Magical launch for enchanting Polestar 5

10 Oct 2026

Ian Lamming falls under the spell of the new GT from Polestar

The world has gone mad so get over it; there’s no coming back.

How can a five-seater, four-door, grand tourer turn out more power than a Ferrari? I don’t know but somehow the brand new Polestar 5 does.

How can its bonded aluminium body have almost twice the tortional rigidity of an Aston Martin? Don’t know the answer to that either but again it does.

How can this Swedish/UK/Chinese-financed vehicle be so utterly brilliant – and I’m talking one of the best cars I have ever driven – when it costs about a fifth of your average supercar. There are no words, just a shrug of the shoulders for this one.

There are lots of surprising things about the Polestar 5 but one of the greatest is how the car ‘feels’ to drive.

Too many posh vehicles are so floaty and nebulous you might as well be at home, sitting on the sofa, play a driving game on your PS5.

Not so the Polestar 5 – which I could actually abbreviate to PS5 but won’t for clarity – and that’s because one of the company’s dynamics wizards, a lovely chap called Joakim Rydholm, spent months on North Yorkshire roads tuning and honing the steering and chassis. Yorkshire roads are great as they are full of holes.

It is also significant that Polestar chose the North East to launch this magical vehicle, within the shadow of Hogwarts in fact, from Alnwick Castle.

And like Harry Potter’s Firebolt broom the Polestar absolutely flies – well between almost 800 and 900hp will do that to a vehicle and either the lower powered Dual Motor or the Performance will hit the benchmark sprint test of 60mph in around three seconds. That’s virtually apparating, as Harry would attest to.

But it’s the way the chassis contains this power that is most impressive. Yes, acceleration is astounding, but the all-wheel-drive and unique MagneRide active suspension, coils and dampers manage to contain it so Polestar 5 never feels lairy, just wizard’s broom fast and steadfastly sure.

It’s a set-up that can change the stiffness of the ride 500 times a second and is truly magical. It will lift the car over the surface for supreme smoothness or pull it to the ground for extra feel.

Somehow this incredible chassis manages to soak up the vagaries of roads well chewed by summer sun and winter weather.

It never approaches harsh or jittery and is sublime in all conditions. The Recarro seats help too by taking you in a warm, forgiving, friendly embrace, as do the Michelin tyres, which took two years to develop specifically for Polestar.

A car this fast needs great anchors and the brakes are top-flight Brembos with 400mm discs and an aluminium centre to reduce unsprung mass.

It’s hard to believe Polestar has come on so far so quickly. After starting as a sports team it has only been knocking out EVs for six years but has already doubled its dealer network and has a raft of new and updated models in the pipeline.

Next year will see a new version of the 2, the car that started the ball rolling. There’s also going to be a Polestar 4 SUV and a Polestar 7 SUV, which will be the first model to be produced in Europe rather than China.

Polestar 5 is a gamechanger too and the first car the company has developed from the ground up. Swedish and UK knowhow has produced a supercar in GT form and despite having a tarmac-skimming nose, the 5 has all the comforts, practicalities and accommodation of a grand tourer.

It comes in a sleek and eye-catching form, with dropped snout and dual blade headlamps, an homage to the concept Polestar 1, and a delight to look at from any angle.

Like the Polestar 4 there’s no back window, allowing for the installation of a Bowers and Wilkins rear sound bar. A roof camera takes care of the rear view, but the gargantuan panoramic glass roof actually stretches behind the rear seat passengers allowing light to flood into the gloriously appointed cabin.

I’ve been warned off mentioning the touchscreen gubbins by my partner who says I’m in danger of sounding like an old curmudgeon. Safe to say, there’s a lot.

Polestar is also obsessed with sustainability so the aluminium is partly recycled, partly sustainable and carbon fibre has been replaced by B Comp, a material made from flax. It takes 14 tonnes of CO2 to produce each car, which is relatively low, and the cradle to grave CO2 statistic of 23.8 tonnes is a big leap in the right direction.

So, the world has gone crazy but that’s okay as the Polestar 5 is there to soothe your nerves and make everything feel enchanting.