Slide into the 3’s cabin and you’re greeted by a double-decker dash design, complete with a recessed vent line that runs the full width, pale recycled textiles, a wood insert and some subtle chrome touches. It’s straightforward but also oozes that classically understated, airy, Scandinavian feel.
A compact digital readout behind the steering wheel gives you speed and range, and there’s a head-up display as part of the £5000 Plus Pack, if you want it. Then, of course, there’s a huge touchscreen as well, which is your window to the climate control, inbuilt sat-nav (with Google Maps), wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto and more.
The 3’s infotainment software is ultimately the same as that in the Volvo EX30, which drove our Matt Prior to distraction last year. Polestar has made the icons bigger and added shortcut buttons from the home page to key features (which change depending on whether you are parked or driving).
There are still frustrations, though. The adaptive driving features are a total faff to adjust and having the headlight, seat and steering wheel adjustments buried back there is annoying. Peculiarly, the icon for the hazard warning lights (there is a physical button on the ceiling) on the home screen is immediately next to the button you want for all of this, so it’s fairly easy to turn your hazards on when all you wanted was to change your suspension from Firm to Nimble…
Ho hum. It’s better than in the EX30 and the inbuilt Google stuff is great – but there are still plenty of aspects that will be properly teeth-grinding on a daily basis.
Still, at least you’ll be comfy while you get annoyed with the touchscreen which, granted, is due to have an update or two before the Polestar 3 reached customers. The driving position is great, barring the steering wheel needing to drop a touch lower, and space isn’t likely to be an issue either. Rear passenger room is properly impressive, even by the high standards of this class. The clever roofline design means that even tall passengers have loads of head room despite the comparably low roofline and standard glass roof, and it’s all seriously cushy and lovely.
Boot space is good too. The sloping roofline does make it a bit shallow towards the back of the car, but the 484-litre space (accessed through a usefully large hatch aperture) is decent, with a nifty boot floor that folds up to split the load space and gives you something to strap your groceries securely to (as we have seen in various Volvos). Meanwhile, the small ‘frunk’ is good for storing a single charging cable.
