Polestar 3 vs Genesis GV80

What's the difference?

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?

The Genesis GV80 SUV has cultivated a quiet but firm following since its debut but there's a new variant on offer - the coupe.

Offered in one highly-specified grade level for our market, the GV80 3.5T Luxury AWD Coupe proves to be a fierce competitor with luxury and handling for it's European rivals - the BMW X6, Range Rover Velar and Mercedes-Benz GLE Coupe.

However, the price point is starting to creep a little closer to its rivals, which might not be to everyone's fancy.

I've been family testing the GV80 for a week to see if it gets the seal of approval from my little family of three, read on to find out how it went.