New Polestar 5 revealed: 900bhp electric performance car offers 416-mile range

On sale Late 2025 Price from £89,500

A pole star is a crucial part of navigation, used as a fixed reference point near the Earth’s north and south poles – and the new Polestar 5 performance car lives up to its brand name in that it’s a leading model in the Swedish firm’s lineup, because it’s the first one to be built on brand new bespoke technology.

Indeed, the new Polestar 5 will be the brand’s first model based on a new platform that’s exclusive to Polestar only – it won’t be shared with Volvo, Polestar’s sister brand, or Lotus, another company owned by Chinese giant Geely. It’s also been fully developed here in the UK.

That tech will support the Polestar 5 in two forms: a Dual Motor version or a Performance version. For the longest range, you’ll want to opt for the former, which can officially travel up to 416 miles thanks to its 106kWh (usable capacity) battery. As you might have guessed, power comes from two electric motors, pumping out 737bhp. That juice is enough to propel it from 0-62mph in just 3.9sec, which is just marginally slower than a Porsche Taycan 4S.

If you want even more pace, then the Performance version offers a hefty 871bhp from the same size battery. Like the Dual Motor version, it’s four-wheel-drive, but it gets a different adaptive suspension setup and it can reach 62mph in a staggering 3.2sec. That’s quick even by the high standards of electric cars – but bear in mind that the quickest version of the Taycan can manage the same sprint in just 2.2sec.

For that pace, though, you do have to compromise on range, because the Performance model has an official figure of 351 miles on a single charge. That’s not small by any means – in fact, it’s more than what the Tesla Model 3 Performance can do.

That technology contains 800-volt charging architecture, which allows the Polestar 5 to facilitate ultra-rapid charging speeds of up to 350kW. In other words, a 10-80% top-up should be possible in just 22 minutes, which is super quick for a battery of this size – but, of course, public chargers capable of such speeds are few and far between in the UK.

Outside, the Polestar 5 doesn’t deviate too drastically from the styling of its stablemates, with angular LED headlights, a lightbar spanning the width of the rear and, notably, no rear window, like the Polestar 4. It does, however, get a long, rakish silhouette, with a sloping roofline to give it that sleek grand tourer look.

Inside, there’s a 9in digital driver’s display behind the steering wheel alongside a 14.5in portrait-oriented central infotainment touchscreen. A 9.5in head-up display is also available, though it’s unclear if every version of the Polestar 5 will receive this as standard. 

The infotainment system is Google-based, which means you have access to apps like Google Maps without having to connect your phone. Unlike in the Polestar 3, which gets two tiles at the bottom of the screen for phone and media shortcuts, the Polestar 5 has four customisable tiles so you can easily access your favourite controls.

A 10-speaker audio system comes as standard, while opting for a Performance model will upgrade it to a 21-speaker Bowers and Wilkins system.

In terms of quality, the Polestar 5 feels expensive, with its wood veneer and some plush plastic-alternative materials. However, the Taycan does offer some more variety in the way of customisation and colour schemes.

Designed as a 4+1, the Polestar 5 should seat up to four adults comfortably, and one more rather uncomfortably. You probably wouldn’t want to be transporting five tall adults very often.

We've had a chance to sit in the new Polestar 5 and, while it looks very similar to other Polestars, the interior up front feels very sturdily put together with plush soft-touch materials on the dashboard.

The back, meanwhile, offers loads of legroom for tall adults and decent headroom, too. And even though there isn't a rear window, there's still a lot of light let through the panoramic sunroof and large side windows so it doesn't feel at all claustrophobic. It's also nice being able to fold down the middle seat to use as a huge, nicely padded armrest and central control unit – to adjust things like the climate controls and your heated seat.

Returning to the lack of rear window – you instead get a digital rear view mirror, which you can flip between showing you the rear seats like a regular mirror would and showing you the live digital feed of a camera outside the car. We didn’t like this very much on the Polestar 4, because it doesn’t give you a very good idea of where you are in relation to outside objects, and you find yourself having to rely on reversing cameras and sensors. However, the feed was clear even in torrential rain.

You’ll find 365 litres of storage space in the boot, as well as a 62-litre space under the bonnet. The Taycan beats the Polestar 5 on both of those fronts, plus you can buy the Cross Turismo estate version of that car for even more practicality.

The new Polestar 5 is due to arrive later this year. Prices for the Dual Motor model start at £89,500, while you’ll have to fork out a hefty premium for the Performance model, which starts at £104,900. For reference, you can get your hands on an entry-level Taycan for £88,200, while the Taycan Turbo, which offers similar punch to the Polestar 5 Performance, starts at £135,000.

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