Polestar opened UK sales of the new Polestar 4 SUV on 2 September, adding a conventional rear window, a target range of up to 391 miles and a £54,750 starting price — £2,000 below the entry-level Polestar 4 coupé.
The original Polestar 4 made one of the boldest design decisions in the current EV market: it deleted the rear window completely and replaced the traditional rear-view mirror with a roof-mounted camera feed. The new SUV keeps much of the same technology and performance underneath, but takes a noticeably more conventional approach at the back.
That change is likely to be one of the biggest talking points for buyers. It also arrives with another surprise: the SUV starts at £54,750 in Rear motor form, compared with £56,750 for the equivalent Polestar 4 coupé in the UK.
The rear window is back
Polestar lists the new SUV with a heated curved rear window, complete with an integrated rear wiper and washer. A digital inner rear-view mirror remains available as an option, but unlike the coupé, drivers are no longer dependent on a camera feed for their rearward view.
That is a significant shift in character, even if Polestar is not presenting it as a retreat from the original idea. The company has always defended the coupé’s windowless rear as a deliberate design choice rather than a gimmick.
In its own design explanation, Polestar says removing the rear window allowed it to push the rear header further back and lower, extend the panoramic glass roof and create a more spacious environment for rear passengers. Rear visibility was then handled by a wide-angle HD camera mounted on the roof.
The SUV effectively gives buyers a second interpretation of the same basic car: one keeps the radical camera-only arrangement, while the other restores a familiar piece of everyday usability.
Watch: a closer look at the Polestar 4 SUV
The video below gives a useful visual look at how the SUV differs from the existing Polestar 4 coupé, particularly around the rear design and practicality.
UK pricing starts at £54,750
According to Polestar’s UK specifications, the Rear motor SUV starts at £54,750, while the Dual motor version starts at £60,750.
For comparison, the current Polestar 4 coupé starts at £56,750 in Rear motor form and £63,750 as a Dual motor. That means the SUV undercuts the coupé by £2,000 at the entry point and by £3,000 in Dual motor form.
That pricing makes the newcomer particularly interesting. Buyers are not being asked to pay a premium for the more conventional body style; instead, the SUV is currently the cheaper route into the Polestar 4 range.
Up to 391 miles of target WLTP range
The Rear motor version uses a 200kW motor producing 268bhp and has a target WLTP range of up to 391 miles. The Dual motor model doubles output to 400kW, or 536bhp, and has a target range of up to 373 miles.
Performance remains strong. Polestar quotes 0–60mph in 7.1 seconds for the Rear motor and 3.8 seconds for the Dual motor, with both versions limited to 124mph.
The SUV uses a 100kWh, 400V lithium-ion battery and supports DC charging at up to 200kW. Polestar quotes a 10–80% rapid-charge time of 30 minutes, while 11kW AC charging is standard and 22kW AC charging is available as an option.
Vehicle-to-Load is also supported at up to 3.3kW with the appropriate adapter, giving the Polestar 4 SUV the ability to power compatible external devices.
More useful space without changing the footprint
The SUV remains 4,840mm long with a 2,999mm wheelbase, so this is not a dramatically larger vehicle than the coupé. The extra practicality is concentrated around the rear body shape and luggage area.
Polestar lists 530 litres of rear cargo capacity with the seats up when measured to the rear seat backs, rising to 655 litres when loaded to the inner roof. With the rear seats folded, the quoted capacity increases to 1,665 litres. A separate 15-litre front storage compartment is also included.
The coupé is still reasonably practical in its own right, but Polestar lists 526 litres with its seats up and 1,536 litres with them folded. On paper, the SUV therefore gives buyers some useful extra carrying capacity without becoming a much larger car.
Polestar is offering two very different answers to the same question
The most interesting part of this launch is not simply the specifications. It is that Polestar now has two versions of the same model with very different ideas about what buyers want from an electric SUV.
The coupé remains the more experimental choice. Its missing rear window is still unusual enough to divide opinion, but it is also one of the design features that makes the car immediately recognisable. The SUV takes a more familiar route while retaining much of the same performance, battery technology and cabin architecture.
For buyers who liked the Polestar 4 but were never completely sold on relying on a camera for rear visibility, this new version removes one of the biggest barriers to consideration.
A busy spell for new electric SUVs
The Polestar arrives during a particularly busy run of new EV announcements. Mazda has now confirmed the UK price of the CX-6e electric SUV, while the Range Rover Electric has also been fully revealed with a 372-mile WLTP range and 350kW charging.
Tech Torque Verdict
Polestar has not said the rear-window-free coupé was a mistake, and it would be wrong to frame the SUV that way. What the company has done is give buyers a genuine alternative.
The original Polestar 4 remains the bolder design statement, but the SUV looks easier to live with for drivers who prefer conventional rear visibility. Add the lower £54,750 starting price, slightly longer target range and increased luggage capacity, and the more traditional version could end up being the more broadly appealing Polestar 4.
That makes this more than a simple body-style addition. It is an interesting test of how far EV buyers really want manufacturers to push familiar design conventions when practicality is involved.
