First Ride: 2026 Polestar 5 Performance Sedan Targeting Tesla Model S
“We're 80 percent done, but we still have work to do,” said Polestar's Chris Bagley as he threw a development prototype of the Polestar 5 into a cone to get up to speed. Bagley, the principal engineer at Vehicle Dynamics, spends hours each week running the prototype of the electric performance sedan on the test track. The goal is to tune the suspension tuning that separates the attractive premium performance car from the pedestrian mass-market model.
From the spacious back seat, it was difficult to discern what the other 20 percent would need, even though the car's interior is a work in progress. Bagley said the 2026 Polestar 5 is tuned to understeer slightly as the driver approaches the limit. From the rear, the understeer felt through the steering wheel was not felt. Instead, as the line around the cones tightened, one could hear the rear tires begin to squeal.
Riding shotgun, I felt more understeer. As I later found out, the compact front suspension gives the 5 a sports car feel, while the tall rear suspension tower contributes to rear-seat comfort. 20 minutes was a short amount of time, but it made me think that this car might be able to compete with a handful of expensive EV performance sedans. It made me think that this car might be able to compete with a handful of higher-priced EV performance sedans. Whether it can match the rocket-like acceleration of the Lucid Air Sapphire or the wonderfully intuitive handling of the Porsche Taycan will remain to be seen when the production car arrives next year.
The 2025 Polestar 3 SUV is currently in initial production at the joint Volvo and Polestar plant in Ridgeville, South Carolina, with the 2025 Polestar 4 fastback coupe-crossover to follow soon after (initially from China and next year from South Korea), so China s Geely Automobile-owned Swedish startup can finally talk about its future plans.
The Polestar 2, which introduced the brand to the U.S., is the only mass-produced vehicle since 2021. With steady improvements this year that make it more competitive and attractive, including switching the single-motor model from front-wheel drive to rear-wheel drive, this compact utility EV transcends the platform it shares with the two smaller Volvos.
The new 2025 Paulstar 3 SUV is behind schedule in its market launch due to a software bug shared with its platform mate, the 2025 Volvo EX90 electric three-row crossover. 3 is on the market and the Paulstar 4 is then gathering dust. Now that the EX3 is on the market and the Paulstar 4 has since been dusted off, the brand was willing to showcase its R&D capabilities to a small group of automotive journalists.
Thus, we were invited to play with the upcoming Polestar on a handling course set up in a large car park outside Coventry in the West Midlands region of England. The purpose was to highlight the strength of the British development team, to showcase the current and newly expanded R&D facilities, and to provide an exclusive look at the development of the Polestar 5, the first Polestar to feature a dedicated architecture.2, 3, 4 share underpinnings with various models from Volvo and Geely Automobile. While the 2, 3, and 4 share the same suspension with various Volvo and Geely models, the Paulstar 5's bonded aluminum construction will be unique to the car when it is launched.
Asked whether it will remain so or will be used in other Volvo and Geely products, CEO Thomas Ingenlath elegantly replied. I'm happy to please others in the [Geely] group. It would be selfish to keep it to ourselves.” Translation: Yes, you'll see it in future Volvos and perhaps other Geely brands.
Our small group of reporters spent two days touring Polestar's R&D facility in the UK. The next day we visited a much expanded facility to which Polestar has not yet moved. With more than twice the square footage, staff will spend significantly less time in the Jenga game of moving and parking development vehicles in a limited number of test stations.
Our tour was led by Steve Swift, Director of Vehicle Engineering, and Pete Allen, Deputy CTO and Head of UK R&D. Like many of our staff, both have worked on an amazing variety of vehicles throughout their careers, from Formula 1 to premium brands and even a plug-in hybrid London cab. Swift was part of the Lotus team that tuned the suspension on the Isuzu Impulse I purchased in 1991. The Polestar team are engineers from all walks of life, developers who can take a car from concept to reality, regardless of their background.
Both men, as well as Bagley, an engineer in vehicle dynamics, were candid in answering the intense questions from our group. Nevertheless, the photos in this article were taken by the company and only with their permission. Our cell phones, laptops, and camera lenses have stickers on them to prevent unauthorized photography.
Polestar's new facility has a huge oven that could easily fit a car. It is used to cure the bonded aluminum structure of the Polestar 5 prototype for maximum strength. Our host refused to comment on the composition or curing temperature of the epoxy adhesive. [It is to ensure that what was presented as the Polestar Precept concept in April 2020 is developed into a viable mass-production vehicle and that it meets the design specifications and performs adequately before moving into production at a dedicated plant in Chongqing, China.
The development team is particularly proud of the fact that they were able to maintain the low nose and cowl height of the Precept Concept. This resulted in a particularly compact vertical dimension for the front suspension design, with only 160 mm of front wheel travel from full extension to the bump stop. This low nose not only helps reduce aerodynamic drag, but also gives the Polestar 5 a distinctive sports sedan look that puts it on par with competitors such as the Porsche Panamera, Taikan, and Tesla Model S. One thing is clear about the Polestar 6: By removing the “foot garage” from the 5's battery pack, rear seat riders will have a more natural seating position (meaning no knees up) and the same battery capacity can be used in a car with a shorter wheelbase, the 6.
The Pollstar is a “low-cost” vehicle.
The Polestar team remained tight-lipped about the battery used in the 5, its cells, chemistry, and other specifications. They admitted that the capacity is “111 kilowatt-hours” and that it is charged at 800 volts, but other than that they were “not ready to talk yet.”
A phrase that came up repeatedly to describe the Polestar was “pure progressive performance.” While Porsche's Panamera is hardly a progressive design, especially given its internal combustion engine, it is at the heart of the market that Polestar wants to enter with the 5. The 2026 Polestar 5 handles like a car like the Lucid Air, for example (road holding and suspension behavior is “pretty American, don't you think? “
However, Paulstar, like its sibling Volvo, is largely controlled by Chinese manufacturer Geely Automobile; the 2 and 4 are produced in China, but the export version of the latter will be moved to a Korean plant next year. This is the result of the brand's deliberate global decentralization of its production base in response to growing trade friction between China, the European Union, and the United States
. Polestar is still an unknown brand to the majority of U.S. car buyers, and even to many EV advocates and owners. However, that will begin to change once the 3 SUV debuts and is introduced in the premium price range that is the heart of the U.S. SUV market; as for the 4, it remains to be seen how even tech-oriented EV adopters will perceive a utility vehicle with no rear window and only a rearview camera.
The same is true of the 2026 Polestar 5. The white body has a large structural crossmember running through the space where the rear window would be. To achieve a pure fastback shape, executives say, the glass roof panel simply extends to the top of the trunk lid.
Ultimately, the market will give its verdict on the innovation, as will the brand itself and the future prospects for the Mid-North electric car in North America. In the meantime, the R&D facilities in the UK are being augmented, perhaps for even more Polestar models. We look forward to seeing the Polestar in action.
Polestar has provided us with airfare, lodging, meals, and driving time in the RHD Polestar 2 so that Motor Authority can bring you this real-world report.
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