Polestar 5 review

It’s Sweden, China and Great Britain’s answer to the Porsche Taycan, all rolled into one low slung four-door electric GT.

The design was first previewed way back in 2020 with the Precept concept, and it really hasn’t changed all that much for production. Okay, the coach doors have gone, and designer Nahum Escobedo lost a battle with the engineers to keep the low front splitter, but it’s mostly very clean surfaces with a low nose and Thor’s hammer headlights up front.

Big alloy wheels sit under muscular arches at the sides, and there’s a swooping rear end with a chopped Kammtail and full-width lightbar. It’s modern and relatively simple, but the proportions give it serious visual drama. This thing is almost 5.1m long, over 2m wide and just 1.4m tall.

Quite the international effort, isn’t it?

Absolutely. Polestar’s HQ – which is essentially a giant white box that’s often referred to as ‘The Cube’ – is still in Gothenburg, Sweden, but Chinese giant Geely is steering the ship as it navigates towards profitability. Interestingly though, the 5 was mostly developed and engineered by a small-ish team at the MIRA Technology Park in Nuneaton.

Under the skin there’s a new and bespoke bonded aluminium platform with “torsional rigidity higher than that of a two-seat sports or supercar,” so say its makers. We’re also told that 13 per cent of the aluminium used is recycled, while a further 83 per cent comes from smelters that using renewable electricity.

Unfortunately, now that development of the 5 has finished, Polestar has made redundancies across its UK-based R&D teams. We hope they got the engineers a good leaving gift, because they’ve done a fantastic job of making this big 2.5-tonne limo handle like something with half of its heft. Click through to the Driving tab of this review for more.

So, what are the stats?

Well, at launch there are two variants of the Polestar 5, but even the entry-level car (known simply as the Dual Motor) gets all-wheel drive and a max power output of 737bhp. Yikes. Top spec is the Performance, which gets the full 871bhp and 749lb ft of torque for a 0-62mph time of 3.2 seconds and a 155mph top speed. Worth noting that’s just 1bhp less than you’d get in the Porsche Taycan Turbo.

Both 5s get the same battery, which – as it says on the side of the car is 112kWh in capacity – although only 106kWh of that is usable. Range is an impressive 421 miles WLTP for the Dual Motor but drops to 346 miles for the rapid Performance. We’re told that the latter was certified in its Performance mode though, so if you come out of that you might fare better on a long run.

The rear motor can even disconnect for maximum efficiency, and the 5 uses an 800-volt architecture so can recharge at 350kW. Find a charger with enough juice and you’ll manage a 10 to 80 per cent top up in just 22 minutes.

What’s it like inside?

First thing to note is that Polestar describes this as a 4+1 seater. That’s because you’ve got two individually reclining rear seats rather than a bench in the back, but the central armrest between them can be lifted and used as an extra chair when required.

The front seats were developed in collaboration with Recaro, and there’s plenty of premium materials and ‘Swedish gold’ accents. You also get a 14.5-inch portrait central touchscreen, a 9.0-inch driver display and 9.3-inch head-up display. Oh, and an 8.9-inch screen for the digital rear-view mirror, because just like the Polestar 4 there’s no rear window.

How much does it cost?

Not quite as much as an equivalent Taycan, actually. The entry-level 5 Dual Motor starts at £89,500 but has more power than the £118,200 Taycan GTS. The 5 Performance kicks off at £104,900, while a Taycan Turbo would set you back £135,200 before options.

Any other rivals that aren’t from Stuttgart?

Great question. Of course, the Taycan’s sister car is the Audi e-tron GT, but you might also consider another four-door super GT from Geely’s empire – the Lotus Emeya. Polestar also reckons it might pick up a few customers that are getting out of a Tesla Model S, and there’s the small matter of the Jaguar Type 01 to come…

We first saw this car in 2020 and it has taken years of development to get to this point. Polestar made a bold call to develop its own bespoke chassis rather than borrowing something from its Geely overlords, but it was worth it to create a rapid flagship that follows on from the plug-in hybrid Polestar 1.

The 5 looks futuristic in the flesh but still retains plenty of space for occupants who sit low and ensconced by wonderful materials. We’re still not sold on having no rear window, but there’s so much power even in the entry version that you barely need to look back.

Plus, it has the ride and handling chops to upset the very best four-door grand tourers. A wonderful thing.