Audi e-tron vs Polestar 3

The Polestar 3 costs £16,640 more than the Audi e-tron. For that premium it adds 166 miles more WLTP range and 190 kW faster peak rapid charging. The Audi e-tron is not just cheaper - it also offers 176 litres more boot space. On EVcarsguide's combined category scores, the Polestar 3 comes out ahead overall.

The Audi e-tron is £16,640 cheaper to buy. The Polestar 3 is cheaper to charge, roughly £192 a year versus £232 for the Audi e-tron, at 8,000 miles on an off-peak home tariff. Add 5 years of charging and the Audi e-tron comes out roughly £16,440 cheaper overall. These figures cover list price and home charging only - insurance, servicing, tyres and depreciation will move the real total.

EVcarsguide estimates a real-world motorway range of about 174 miles for the Audi e-tron and 257 miles for the Polestar 3 - both below their WLTP figures, because sustained high speed is the hardest case for an EV. The Polestar 3 goes roughly 83 miles further between charging stops. A rapid charge to 80% takes around 30 minutes in the Audi e-tron and 22 in the Polestar 3, so the Polestar 3 loses less time at each stop. That makes the Polestar 3 the stronger long-distance car.

The Audi e-tron is the easier car for tight UK car parks: it is 33 mm narrower than the Polestar 3. In a standard 2,400 mm bay that leaves about 465 mm of total clearance for the Audi e-tron and about 432 mm of total clearance for the Polestar 3. The Polestar 3 also turns in a 0.4 m tighter circle, which helps with U-turns and multi-storey ramps.

Over a 8-year ownership window EVcarsguide's degradation model projects roughly 84% battery health for the Audi e-tron and 84% for the Polestar 3. That is close enough that capacity loss should not decide between them. Both use NMC-type cells, so for daily use keep the charge limit near 80% to slow degradation. Both batteries carry a 8-year manufacturer warranty.