ON TEST: VOLKSWAGEN ID.3
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Volkswagen gets it right first time with the ID.3 Volkswagen took a while to embrace all-electric – but boy, has it got it right first time with the ID.3, as Andrew Walker discovered
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s one of the car manufacturers involved in ‘Dieselgate’, it’s no surprise that Volkswagen has come out fighting with the launch of its first full-electric car, the ID.3. The ID was preceded by Volkswagen’s e-Golf, which was to all intents and purposes an ordinary Golf featuring an electric powertrain fitted to the same chassis as a petrol or diesel Golf. The ID.3 is Golf-sized, with an interior the size of a Passat, but crucially it’s the first VW built from the ground up as an electric car. Indeed, you can trace its origins back to the 1970s and the Elektro Golf, so you could say Volkswagen has had plenty of time to consider its electric car approach. Volkswagen had planned, pre-pandemic, to sell all of the UK’s 2021 ID.3 allocation into the retail market, but Covid-19 has meant that it has stock available for the corporate sector too, which has led to some attractive contract hire offers. This means that the ID.3 will be targeting not only existing petrol, diesel and hybrid competition, including VW’s own Golf, the Focus and Astra, but also electric competition in the shape of the Nissan Leaf, KIA e-Niro and Hyundai Kona Electric. 14 | December 2021 | Company Car & Van
Battery and trim Three battery sizes are available: the entry level 45kWh battery, a mid-range 58kWh battery, which was fitted to our First Edition test car, and the larger 77kWh version on top-ofthe-range Tour models. Volkswagen claims a range of 260 miles for the 58kWh battery. Volkswagen has named the 58kWh battery and 201bhp motor set-up ‘Pro Performance’ and it comes with seven individual trim levels: Life, Style, Business, Family, 1st Edition, Tech and Max. The 77kWh version is called Pro S and is only available on the Tour specification. Each trim level comes pre-fitted with a range of equipment packs, and you choose additional ‘Plus’ packs to upgrade your ID.3. Exterior If you look at the ID.3 from side on, it’s most definitely a Volkswagen from the centre back, with similar lines and shaping to the Golf 8. However, from the centre forward, it morphs into a less conventional Volkswagen, taking its cue from the Nissan Leaf in looking more space-age than traditional. In effect, it’s more in keeping with an MPV than a family hatch, as you get an elongated windscreen, more glass and a higher bonnet. At the back it is also higher than a Golf, with the rear light clusters resembling a pointing finger. The bumper is much larger than on the latest Golf and colour wise, all cars feature a contrasting black roof and boot lid. Interior While some of the external lines makes the ID.3 look like a traditional VW, the interior is
all-new. It has a centrally mounted 10” infotainment touchscreen, a 5.3” dash panel display, flat bottomed steering wheel and a gear lever on the right end of the centre console that you twist to select from Drive, Reverse or Neutral. The colour was a little bland, basically grey on grey, and the finish, hard plastics and especially the seat fabric does not feel as good as those you’d find on the Golf 8. What is a success, however, is the spacious interior, which offers more room inside than our own Volkswagen T-Roc. Equipment All cars come with keyless start, LED headlights, front and rear parking sensors, climate control and heated front seats. Standard safety kit includes automatic emergency braking with cyclist and pedestrian monitoring, a driver fatigue alert system, a dynamic traffic sign display, Lane Assist and adaptive cruise control. First Edition cars add a heated leathertrimmed multi-function steering wheel with rake adjustment, 2-Zone ‘Air Care Climatronic’ climate control, keyless entry and starting system. There is also remote tailgate unlocking and a proactive passenger protection system which detects an emergency manoeuvre being made and prepares the occupant seat belts in advance of any collision. A combination of equipment packs adds more kit, such as a panoramic sunroof, a rear-view camera and an upgraded audio system. Continued on page 16 www.companycarandvan.co.uk
