The Polestar 1 is a plug-in hybrid electric coupe that was mainly made to lay down a marker for the Polestar brand, while the Polestar 2 is an all-electric crossover-y thing that’s intended to challenge the Tesla Model Y. The Polestar 3 is full-size all-electric SUV that will NOT have three rows.
That is one of the more useful pieces of information Car And Driver was able to pull out of Polestar CEO Thomas Ingenlath in Munich.
“I have nothing against three-rows per se,” he said, “but the second we did do that you guys would be asking what was the differentiation to to the XC90. . .Having two rows gives the opportunity to give the car that aerodynamic roofline, it gives the chance to emphasize the space between the first and second rows, which really gives the second row a luxurious feeling.”
If you’ve never spoken with an auto designer, engineer, or executive, this is a good example, in miniature, of how those conversations go, which is to say that many of those conversations begin with the phrase, “I have nothing against three-rows per se,” but I digress. Ingenlath also said there would be single-motor Polestar 3s, for those who don’t want to pay more for all-wheel-drive, and dual-motor Polestar 3s, for those who do.
“I definitely see that as a good combination,” he said, “at the end of the day the twin motor has a bit more power and acceleration, but there are lots of people who don’t need that thrill. And there are lots of people who don’t need all-wheel drive. So in Norway or Austria we will always sell more all-wheel drive. But in China or the U.S. lots of people are happy with the single motor.”
Some power options then, with the highest performance option intended to be significantly better than the upcoming all-electric Volvo XC90, Ingenlath added, because if the Polestar 3 is not different in some significant way from the electric XC90, then it may not have a reason to exist. It doesn’t help Ingenlath’s argument that both cars will be made at Volvo’s plant in South Carolina, though this is also possibly more motivation for Polestar to get cracking on the stunning Precept, which could change the conversation about Polestar more than any two-row SUV can.
Leave a Reply
Leave a Reply
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
