Kia EV9 vs Polestar 3

What's the difference?

Kia’s newest addition is either an overpriced mistake or the logical next step for a brand looking to move up in the world.

It’s called the EV9 GT, and much like the many ‘GT’ variants that have gone before it, this one is packing plenty of performance. It’s also loaded with creature comforts, enough to push it into the same league as the luxury car establishment.

But it also takes Kia to new heights in terms of price, which were already pushing boundaries. And it comes at a time when electric vehicles are in hot demand, but at the other end of the price spectrum.

So is this the case of the right car at the wrong time, or simply the next step in Kia’s evolution?

If you know anything about superheroes, you'll know the biggest and best are always born out of adversity. And while it might not be wearing a cape (though the big rear roof spoiler makes it look a bit like Superman in flight), Polestar is very much hoping its new electric SUV will be the hero it has been waiting for.

Cursed to commence life in Australia with the good but compromised Polestar 2, which launched as a lift-back sedan (remember those?), and which felt a lot like a repurposed internal-combustion engine (ICE) vehicle inside, complete with a bulky transmission tunnel that cut rear-seat legroom in half, it has long felt like the second wave of Polestar vehicles would be the one to put the brand on the map.

That wave has at last broken in Australia, with the Polestar 3 finally here. It's a large SUV (good start), but it promises not to drive like one (even better). And in the Long Range Single Motor guise we've tested here, it promises to travel more than 700km on a full charge.

So, is this the vehicle that will kick off the Swedish brand's run in Australia?