Look at the Polestar 5 from the side, from behind or from a rear three-quarter angle and it’s a spectacular-looking thing. Low, wide and with a wonderfully dramatic shape, this is a very sexy car. There’s a shark-inspired theme to the design, apparently, although you don’t need to know that to appreciate what Polestar’s designers have done. Walk round to the front and I’m a little less convinced. It’s recognisably a Polestar, with the familiar split headlights, but I’d like the flagship to look more different from the rest of the range. From most angles it does; from straight ahead (or in a rear view mirror – if you have one...), not quite enough.
Polestar calls the 5 a grand tourer and a game changer. It’s the production car that grew out of the Precept concept shown in 2020, with four doors, a low seating position and a choice of two all-wheel-drive versions. The Dual Motor starts at £89,500, while the Performance adds even more power and a more advanced suspension set-up for £104,900. Adding matte paint, Bridge of Weir leather and more dramatic wheels pushed my car’s price up to £117,700 – pretty close to what we expect Jaguar to be charging for the Type 01. Neither Polestar 5 versions are short of pace, tough, as I’ll come on to.
