Polestar 3 gets U.K.-specific 2026 model year update

It hasn't been that long since Polestar celebrated the official launch of the Polestar 3, but already, the Swedish brand is unveiling an extensive raft of hardware upgrades that are now landing with the car's 2026 model year update... though these have been reserved solely for the U.K., and not any other export market.

That's a bummer because in the words of Polestar's CEO, Michael Lohscheller, "The upgrades to Polestar 3 are so extensive, it's like an entirely new car." The headlining act here, for starters, is its new 800V electrical architecture (it previously rode on a 400V one), which enables significantly faster DC charging with a peak rate of up to 350 kW. At this rate, the 10-80% battery charge benchmark can take as little as 22 minutes, which is more than 25% faster than before.

The 2026 Polestar 3's new 800V electrical architecture enables significantly faster DC charging, allowing the 10-80% charge benchmark to be 25% faster than before

The new architecture also brings about 6% more WLTP range with its integration of new batteries. This translates to a 92kWh battery pack for the Rear motor version and a 106kWh battery pack for the Dual Motor and Performance variants.

Furthermore, all versions of Polestar 3 will now benefit from a new in-house developed permanent magnet synchronous rear motor that delivers higher output. Paired with an asynchronous front motor, the new configuration delivers up to a total of 500kW and 870Nm of torque in the Performance variant.

The 3 also gets a major upgrade to its core computing system, with a NVIDIA Drive AGX Orin processor replacing the previous Xavier unit, giving it a more than eight times increase in computing power. Polestar states that this enables a faster, more intelligent management of active safety systems, battery performance, and sensor data. This processing hardware upgrade will be offered as a complimentary retrofit to all existing Polestar 3 customers and is planned to start in the beginning of 2026.

The processing hardware upgrade will be offered as a complimentary retrofit to all existing Polestar 3 customers and is planned to start in the beginning of 2026

Crucially, the updated Polestar 3 also introduces a new trim level structure: 'Polestar 3 Rear Motor, Dual Motor, and Performance. 

This replaces the previous naming convention and makes a clearer distinction between variants. Part of this setup is an optimised battery size for the entry level Rear motor, and active air suspension now becoming optional for the Dual Motor, while remaining as standard on the Performance variant.

These trim levels will also be expressed through the seatbelt design, with solid black for the Rear Motor, Black with Swedish gold stripe for the Dual Motor, and belts in full Swedish gold for the Performance version.

The 2026 Polestar 3's standard upholstery is upgraded to Bio-attributed MicroTech in Charcoal with repurposed aluminium deco

The Polestar 3's new Climate pack will include heating for the rear seats, steering wheel, and front wiper blades. The new Prime pack option then bundles together Pilot, Plus, and Climate packs in combination with a rear privacy glass. Finally, the premium Bowers & Wilkins audio system for Polestar, which includes headrest speakers and active road noise cancellation, is now offered both as a single option and as part of the Plus pack.

Amidst these significant hardware upgrades, Polestar has kept things a bit more muted on the styling front.

New on the updated Polestar 3 is a new 'Storm' exterior colour option - a dark grey metallic that replaces 'Thunder' - while the door text graphics now include the specific model variant and a larger font for the Polestar 3 name. Inside, the standard upholstery has also been upgraded to Bio-attributed MicroTech in Charcoal with repurposed aluminium deco. This was previously an optional extra.

The upgraded Polestar 3 will go on sale first in the U.K., with other markets to follow at a later date.