Polestar’s large electric SUV, the Polestar 3, has been named September’s Car of the Month by the Korea Automobile Journalists Association (KAJA), beating out formidable competitors including the Mercedes-Benz S-Class, Volvo EX90, and Hyundai Motor’s all-new Avante.<\/p>\n
KAJA announced on the 4th that the Polestar 3 scored 54.3 out of a possible 70 points in evaluations of new and facelifted models launched last month, securing the final selection as Car of the Month.<\/p>\n
The association’s Car of the Year selection committee evaluates new and facelifted models released between the first and last day of each month across seven categories. The evaluation criteria include design and emotional quality, driving performance and energy efficiency, safety and advanced driving technology, infotainment and connected systems, space utilization and practicality, price competitiveness and product value, and overall product quality and purchase appeal.<\/p>\n
The September Car of the Month candidates\u2014listed in Korean alphabetical order by brand name\u2014were the new Mercedes-Benz S-Class, Volvo EX90, Polestar 3, and Hyundai Motor’s all-new Avante. After fierce competition, the Polestar 3 emerged as the final winner.<\/p>\n
Looking at category-by-category scores, the Polestar 3 received its highest marks of 8.3 out of 10 in both design and emotional quality and driving performance and energy efficiency. It scored 8.0 in safety and advanced driving technology and overall product quality and purchase appeal, and 7.7 in space utilization and practicality and price competitiveness and product value.<\/p>\n
Evaluation CategoryScore (out of 10)Design and Emotional Quality8.3Driving Performance and Energy Efficiency8.3Safety and Advanced Driving Technology8.0Overall Product Quality and Purchase Appeal8.0Space Utilization and Practicality7.7Price Competitiveness and Product Value7.7<\/p>\n
Note: Total score was 54.3 out of 70. The infotainment and connected systems category score was not disclosed.<\/p>\n
Won Sun-woong, chairman of the Car of the Year selection committee, described the Polestar 3 as “a flagship large electric performance SUV that combines powerful driving performance capable of easily handling circuit driving with outstanding aerodynamic design.”<\/p>\n
He added, “The sophisticated combination of the 106 kWh high-capacity nickel-cobalt-manganese (NCM) battery, 350 kW ultra-fast charging system, rear torque vectoring, and dual-chamber air suspension simultaneously demonstrates exceptional on-road refinement and high limit performance on the circuit, establishing a clear presence in the premium electric SUV market.”<\/p>\n
The high design scores were also attributed to its distinctive identity. Won noted, “The unique design identity showcased by the front wing and SmartZone, the Bowers & Wilkins sound system, and the minimalist yet highly refined Scandinavian interior space meet the expectations of a diversified EV consumer base seeking both high performance and premium sensibility.”<\/p>\n
KAJA has been selecting and announcing a Car of the Month every month since 2019. Last month, BMW’s new iX3 was named Car of the Month.<\/p>\n
Models selected as Car of the Month also receive tangible benefits. They are granted a direct pass to the first round of final judging for Korea Car of the Year (K-COTY), bypassing the first-half and second-half evaluation stages.<\/p>\n
KAJA announces Korea Car of the Year annually to recognize the best automobile of the year, and conducts various activities including symposiums, seminars, tech tours, and automotive industry awards ceremonies to discuss current issues and explore solutions in the automotive sector.<\/p>\n
The Polestar 3’s win can be interpreted as a meaningful signal in the competitive landscape of the premium electric SUV market. The fact that a dedicated EV brand model was selected over the traditional flagship sedan Mercedes-Benz S-Class, Volvo’s next-generation electric SUV EX90, and Hyundai’s representative compact sedan Avante demonstrates that South Korean automotive journalists’ evaluation criteria are placing significant weight on the combination of electrification and driving performance.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Polestar’s large electric SUV, the Polestar 3, has been named September’s Car of the Month by the Korea…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":84596,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20951],"tags":[61100,61098,61101,3622,27796,28899,47804,61099,50662],"class_list":["post-84595","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mercedes-benz","tag-hyundai-motors-all-new-avante","tag-korea-automobile-journalists-association-kaja","tag-korea-car-of-the-year-k-coty","tag-mercedes-benz","tag-mercedes-benz-s-class","tag-polestar","tag-polestar-3","tag-volvo-ex90","tag-won-sun-woong"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84595","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=84595"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84595\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/84596"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=84595"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=84595"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=84595"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}