics of Queensland in 1988. 'If it wasn't for all that, we'd have sugarcane right up to the riverbank,' the guide says. It's growing just across the track we walk on, but producers have been doing it tough with the closure of the Mossman Sugar Mill in 2024, which means they need to truck their sugarcane 100km to Mulgrave Central Mill in Gordonvale. 'We have to respect our past, so let's turn the Mossman mill into a museum,' the guide suggests. The Daintree Rainforest is about 120km north of Cairns along Captain Cook Highway. Allow a leisurely two to three hours with stops at beaches along the way, including Palm Cove, or make it a day and drop into Port Douglas. The drive offers some of the most stunning scenery in the world — but there may be roadworks, so be prepared for delays. If you're heading to the northern part of the Daintree Rainforest (north of the Daintree River), including Cape Tribulation, you'll need to use the car ferry, which operates daily. + Daintree Rainforest is part of the 1988 UNESCO-listed World Heritage site Wet Tropics of Queensland, which stretches along the north-east coast of Australia for 450km between Townsville and Cooktown. + UNESCO recognises the Wet Tropics as being of 'outstanding universal value', noting there are some 894,420ha of mostly tropical rainforest that 'presents an unparalleled record of the ecological and evolutionary processes that shaped the flora and fauna of Australia'. + The Wet Tropics is listed as the second-most irreplaceable natural World Heritage site on Earth by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. + In 2021 the Queensland Government handed back 160,213ha of Wet Tropics land to Jabalbina Yalanji Aboriginal Corporation on behalf of traditional owners, the Eastern Kuku Yalanji people. About 20 per cent of the land was in addition to that covered by Eastern Kuku Yalanji native title and includes the transfer of the Daintree, Ngalba Bulal (Cedar Bay), Black Mountain and Hope Islands national parks to Cape York Peninsula Aboriginal Land, marking the first time a UNESCO World Heritage area would be jointly run by traditional owners and a State government.
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Polestar 3 points the way to the Daintree
Sometimes the Polestar party is worth the flights, overnight stays in airport hotels, delays and onboard snacks instead of meals. Getting to Queensland during school holidays is a challenge, travelling through Melbourne to Brisbane, then Cairns — and spending hours on the tarmac in Alice Springs on the way back because air traffic control won't let us leave. Don't ask . . . I'm in the Daintree Rainforest on a whirlwind lifestyle retreat taking in a drift down the Mossman River, a stone's throw from our luxury bolthole Silky Oaks Lodge. Just 24 hours. Getting there from Cairns is half the fun, the road trip in a Polestar 3 Long Range Dual Motor (there are two variants; I'll explain in a moment) pitched as 'the SUV that drives like a sports car'. The drive is a dream, winding along the coast overlooking the Coral Sea. Coming out of a Perth winter and a frosty morning in Melbourne, it's deliciously warm; T-shirt weather. It's dry season. Without delays, we'd make it in 90 minutes, but there are endless roadworks along the way, so I lose track of time. But who cares when the scenery is this stunning. 'Caution. Falling coconuts', a sign warns at a rest stop. Polestar 3 is the Chinese-owned Swedish brand's second all-electric vehicle — and first SUV (there's also a Polestar 4), sharing the same SPA2 electric vehicle platform as the Volvo EX90, which has just arrived in Australia. Hopping inside, I find it hard to tell driver features apart, right down to the quirky volume control dial on the centre console, which is otherwise bare in the best tradition of minimalistic design. All functions are otherwise accessed via the 14.5-inch portrait-style infotainment touchscreen, including the glovebox and side mirror adjustments. But, look closely at the detail, and the Polestar 3 is even more pared back than the EX90. Love it. Polestar is part of China's Geely automotive empire, which owns the likes of Volvo, Lotus and Zeekr. It started as an independent racing team called Flash Engineering in 1996, later developing performance tuning software for Volvo. In 2009, Polestar became Volvo's performance tuning partner and, in 2015, Volvo fully acquired Polestar, using it as the model name for its high-performance wagons and sedans. In 2017, Polestar was established as a standalone company by Volvo Cars and Geely Holding, listing on the Nasdaq in 2022. Polestar senior exterior designer Nahum Escobedo describes the Polestar 3 as a 'celebration of technology'. There's no front grille; instead a cluster of cameras, radars and sensors for the ADAS (advanced driver assistance system). At first glance, it's not obvious what it is. There's no chrome badge. No model name. Just a body-coloured logo, front and rear, consisting of a symmetrical stylised star representing Polaris, otherwise known as the Pole Star or North Star, that has guided travellers throughout history. Look at the bottom of each of the front doors and you'll see the vehicle's battery size and power output in subtle black text. Design is beautiful and sleek, with an aerodynamic roofline, frameless door mirrors and Volvo's signature Thor's Hammer daytime running lights that resemble, well, a hammer, the moniker deriving from Thor, the hammer-wielding Norse god of thunder, lightning, storms, wrestling, oak trees, strength, fertility and more . . . Oh, there are full LED headlights with active high beam and optional 1.3-megapixel HD LED headlights with adaptive driving beam consisting of more than a million mirrors that can be controlled individually for higher definition illumination. At the rear, a light bar with 168 LEDs. Polestar 3 got three accolades in the 2024 Good Design Awards, regarded as the most prestigious in Australia, picking up gold in the Product Design category, the Automotive Design Award — Best Exterior Design, and the Best in Class Award for the Automotive and Transport category. Judges said it was 'a symbol of a new era in mobility, offering a sophisticated, sleek silhouette with a striking road presence'. Luggage capacity is 484 litres with seats up and there are plenty of storage options in the cabin, including a compartment under the centre armrest that can take up to four 500ml bottles, plus a 32-litre frunk under the bonnet. Innovative materials in the cabin include bespoke woven flax fibres in seat shells that reduce both plastic and weight, optional animal-welfare certified wool and, also, optional animal-welfare Nappa leather from Bridge of Weir, which upcycles hides that would otherwise go to landfill. Polestar Australia managing director Scott Maynard says sustainability and traceability are the cornerstones of the brand. 'For Polestar, electrification is just the beginning — you need to go beyond the usage phase of an EV to truly de-carbonise and effect positive change,' he explains. 'With this commitment comes a need for true transparency. Lifecycle assessment reports are shared by many brands, but none go as far as Polestar in sharing the methodology behind its reports. 'In the case of Polestar 3, the report was conducted to an ISO standard and audited by global engineering firm Ricardo. 'Since Polestar started measuring its impact in 2020, the company has reduced its carbon footprint per car sold by a quarter (24.7 per cent). This is despite introducing two SUV models in Polestar 3 and Polestar 4. 'The most significant contributing factors to this achievement include the use of low-carbon aluminium in all models, improvements in battery manufacturing, 100 per cent renewable electricity in manufacturing plants and more efficient logistics combined with the increased use of biofuels on certain ocean routes.' He emphasises traceability is also key to ensuring a more ethical and transparent supply chain. 'Major risks associated with mining minerals include child and forced labour, weak rule of law, corruption, artisanal and small-scale mining and environmental pollution,' he explains, adding the brand uses blockchain technology to help trace these materials so risks can be identified and action taken where necessary. 'Polestar 2 was the first electric vehicle to trace the cobalt in its battery using blockchain technology. Since then, the program has been extended to include mica, lithium and nickel. 'In addition to vegan leather alternatives such as WeaveTech, Polestar offers an animal welfare-traced Nappa leather upholstery, which is a waste product from meat consumption, and welfare-certified wool for interior upholstery.' Significantly, Mr Maynard says that while Polestar is Geely-owned, it's regarded as a European brand — so Swedish design with European and/or US component testing for quality control. Look carefully at specs because a lot of the things you might like to have are in upgrade packages, including the Plus Pack ($9000): + 25-speaker Bowers & Wilkins for Polestar sound system with active road noise cancellation + Head-up display + Infrared windscreen + Acoustic lower rear window + Foldable load floor + Heated rear seats, steering wheel, wiper blades + Air quality system (PM2.5 sensor and air filter) + Power-operated steering column + Soft-close doors The Nappa upgrade ($7500) comes with: + Perforated Bridge of Weir Nappa leather + Front headrest-mounted speakers + Front seat ventilation + Front seat massage with powered side support + Black ash deco If you're wondering if it's worth it . . . well, the 25-speaker Bowers & Wilkins audio is phenomenal and means you get Abbey Road Studios Mode in settings with four presents drawing on the sound of the legendary London studios that mastered countess era-defining recordings. It's the closest you'll get to the real thing. Polestar 3 Long Range Dual Motor + Power and torque: 360kW/840Nm + 0-100km/h: 5.0 seconds + Driven wheels: Dual-motor all-wheel drive + Battery capacity: 107kWh (usable) + Battery type: Lithium-ion (nickel manganese cobalt/NMC) + Claimed range (WLTP): 610km + Maximum AC charge rate: 11kW + Maximum DC charge rate: 250kW Polestar 3 Long Range Dual Motor with Performance Pack + Power and torque: 380kW /910Nm + 0-100km/h: 4.7 seconds + Driven wheels: Dual-motor all-wheel drive + Battery capacity: 107kWh (usable) + Battery type: Lithium-ion (NMC) + Claimed range (WLTP): 560km + Maximum AC charge rate: 11kW + Maximum DC charge rate: 250kW The Polestar 3 has a five-star ANCAP safety rating for build dates from March 2024 onwards, scoring 90 per cent for adult-occupant protection, 94 per cent for child-occupant protection — the second-highest score achieved to date — 79 per cent for vulnerable road-user protection and 79 per cent for safety assist. There are nine airbags, including a centre airbag, which provides added protection to front-seat occupants in side impact crashes. ADAS features include autonomous emergency braking (car-to-car, vulnerable road user, junction and crossing, backover and head-on) as well as a lane-support system with lane keep assist, lane-departure warning and emergency lane keeping. Notably, none of the ADAS features are intrusive and there are four interior radar sensors that can detect movement to help prevent locking a child or pet inside the car. There's no stop/start button. Just open the door, hop inside and put the card on the wireless charging pad (you can take it off once you're moving). I drive the Polestar 3 Long Range Dual Motor from Cairns to Silky Oaks Lodge and the Polestar 3 Long Range Dual Motor with Performance Pack back to the airport, sharing the ride with a colleague, weaving through cane fields along the way. Both handle winding roads effortlessly; dare I say, 'like a sports car'. Honestly, it feels like we're riding on rails, the handling is stable and confident. I keep steering set to 'firm' — and one-pedal drive set to 'standard' (there's also 'light'), which means I can ease off the accelerator without needing to brake on winding roads. Polestar's one-pedal drive is perfectly calibrated, gently bringing the car to a stop, even in 'standard' setting, without the abruptness of many other EVs. Obviously, you need to gauge the road, bends and distances using it, but it makes driving so much easier — and, of course, you slam on the brakes in an emergency, as you would in any other car. Needless to say, the 360-degree camera has crystal-clear resolution. Everything is perfect, except . . . there's wind noise coming over side mirrors and it gets progressively louder in the cabin getting up to 100km/h. Am I being a brat? I accept Polestar has accomplished no small feat in controlling road and driveline noise in an electric car that has no engine, so maybe it's a big ask to mask the sound of air running over exterior mirrors. Perhaps, smaller digital side cameras could have been used; this would, however, have cluttered the cabin with screens. If price is no object, the Performance variant is the one to get — the one with 'Swedish gold' seatbelts. You're looking at 20kW more power and 70Nm more torque, plus: + Polestar Engineered performance chassis tuning + Brembo brakes with Swedish gold calipers + 22-inch Performance wheels + Pirelli P Zero tyres + Swedish gold valve caps + Laser-etched interior line in Swedish gold Energy consumption, however, is obviously more. I finish the drive on 23.3kWh/100km in the Performance versus 16.5kWh/100km in the Long Range Dual Motor. Like many EVs, both variants have a large panoramic roof, which I don't like, especially in Australian summers. The idea is that it improves the roominess and airy feeling of the cabin. I haven't seen the engineering spec for this, but Polestar says it's made of high-tech laminated glass which reduces noise and solar radiation in the passenger compartment to a greater degree than a traditional glass roof with sunshade and maintains integrity in a crash. Polestar 3 Long Range Dual Motor: $132,720 Options + Plus pack: $9000 + Nappa upgrade: $7500 + Thunder exterior paint: $2000 Total with options: $151,220 Polestar 3 Long Range Dual Motor with Performance Pack: $144,420 Options + Plus pack: $9000 + Snow exterior paint: $2300 Total with options: $155,720 Note: There's also a Polestar 3 Long Range Single Motor priced from $118,420, excluding on-roads. The Polestar 5 will be unveiled later this year. It's expected to arrive in Australia in 2026, though it's already been undergoing local testing for the past four months as part of its global validation program.
