Our latest episode features a comprehensive look at the 2025 Polestar 3, where we examine its performance features and advanced technology. We cover everything from its impressive acceleration and range to the more cumbersome tech aspects that might challenge the average driver. Plus, explore the unique buying experience process that sets Polestar apart from traditional dealerships. Don’t miss out on our no-holds-barred review!
All right, we are back. Rush to Reason, Denver’s Afternoon Rush, KLZ 560. That time of the week where we slip our car reviews in. I shouldn’t say slip in. We do these on purpose. We enjoy driving all the cars that we get. We appreciate all the manufacturers that allow us to do so. It helps our listeners out immensely when we have the ability to give firsthand knowledge of how certain vehicles work, perform, and so on. And to say all of that, Richard, we’re also very honest when it comes to Vehicles. Now, you and I, we’re vehicle advocates. Sometimes vehicles get bad raps. It’s not necessarily a vehicle’s fault. It’s because the vehicle wasn’t bought for the proper purpose in the first place. So we’re very careful in looking at a vehicle for what it is. And we don’t often give bad reviews, per se, like you see a lot of folks doing. We just give honest reviews as to what’s the good, bad, and the ugly of any particular vehicle. So this week, we’ve got a 2025 Polestar. That is, by the way, Volvo’s… ev division for all of you that don’t know that when you see a pole star that’s actually a volvo but it’s a pole star it’s its own entity it does not run inside of a volvo dealership for example we drove the three uh the number three dual motor pilot plus performance fully loaded this vehicle specs out at above 90 grand richard which i’m going to start there I like this car. It had superb performance. It’s quiet inside. I’ve got a few complaints with it, but first complaint, I’ll just say straight up, it is pricey. In fact, I think it’s pricier than it ought to be for what you’re actually getting. Again, I don’t normally say a lot of negative things, but in this particular case, it’s overpriced.
SPEAKER 01 :
Well, and you and I have talked about this in this segment. I think that’s the case with some of these manufacturers. They’re sort of pricing these vehicles. In some cases, it makes sense for a luxury performance vehicle, and maybe that’s the category that they’re going for here. A little bit unclear for you and I. However, not something that would necessarily sway us one way or another, but it’s definitely something that we’re going to point out, Dad, right? When you compare similarly sized vehicles, this is – by far more expensive, right?
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah, it is. And again, for some people, they might think, well, you know what? That’s right in line with some of the other high-end EVs. And I will go as far as to say this. If I were to compare this Polestar with a Tesla, for example, a Tesla Model 3, which they’re not even the same car, so that’s a hard comparison. But I will say that this Polestar… as far as fit, finish, quiet on the inside, and so on, is better than a Tesla, let’s say. But I just feel like what you end up getting in the car, the size of it, and so on. Now, its performance is fabulous. I’m going to say that straight up. And I’m not sure exactly. I guess they’re looking to go into the high-end luxury EV market. And if that’s who they’re trying to market to, then that 90K price tag is probably fine, Richard. But I just feel like for what it is, it’s overpriced. Now… As far as how it drove, its functionality, how quiet it was on the inside, again, as I said, the overall performance, power, all of that, flat out, can’t be beat. I’ll just say it straight up. The car worked phenomenally well as far as all that’s concerned. Where I had a disappointment in this car, and I’m technically savvy, so are you. We both don’t struggle. We drive enough cars and do enough things even outside of… What happens with cars and technology, we play around kind of as a hobby, a lot of technology things, Richard. We test drive all sorts of things along those lines. And the reality is it’s not that I’m technology. I don’t struggle with that. I’m not technology challenge is what I should say. So with all that being said, though, this had to be. This is my biggest complaint on this car. This had to be one of the most technically challenging vehicles to drive with all of the stuff they have going on. Making certain things work is like an act of God to get to the right screen to make it happen, and it’s too cumbersome for the average driver, if you ask me.
SPEAKER 01 :
Well, and you and I have talked about this as well, and I think that a lot of these car companies can do some really creative and really cool things with the tech side of things, just because the electric motor’s open so much more it’s a simpler design right dad you know you kind of turn it on there’s a lot less moving parts those sorts of things and i think that they can do some really cool stuff with the tech side of it but i think in some cases and i’ve driven pole stars before there is definitely a large learning curve that takes place don’t get me wrong there’s some cool features right you know instead of a instead of a car key you had a card that you were able to use, but that also took some getting used to, which again, we’re not going to say in Polestar, we’re not going to say that this is a detriment, because it may be not. It’s part of the learning curve that your dealers and that sort of thing sort of have to kind of take the customers through. But it’s also something that we are going to note in a review because I think we think it’s important for you that if you are looking for something that is really straightforward and simple to operate, at least right off the bat or for anyone that gets in the car, this may be something to consider.
SPEAKER 02 :
Okay, so all that being said, here’s the other thing that’s a little bit different about this particular car. They don’t have, as I said earlier, and this isn’t a knock, this is just the way things are. It’s kind of set up similar to what Tesla has done, meaning you have to go to Polestar to actually buy the car. There’s only one that I know of in all of Colorado, at least in our whole area here, there’s only one. and it’s in Denver, and typically the way it works with Polestar is it’s an appointment-driven sort of a thing where you can get an idea of the car you want, and then you literally order the car online, they’ll deliver it, and it’s done much like Tesla does in regards to how to buy it. This is not the traditional dealership experience, unless I don’t know something along those lines, Richard, unless I said something wrong.
SPEAKER 01 :
No, I think you’re correct, which, again, is not necessarily a knock on the vehicle itself. We’re just informing you of the process. And for some of you that are maybe you want that, right? Maybe you don’t want the sales pitch. Maybe you don’t want all of the craziness that goes into buying a car. Sometimes this may be a vehicle for you, but we just want you to be aware of it. It’s not a traditional car buying experience like you would typically find.
SPEAKER 02 :
Correct. So for those of you listening, if this is something that you’re thinking of doing, this car, by the way, starts in the high 60s, almost 70 grand, the way our car was optioned out and all of that ended up being right around 90,000. The plus side is it does have a really high range as far as how far you can drive. I did enjoy that. And again, it’s zero to 60 time is spot on. It really does run, not run it. It’s got all the power. It’s an EV. It’s instant power. Until you drive one of these, you really can’t even describe, Richard, how that side of it works. But Polestar, you go to Polestar.com. That’d be the best place to go. We normally say go to your dealer, test drive, tell them we sent you. In this case, go to Polestar.com. If you get the ability to tell them how you heard about Polestar, please make sure you tell them that John and Richard Rush, both from Drive Radio and Rush to Reason, sent you. This is John Rush from Rush to Reason and Drive Radio. Thank you so much for listening. Check out more of our podcasts at RushToReason.com or Drive-Radio.com.
