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An electric car that's made for Australia? Polestar confirms local testing and tuning program for 2024 Polestar 3 as it puts driver fun first

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Andrew Chesterton
Contributing Journalist
19 Jul 2023
3 min read

Polestar will soon join Kia as one of the few electric vehicle makers testing vehicles in Australia before tuning them for Australian conditions, with the brand confirming plans to send its chief test engineer and vehicle dynamics engineer Down Under to validate new products.

The China-backed Swedish EV maker has just one model on sale in Australia at the moment, the Polestar 2, but in the coming months and years it will be joined by the 3, 4 and 5, as the brand's model rollout finally gathers steam. And it has a way to further differentiate itself from Tesla.

The company that bills itself as an "electric performance brand" says it will ensure its future models handle Australia's unique, and sometimes awful, road conditions, as well as our penchant for performance, by investing in vehicle testing and tuning here.

The news comes from Polestar's chief test engineer, Joakim Rydholm, who told CarsGuide that the standard suspension setting would be "a starting point" before a vehicle was further personalised for local conditions.

Asked whether Polestar would develop new models on Australian roads, Rydholm replied:

“Yes, we will. To at least know what works very well there. I will have to go there myself, spend the time, it helps.

The Polestar 3, which has been delayed by software issues, will be the next model to launch in Australia.
The Polestar 3, which has been delayed by software issues, will be the next model to launch in Australia.

"That's part of my job, to make sure it works. Right now we do a setting as a starting point."

It's not yet known just how detailed or involved a local tuning program would be, but the move to do any development work here would help differentiate Polestar from brands like Tesla, with the latter choosing not to invest in local tuning.

But the Swedish brand says it recognises how different road quality can be in markets around the world, calling out Australia, China and the USA as having "special" roads.

It all forms part of Polestar's push to take on long-standing performance heroes like Porsche in the driver-fun department, with the brand boldly claiming its models will deliver the best steering and steering feel in the electric car world.

In the coming months and years the Polestar 2 will be joined by the 4 in Australia.
In the coming months and years the Polestar 2 will be joined by the 4 in Australia.

"No doubt about that," said Rydholm when asked directly whether the steering in a Polestar would outshine its performance rivals.

"We spend a lot of time behind the steering wheel to make sure all those components fit properly together," he says.

"So when you drive the car, it feels like it is supporting the driver. You will feel like you're driving."

The Polestar 3, which has been delayed by software issues, will be the next model to launch in Australia, landing in Q2 next year, with the electric SUV closely followed by the Polestar 4.

Andrew Chesterton
Contributing Journalist
Andrew Chesterton should probably hate cars. From his hail-damaged Camira that looked like it had spent a hard life parked at the end of Tiger Woods' personal driving range, to the Nissan Pulsar Reebok that shook like it was possessed by a particularly mean-spirited demon every time he dared push past 40km/h, his personal car history isn't exactly littered with gold. But that seemingly endless procession of rust-savaged hate machines taught him something even more important; that cars are more than a collection of nuts, bolts and petrol. They're your ticket to freedom, a way to unlock incredible experiences, rolling invitations to incredible adventures. They have soul. And so, somehow, the car bug still bit. And it bit hard. When "Chesto" started his journalism career with News Ltd's Sunday and Daily Telegraph newspapers, he covered just about everything, from business to real estate, courts to crime, before settling into state political reporting at NSW Parliament House. But the automotive world's siren song soon sounded again, and he begged anyone who would listen for the opportunity to write about cars. Eventually they listened, and his career since has seen him filing car news, reviews and features for TopGear, Wheels, Motor and, of course, CarsGuide, as well as many, many others. More than a decade later, and the car bug is yet to relinquish its toothy grip. And if you ask Chesto, he thinks it never will.
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