The Polestar 3 previews in Singapore

Polestar Singapore has given us a preview of their upcoming Polestar 3 SUV, the brand's first high-performance luxury SUV. We first saw the car during the official launch of the Polestar 3 in October of 2022, but the show car is now on display at the Polestar Space in Singapore (located at 45 Leng Kee Road).

The Polestar 3's design

On the face of it, the Polestar 3 is a large vehicle measuring 4,900mm long and 2,120mm wide (including the frameless wing mirrors), which gives it a footprint similar to that of the BMW X5 and Porsche Cayenne. However, the Polestar 3 is only 1,627mm high, and its steeply raked roofline gives it a lower, more aggressive stance that is accentuated by the (optional) 22-inch rims on the Performance Pack model.

Up front, the car sports a SmartZone sensor cluster in place of a more traditional grille and above that sits a front "wing" that channels air over the hood and the body of the car. We're told that the PS3's drag coefficient is just Cd 0.29, an impressive figure that is aided by the aerodynamic elements on the front fascia and numerous exterior elements on the car including the flush door handles, tailgate spoiler and rear bumper mouldings.

Inside the Polestar 3

As expected of the Scandinavian brand, the interior of the Polestar 3 is suitably Scandi-minimalist with minimal physical interfaces and cleaner surfaces. Nestled atop the steering column is a nine-inch digital cluster and mounted in the middle of the dash is a portrait-oriented 14.5-inch infotainment screen powered by Google Android and Nvidia processors.

The car's gear selector is mounted on the steering column and like the Polestar 2, there is no start button. As a matter of fact, the lack of physical buttons is immediately apparent in the cabin - from the lack of physical wing mirror controls and only one infotainment/volume dial on the centre console.

Elsewhere, the cabin is sheathed in sustainably sourced Nappa leather (evident from the printed script on the seats) or 100 per cent traced wool and recycled fabrics. The car can even be optioned with a 25-speaker Bowers & Wilkins 1,610W sound system.

Technical details of the Polestar 3

When the car arrives, it'll be available with a Long Range Dual Motor powertrain in two states of tune. Both will come with a 111kWh battery pack (with 107kWh of usable energy) that can accept charging rates of up to 250kW under DC charging or 11kW under AC charging.

The standard LRDM model produces 489 horsepower and 840Nm of torque. It'll get from 0-100km/h in five seconds and hit a top speed of 210km/h

However, the more powerful LRDM Performance Pack (on display in the showroom) produces 517 horsepower (380kW) and 910Nm, which is enough to hustle this coupe-is SUV from 0-100km/h in 4.7 seconds. Top speed remains the same at 210km/h.

But the performance pack model comes with numerous performance upgrades. These include a retuned chassis by Polestar Engineering, 22-inch forged rims, Pirelli P-Zero tyres and gold accents on several aspects of the car - similar to what we've seen in the Polestar 2 LRDM with the performance pack.

Since the car's global launch in 2022, the Polestar 3 has been plagued with significant delays stemming from software development and testing issues. Production of the Polestar 3 is now slated to begin in Q2 2024.

Here in Singapore, we should expect the car to arrive sometime in Q2 2024 with an estimated starting price of $360,000 without COE - which could mean that the Polestar 3 could cost nearly half a million dollars.

ALSO READ: The Polestar 2 BST edition 230 is coming to Singapore

This article was first published in CarBuyer.