The Polestar 5 has arrived, and we’ve driven it across three countries to put it through its paces.
The Polestar 5 is a Grand Tourer for the electric age: part sports car, part cruiser to take you on long, stylish journeys.
The Swedish performance EV brand has been cooking this one since the Polestar Precept concept car won over fans in 2020, and the 5 brings Polestar to a four-car marque. It follows on from the 2, 3 and 4.
Designed in Sweden, developed in the UK and manufactured in China, the 5 is Polestar’s most expensive model so far, and is going up against the Porsche Taycan and Audi e-Tron GT. It’s aiming to entice customers away from these long-established legacy brands with cool Swedish design and lauded driving dynamics.
Costing around £90,000, does it offer everything its rivals do, and more… and will it continue to catapult Polestar to the top of the EV brands to watch list?
To find out, Freda Lewis-Stempel drove it from Montpellier to Barcelona as part of the 5’s Sweden to Sahara grand testing tour.
Polestar’s new 5 GT is a Grand Tourer for electric car buyers: part cruiser, part sports car it rivals the Porsche Taycan. Freda Lewis-Stempel drove it through three countries to test it out
Exterior design: Does the Polestar 5 put the wow-factor back in EV design?
In my opinion, this GT is a looker.
The design arc for this car has been a five-year process; the concept was revealed in 2020 and yet the production car of today in no way looks dated – in fact it looks ahead of the game.
The low nose, low roofline and wide stance produce just the right amount of flair, while the ‘kammaback’-style rear full-width light/spoiler give it a Batmobile look from behind.
Staring at the back of the 5 for miles through the Pyrenees was frankly a privilege, and pulling up anywhere in this GT gets people staring.
It’s classy, sophisticated, understated yet wow-worthy; the Polestar 5 proves EVs can look unique and spark excitement – they’re not just aerodynamic soulless, shapeless pieces of metal.
It’s the kind of car that if your wife, husband, friend or family member pulled up outside a restaurant to whisk you away in, you’d feel pretty darn cool.
The Performance version (which is more expensive) has 871bhp compared to the Dual motor’s 737bhp and a 0-62mph of 3.1 seconds compared to 3.8 seconds for the Dual motor
What’s the Polestar 5 like to drive? Is this an EV for a driver’s driver?
Day one I drove the Performance, while day two I got behind the wheel of the Dual motor variant.
The Performance version (which is more expensive) is, as the name suggests, made to deliver more performance: 871bhp compared to the Dual motor’s 737bhp and a 0-62mph of 3.1 seconds compared to 3.8 seconds for the Dual motor.
The Performance, as it distributes more power to the rear, will be for those who like their cars with extra spice.
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Both cars use an all-new bonded aluminium chassis; the Dual motor is passive while the Performance is tuned with MagneRide dampers.
Without getting into a physics lesson, the lightweight chassis has such huge torsional strength (resistance to twisting under uneven loads) that it’s effectively a carbon-fibre supercar underneath.
Like racing cars, this makes sure steering and stability are precise no matter what driving conditions are thrown at the car.
Polestar’s engineers say they want you to feel like the best driver you can be when you get behind the wheel of one of their cars, and the 5 does just this.
The 5 has an honest relationship with you: know what you want from it and it’ll step up.
The throttle responds naturally, the brakes are precise but not sharp and the steering is customisable to suit your tastes: most of my colleagues opted for either ‘Light’ or ‘Standard’ steering, but as someone who loves a stiff turn through, ‘Firm’ was perfect when tackling the long stints of mountain passes.
Polestar’s engineers say they want you to feel like the best driver you can be when you get behind the wheel of one of their cars, and the 5 does just this
The view over the road for a low sports car is great too, although the thick pillars can create a visibility blind spot if you’re on the shorter side
Light and Standard are preferred for longer stretches of straight road and motorway.
The 5 handles its horsepower and speed very well too because it’s so planted – it sticks to the road like a vacuum.
Even on the tightest of bends with the steepest of drops you don’t feel like it will run away with you.
Then when you need to execute a quick overtake or dart back in behind a car, you have all that pace on tap.
And I’m going to go out on a limb and say this might be the most comfortable driving position of any car I’ve tried in the last few years.
The steering wheel is electronically adjustable, as are the sports seats – 14 ways no less – so you can tailor the setup exactly as needed.
But it’s the seats – made from Bridge of Weir leather (Nappa upgrade is available) – that really sold me: they’re scooped out and bolstered, but they aren’t full of comfort padding which means your back can find its natural fit, no matter your size or shape.
I drove for hours each day without so much as an ache. They’re heavenly seats. The designer deserves a raise for ergonomics alone.
The view over the road for a low sports car is great too, although the thick pillars can create a visibility blind spot if you’re on the shorter side.
Wind noise is disappointingly high however: even on sunny calm days the whooshing was really rather loud, especially for a GT.
The other potential gripe is the lack of rear window. As the camera is sharp and clear I don’t mind this, but one can’t help thinking if one day the camera decides, like technology does, to pack in, then what?
The lack of rear window is down to personal taste – you’ll either be fine with it or not.
So, which 5 to get? Driving them back-to-back I’d recommend the Dual Motor: You’ll save yourself more than £15,000 and the differences in figures or feel will mean very little to 90 per cent of the population.
There’s no rear window so you have a dgital rear view camera only. Some people will hate this this – and one can’t help thinking if one day the camera decides to pack in, then what?
Range, charging and price: Is it a Grand Tourer that will go the miles? And how much does it cost?
The Polestar 5 has range to match pace and to make sure you can put miles on the clock while you’re enjoying yourself.
The Dual motor can do 421 miles on a single charge – that’s London to Edinburgh without stopping.
The Performance loses some range as it is more potent but can still cover 346 miles on a single charge – Newcastle to Pembrokeshire.
And thanks to new architecture, both models ultra-rapid charge to 350kW speeds, delivering 10 to 80 per cent recharge in 22 minutes.
An at home 11kW slow charge from 0 to 100 per cent will take 11 hours.
The Dual motor Launch edition costs £89,500 while the Performance Launch edition costs £104,900.
Aside from performance differences we’ve already covered, the Performance variant also comes extras including 21-inch Performance wheels, Swedish gold seatbelts, Brembo brakes and Bowers & Wilkins speakers.
The portrait screen measures 14.5 inches and has Google Built in, like all Polestars, and is accompanied by a 9-inch driver display and a 9×3 inch head-up display
The interior: Will you want to spend hours in the Polestar 5?
Most people know by now that Polestar executes a clean, crisp and well-style interior – and the 5 continues with this theme.
It’s not very much different to the Polestar 4’s interior, except that it seems to have been formulated to feel also a bit more ‘chauffeur’ and executive in feel.
The portrait screen measures 14.5 inches and has Google Built in, like all Polestars, and is accompanied by a 9-inch driver display and a 9×3 inch head-up display.
Polestar screens look good and are based off a tile and shortcut system which works great if you’re stationary but is a pain on the move because the so called ‘shortcuts’ take a fair amount of navigating and require you to take your eyes off the road for long periods – even just to switch drive modes.
Many of the textiles in the Polestar 5’s interior – which is high quality and extremely comfortable – are sustainably made
It’s light and airy, extremely comfortable (I’ve already mentioned this for the driver, but it’s the same for the front passenger too) and refined.
The quality is incredibly high for the most part, although there’s a bit more shiny acrylic-style materials around the centre console than I’d expect.
Swap this out for chrome and negatives would be few and far between, especially because so many of the materials and textiles used are 100 per cent recycled (even the door bins use natural fibres).
Again, like the Polestar 4 coupe, there are two full rear seats in this four-door low-slung tourer, and an extra ‘seat’ when needed in a ‘4+1’ configuration.
The two seats are like 1st class on a plane; you can lie back (4-way lumbar settings), sink in and feel pampered by the heated and ventilated options. There are even head cushions for extra comfort.
The panoramic roof stops it feeling claustrophobic in the rear – the biggest yet on a Polestar – which helps mitigate the lack of rear window so few passengers will have many complaints being in the back of this GT on long drives.
And there’s a 365-litre boot, plus a 62-litre frunk for extra bags.
Buy either model and you should be a happy teddy, but the Dual motor is more than enough Grand Tourer for anyone which just shy of £90k to spend
Cars and Motoring verdict: Has the Polestar 5 been worth the wait?
The Polestar 5 feels like a coming of age for the Swedish brand.
With the 5, Polestar has grown into its looks. It’s come through the awkward stage (Polestar 3’s design), realised its driving DNA’s potential, and knows what its role in its family should be.
Buy either model and you should be a happy teddy, but the Dual motor is more than enough Grand Tourer for anyone with just shy of £90,000 to spend.
And what about getting a 5 instead of a Porsche Taycan? The difference is about £1,000 – personally, I’d rather be original, stand out from the crowd, and drive the 5.
