Polestar 3 could be the most affordable all-electric large SUV in Australia

If the indicative $135,000 price of the Polestar 3 has you shocked, then good news as a cheaper version of the all-electric SUV is on the cards to launch some time down the line.

With new model launching with a Long Range Dual Motor all-wheel-drive set-up, it is understood a single-motor version is also on the horizon, which will drop outputs from 360kW/840Nm to an as yet undisclosed figure.

Judging by the Polestar 2 line-up, which is offered in three flavours – the Standard Range Single Motor, the Long Range Single Motor and Long Range Dual Motor – the Polestar 3 could easily follow suite to bulk out the line-up that competes against the BMW iX3, Jaguar i-Pace and Audi e-tron.

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A Standard Range Single Motor version of the Polestar 3 is likely not a good fit for a large luxury SUV, but a Long Range Single Motor version could drop pricing well below the launch car’s $135,000 asking price.

And if the 111kWh battery carries over, the cheaper version of the Polestar 3 should even be capable of more driving range than its launch sibling’s 610km range.

What is unknown for now however, is whether a Single Motor version of the Polestar 3 would be front- or rear-wheel drive.

With the Long Range Dual Motor version able to decouple the rear motor and operate as a front driver under certain conditions to increase efficiency, it makes sense for the Single Motor version to be a front-wheel-drive model.

As standard at launch, the Polestar 3 will also be fitted with the Plus Pack and Pilot Pack – with the former bundling a premium sound system, soft-close doors, heated front and rear seats and 21-inch wheels, while the latter adds a head-up display and semi-autonomous driving functions.

However, it has been confirmed that the Plus Pack and Pilot Pack will only be standard in the first year of production, meaning from early 2025, the packs will become options.

Therefore, the $135,000 asking price of the Polestar 3 could drop significantly as the equipment packs are added to the options list and a one of the two electric motors is stripped out.

It is expected equipment like the 14.5-inch multimedia system, three-zone climate control and LED lighting will carryover to a cheaper car however, as will the extensive suite of safety systems such as autonomous emergency braking, cross-traffic alert, blind-sport monitoring and nine airbags.

The Polestar 3 already undercuts its all-electric large luxury SUV rivals already in market, with competitors like the Audi e-Tron (from $138,323), BMW iX (from $135,900) and Jaguar i-Pace (from $146,857) all positioned above $135,000.

With a cheaper Polestar 3 on the way, positioned closer to $100,000, the new China-built SUV could be one of the most affordable points of entry for a large luxury SUV.

Speaking to Australian media, Polestar Australia boss Samantha Johnson could not confirm the existence or details of a new Polestar 3 entry variant, but said the model’s line-up will expand.

“We are going to look at different drivetrains in the future,” she said.

“The launch is the fully specced [variant] with the option of the Performance [Pack], but we will look at bringing other variants in the future.”