Polestar 3 vs Volvo XC90

What's the difference?

The Polestar 3 Long Range Dual Motor with Performance Pack offers a lot of good stuff and in a segment filled with jellybean-on-wheels-designs, it looks great!

It’s large and comfortable enough for a family but the technology feels overworked and that hurts its functionality for me. So much so that at times it feels like you were driving a phone, rather than a car.

The XC90 Recharge makes a lot of sense for a family with a couple of kids, who live and spend most of their time in the city and surrounding suburbs.

You’ll need access to a power point for charging and you’ll have to do it regularly to get the best out of this SUV, but in return you’ll get effortless and efficient driving, along with the practicality and prestige which comes with any XC90. 

Where the Polestar 2 is mid-size, the Polestar 3 looks enormous but both feature what I like to refer to as Polestar minimalism. Crisp lines showcase the body without ever looking flashy.

There’s a distinct, growly edge to the Polestar 3 which its rivals lack with their pillowy designs and there’s no other word for it - it's hot.

While the thoughtfully sourced Nappa leather is a nice touch, it feels like virtue signalling to have the fact stencilled on the seats themselves. I don't need to know that it used 8.1kg of CO2e per square metre of material to produce, but it might float your boat.

This supple material is set against some lovely soft-touch knit fabrics that look great but easily pick up marks.

The Swedish Gold accents in the seatbelts and ambient lighting add some personality but the cabin looks too similar to its far more affordable sedan cousin for its price point.

The simply-styled but high-end looking interior won’t appeal to all, especially not when you’re considering the cabins of its flashier rivals but there is something beautiful in its minimalism.

Cars are like dogs in that a year for them ages them more than one for us. So, this current-generation XC90 which came out in 2015 is getting on in age. Still, the XC90 is a design lesson in how to defy the aging process because the styling even now it appears modern and beautiful. It’s also big, tough, and prestigious looking which is how the flagship SUV in a premium brand should be.

The Thunder Grey paint my test car wore (see the images) is an optional hue, and it suited the battleship size and personality of the XC90. The enormous 22-inch five -spoke Black Diamond Cut alloy wheels were standard and filled up those giant arches nicely.

Maybe it’s the minimalist styling which has kept the XC90 looking cutting edge, because even the interior looks like the inside of a very expensive psychiatrist’s office with those leather seats and the brushed aluminium trim.

The vertical display is still impressive even in 2021, and while fully digital instrument clusters are in everything these days the XC90’s has a prestigious look and matches the rest of the cabin in its colours and fonts.

As for the XC90’s dimensions, it’s 4953mm long, 2008mm wide with the mirrors folded and 1776mm tall to the top of its shark fin antenna.

The best part of the Polestar 3 cabin is the space available for all occupants! What it lacks in a third row, it more than makes up for in legroom. So, if you have a couple of lanky teenagers in tow, they'll be happy.

Passenger access is excellent via the wide door apertures and 202mm ground clearance. The front seats offer the most comfort with their heat, ventilation and five-mode massage functions. However, the rear seats are ergonomic and well-padded, so even back there, you won't get fatigue on a longer journey.

Storage isn't as clever as it could be but you still get some solid options. There's a glove box (opened via the touchscreen) that can fit a manual; a middle console, under-shelf cubby that has an elastic tech pouch and a centre console that features two cupholders and a phone cradle.

In the rear you get small storage bins in each door, two cupholders in a fold-down centre armrest and two map pockets.

Other amenities in the rear are okay but not class-leading, especially not for a top-grade model. Back rowers get climate control, heated outboard seats, two USB-C ports and reading lights but that's about it. A few practical items like sun blinds and extra storage options would be good for a family SUV at this price point.

The boot offers a maximum of 597L of storage capacity available when all five seats are in use but that can be bumped up to 1411L when the rear row is folded. The rear row has a 60/40 split with a ski-port door that adds variation to the configuration.

A level loading space makes it an easy car to slide gear in and out of. The floor folds up to reveal a large storage pocket underneath which is a handy spot for when you only have a few items and don’t want them rolling around.

Like most EVs you don’t get a spare tyre, just a tyre repair kit but you do get a powered tailgate with kick function.

Now we come to what has become the least practical aspect of the cabin for my family and that's the technology.

There's no denying the 14.5-inch portrait-style multimedia touchscreen looks awesome. And when it works, it's great. But the emphasis is on 'when it works'.

If you’re familiar with the Volvo systems, you’ll figure it out, but if you’re not - expect to spend some quality one-on-one time with the system because this isn't a simple ‘get in and go’ set up. 

It's run by Android Automotive which means you get a whole bunch of Google apps built-in, like Maps, Assistant and Google Play. There are others, like YouTube, Spotify and Tidal as well. A software update later in the year should see Apple CarPlay enabled.

The system seems to have a few gremlins and there are sporadic moments where the touchscreen functionality stops, or menus/functions can't be accessed. As when the key fob battery was low and the wireless charging pad could not be enabled. A full reset on the system was required to restore functionality.

Outside of volume control, everything is accessed via the screen and that means you're one glitch away from not being able to use the vehicle optimally or open your glove box.

The 25-speaker Bowers & Wilkins surround sound system with Dolby Atmos is nice, though.

Clever interior packaging means the XC90 Recharge is more practical than many large SUVs. There are flashes of utilitarian brilliance everywhere from the children’s booster seat which pops out of the centre of the second row (see the images) to the way the XC90 can crouch down like an elephant to make it easier to load stuff into the boot.

The XC90 Recharge is a seven-seater, and like all SUVs with third rows those seats in the very back only offer enough room for kids. The second row is spacious even for me at 191cm tall with plenty of leg- and headroom. Up front as you’d expect has good head-, elbow- and shoulder room.

Cabin storage is good with two cup holders in each row (the third also has containers under the armrests) and there are large door pockets, a decent sized centre console box and a net pocket in the front passenger footwell.

The cargo capacity with all seats being used is 291 litres and with the third row folded flat you’ll have 651 litres of boot space.

Storage for the charging cable could be better. The cable comes in a stylish canvas bag that sits in the boot, but other plug-in hybrids I’ve driven do a better job of providing a storage box for the cable that’s out of the way of your regular cargo.  

The gesture control tailgate works with a foot swish under the rear of the car and the proximity key means you can lock and unlock the vehicle by touching the door handle.

The cargo area is filled with hooks for bags and a lift-up divider to hold items in place.

Four-zone climate control, four USB ports (two in the front and two in the second row) dark tinted rear windows and sun blinds top off what is a very practical, family SUV.

My family is small – there’s just three of us – and so the XC90 was more than what we needed. That said, we found a way to fill it with holiday gear, shopping, even a mini trampoline.

The XC90 Recharge lists for $114,990 making it the most expensive grade in the XC90 range.

Still, the value is excellent considering the number of features which come standard.

The 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster standard, so is the nine-inch vertical centre display for media and climate control, there’s also sat nav, a Bowers and Wilkins 19-speaker stereo, wireless phone-charging, four-zone climate control, power-adjustable front seats, proximity key with auto tailgate and LED headlights.

My test car was fitted with options such as the Nappa Leather perforated and ventilated seats in Charcoal ($2950), the Climate pack which adds heated rear seats and a heated steering wheel ($600), power folding headrests in the rear ($275) and Thunder Grey metallic paint ($1900).

Even at a grand total (before on-road costs) of $120,715 I think this is still good value.

Our test model is a dual motor all-wheel-drive, with two 180kW permanent magnetic motors at each end of the vehicle. The Performance Pack adds a software upgrade which boosts the outputs (20kW/70Nm) and together this model produces up to 380kW of power and 910Nm of torque.

This gives you an impressive 0-100km/h sprint time of just 4.7-seconds and a top speed of 210km/h.

The chassis has been tuned with performance in mind and there is torque vectoring on the rear axle, as well as a rear motor disconnect clutch to save power at lower speeds.

Despite its massive outputs, I haven’t felt overwhelmed by the power but it has plenty of it to ensure a quick on-road experience. You certainly don’t feel like you can’t overtake!

The XC90 Recharge (Volvo calls it this, so for simplicity let's do it, too) is an all-wheel drive SUV with a 2.0-litre four-cylinder supercharged and turbo-charged engine, producing 246kW and 440Nm, plus an electric motor which adds 65kW and 240Nm.

Shifting gears is an eight-speed automatic and acceleration is rapid at 5.5 seconds for the 0-100km/h sprint.

All XC90s have a 2400kg braked towing capacity.

The 11.6kWh lithium ion battery is located under the floor in a tunnel which runs down the centre of the car covered by the centre console and hump in the footwell of the second row.

If you didn’t realise, this is the type of hybrid you need to plug into a power source to charge the batteries. A power point is fine but a wall unit is faster.  If you don’t plug in, the battery will only get tiny whiff of charge from the regenerative braking and that won’t be enough to put a tiny dent in your fuel consumption.

The Long Range Dual Motor with Performance Pack has a lithium ion battery with a large 111kWh of capacity but its claimed WLTP driving range is only up to 567km which positions it in the middle of its rivals.

This isn’t a bad driving range but I’d want an even longer one for a family SUV because it means less time at the charging stations with your kids on a road trip.

The Polestar 3 has a Type 2 CCS charging port and it can be connected to a rapid DC charger. It can accept up to 250kW on this type of system, which is excellent.

An 11kW AC or 50kW DC charger will take up to 11 hours or two and a half hours to charge, respectively.

Our test model has an official claimed WLTP energy consumption range between 21.9 to 23kWh/100km and after a mix of open and city driving we managed to hit an average of 20.4kWh, which is good for such a big EV.

Volvo says that after a combination of urban and open roads the XC 90 Recharge should use 2.1L/100km. That’s incredible - we’re talking about a five-metre long, 2.2-tonne, seven-seat SUV here.

In my testing the fuel economy varied greatly depending on how and where I drove the XC90.

There was a week where I only drove up to 15km a day doing the day care drop-offs, the shopping, popping into work in the CBD, but all within 10km of my home. With 35km of electric range I found that I only had to charge the XC90 every second day to keep it topped up to full and, according to the trip computer, after 55km of travel I was using 1.9L/100km.

I recharged using the outdoor power point in my driveway and using this method would take just less than five hours to fully charge the battery from empty. A wall unit or fast charger will top the battery up much quicker.

The charging cable is long at more than 3m, and the flap on the XC90 is located on the front left wheel guard.

If you don’t have a way of charging the XC90 regularly then fuel consumption will go up, obviously.

This happened when our family took a break down the coast and the holiday house we stayed at didn’t have a power point within reach. So, while we had been charging the car regularly in the week beforehand with a few long trips thrown in on motorways, for the four days we were away I didn’t plug it in at all.

After 598.4km I filled it back to full at the petrol pump with 46.13 litres of premium unleaded. That comes to 7.7L/100km, which is still great fuel economy given that the last 200km would have been without charging.

The lesson is the XC90 Recharge is most fuel efficient on short suburban and city trips with daily or every second-day charging.  

A larger capacity battery would add more range and make this plug-in hybrid SUV better suited to people who live further out of the city and do more motorway miles.

I have been a little surprised by the top-model grade this week. It’s got heaps of power and your tummy does a little leap when you really have to put your foot down but the strong regen braking and adjustable one-pedal function (up to two levels) take a long time to get used to and sometimes it just feels like it's champing at the bit but not in a fun, sports car way.

The Polestar 3 sits lower to the ground than some other large SUVs but it’s not as steady as I would expect in cornering. The adaptive suspension is adjustable depending on the drive mode you select but remains fairly firm and you feel the bigger bumps.

The visibility is great and none of the pillars are in the way from my driving position, the frameless side mirrors also add a wide view into your blind spots. 

The active noise cancelling tech means the cabin is delightfully quiet and it's very easy to chat with the back seat passengers. I’ve hated that you can’t ‘close’ the sunroof though because despite there being little to no heat, the constant sunlight is really annoying.

The 360-degree view camera system is high quality and despite a few fish-eye lens angles you can get, this is a very easy SUV to park.

My dad struggled with the concept of not turning the car on or off, and in his words "it just feels wrong!". This is a Polestar experience though that you get used to (eventually).

However, the aspect I struggled with is that you get two 'keys' - an easily lost key fob and a keycard (same size as a credit card).

You apparently need both to access the vehicle - the keycard to unlock/open the doors if the key fob proximity feature doesn't register and the key fob to actually drive.

Although, at a pinch the keycard is technically a second key and can be used to drive if the battery on the key fob runs out. Oh, did I mention you have to charge the key fob? It all seems a bit superfluous.

We put more than 700km on the clock of the XC90 Recharge during the three weeks it stayed with my family, covering a lot of motorway miles, country roads and a stack of urban usage, too.

Now without sounding like one of the haters who hated on me the last time I test-drove a Volvo hybrid, you will need to charge the XC90 Recharge all the time if you want to get not only the best fuel economy, but also the best performance from the SUV, too.

There’s the extra oomph from the motor, when you have enough charge in the ‘tank’ but also the serene and smooth pleasure of driving in electric mode on city and urban trips.

That tranquil electric driving experience feels kind of at odds with a large SUV at first, but having now tested a few big family plug-in hybrids and EVs I can tell you it’s a more enjoyable one.

Movement is not only smooth, but the electric grunt provides a feeling of control with an instant response which I found reassuring in traffic and at intersections.

The transition from electric motor to petrol engine is almost seamless. Volvo and Toyota are only a couple of the few brands which seemed to have achieved this.

The XC90 is large and that presented a challenge when trying to pilot it into my narrow driveaway and in car parks, but light, accurate steering and excellent visibility with large windows and cameras galore helped there.

The auto parking feature works well even on the higgledy-piggledy streets in my neighbourhood.

Topping off an effortless driving experience is air suspension which provides a cushioned and composed ride, with great body control all while wearing those 22-inch wheels and low-profile rubber.

Volvo has for decades been a pioneer of safety systems to such an extreme that people used to make fun of the brand for being overly cautious. Well, take it from this helicopter parent: there’s no such thing as being overly cautious! Besides, these days all car brands are striving to offer advanced safety systems which the XC90 has had for years. Yep, safety is cool now. Which makes Volvo the Kanye of car brands.

Coming standard on the XC90 Recharge is AEB which works at city speeds to brake for pedestrians, cyclists, vehicles and even large animals.

There’s also lane keeping assistance, blind spot warning, cross traffic alert with braking (front and rear).

Steering support provides assistance during at evasive manoeuvre at speeds between 50 and 100km/h.

Curtain airbags cover all three rows and for child seats there are two ISOFIX mounts and three top tether anchor points in the second row. Note, there are no mounts or points for child seats in the third row.

A space-saver spare is under the boot floor.

The XC90 was given the maximum five-star ANCAP rating when it tested in 2015.  

Polestar offers the Polestar 3 with a five-year/unlimited warranty and the battery is covered by an eight-year or up to 160,000km warranty. You also get a free service plan for the first five years or up to 100,000km of ownership, whichever comes first.

Considering its position in the premium-end of the EV market, this is good value compared to its Euro rivals.

The XC90 is covered by a five-year, unlimited kilometre warranty. Two service plans are offered: three years for $1500 and five years for $2500.