BMW i7 (2022-2026) vs Polestar 5

The BMW i7 costs £21,045 more than the Polestar 5. For that premium it adds 135 litres more boot space and a 1.4s quicker 0-62mph time. The Polestar 5 is not just cheaper - it also offers 33 miles more WLTP range, 155 kW faster peak rapid charging and 150 kW more power. On EVcarsguide's combined category scores, the Polestar 5 comes out ahead overall.

The Polestar 5 is £21,045 cheaper to buy. Running costs are almost identical - about £184 a year either way, at 8,000 miles on an off-peak home tariff. Add 5 years of charging and the Polestar 5 comes out roughly £21,005 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 323 miles for the BMW i7 and 309 miles for the Polestar 5 - effectively matched, and both well below their WLTP figures because sustained high speed is the hardest case for an EV. A rapid charge to 80% takes around 34 minutes in the BMW i7 and 22 in the Polestar 5, so the Polestar 5 loses less time at each stop.

The BMW i7 is the easier car for tight UK car parks: it is 65 mm narrower than the Polestar 5. In a standard 2,400 mm bay that leaves about 450 mm of total clearance for the BMW i7 and about 385 mm of total clearance for the Polestar 5. The Polestar 5 also turns in a 0.8 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 BMW i7 and 84% for the Polestar 5. 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.