New Polestar 3: what’s it like to sit inside the new electric SUV?

What is it?

While Polestar bosses refuse to be drawn on potential volumes, there’s no doubt this big, electric SUV has been built to propel the former performance arm of Volvo into the stratosphere. Simply because it is a big, electric SUV. 

And this big, electric SUV pens an intriguing ode to interior austerity. Though, it’s so minimalist, we’re not even sure where the pen is.

Is there a risk of it feeling a little… sterile in there?

A valid question we put to the team responsible for designing the interior of the new Polestar 3. At the car’s reveal event last week, there were a few cars on display, each with a different interior colour combination. The first car we clocked was one with a rather drab-looking charcoal grey seat/dash combo.

The touchscreen and driver display were switched off, too, so it wasn’t off to the greatest of starts.

First impressions? The quality of the materials and the fit and finish are beyond reproach. The seats were comfortable, supportive and the driving position was good with a clear, commanding view ahead.

The lack of any major dashboard furniture, aside from that massive touchscreen, engenders a feeling of calm – your eyes aren’t constantly being diverted. (Don’t forget, the Polestar 3 monitors driver focus via a little camera.) Ditto the slim driver display panel behind the steering wheel, which is a very cool treatment.

There’s a definite feeling of airiness inside, thanks in part to the standard-fit panoramic glass roof, and head- and shoulder-room is good.

Are there any physical dials?

Yes! There is one! And, perhaps fittingly enough, it’s the audio control. A simple dial on the fetching floating centre armrest – itself styled like a piece of Scandi furniture – controls the volume and play/forward settings. Fittingly because you’ve got an easily reachable control on the only noise the car is likely to make.

As with the Polestar 2, everything else is on the touchscreen… which we had a quick play with separately. And just like the Polestar 2, it’s actually very intuitive and straightforward. Functions are grouped for ease, there’s easy selection of climate control (no need to dive into sub menus, for example), and the response was snappy. The fonts too, were clean and felt modern.

What about the back?

Here’s where it gets interesting. Polestar hasn’t shied away from this car’s platform – it sits on Volvo’s SPA2 chassis, which will underpin the next Volvo XC90. The Volvo XC90 is a seven-seat SUV, and a rather good one at that.

By deliberately only offering five seats (no seven-seat variation of the Polestar 3 is planned), there’s acres of rear legroom on offer. It is genuinely huge, and as we all know space is true measure of luxury and ‘premium’, the 3 is right up there.

The 3’s cross section sits high and comes in low, which gives it a great silhouette but does mean that while headroom’s not too bad, rear passengers over 5ft 10in might struggle.

Boot’s a decent size, too.

So it’s well-built but a little… cold?

Doesn’t have to be. Another Polestar 3 on display had a cream leather interior and the electrics switched on, allowing full display of the interior ambient lighting. Makes all the difference for the full feeling of – clichéd Scandi phrase alert! - hygge.

We’ll see ourselves out… of this big, electric SUV.