US
9 MIN READ TIME

DRIVES

POLESTAR 5

TESTED 15.8.25, BEDFORDSHIRE DELIVERIES SPRING 2026

With Lotus Elise-style construction, a super-thin battery and no chassis electrickery, this could be a purist’s Porsche Taycan

30 CHERY TIGGO 7
34 XPENG G9
36 PEUGEOT E-408
40 HONDA CIVIC TYPER

THIS WEEK’S HIGHLIGHTS

HOW WE TEST CARS

Autocar delivers several kinds of reviews on new cars, with different levels of technical and functional scrutiny. As the name suggests, our First Drives section typically addresses cars that we’re driving for the first time – either in final production form or as late prototypes. Time in the car can be limited here, technical and equipment specification might not be finalised and some systems software may not be to production specification. For those reasons, First Drive reports don’t have star ratings.

Once we have driven a car for a second time in the UK, in right-hand-drive form and typically at greater length, we will rate it, either as part of a shorter UK test report or as the subject of a full, instrumented Road Test.

In the latter case, we take empirical performance and refinement benchmarks from it at Horiba MIRA proving ground, as well as subjective limit handling impressions, plus key measurements of practicality, efficiency and kerb weight.

All UK tests and Road Tests receive proper verdicts with star ratings informed by everything we have learned and the combined impressions and experience of several testers.

The new Polestar 5 is an engineer’s dream come true. Whereas previous Polestars have all been based on a platform shared with other Geely group products, this sports saloon was effectively a clean-sheet design.

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Autocar
10-Sep-2025
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