Polestar 3 - Range, charging & running costs
There’s a big battery, but poor efficiency means the Polestar 3 doesn’t make the most of it
Three years’ free servicing is a big bonus for the Polestar 3, but it’s not a particularly efficient car by EV standards - especially in its top-spec Performance trim.
Electric range, battery life and charge time
Officially, the Polestar 3 Dual Motor models are claimed to return as much as 3.3 miles per kilowatt hour, with 2.7mi/kWh the most pessimistic estimate for these editions. However, we achieved a figure closer to 2.5mi/kwh, so in our hands a range of around 260 miles was achievable, which isn’t fantastic, given the size of the battery pack.
The Polestar 3 features a virtual torque-vectoring system with a dual-clutch for the rear motor, meaning it can decouple the rear motor for improved efficiency.
At 250kW, recharging is competitive, if not quite class leading. With such a large battery to top up, getting from 10-80 per cent takes around 30 minutes using a DC fast charger. With a typical 7kW wallbox charger at home, it will take 17 hours to fully recharge a Polestar 3 from 0 to 100 per cent.
| Model | Battery size | Range | Insurance group |
| Long Range | 111kWh | 438 miles | 50 |
| Long Range Dual Motor | 111kWh | 392 miles | 50 |
| Long Range Dual Motor Performance | 111kWh | 347 miles | 50 |
Tax
VED is free from the second year onward for Polestar 3 owners, while company car users will be happy with the two per cent (increasing to three per cent for the 2025/26 tax year) Benefit-in-Kind band.
Insurance groups
Although you might be able to save some money in tax, you’ll need to set aside some budget for the cost of insurance, because the entire Polestar 3 line-up sits in the highest band, group 50.
Depreciation
Residual values are impressive for the Polestar 3, because our experts predict that even the most depreciation-prone Performance model will cling on to 58.7 per cent of its value after three years or 36,000 miles. Go for the entry-level Long Range Single Motor, and it’ll hold on to 64.7 per cent of that initial cost.
To get an accurate valuation for a specific model, check out our valuation tool...
