Polestar 5 Review: The New £100,000 Grand Tourer Is Simply Electrifying

Grown weary of SUVs that handle like a wet sponge? The Polestar 5 is a four-door, luxury grand tourer aimed at motorists who still believe that driving should be an event rather than a chore. 

Aimed squarely at the class-leading Porsche Taycan and Audi e-tron GT, Polestar’s latest is a svelte, futuristic car with an astonishing turn of speed. Engineered in the Midlands, it also feels like it was tuned specifically for the uneven chaos of British roads.

A 2020 concept car that accidentally escaped the design studio and made it onto the production line, the 5 is a sight for sore eyes. The front end features Polestar’s signature Dual Blade headlights, which pierce through the British drizzle with menacing intent. It has a sleek, sweeping silhouette that looks like a four-door coupe but hides a massive, practical hatchback boot. The hips are wide, the stance is aggressive and 21-inch alloy wheels fill the arches perfectly. But the biggest talking point is the rear window. Or rather, the lack of one.

In a bold move that will terrify traditionalists, just like the Polestar 4 coupe-SUV, the 5 doesn’t have a back windscreen either. Instead, the bodywork sweeps all the way up to the roof, replaced by a high-definition digital camera mounted on top. Some love it, some hate it but the wide-angle view on the rear mirror is untroubled by the heads of backseat passengers.

Inside, Polestar’s Scandinavian minimalism means there is none of the overwhelming digital circus you find in some premium rivals. Expect a clean, beautifully textured cabin wrapped in sustainable materials like flax composites and recycled fishing nets. It feels tactile, expensive and deeply relaxing.

And as I discovered on a test drive in Northumberland, the driving position is low-slung and sporty. Ahead is a crisp driver’s display, while a massive central touchscreen runs an Android Automotive operating system. Unlike systems that require a degree in software engineering to adjust the air conditioning, Polestar’s interface is fast, logical and integrates Google Maps, although adjusting the door mirror and steering column via buttons on the steering wheel is very fiddly.

In the back, thanks to a clever foot garage carved out of the under-floor battery packs, adults can actually sit comfortably. There’s exceptional legroom for two passengers, while the panoramic glass roof measures two-metres long and floods the cabin with light.

The top-tier 5 Performance model I drove deploys a dual-motor set-up pushing out a staggering 874bhp. Flatten the throttle from standstill and it powers the Polestar from 0 to 62 mph in just 3.1 seconds – proper supercar stats. But straight-line speed in an EV is a cheap trick nowadays. Anyone can make a heavy car go fast in a straight line. What makes the 5 a masterpiece is how it handles a corner.

The secret weapon is its bonded aluminium chassis, developed right here in the UK by a team of ex-Lotus engineers. This, combined with an adaptive suspension system, gives the car a level of structural stiffness usually reserved for low-volume supercars. On a twisting, undulating Northumberland B-road, the Polestar is an absolute joy. Where other EVs feel heavy and clumsy, crashing into potholes and leaning heavily in the bends, the 5 dances with delight. The steering is sharp, communicative and wonderfully weighted. It bites into corners with immense grip.

Crucially, the 5 rides beautifully. There’s no crash or judder over scarred surfaces, plus a level of composure that creates a genuinely brilliant driving experience. You could comfortably drive from Newcastle to London, arrive without a sore back and immediately want to turn around and do it all over again.

Of course, a grand tourer is only as good as its stamina. The Polestar 5 packs a massive 100kWh battery pack, which delivers a range of up to 373 miles. In the real world – taking into account a cold Friday morning in October with the heaters blasting – expect over 300 miles. When you do need to stop, its 800-volt electric architecture means the 5 can accept charging speeds of up to 350kW. If you can find a working ultra-rapid charger at a motorway service station, juice the battery from ten to 80 per cent in just 20 minutes. That’s just enough time to grab a lukewarm sausage roll.

The new Polestar 5 is a genuine triumph. It takes the eco-conscious credentials of the modern EV and wraps them in a body that oozes cool, backed up by a sporty chassis that will put a smile on the face of any driving enthusiast.

It’s not cheap and the lack of a rear window will cause some raised eyebrows at the local pub. But as a statement of intent, Polestar has proved the electric future doesn’t have to be boring. The fantastic 5 is fast, gorgeous and arguably the best-handling electric performance car on sale today. Porsche should be very worried.