The Polestar 3 has had a mid-life update, and the headline change sits under the skin: the electric SUV now runs an 800-volt electrical architecture. In an Autogefühl walkaround and drive, host Thomas reports the switch cuts a 10 to 80 percent charge to about 22 minutes, with DC peaks of 310 or 350 kilowatts depending on the battery. AC charging stays at 11 kilowatts, with no 22-kilowatt option. The car keeps two battery sizes, now quoted at 103 kilowatt-hours usable on the larger pack and 90 on the smaller one, and a new infotainment processor replaces the slower unit that early cars shipped with. It is sold as rear or all-wheel drive, shares its underpinnings with the Volvo EX90, and is built in the United States.
The 800-volt move matters because it lifts the Polestar 3 into the same charging bracket as rivals that have used the higher voltage as a selling point. The Hyundai Ioniq 5, on an 800-volt platform since 2021, has long advertised 10 to 80 percent charging in a similar window, so Polestar is closing a gap here rather than setting a new bar. The video also flags something owners rarely get: existing Polestar 3 customers can reportedly have the new infotainment processor retrofitted at a dealer, which is unusual in an industry that normally reserves hardware upgrades for new model years. There is a catch buyers should know about, though. The host points out that the larger pack is now slightly smaller than before, with the previous version carrying about 107 usable kilowatt-hours, and says Polestar attributes the change to cost and packaging. For a buyer, the practical takeaway is that the slow-software complaint which dogged early cars now has a fix, and the quicker charging makes the bigger battery far more usable on a long trip even with a touch less capacity.
On the road without the optional air suspension, the host says the car rides firmly on its 20-inch wheels but stays composed, and he prefers that setup to the pricier performance pack, which he argues adds acceleration most drivers will never use. Autogefühl's own consumption test, run in hot summer weather, returned 16 kilowatt-hours per 100 kilometers at a steady 100 km/h, which the channel translates to roughly 645 kilometers, about 400 miles, of real range from the big battery. At 130 km/h that rose to 23 kWh per 100 km and a real-world figure nearer 450 kilometers, or 280 miles. Inside, the host highlights laminated acoustic glass and, on cars with the Bowers and Wilkins system, active noise cancellation that he calls almost eerily quiet, though he notes the effect can feel like pressure on the ears for sensitive passengers. The cabin now runs native Google built-in with Google Maps, keeps Apple CarPlay, and adds a Gemini voice assistant. His main gripes: a glass roof that gets very hot in summer and a climate control split across two menu layers. He also notes a small front trunk sized mainly for the charging cable, and a 480-litre main boot he calls usefully wide but a little shallow.
Bottom line: The 800-volt update fixes the two things that held the Polestar 3 back, sluggish software and middling charging speed, without touching the parts that were already good. If you want one, the host's spec advice is sound: skip the performance pack, take the larger battery, and stick with the smaller wheels whether or not you add air suspension. The catch is price, which climbs toward six figures in Europe once you start optioning, and a US future clouded by separate trade rules. As a product, though, this is closer to the Polestar 3 that should have launched in the first place.
Commentary on a third-party video. Figures and claims are as presented in the source and have not been independently verified. Spotted an error? Tell us and we will correct it.