POLESTAR 3 SINGLE MOTOR

Athletic SUV becomes lighter, rangier and cheaper. Deal of the century?

- ILLYA VERPRAET

When we road tested the Polestar 3 (Autocar, 12 February), we found it delivered on the unlikely promise of a big electric SUV for the keen driver, and at a price that undercut most rivals. Efficiency (and thus range) was disappointing, however. That's where this new entry-level version comes in.

As the name suggests, the Long Range Single Motor (LRSM) uses the same 107kWh battery pack as the Long Range Dual Motor (LRDM) but does with just the rear motor, albeit in a more powerful state of tune.

So this 3 is cheaper (£70k versus £76k) and more efficient (3.1 versus 2.9mpkWh WLTP) and thus has a longer range (438 versus 395 miles). What's not to like? After all, with the vast majority of EVs, the 'lesser' version is the one to have for exactly these reasons, and because they tend to be nicer to drive.

However, the LRSM also loses some of the LRDM's chassis tech. The adaptively damped air suspension is replaced by coil springs with frequency-selective dampers and hydraulic bump stops. And in place of the clever torque-splitting device on the rear axle, there's now a conventional open differential.