Took one for a test drive yesterday with a view to replacing our 2013 Golf. Limited what one can tell from a 30 minute test drive but what I did see I liked.
What do owners think of them?
Anything particular to look out for?
And would you buy one again if the situation arose?
.sjb
No one has replied so I will chip in. I had a test drive and considered one when I bought my own EV 3 years ago. I did quite a lot of research then too.
I thought it was unremarkable to drive, found the interior a bit cheap and hated the laggy touchscreen. Many reviewers felt the same. I believe the recent update at least partly addressed these issues, especially re quality. Note the Cupra Born is essentially the same vehicle and personally I prefer the way that looks.
There is plenty of competition now and the ID3 is perhaps a bit behind on efficiency and max charging speed for it’s price. This matters if you charge away from home much as I am seeing far more properly fast chargers on main routes now. Less of an issue if you anticipate charging at home most of the time.
I would look at the YouTube channels CarGurus and Electrifying for good sensible EV reviews, but make sure you check the updated ID3 model rather than the original version.
The EV market when I bought my car had huge waits for delivery and no discounts. Might have changed now.
Sorry cannot give you a longer term opinion. Nothing beats living with a car to learn its qualities and failings.
Bruce
Not an ID3, but we have a Tesla Model 3 and we really like it. Ours is quite a few years old now, and the newer ones have some improvements. The Model Y is a more comparable to the Golf or ID3, being a true hatchback, but they’re otherwise basically the same car as the Model 3.
I had a subscription for an ID3 two years ago for a 6 month period.
I got it as I needed a car and although working for another german car brand, the lead time due to supply chain issues was over 12 months but VW was able to deliver it in two weeks.
I wanted to test out living with an electric vehicle, and was living in Munich at the time, with no garage or access to private charging. Additionally I want to travel back to the UK at christmas…this was an adventure in -10 degrees, full load and traveling that distance.
The software while much criticised generally worked well - some quirks but every car has some. Good points were the automated driving - reliable and worked better than my new BMW in terms of disconnects. The massage seats were also great on long journeys and generally the car was very comfortable. Range was fine for the most part, charging network was good in Germany, but UK was shockingly bad and still it according to a EV driving family member in the UK.
The worst thing about it was the capacitive temperature controls for the aircon - they were not illuminated so at night you could not see where you needed to touch…someone was asleep in Wolfsburg when designing these controls.
Im sure you can find some reviews on youtube of current iterations where they may have fixed some of these issues.
I have fond memories of the ID3 despite some flaws.
sjb
I am probably the least qualified person on here to comment. Were I to dip into the BEV market I would be looking closely at the performance in miles per kwh. This seems to be hugely variable on cars at the moment and I can only guess is a reflection on how up to date the tech adopted for the particular model was when committed to for manufacture. Tesla still seem to hold an advantage over much of the market. I would be looking for a minimum 4m/kwh as a benchmark - anything below that being equivalent to a gas guzzler.
Re the ID3, the earlier comments re the original model ring true - the press absolutely mauled VW for the non-intuitive/ dangerous in use controls. I’m not sure how much that has been addressed for 2024 model year cars.
Peter
Hi @Sloop_John_B I own an ID.3 Tour Pro S, 77kWh version, have owned the car just over 12 months and covered 11.5K miles, have an home charger and the car has averaged 4.7miles/kWh over that time period.
I will agree compared to previous VW cars we have owned the interior looks a bit bland and cheap looking, which have been addressed in the revised models, but we find it a comfortable car to travel in over short and long distances. I love the clean looks of the car, and for me think the informant system looks great (I know other’s views will differ) mine comes with the head up display as standard and this is something that should be a standard fit to all cars.
Regarding the informant system and and lack of buttons, what nobody on the online reviews tell you is that you don’t need to touch the controls while driving, its been designed so you can talk to it as follows, want to turn the Air con on, say the following.
Hello ID. (the L.E.D strip under the windscreen will light up) turn on Air Conditioning, it comes on, same if you want to warm your feet / hands or simply turn them off, just say the magic words Hello ID. I will admit, it’s not perfect, but it does work.
Regarding range, you will find a difference during the winter months, especially on frosty mornings / cold nights, you will get less miles/kWh, its never caused me any problems, but something to be aware of.
Would I buy another VW ID3, yes most definitely, would I go back to an I.C car, No!
Gary
Thanks that’s nor something that was on my radar at all. Of course we use kilowatt hours per 100 km but thankfully there is a converter online. 15.5 kWh /100km is your benchmark and the ID 3 is at 15.2, Tesla 3 is impressively is at 11.2 whilst the e-Niro (another car on my to test drive list) is 16.2. (3.83 miles/ kw).
.sjb
Thanks Gary, that’s very detailed and informative.
I’m not sure what you are referring to here?
Great in information, many thanks, John
.sjb
I have a ‘heads up’ display on my BMW. It’s a projection of key dashboard information (like current speed) onto the bottom of the windscreen so the driver can see it without looking down from the road. I imagine what is in the display will vary from manufacturer to manufacturer. I find it very useful.
This is what I was referring to John, what is displayed on my windscreen when driving,
Travel Assist - Lane warning / Car in front - Official Speed limit - Vehicle Speed.
It will also shown directions when using sat nav and the L.E.D. strip lights up showing turn information.
I’m sure other vehicle manufacturer’s systems will be similar.
It also shows my garage door / drive needs a clean!
Gary.
Hi SJB
We leased my wife an ID3 2.5yrs ago, due to be replaced later this year.
Principle question you asked was would an owner buy another? For me no. We have had several issues with ours. Over the 2.5yrs its probably been in the workshop over 6months alone for battery issues, predominately waiting for resource to fix, there was a large waiting list so suggest it quite a big issue. Prior to that, the first 6 months were plagued with software issues, so much so I felt it dangerous to drive.
I know you can issues with all cars, but I’m now 55yrs old and this has been the only car I have had so many issues with. I know it is reasonably new tech but still…
Has it put me off electric cars, well no. We also have an electric Mercedes EQC which has been fine. Neither of our cars are particularly efficient, Tesla has that in the bag. I do have a home charger so efficiency doesn’t really register, if charging away from home it would be the first priority on my list.
Sorry to hear you have had issues with your ID3, I’ve had no problems whatever, what I do concur with you is about offsite charging, the UK needs a good kick up the backside, to bring us into line with Europe.
Thanks @carruthersesq
I also see in which? that it only gets two out of five stars for reliability so your experience while probably at the worse end of the scale was not unique.
I suppose I would be hoping that the new iteration would have all these things sorted as it’s now effectively a five-year-old model.
But I’d be shot by my wife and daughter if what happened to you occurred!
.sjb
Tesla are years ahead in terms of EV maturity/effeciency, if you don’t want a Tesla there are many options these days. I hear good things about Polestar, and their long range model on paper does over 400 miles. No EV does what it says on paper, our ID3 which is the 77kw battery (263 miles on paper) only gets about 190 miles in winter. My Mercedes similar.
Interesting. My Kia EV6 which also has a 77kW battery quotes up to 328 miles. Summer/winter I would say realistic ranges are 300/260. Never as low as 190. Obviously exact conditions and usage are hard to compare perfectly, and you never actually go from 100 to 0%. My car does have the optional heat pump.
With regard to battery longevity our BMW i3 is now over 5 years old. We think it is still giving range that is very similar to when it was new, which is reassuring. My wife is also amused when people tell her she is driving a ‘modern classic’.
Bruce
BMW i3 is a modern classic !
Struggle to fault mine. Light, agile and 4 miles/Kwh. Yes, the battery can always be bigger, but that means more weight. We regularly do 500 miles round trips in ours. It charges at 50Kw from about 10% all the way to 93%.
Always ask for a charge curve for an EV. Few dealers will give you one or know what it is. The i3 is a nice flat " curve". Now go look at a Tesla model 3.
More comfy and supportive seats wouldn’t go a miss, but otherwise I agree it is a great little car. The EV6 is a class above in comfort and quality though.
Bruce
I am wondering what would replace the i3 with when the time comes. I find the seats ok. Mine are leather, so that may help ?
Bit off topic but my wife told me she will keep it as long as possible! No obvious equivalent on the market as you say.
You can tell she likes it because it has a name. ‘Ernie’, the fastest milk float in the West.
Bruce
Autocar recently had a feature article on the all new BMW i1 which is pencilled in for launch in 2026.
