Polestar 3 vs. Volvo EX90: No losers in this EV SUV battle
One question: Two rows or three?
Hello, dear subscribers, with an especially warm welcome to the many newcomers to my humble list here. I'm very glad to see you.
Now that the embargoes are up, I can share some impressions of a pair of American-made electric SUVs that share a platform: The Polestar 3 and Volvo EX90. While the market is now properly flooded with electric crossover SUVs, full-size options are still scant, especially if you're looking for something with seating for more than five.
Volvo's EX90 scratches the three-row itch quite well, while its corporate cousin, the Polestar 3, ditches the way-back in exchange for a roomier second row and a sportier overall character.
Which is better? Well, I'm happy to start out by saying that both are damned fine. Sharing the same chassis, battery, and drivetrain, it's no surprise that they both have an extremely similar character. That character is calm quiet, and smooth. While there's no shortage of ultra-quiet SUVs on the road today, this pair is exceptionally hushed. The Polestar might pick up a hint of extra wind noise at speed thanks to that wing on the nose, but both are so quiet you can chat with your co-pilot at voice levels barely above a mumble.
That makes these SUVs excellent sound stages for their Bowers & Wilkins, Atmos-enabled sound systems, 25 speakers each for the Volvo and the Polestar. That's a lot of output but it's used to great effect, not quite achieving the stunning heights of the Burmester Atmos system found in Mercedes-Benz's, but honestly not far off.
In terms of on-road performance, both accelerate quite handily, with the Polestar offering far more power in its base configuration: 489 horsepower and 620 pound-feet of torque to be exact, compared to 402 hp and 568 lb-ft on the Volvo. You can pay Polestar an extra $6,000 for an extra 28 hp if you want, but I don't know why you would -- except to get the golden-hued seatbelts that the Performance pack includes. They are quite a choice.
Styling details like that make the Polestar much more of a visually engaging thing, too. The aforementioned aerodynamic device on the hood, plus the pronounced hips and other visual appendages, result in the rare SUV that you might actually turn back to admire after walking away in a parking lot. It also seems substantially smaller than the Volvo despite sharing the same basic dimensions.
That's not to say the Volvo is unattractive. It, too, is quite attractive, a familiar but refreshed style for Volvo that's a positive step forward for a brand that has been relying on the (excellent) stylings of its current lineup for far too long.
So which is the better of the two? Well, if you need three rows, the decision is easy: Go for the Volvo. If you don't, the decision is likewise easy: Go for the Polestar. At $73,400 to start, it's about $6,500 cheaper, is more powerful, and I think it looks better, too.
But, whichever way you go, you absolutely won’t go wrong.
Read my full impressions of the Polestar 3 here at Engadget
Read my full impressions of the Volvo EX90 here at Engadget
Latest BMW iX update
By the way, if you're keen on big-boy EVs, you may be inclined to know how my BMW iX is shaping up after 12 months of ownership. I've been providing regular updates over at InsideEVs, and, in the most recent, I delve into the app experience.