VW has high expectations for the ID.3. He lives up to them in the test. Most of the time, anyway.
Fully electric cars have been on the German market for a good ten years. Meanwhile with quite remarkable registration numbers. Nevertheless, the electric car in front of the door still arouses curiosity among the neighbors. This is also the case with our test candidate, the VW ID.3. To anticipate the neighbors' verdict after a short test round: “This is the best electric car you've had here so far.” Now we could agree with the verdict of normal Otto drivers, but it's not that simple after all.
The VW ID.3 is considered a beacon of hope for the Volkswagen group, as it is a pioneer for the electrical construction kit and bears the abbreviation ID.3 as a symbol of the third great VW idea after the Beetle and the Golf. This arouses high demands, which the ID.3 does not quite, but quite meets. First of all, it looks good and something but not too futuristic, is practical, has more space than a Golf, and is pretty easy to use.
Basically, all you have to do is sit down, turn the rotary switch discreetly hidden next to the steering wheel display to "D" and drive off. Thankfully, the VW designers have dispensed with the recently seemingly inevitable display overkill. A normal-sized, slightly inclined screen in the middle of the dashboard is used to control the infotainment, navigation system, telephone and the driving settings. Here you can also set the ambience using different colors or pre-program the loading times. This actually works intuitively and sometimes even quite well while driving. As usual, there is also a voice control system that understood and implemented most of our call and navigation requests properly.
The small display above the steering wheel provides information on speed and battery level and also shows the traffic signs. They could also be shown in the head-up display. Practical: the display is fixed to the steering column and comes closer when you pull the steering wheel towards you.
The condition of heating and music volume using sliders instead of rotary knobs or defined buttons has been criticized from many quarters. It can be dealt with, but it is not the most practical solution. Speaking of odds and ends: the idea of reducing the window lifters for the front and rear to two switches and one to choose between front / rear, in order to save one switch, seems poorly thought out and in no way customer-friendly, because you are now usually has to press twice instead of once as usual. The fact that the rear view camera flickered more often, failed in between, in order to then work again without further problems, should be due to a software bug that will be fixed by means of an over-the-air update. However, it shows that VW's endeavor to reduce the electronics architecture from many to a few control units is a complex task.
Let's get to what the ID.3 is really good at and that is ultimately the core competence of a car: driving. The rear engine, including rear drive, pushes the car forward vehemently when required with its 150 kW / 204 hp. The acceleration is - typically electric - seamless, after all, no gears have to be changed and the steering remains nicely free of drive influences. Thanks to the long wheelbase of 2,77 meters for a compact car, the ID.3 smooths out most of the bumps on the road. Driving is also fun on the motorway. There you can tell when the car is running into the limiter at 160 km / h, but until then it's quick and easy. So you are on the move with confidence, although it is better to avoid the higher speeds in an electric car, because the range suffers badly as a result.
In our case, the on-board computer always showed around 58 kilometers with a full 260 kWh battery. That is significantly less than the maximum possible 420 km and also below the minimum value of 300 km, which VW specifies as consumption close to the customer. With a light foot on the accelerator and maximum recuperation and in city traffic you will end up between the VW figures. Normally driven with a high proportion of rural roads and motorway commuters, in winter conditions with heating, it was only 265 kilometers possible. That's okay too, because you can get back to 35 percent fill level in 80 minutes at a fast charging station on the autobahn. At home, it takes 6,5 hours for the battery to be fully charged. Our test consumption under the conditions mentioned was 21,6 kWh, the standard consumption of the 204 PS engine is 15,4 kWh. Alternatively, there is also a 145 hp engine.
Unlike in the past with German cars, you can't combine everything with everything with the ID.3. VW has preconfigured various models, so if you value certain equipment details, you have to choose the appropriate equipment. We would prefer the Business Edition for 40.855 euros with a large motor because it offers the best light with the LED matrix headlights and, for example, also has a reversing camera on board. The Pure with a small motor and 3 kWh battery, normal LED headlights and acoustic parking aid marks the entry into the ID.45. Air conditioning is always included, as is networking options. If you want to drive further, you can take the Pro S with a 77 kWh battery from 42.000 euros, for example. The current subsidy of 9.570 euros is deducted from the price, so that, as announced, Volkswagen's compact for the new car world is actually not really more expensive than a Golf.
Technical data:
Five-door, five-seat sedan in the compact class; Length: 4,26 meters, width: 1,81 meters (with exterior mirrors: 2,07 meters), height: 1,57 meters, wheelbase: 2,28 meters, trunk volume: 385 - 1.267 liters
Electric motor; 150 kW / 204 PS, maximum torque: 310 Nm from 1 rpm, rear-wheel drive, automatic input, 0-60 km / h: 3,4 s, 0-100 km / h: 7,3 s, Vmax: 160 km / h, battery size: 58 kWh, range: 300 - 420 kilometers, standard consumption: 14,5 kWh / 100 km., CO2 emissions: 0 g / km, efficiency class: A +, test consumption 21,6 kWh
Price: Tech 44.810 euros
Brief description:
Why: because it is currently the best compact electric car
Why not: because he still has a few bugs
What else: the ID.4 - if you want a little more of everything
