9:08 am, September 3, 2026
Polestar is looking to widen the appeal of its best-selling model with the launch of the new 4 SUV, giving customers who need more practicality an alternative to its distinctive coupé.
The electric car maker launched the new Polestar 4 SUV yesterday, introducing a conventional rear window, more usable luggage space and additional headroom in a bid to bring the model to a broader group of buyers.
Speaking to Car Dealer at Salon Privé, Polestar UK’s Kim Palmer said the existing 4 coupé remains the brand’s biggest-selling car, with around 10,000 sold last year and demand continuing to be strong this year.
He said the SUV has been designed to build on that success rather than replace the existing car, giving customers a choice between the coupé’s more distinctive design and the greater everyday usability of the new model.
‘Polestar 4 coupé is our biggest-selling car. Last year we sold 10,000 and it has proven to be just as popular this year,’ Palmer told Car Dealer.
‘What Polestar 4 SUV does essentially is broaden the range and give those people who need a bit of extra versatility or practicality the option to have a slightly larger boot.
‘It was also a little bit of a challenge for maybe those families with dogs to have a Polestar 4 coupé without the rear window, so essentially this broadens the Polestar 4 offering.’
The original Polestar 4 made headlines when it was launched in 2023 by dispensing with a rear window altogether and using a roof-mounted camera and digital rear-view mirror instead.
The new SUV takes a more conventional approach, with a rear screen incorporated into a taller and more upright tailgate, while its straighter roofline also creates an additional 25mm of headroom for passengers in the back.
Boot capacity stands at 530 litres beneath the load cover, only marginally more than the 526 litres offered by the coupé, but the SUV’s more upright shape means that increases to 655 litres when loaded to the roof.
Folding the rear seats increases capacity to 1,665 litres, while full-length roof rails can carry loads of up to 100kg.
A conventional rear-view mirror is also standard, although buyers can still opt for the digital system used in the coupé.
Palmer said that could prove particularly useful when customers take advantage of the SUV’s extra practicality and fill the back with luggage.
‘It’s very poignant at the moment because lots of people are taking their kids to university and school,’ he said.
‘You pile all the luggage really high and then you can’t see out the back, so there’s still an optional digital rear-view mirror together with the rear camera.’
Polestar is also adding vehicle-to-load technology, allowing the battery to power external electrical equipment, as well as a new Camping mode.
The latter isn’t exclusive to the SUV, however, with Palmer confirming the software-driven feature will also be introduced across the existing 4 range.
Both versions of the new SUV use a 100kWh battery capable of charging at up to 200kW, allowing a 10 to 80 per cent top-up in under half an hour.
The single rear-motor version has a claimed range of up to 391 miles, while the dual-motor car can cover up to 373 miles.
Prices start at £54,750 for the rear-motor model and £60,750 for the dual-motor version.
Polestar wants to reach premium customers
Polestar chose Salon Privé to showcase the new model alongside some of the world’s most expensive cars, with Palmer saying the affluent customers attending the event are exactly the audience the brand wants to reach.
The company continues to position itself as a premium manufacturer and Palmer said there can be crossover between Polestar customers and those buying significantly more expensive luxury and performance cars.
That doesn’t necessarily mean convincing them to replace the Lamborghini, Porsche or other premium car already sitting on their driveway.
Asked about the potential crossover with customers looking at cars such as the Lamborghini Urus at Salon Privé, Palmer said: ‘We might not be the first premium car in the household.
‘But especially if people are buying through businesses and fleets, we’re seeing a lot of customers come through that channel.’
For Polestar, that makes events such as Salon Privé an opportunity to get the brand in front of buyers who may not otherwise have considered one of its cars.
‘We remain very much a premium brand,’ Palmer added.
‘Salon Privé and the type of clientele here is absolutely the kind of customer we’re looking at.
‘When you get into our cars, the level of quality and technology that we provide, added to the sustainability and transparency that we give customers in terms of the carbon footprint, resonates very well with the kind of clientele that comes here.’