Genesis GV60 vs Polestar 3

What's the difference?

It’s still a tall order. There’s no getting around the fact this is a lot of money to part with for a weird looking electric car from a brand so new to the luxury space.

While I wasn’t convinced going in, the way this car unites some of the best attributes of its Ioniq 5 and EV6 relations, while bringing with it such a unique look and feel, has swayed me.

I understand this car a lot better now, and this is maybe the biggest catch; you need to spend some time with this car to decide if it’s for you, because I don’t think it will be for everyone. That said, if you like what you’ve seen or read here, give it a try, you might be surprised by what you find.

With the kind of driving range, dynamics and comfort that could convince even the EV doubtful to give it a crack, the Polestar 3 – and specifically this Long Range Single Motor – feels like it was worth waiting for.

All of these features are impressive, but you have to be on board with the way this car has been styled. It’s a tad confronting, with its curvy, bulbous look, and an unfamiliar version of the Genesis face.

It’s not as traditionally appealing as the rest of the brand’s range, and I think it’s a bit risky. Then again, this car has to do something dramatic to slot in alongside the outrageously styled Hyundai Ioniq 5, and sporty Kia EV6 with which it shares its underpinnings.

My take: I’m not sure I love it, but there are bits I like. The ‘deconstruction’ 21-inch alloys look incredible and fill this car’s wheel arches, the Genesis signature light fittings pair nicely with the chrome highlight stripe running down the roofline, and the integrated spoiler accentuates the rear hatch.

What gets the concept car cred is those digital wing mirrors. In my time with the car they attracted the most attention from onlookers, and cement the futuristic Genesis brand theme.

An interesting factor of this car’s design is how small it looks. From the outside it looks a fraction of the size of the Ioniq 5 or EV6, and inside it feels the most like a hatch, despite the dimensions being close between the three siblings.

It may have a tight, low-slung feel, but thanks to its platform, the interior remains expansive. The light theme in our test car helps it feel airy and spacious, although my advice is to go with the darker of the three interior colour themes as it will probably age better.

Either way, the flat floor, low dash, and plentiful window space makes for an open-feeling area.

The floating centre console piece is closest in design and execution to the one in the EV6, but with its own kind of showmanship. It’s finished in a metal casing, with the highlight being the crystal gear selector.

With the car on, it exudes an ambient light and is surrounded by silver, but with it off, it flips over to become a luminescent crystal ball. 

One part of me says this is completely ridiculous and over-the-top, but then so are many of the interior elements going into rival vehicles (like the Mercedes ‘hyperscreen’, for example, or BMW’s similar use of crystals for key control items, or the Lexus RZ’s holographic diamond pattern projected into its door frame) which are just as attention-grabbing for the sake of it.

There’s a lot to like, and I think importantly for buyers it’s a unique take.

Genesis has imprinted a lot of its identity in this car’s cabin, which only serves to set it apart from its rival luxury players. It won’t be for everyone, and maybe that’s okay.

I think the Polestar 3 looks great – big, but not looming, and still somehow svelte enough to look sporty.

The brand takes a unique approach to marrying design and aerodynamics, with a lip at the edge of the bonnet that allows for airflow. But it doesn't look like a purely functional element.

Instead it accentuates what Volvo would call the 'Thor's Hammer' (but I think Polestar calls them 'Twin Blade') headlights, which are mirrored below with black venting.

In fact, looking at the 3 front-on is a bit like looking into a reflection in a crystal-clear lake, with the lighting signature perfectly reflected in the lower half of the front end.

If it sounds like I'm waxing lyrical, it's because I am. I think the Polestar 3 is among the best looking vehicles in its segment and one of the better looking SUVs, period.

Inside, though, it's a study in minimalism, which while very neat and tidy, makes it feel a little less luxe than you might expect from a vehicle at this price point. In fact, at a quick glance, it doesn't look that far removed from the relatively cheap-as-chips MG4's cabin.

The materials are thoughtful and lovely, though. Leather-like materials are used sparingly, replaced by what Polestar calls "Bio-Attributed MicroTech Charcoal with Repurposed Aluminium Deco". A far easier way to describe it, though, would be as reminiscent of a wetsuit.

Elsewhere, it's a fairly pared-back affair, with just the huge portrait-style central screen and the landscape driver screen grabbing your attention. Dig deeper, and there are some really nice, gentle details, like the ambient interior lighting that illuminates a little strip along the door panel, including the Bowers & Wilkins logo. A similar line of light spans the entire dash, too.

And I love the metallic-look panel along the dash which, one can only assume, is the 'Repurposed Aluminium Deco'.

As already mentioned, the front seat is a spacious, open environment, with plenty of practicality offered for occupants.

The floating centre console offers two centre cupholders and a shallow armrest box, and while it doesn’t shift back and forth like the unit in the Ioniq 5, it does have a netted storage compartment underneath.

There are plenty of additional storage areas, including a small bay under the USB-C outlets on the floor, a set of two sunglass holders (one under the climate unit and a second in the roof), large pockets with integrated bottle holders in the doors and an interesting slide-out drawer in place of a glove box.

The back seat feels just as spacious, with plenty of width and a flat floor making it a reasonable proposition for seating three adults across. Headroom is its least appealing dimension, with the roof dipping slightly to allow for the sliding sunroof cover.

Amenities are also plentiful, with adjustable vents in the pillars, a bottle holder in the door card, or a cupholder in the armrest, a further two cupholders in the padded drop-down centre piece, hard shell map pockets on the backs of the front seats, USB-C outlets on the back of the centre console, and a huge netted storage area underneath.

Perhaps the most welcome addition, though, is the full-size household-style power outlet under the rear bench, which lets you use the rear space as a mobile office or a comfortable, air-conditioned place to read while charging.

The boot measures in at 432 litres. It’s on-par for the mid-size SUV segment, but like its Ioniq 5 and EV6 relations, the floor is quite high leading to a wide but height-limited area. To fit the three-piece CarsGuide luggage set, for example, I had to remove the roller cover.

Underneath, there’s a small area for the storage of charging paraphernalia and the tyre repair kit. A tiny frunk also exists, best for the storage of similar items.

Polestar has done a solid job of disguising the dimensions of the Polestar 3, because while it looks sleek and sporty it's still a big boat, stretching a sizeable 4900mm in length, 1968mm in width and 1618mm in height.

That size is most noticeable in the back seat, which is properly cavernous, helped further by a fully flat floor which lends even more airiness. Sitting behind my own 175cm driving position there's plenty of headroom and tons of knee room, giving the Polestar 3 official adult-friendly status.

The ISOFIX attachment points are located beneath two pop-off plastic covers, which makes fitting a child-seat base super easy. This is something I wouldn't have cared about at all exactly 22 weeks ago, but now I care a lot, and this was among the fastest and easiest systems I've used.

Happily, there is no major back seat compromise, either. The pews are comfortable and supportive, with the window seats separated by a pull-down divider home to two pop-out cupholders.

There are twin USB ports for rear-seat riders, too, as well as air vents with temperature controls, and – thanks to that Plus Pack – rear seat heating.

There's storage aplenty, too, with a total 597 litres in the boot with the rear seats in place, and 1411 litres with them folded flat, including a handy 90-litre hidden storage spot under the boot floor. Up front, there's a soft-bag-ready 32-litre frunk.

I'm going to get this out of the way early. I am a touch surprised with the pricing on the Polestar 3 range.

With Tesla having now stepped on a million metaphorical rakes, and with a leader now slightly less popular than actual skunk musk, the stage seemed set for a rival brand to steal its crown, and its customers.

But I can't see too many making the leap from the $60K-$70K Tesla Model Y to the $118,420 asking price of the admittedly bigger Polestar 3 Long Range Single Motor - which is the cheapest way into the brand's large SUV.

Instead, Polestar will be taking aim at brand's like BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche and Cadillac, leaving its Chinese corporate cousins (think Zeekr and Geely) to chip away at Tesla's market share.

So, premium product, then. But do you get premium stuff?

Ours gets the 20-inch 'aero' alloys, but you can spec those up to 22-inch wheels if you don't like your spine very much, along with Brembo brakes. Plus there's is LED lighting all around, a big glass roof and retractable door handles.

Inside, the Long Range gets heated front seats, triple-zone climate control, wireless device charging, and a big 14.5-inch central screen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto (run by Google built-in) joined by a second 9.0-inch driver information screen above the steering wheel.

Our car was also equipped with what Polestar calls the 'Plus Pack', a cool $9.0K on top, which adds things like a 25-speaker Bowers & Wilkins for Polestar stereo (replacing the standard 10-speaker set-up) , a head-up display, heating for the rear seats, steering wheel and wiper blades as well as soft-close doors.

The as-tested price for our car, by the way, is $131,640, before on-road costs.

The two GV60 grades share the same 77.4kWh battery pack. The standard all-wheel drive version offers a combined 234kW/605Nm, while the Performance AWD as tested puts out a massive 360kW/700Nm at its peak, using a temporary ‘Boost’ mode.

Suffice it to say this is more than enough power. It’s more powerful than (at a similar price) the BMW iX3, Lexus RZ and Merc EQC and you’ll need to spend significantly more to get into something which can best it from the traditional luxury space.

Perhaps also consider the Tesla Model Y Performance ($91,400) if going absurdly fast in a straight line is what you’re all about.

The  Long Range Single Motor tag hints at what's powering this Polestar 3, with a single, rear-axle mounted (so, rear-wheel drive) motor producing 220kW/490Nm and a fairly sedate sprint from zero to 100km/h of 7.8 seconds.

Driving range for the Performance all-wheel drive is 466km, slightly less than the standard AWD version which can travel 470km between charges.

Again, it’s slightly better than you might expect from its most direct rivals, so an easy win there for Genesis. A 450km+ range is generally enough to be free from ‘range anxiety’ on almost all trips.

One of the reasons the GV60 is able to achieve a better range than its rivals with a similar battery capacity is efficiency. Like other Hyundai Group products, the GV60 is impressive.

Despite its huge power outputs, the official combined cycle energy consumption, according to the more accurate WLTP standard, is 19.1kWh/100km.

And in my time with the SUV, I managed an even better overall number of 18.9kWh/100km over several hundred kilometres of what I would consider ‘mixed’ driving conditions.

Charging is an even better story, with the 800-volt architecture underpinning this car allowing one of the fastest charging times on the market of just 18 minutes (10 - 80 per cent) on a compatible 350kW charger, provided you can find one.

On the far more common 50kW DC units you can expect a 73 minute 10 - 80 percent charge, while on the slower AC standard, the max rate is 11kW, indicating a charge time of around seven hours.

How far is far enough before you'd consider an EV? Because I've got to say, if I owned the Polestar 3, I'd probably have to plug it in once a week, if that.

A sizeable 111kWh lithium-ion battery provides the charge here, and unlocks a claimed WLTP driving range of 706km. Now, it's worth pointing out these numbers are rarely realistic. For example, WLTP testing is conducted with the climate control switched off, but a real-world result of 600km or more, depending on how you drive, is still a large number.

The battery is the same as in the dual-motor variant, but this RWD car is lighter and less powerful, and it has a lower top speed (180km/h), reducing its energy usage to 17.6kWh-20.3kWh/100km (from 19.6-21.8kWh/100km).

The Polestar 3 has a 400V architecture, meaning hyper-fast charging speeds are out of the question. Instead, it's capped at a maximum 250kW (still more than most public chargers in Australia can produce) which means a 10-80 per cent charge in 30 minutes.

At home, an 11kW charger will take more like 11 hours, or an estimated 16 hours using a regular 7.0kW wallbox.

According to Canstar Blue, the average price per kW for residential power in NSW at the moment is about $0.34. So, using my admittedly questionable maths skills, it would cost around $37 to take your Polestar 3 from empty to full at home.

As someone who has spent significant time with both the Ioniq 5 and EV6, I wasn’t sure what to expect from the Genesis take on this formula. I’m happy to say, though, I was pleasantly surprised.

Yes, the GV60 is stupendously fast in a straight line, faster than any car needs to be, but it’s the subtleties which have been built into its ride and handling that make it shine.

While the Ioniq 5 is playful and comfortable, but soft enough it’s sometimes boaty, and the EV6 is hard and determined, but at times a tad harsh and heavy, the GV60 does a remarkable job of uniting the best attributes from its siblings.

The ride is hard enough to grant excellent control and a nice feel for the road, whilst still being forgiving over harder bumps and frequent corrugations. I was particularly surprised to feel its soft edge given its giant 21-inch wheels and slinky performance tyres.

An amount of give in the corners and a traction control system which allows a little slip lets you throw the weight of this car around a bit, mimicking the playful feel of the Ioniq 5. Something which you can enhance if you want by toying with the many soundscapes the GV60 offers.

One of the more surprising things which struck me about driving this EV is how relatively compact it feels. It doesn’t feel as though it has the heft of the EV6 nor the expansive feel of the Ioniq 5. Credit to the brand for making a car with the same chassis and hardware having such a distinct feel.

There’s also the bizarre 'virtual gear shift' feature which has been added for this year’s GV60 update. It makes the electric motors behave as though they’re being channelled through a torque converter transmission.

In the ‘automatic’ mode, the car provides revvy feedback and the feel of shifts between gears, while in the manual mode, the speed will be limited and the gear feedback provided by regen when you lift off, until you shift up.

Bizarre. Can I imagine using this in the day-to-day? Not really, it’s a bit annoying after a while. A gimmick, perhaps, to show your friends.

The same goes for the weird digital wing mirrors, although credit to Genesis, I became used to them quickly. I can’t say the same for the comparatively frustrating digital rear-vision mirrors fitted to Audi’s e-tron.

Unfortunately, they're standard in the GV60. I'd prefer they were optional and live without them.

Yes, it’s tech for tech’s sake. In fact, a lot of things in this car seem to lean this way, but underneath it all there’s a solid electric car, one which manages to unite some of the best features of the Ioniq 5 and EV6 while adding the unique look and feel of the Genesis marque.

The Polestar 3 is that rarest of beasts – a big and sumptuous SUV that's genuinely engaging to drive.

This is going to sound odd given we're talking about 2.5-tonnes of Swedish metal but I reckon the fact it's not lightning-fast makes it more fun to drive. It somehow (and yes, this is a crazy thing to say) gives off Mazda MX-5 vibes, in the sense that, while some EVs feel utterly scientific in the way they accumulate speed, this rear-drive Polestar feels fun, perky and like you're actually driving it.

Don't get me wrong, there's more than enough power on offer here to get the 3 up and moving, especially the way it accelerates from low to mid speeds, but it's more than powerful enough to feel like you can push it a little bit harder without risking a visit to the undertaker.

The ride is good, too, leaning into its sporty nature without vibrating your eyeballs through suspensions stiffness, and the steering is direct and predictable. Speaking of which, you can dial up the sportiness of the accelerator (responsiveness) and steering (weight), too.

I also like the three-stage brake regeneration (off, medium and full 'one-pedal' driving) accessed through a permanent button at the base of the screen, and I prefer that it isn't as brutal as it can be in other vehicles. The cabin is also impressively quiet, though how much of that is owing to the Plus Pack's upgraded stereo arriving with active noise cancellation is a mystery.

There is no shortage of weight on board, though, and get too aggressive with the steering wheel and you'll get that disconcerting top-heavy tipping feeling so common with big SUVs.

I'm not convinced by the Polestar 3's software, either, with a couple of weird warnings popping up during my time with the car. The first warned that the driver assistance systems had failed, and told me to book a service, and the second even weirder issue is it liked to warn me there was "no valid key detected" despite it being in the centre console, and that "restart would not be possible".

Neither warning seemed accurate, to be fair, as the safety one went away on its own after a while and I had no problem starting the car.

The Polestar 3's safety story is a good one, and it begins with nine airbags covering all seating rows. The grille of the 3 is home to what the brand calls its 'SmartZone', which is where it hides the cameras, sensors and radars necessary for its AEB (with cyclist and pedestrian detection), cross-traffic alert with braking, blind spot alert with steer assist, lane departure warning and assist and active cruise control. The list goes on and on.

In the cabin, two infrared cameras monitor the driver, while four motion-sensing radars scan the rest of the interior for left-behind pets or children.

It scored the full five stars in Euro NCAP testing, and scored the highest child occupant protection rating of any passenger car tested by Euro NCAP in nine years.

Are you ready for a jumble of numbers? Genesis offers a five-year/unlimited kilometre warranty, eight years/160,000km for the battery, and 10 years of roadside assistance.

The eyebrow-raising stuff here though is the five years of free servicing, combined with the choice of either a five-year Chargefox subscription or complimentary installation of a home charger.

Yep, theoretically, the GV60 can be free to run for the first five years. Like Lexus, Genesis also offers a complementary loan car at service time.

I don’t think any brand can beat it right now from an ownership perspective.

Another tick for the Polestar here. While I advocate for longer warranties (kudos to brands like Nissan, MG and Mitsubishi), the 3's five-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty and eight-year, 160,000km battery warranty is on par with its premium competitors.

The first five years or 100,000km of servicing is on the house, too (it's required every two years or 30,000km after that) and five years' roadside assistance is thrown in, as well.