We have owned ours for a year now so I feel well qualified to comment. It is a 58kWh 1st Edition from November 2020 and we bought it on 3rd March 2023 with 11,800 miles on the clock. Comfort: first class. 200 miles and I get out of the car feeling fresh. The seats are awesome. Nobody who has been in the car has said anything bad about them. Appearance: really doesn't matter much to me but I find it "non-descript" and inoffensive. Practicality: good, wide doors with great access. Boot is sufficiently large for our needs even when we go camping. Driver adjustability: 6'4" male and 5'4" female driver. Adjusts easily and could go further either way. Interior: don't know what the fuss and criticism is about. It's practical and functional. Why do people want an excess of luxury? Haptic buttons: you get used to them in days and you don't even think about them any more. Likewise the window switches: they work, end of. Software: dealer updated to version 3.2. all works fine except the voice activation which is intrusive imo. Just turn it off. The nav is excellent. We just use comfort mode and D. Range: we have had 305 miles in the summer and a low of 180 miles in the worst of winter. The heater/aircon does suck quite a bit of juice so use preheat whislt plugged in before you leave on cold days and you make massive winter range gains. Best bit? So easy to drive and just so practical. Worst bit? The bastard who smashed the drivers door window just for fun. Niggle: would prefer smaller rims. 19 inch with 50 profile tyrea is silly. 17 inch with 60 or 65 profile would be much better for both efficiency and comfort. Insurance? Cheaper than I feared and it actually went down on renewal. MOT and servicing: had Cleevely EV come out and give it the first service as it had not been serviced from new. Replaced the brake fluid at 3 years. MOT'd with no faults or advisories. Would I buy it again? Yes. Definitely. When will we replace it? When we have to. We will keep it for as long as we can. I don't know how you drive EVM but we've never seen such crap efficiency and we don't try.
At last someone honest and clear headed, who seems focuses on value and function.... Buying mine in a couple of weeks, used, at a good value. Hope my experience goes according to yours.
Software updates have improved the winter range issue. We were getting 3.8 m/kWh in colder days but in the past couple of days we have seen 4.6 m/kWh. We are averaging over 4 m/kWh. For us it's just a car but a very competent and capable car. It does what we need. Nicest features? Auto lights and wipers, auto hold "handbrake", the hatch(kills a Model 3), the incredible headlights and so on. We drive in Comfort mode and mainly use "D" rather than "B", we have been using the heating as desired. Ours is a 1st Edition bought with less than 12,000 miles and one owner costing less than a new MG4. We just preferred it to the MG4 or a Kona.
Hi EVM. I think this is a super review. Thank you. It's clear. To the point. The camera work is great - I could really see what it was like if I were to buy one. Your opinions are clear and reasoned. Really helpful - and not too long.You said in 24 minutes what some people would take 44 minutes to say. Good call.
Tbh evm does better reviews then robert on fully charged and well suprised he didn't use a brolly on this one. Others on the fully charged show review cars better than robert, i think once they lost jonny the reviews dropped on that channel tbh. Btw i do not dislike robert.
I haven't seen many on the roads. I'll be honest. Don't think it's sold as well as VW were probably expecting. Maybe the scandal with dieselgate is still ruining sales. I personally really like the id3. I haven't been in one but just looking at it and the range, it's more than good enough for most people. I'll be interested to see the bigger battery one being reviewed to see the real world range it gets.
@@dannya6825 Parked next to one a few weeks back the people were just coming back to the Car as I was walking round it 😂. Just said I hadn’t seen one and said very nice, they took it well and just said they were enjoying it so far.
I have been looking for a change to my hybrid for the last few months. Thank you for the review. I managed to track down a 70 plate ID3 Pro Performance Business with less than 10.000 miles, for just over £1250 with my old car as the balance. I think you hit the nail on the head in this piece. Its about our expectations. I looked at what I used the car for, how long it just sat on the drive, and the furthest I actually regularly drove. Which when you actually look isn't as far as you think. I did try a Kona, but felt that was cramped with the large silver looking center console. Even thou it has a little longer range. Again everything is a compromise. Keep up the good videos and honest comments.
Great review - test drove one and felt the same about the cheap hard plastic interior compared to all other VW's I've owned. But the penny pinching gets worse - Only top 2 trim levels have rear speakers. In other words you have to pay over £36,000 to get them. Bizarrely the family model doesn't have them. The cheapest car on the UK market, the Dacia Sandero, even has a full set!
EVM is one of the best channels for trusted car reviews imo. No waffle, no bull$#1t, no niceties justbno nonsense real-world opinions by "joe average" ( no offence intended ) rather than by pseudo sponsored, biased reviewers who are clearly contractually obliged to give a favourable review in return for having food put on their table. I do hope that the channel continues in this vein and doesn't succombe to sponsorshipitis. Anyway, the id3,....A decent buy for £25k but a huge anticlimax. The exterior I quite like, at least it is identifyable as an EV, looking fairly futuristic, but that interior is a poor effort. I anticipate the id3 becoming widely discounted in the not too distant future. If they want to sell cars £49k+ they seriously need to up their game on design and material choices for the interior and included kit.
I have a First Edition id3, I have owned it since October 20. I agree completely with your assessment of the id3. I did test drive a model 3, brilliant car but not for me. It was to big and to low(I am in my 70s) The consumption leaves a lot to be desired and your comments on the interior are bang on. Well done.
Yes I too have discounted the Model3 for the same reason. Far too low a boy racer car. The Model Y still needs some refinement too especially around suspension. Why can't these car companies make a decent car :-( they have been doing it all my life ... we VW have. Tesla you should know better.
My theory on the weird electric window controls: they can use the same switch panel for cars with four or two electric windows, just don't print the "rear" legend on it for the latter and disable the light.
Another very good video - thanks for posting it 👍 I'm not yet an EV owner but will be in the next few months ........ when I can actually test drive the cars! The ID.3 is on my shortlist and I've noticed on the VW configurator there is an 'option' described as "Energy efficient heat pump", which costs £1,250. Below it is a note saying "other options at additional costs may be required". It doesn't say what the other options are, or how much they cost, but seems to me like this could be an expensive option. VW claim that if you have the additional heat pump it not only uses natural, carbon neutral refrigerant R744, which is apparently less harmful to the environment, but improves the car's range by up to 30%, which is quite a claim. I respect you knowledge and experience of owning EV's so trust your real world, year round range figures of 170 (winter) to over 200 (summer). If the VW claim about the heat pump is true the real world range may be as low as 220 or as high as 260. Interesting that VW claim the 58kWh battery with 204PS motor "has a real world range of 263", so I reckon they're quoting the range if a heat pump is fitted, yet don't mention that in any of the marketing information. Naughty but not surprising sadly ....... The car industry is going through a revolution but the same old story about being economical with the truth prevails. 😒 I'll be very interested to hear what the sales team say about this when I can finally get into showrooms to discuss the car and ask them this question. Apologies for my scepticism but 45 years of owning cars has taught me to take any manufacturers claims about fuel efficiency with a very large pinch of salt!! Rule of thumb has always to reduce any claimed mpg figure by 25%.
If I was spending £26k on a new car I would buy an MG5. Because I did. Again, not super exciting, but a nice place to be, decent efficiency (it reports 3.6 miles per kWh, but distance travelled / usage says more like 4.5. Not sure why it underreports) and the front wheel drive was nice and solid in the recent snow. Rear wheel drive always seems like it will be unstable in bad conditions.
@timemachine_194 That doesn't surprise me overmuch - the Kona has far too much power for its chassis to cope with, put your foot down on a dry road and it spins the wheels. On the other hand I've seen several BMWs (with a 50/50 weight distribution) fail to get up a snowy hill that I happily cruised up in my Leaf. The bigger issue, though, is that a front wheel drive car doesn't spin out where a rear wheel drive car does.
Especially keen on a review of the Skoda. If the interior of the ID3 isn't up to VW standards may as well go for less premium brand, right? I think it looks better too, at least in photos.
When do people even open the rear windows. And if really needed with a longer press on the rear window activate button you can open all windows at once.
Love the way you cower away from the splashing when going through the puddles. Hope there was not too much water ingress into the car with you in it!!!
Great Video EVM, Unfortunately I believe that the VW group is so entrenched with the concept of lies that I couldn't trust them to organise a piss-up in a brewery. I would not buy this VW EV. 16/09/21 - just found out that the MG ZS EV that I'm taking delivery of next week has the following in common with the ID.3 : 1. Same battery pack and electric motor plus controlling electronics, comes from SAIC, MG's parent company; 2. The floor pan from a VW T-ROC; 3. The steering wheel from a mk 7 Golf 4. and the same flipping badge to open the boot. HOWEVER, I bought my MG for 18,000€ (equiv to about £15,000) including gov. grants. Can't wait to take delivery.
Quite agree with you most people go for good quality interior on VWs not cheap finish what that looks like and no good switch gear. That will be it down fall to many good other EVs out there now and more Chinese EVs arriving this year. Great 👍 review as ever.
These are all over our town in the Netherlands, and despite his recommendation otherwise, we're getting a higher spec one. We want the extra doo-dads beyond the base/cheap model, but the short of it is the ID3's size and nimbleness is ideal for our needs. We value reliability and manufacturing first and foremost. I work in software and know it will get better over time (and it has, by leaps and bounds) but or us, his recommendation to skip up to Tesla for a higher end model doesn't fly - Tesla's won't be on the menu until they've got hardware reliability down better and offer better service, and additionally, the cars are physically smaller (but that smaller car is 3 years away at best). It's not relaxing driving the QE2 down a narrow Dutch road. It'll be the ID.3 for us.
Where I live a base model tesla with tge same wltp range would have cost us 10k euros more. I do like tesla but i do have hopes for vw. The software will improve but to be honest I wanted an electric with decent range and charging. No need for all those software extras or a fancy interior as long as it drive good which is the only real reason why I use a car.
Very good informative video I've liked & subscribed 👏👏👏👏 I haven't seen anyone commenting on cable theft . You are charging your car at a public place go shopping can the cable be secured to the car ? Thanks again
Great review! I don’t think people realise how Terrible the consumption is compared to other cars. You’re the Bjorn of Yorkshire! Keep the great reviews coming!
However TeslaBjorn did longer trips and claimed it was highly efficient. Maybe not so in winter but he was running it on longer trips on temperatures of minus 18 and lower.
Had the choice of one of these or e-C4 opted for the Citroen due to the comfort and interior. Much prefer the look of the id3 but I do 20-30k per year so fingers crossed I made the correct choice🤞Looks like id3 has the same quality interior as the Caddy van?.
@timemachine_194 Im just like you. I want a hatchback and nothing else will do for me for the same reasons. Looks are subjective but efficiency figures are not. Coming from a mk7 golf R which has a much nicer interior, this would be a downgrade for me, not to mention performance. Its as mentioned here. Good car but as an EV it has nothing that really stands out and the interior is the straw that broke the camels back for me, its as bland as a swarf cake. The mrs has a model 3 SR+ and I prefer that to drive more than the dsg golf with every possible extra hence why im holding out for a model Y as a replacement since it ticks all the boxes for me. You just cant beat them as an EV for the money if you are looking at efficiency and performance and the way it drives.
How many mpk does the hot battery save. Basically vw have converted this to a 68kwh car, but if they get more mile per kWh out off that 68kwh over longer journeys (where you actually care) than an unheated 75kwh then that's a win. Who cares that the mpg is sub 3 if you never use have to charge during the day.
I bought this as IMHO its one of the best looking family cars currently. The interior is solid and good looking. The hard plastics dont seem bad as well. Not much different to the BMW 2 grand tourer it replaced, except that has soft plastics on the lower end. The window switches are great. I only change the front ones most of the time, and switching over to the back ones is easy. There are also tricks like keeping down the rear window switch for a few seconds make it flash, which then means that the buttons move all four windows. Very cool and useful. The touch buttons are different for old fashioned folk, but are much better as (i) they dont break over time, like mechanical switches, and (ii) are easy to use for the touch phone generation. The ride is very fast and quick, it feels like a much more expensive sports car. I cant compare to other VWs, as its my first one, but after a few days in a good EV, you cant go back to the noisy, sluggish, large bonneted ICEs. I test drove all the EVs between 30000 and 45000 and this was the first one which I felt stood its ground against ICEs, ie. you would buy for itself, rather then just because you are looking for electric cars. The range is the highest compared to manufacturer quoted range. The 260mile ID3 58 engine gets over 240m which is a higher ratio then all other electric cars vs manufacturer quotation. See :th-cam.com/video/2hn31vLKgho/w-d-xo.html
Things that put me off was the laggy entertainment unit, low quality interior (hard plastics, ugly sear materials), only having speakers in the front ( I’ve never owned a car with less than 4 speakers. What was good… the drive and smart cruise, heated steering wheel, very good size and is really well packaged. Just wished they had carried over the interior quality from the golf.
Great review, the efficiency issue is so frustrating. Why on earth have they gone for such a rapid battery heat up rate? It makes it less appealing as a daily commute car. Complety agree about the interior quality, that's the reason why I'd already discounted it in favour of the Skoda enyak (despite the id3 being a better size for my needs). I'm assuming the heat up issue is common to Skoda, so I'm afraid that's off my shortlist too.
That efficiency is crap, i get better than that out of my MGZS EV at this time of year. Even on my short 5km journey to work (each way), with heater on and in wet cold weather. I am averaging 3-3.2mpkwh. The MGZS EV can be got for under £30k and the interior looks and feels better IMO. I know its all very subjective and that we are all different. Great review as always EVM ! 👍
I cancelled my ID3 preorder after seeing it in person at the Frankfurt motor show launch (remember the days we could travel?). The whole thing felt very sub-premium, plasticky and toylike even, and not VW at all. At Christmas taken delivery of Tesla model 3 long range. Thats another story. Mostly stuck outside in lockdown doing nothing i notice huge drain >1% each day. (Btw tried everything recommended to properly standby). On top of day 1 panel gap issues and much less range than I expected, the regen has just failed. Less than 600miles done and not a happy Tesla owner. Makes me appreciate my BMW i3 all the more.
I picked up a new Business (58KW) with heat pump and 19" Andoya wheels for 29K, on the road last December. It's had the 2.1 software update, now awaiting the next. Last winter 165 miles was lowest, this summer up to 230miles. I have achieved 5.2M/KW on rural runs, normally it is between 3.8 to 4.5M/KW. The interior is built to a price, I don't care, I don't chauffeur VIP's, and it doesn't worry me about any dog scratches. Is it an engaging drive - no, but it is a relaxing drive. lot's of clever tech and all the switches that every tester complain about are not an issue with use. I was going to buy a Model 3, but with a 14K saving the id.3 works out okay - great rear hatch opening for taking crap to the tip, so more functional than the Model 3. Only do home charging so the supercharger network makes no difference to me and at the price I paid I can trade it for 28.25K today - so I consider I got a good deal.
I like the window switches like that, I hardly ever want to open the rear windows, if I do lower a rear window in my current car (with 4 switches) is almost always by mistake when I have to take a parking ticket or pay at a toll boot. Also, a nice trick, hold that "rear" switch for a second and then you can lower/raise ALL windows simultaneously with either window switch.
Extra Yorkshire point earned for mentioning the word 'sup'. FYI non Yorkshire folk, 'sup' is an ancient Yorkshire verb meaning, 'to drink' and is nothing to do with 'wazzup'. eg. The id3 sups a ridiculous amount of power in winter.
spot on review, im also thinking id3 gives u more bang for ur buck if u go for the lower end, than high end, esp if u just care about general short travel day to day. What extra features do u think is needed if u go for the cheap one? U said heat pump?
Not only the battery heater but the cabin heater is also even more inefficient. I usually drive with heating wheel and chair but with occasional cabin heater. Makes a huge difference on efficiency.
Our eGolf lease is up next summer. We were looking at the iD3 but we have not seen one in person yet. It is either that or the Model 3. Looks like the Model 3 might be a better choice. Thanks for your review.
The BMW i3 has very similar proportions, etc. (eg. short nose, long wheelbase, side cutout, two-tone colour, shift lever design, spacious cabin) and I suspect VW took many cues from it.
Same with my 2017 Chevy Bolt EV, you can see the areas they skimped on to hit their price point. But, it's great to see that the more affordable EV's are arriving!
Thanks EVM for another great and honest review. Your are right about the high RRP of ID.3 and there is obvious cost saving. The interior is OK but not what you would call premium. I though having only 2 window buttons was penny pinching but in practice the idea works well and you can open or close all 4 windows with one touch. As for economy I was very disappointed initially but it is, as you say, by the current cold weather and VW excessive battery heating. The temperature was better here the other day, 12C, I saw over 4 miles per kW on a short 10 mile journey. I read somewhere that Tesla and some other manufacturers, when displaying miles per kW only count the energy used by the traction motors. Do you know if this is true can you test it in your SR 3+? Interestingly did you drive in D or B. I find D to be more efficient for normal day to day driving as the car coasts so well, and prompts you when to do so. Also when comparing costs I believe the the SR 3+ price of £40K includes the Government Plug In Grant whereas the £40K top of the range ID.3 does not making it £37K for comparison purposes. Also there are no discounts for Tesla M3 as far as I know and whereas VW were discounting the ID.3 last year.. The model you tested could have been bought last December for just under £30K so £10K less than a SR+. Don't get me wrong I think the SR+ is a great car and would have bought one if it were a hatchback. As I said a great and honest test keep up the good work.
Awesome review as always. By far the best review Ife seen of the ID3. I can't believe how poor the interior is, especially for the top of the range model. I think as soon as you go above £35k, you're already spending so much you may as go with the Tesla. Their drive train, battery technology and supercharger network is worth at least £5k, I'd say nearer £10k. I think if you could pick up the basic life model with smallest battery for around £20k that might be a great buy. I think VW would be a bit embarrassed to not be competing in the mid to higher premium EV market though.
Competing at the higher end of the EV market will be taken care of by Mercedes, BMW, Audi and Jaguar..........Jaguar recently announced that they will be 100% electric by 2025........ And I'd have to agree re: the ID3's interior. The seats etc -in the video - looked like a basic Fiesta from 30 years ago........ I can't help but feel that you'd get a better feeling sitting in a Hyundai Ioniq.....
It's a shame Tesla don't make anything that isn't a saloon, or a saloon lazily scaled up to SUV size in mspaint. You can't put a dog in the boot of a model 3, at least not without the RSPCA getting involved.
@@JonathanPalfrey I really wish they'd square the back off a model 3 and make an estate, the boot is huge but no good at all as a family car. I do most of my journeys by bike and my wife has an eNiro to commute in but we occasionally need something bigger or I need a car while she's out. I'm still hoping that VW don't fumble the ID Space Vizzion in the same way they seem to have done here. Or that Skoda do something better with the platform before my 12 year old diesel estate dies.
For me thing’s to change 1 - infotainment software - a badly needed refresh, and get rid of the touch buttons attached, Just going to a screen such as the enyaq did and physical shortcut buttons 2 trim colours , gray gray and gray give us some options for the seat covers, like the light colour option with the us id4. 3 roof trim should be offered in a lighter colour option too. 4 sunroof option on the tour pro s 5 disable the always heat battery pack. Other ev’s from korea don’t use it so why do we need it above 4c , the pack will naturally warm most of the time just driving follow tesla and just limit max output while still warming and in low temp zones Highlight the zone with a cold blue etc whilst warming 6 offer 4x4 options not just with a gtx or r type 7 door switches, give us 4 window switches not a combination code 8 a one colour option, not just two tone 9 my test car had a really spongy break pedal, the id4 had the same so this really needs solving ASAP . Adding. One peddle option is a must it can be added with the software update as b just isn’t strong enough, please give us the option to set regen 10 the miles per kw needs improving, ideally 4kw in all conditions, As it only creeps over this in 20 zones fully preheat or on a byorn test run 11 move the lighting switches and fuse box to the right , the glovebox is a joke on rhd 12 give users the option on disabling the auto on when the break peddle is pressed , thus allowing user to jump out open a gate etc without turning off , but also as a safety element when young children get into the car when the door is open , also add a pin to start with the auto on for people that have the key within the wake up unlock zone in there home 13 offer a 360 cam option on all trims
The side profile, rear spoiler section that is black, visible from the side is extremely good design, visual trickery to give that C-Pillar and the back of the car a more aggressive shape. Hats off to VW, a small detail but smart.
I watched this as we're thinking of getting one 2nd hand as a 2nd car. A 21 plate, 35,000 miles 58kwh Pro performance with nice alloys - £12 grand 🤣I'm so glad we didn't get tempted to buy one new - but at 3 years old it makes a lot of sense. Still a decent chunk of battery warrant left
100% with you on the penny-pinching interior. For the money, I would expect so much more quality, but then I remember it's VWG. It's a damn shame as I had high hopes for the ID3 and VWG.
Great review, i was looking at one of these but I wasn't keen on that interior. I ended up grabing the E208. Felt much nicer inside although this is a nice car over all
I was an electric sceptic lol…WAS! Im a petrol/diesel old tech kind of person and was open to the idea of electric but only when i had no choice until i drove a 1st edition model yesterday and im sold, i want one, if the charging network improves then there will be no stopping the electric revolution, everyone should have one!
If you had to take one sounds like you'd rather take the e-C4? I would. You'd think someone from VW would've had a ride in a Kia E-Niro / Soul before signing off on that interior.
Agreed. Kia knocked those two cars out of the park. I've yet to find something I prefer over the Soul EV. I wonder if VW didn't release the ID.3 in North America because of the Chevy Bolt? It's far cheaper than either the ID.3 or the Soul EV.
Downside I discovered with ec4 is no proper charging timer. Can turn it on but not off. I'm not getting up at 430am to turn it off (octopus go). Shame as I was ready to trade in my leaf for it.
At 2.8 miles per kilowatt your not the first and probably not the last TH-camr to mention the bad stats on short journeys! Poor show VW it feels like we are going backwards not forward , my1st gen leaf still getting 3.8 in winter. Great and impartial review keep up the good work.
My questions after watching your review: - Would I have to go to a dealer to update the software? - Will it come to Canada? At what price? - How will it stand up over time?
Based on 15000 km It does 150 miles in the winter and 220 in the summer. It is basically like a SR+ in range. It is my wifes daily - I drive a Model 3 LR awd. I would choose the SR+ but my wife insisted on the ID.3 even given the choice. It is more comfortable than the Model 3 and more quiet. It does have a quality feel - but the SW is a disaster - really bad and I am not talking about infotainment. The seats easily get stains but they wash out.
You are going to love the ID.4 then. That appears to be where they went with the quality of the interior. I totally agree about the efficiency, in winter, at the very least, but the car always makes me smile when I drive mine. In terms of deals, I got the 1st Edition model in December and managed to find £9000 off the list price! (£3000 government grant, £3000 VW deposit contribution, £3000 further off as part of the offer). Think there are deals to be had for those who want one.
That heat pump option is very cheeky at that price. Is it included in any models? The one thing you would put in to make the car more efficient, in both heating the cabin and batteries.
@timemachine_194 never heard of heat pump issues on any 2013+ Leaf here in Sweden. If they can survive our winters and outside heat pumps for houses works for decades i don't really see when they will fail.
As you say, short range efficiency in the cold sucks, and being in Norway I know. Other than that (going by various tests around), it is as, if not more, efficient than most other EVs currently on the market - but that's over distance. I hope they give us the option to turn off battery heating for short journeys - perhaps automatically determine if it's worth it based on navigation destination. I chose my Max over a model 3 SR+ and the Korean triplets for a variety of reasons - could go into them but I think they are said by others many times over in various places. :)
Enjoyable review, and I think your impressions are similar to mine. I currently lease an eGolf and I am actively looking for something to replace it in approx 12 months. I had a 4 day test drive in an ID3 and was totally underwhelmed.....such a shame. Efficiently and driving experience were so much worse than my eGolf by the end of the test I was happy to give it back. For £30k (probably my limit) I think I would rather have a second-hand M3 than a brand new ID3
Originally, I opted for an entry-model ID.3. But I, unfortunately, wrecked my old car and had to get a new one before the ID.3 even came out. So I ended with the Corsa-e. And aside from the boot-space, I don't regret it for even one second! And it has a much sportier feeling ride IMHO.
bit classic honda civic type R in side profile. The look is growing on me a lot. Base model is an ok price but the higher specs get too close to model 3. I’d need to figure out the best combination of options/battery/spec to see how much cheaper it would be. If its within 1-2k of a Tesla SR+ I’d just go for the Tesla. But if you can get active cruise, lane keeping for a lot less might be interesting. Augmented reality sounds nice and I’d like to try it on a test drive, and I’d like surround view camera which tesla doesn’t offer. and powered hatch would be nice. Maybe a facelift in a couple/three years will adjust the buttons to be more ‘blind use’ friendly
Great review, very balanced. Shockingly poor efficiency and as you say on higher trim models they're well into Model 3 territory. They'll need to watch out in a year or two of the Tesla Model 2 rumours turn out to be true!
We have an id3 life and an egolf the id3 base model is packed full of kit, we got the alloys and heat pump though. Efficiency is still awful with the heat pump, the egolf winter range is similar to the id3 winter range
Good review. I'm still not that impressed with the inside of the car but the black finish is definitely better then white. Seems the ergonomics isn't that good? And another thing is why are there so many options on this car when they really should come as standard? I'll stick with the Zoe thanks, currently getting 3.4m/kWh as well 😄
For that kind of money I'd expect more to be honest. You can pick up top model MG5 for about £22k on autotrader for a basic car and that will have better warranty. If you're talking above £30k there's still the Kona and eNiro and if you get to the £40k Tesla all day long.
Worried me when I looked at a PCP on these - 16.7p per mile extra charge, my present diesel is 10p per mile extra . The extra mileage charge is usually directly linked to the depreciation and resale value of a car. Are VW expecting the value to drop massively?
Thanks for the candid review, my mate delivers cars and says these are trouble, often just not starting for no apparent reason, needing some fiddling / resetting to get going again lol. I loved my golds but atm this looks like a big miss.
An excellent in depth review of a car that is going to sell in the millions. I like your no nonsense review technique, ( probably because you are a Yorkshire lad like me). As a former very high mileage driver, in many company cars, you hit on all the niggles that would annoy me also. I have recently changed my car, but deferred from an EV this time, since in the next 2/3 years a lot of the early deficiencies in terms of efficiency, design and build quality should have been addressed as well as pricing levels. 👍😎
Still yet to see one on the road yet I’ve seen loads of Mk 8 Golfs. Maybe people still just prefer a petrol engine. I live in hope for the ID range, it’s always been a big mistake to buy a new model of any car, maybe the facelift or Mk 2 ID3 will be better in a couple of years.
I agree on the quality, at least at the higher end. I’d rather have an Audi equivalent with a smaller battery. As in theory, it would be a higher quality car in terms of interior especially if it started at a higher price. Less range wouldn’t bother me with say 160 mile real range as I’d only be stopping to charge on a long journey once a year. And if charging was say 70-100 kWh I’d mind even less. I think in making it start relatively cheap the interior has to be. Great review
It’s a bag of nails according to many of the owner forums with terrible software issues. It’s so bad that VW are just about to issue a complete recall for all ID3’s to try and update the software build to make them reliable enough for the average owner. A huge pointer as to how legacy ICE companies are going to suffer getting the gen 1 software to work.
VW are not about to issue a big recall. When I purchased the ID.3 in October VW told me upfront that in Q1 2021 I would have to bring the car to the dealer for a free software update. This has been planned for months and owners were told before purchase. After that OTA will be working. In this video he found no issues with the software and it will only get better.
The software recall is deliberate, it is to put the 2.1 version on the car, which they always intended to have ready by the time it hit the roads. The software has already improved a lot since the initial version that was on mine to the 2.0 version I have today.
@@scottvessey915 Lord Knows that Teslas have software updates right after a major release! When the first versions of full self drive came out, man...they were sending software updates all day.
They are. I moved to the ID.3 coming from a petrol car that used 15 L / 100 km (18 mpg) for short city trips. I could buy 5 liters of petrol (56 mpg) with the cost of the electricity I need to run my ID.3 under the same conditions.
@dwftube my etron is terrible in winter, efficiency wise. Less than 2m/kWh. But its still more economical and better for the environment and cheaper to fuel up than a corsa 1.2. (I had one as a courtesy car whilst my etron was in for a bumper repair). £10 for a quarter of a tank of petrol got me 50miles. £10 would get me 400 miles in the etron charging at home. At least 150miles charging at an expensive roadside charger. Zero emissions too.
@@danielardelian2 But in short order the id3 will be competing against other family 5-doors with an electric drivetrain. Being the thirstiest will not help it out.
The interior trim is pretty poor, and why are these companies using silly so called buttons, you can have good old fashioned buttons on electric cars . When you was touching the screen I thought it looked sluggish, are these companies using computer chips from the 90s
Totally agree going capacitive touch , reducing buttons to open the windows, were some of the worst Decisions vw made. This is a big step back from the e-golf. not displaying kw going instead of just time when charging, more seat colours and optional full leather should be offered, as well as a painted roof
I get what you mean about expectation. As a seat Leon ST owner I was looking at the new Leon phev. But at 31k it's too expensive for a Leon. Leon makes a good car at about 22k, you accept a less than premium but still well built interior at that price, golf and this about 25 to 27 as they're a little bit nicer but 40k. Are you kidding! The interior is not premium enough and I'd pick the model 3 every time. At just under 30k competing against the leaf, Kona, eniro etc. sounds about right.
I assume your car doesnt have the heatpump, here in Norway you can get versions with heatpump which makes it more efficient during winter. Biggest problem with this car is price, if you take the cheapest version your missing essential things like rear view camera.
Hi a very good review and I must say I agree with you on the inside of the car it feels a bit cheap. I do like the outside shape. But the efficiency is pretty poor at 2.5 to 2.7. Our Kia e Niro feels a lot better quality and a dam site more efficient we have been out today and on a 35 mile round trip got 3.9 but as usual with Volkswagen / Porsche most of the options on those cars is standard on ours. But weather or not we would buy one doesn’t mater the fact is it’s an other Ev on the market to chose from.
how do you pre-heat an electric battery by standing still, surely preheating the cabin does not create enough load on the battery to actually warm it up
I've just ordered one of these (Life Pro Performance) and I'm a little worried I havent done my homework - I knew nothing about the heatpump bit, the dealer didnt even know if it came with a charging cable (he since informs me it does, hope he's right) but perhaps a bit worse is the economy of it. My diesel returns pretty much the same MPG regardless of weather or at least its little affected, probably because the heat generated is there like it or not. I wonder what that same trip would have been with another EV - I'll scan your other reviews - To achieve the 260 claimed does that mean a straight division of the mileage by full battery capacity in KWH ie it should be producing nearer 4.5 miles per kwh? Is this a bit VW Dieselgate - can it be achieved. in WLTP terms?
VW Group cars have had the same headlight switch design, in the same place, for years. And they have always worked well in my experience. So why change it into something that's awkward and harder to operate? Makes no sense to me. :(
Great video review. But doesn't our model 3 do the same with warming the battery up on short journeys effecting the efficiency. I find my Model 3 terrible on efficency for short journeys
HELP NEEDED I’m looking at getting either a VW id3 or Skoda Enyaq iv 60 not a clue about charging from home and costs etc to have a unit fitted also I work nights so will only be able to home charge at weekends I’ve looked at octopus go for my energy but with these vehicles is there a way to work out time to charge / against mileage available as I want to go electric but not sure if working at night and only using a home charger mostly the weekend will work. I only travel around 200 miles a week 100 of those are at weekends. I really hope you’re able to read this and can help in any way possible or I might have to change for another hybrid car instead as I’m totally in the blind when it comes to EV ownership Chris Jones
I get what you mean. VW has been doing this a lot with interiors recently. The T Roc was first but now the Skoda Octavia interior outdoes the Golf mark 8 and this. I know they have to build to a price but 4 window switches instead of 2 surely isn't much.
I agree that the interior is disappointing, my 7 year old Polo has nicer materials. I ordered mine around 25 November, looking at a few month wait. One thing I did notice that ID.3's built after 1 December get the MY22.5 update which includes more premium panels on all ID.3 models and changing the seats and including the v3.0.0 software update. Lower to middle end of the range I agree that this is a good purchase, but like you say, start maxing this out and you may as well start looking at things like the IONIQ 5 and Model 3.
We have owned ours for a year now so I feel well qualified to comment. It is a 58kWh 1st Edition from November 2020 and we bought it on 3rd March 2023 with 11,800 miles on the clock.
Comfort: first class. 200 miles and I get out of the car feeling fresh. The seats are awesome. Nobody who has been in the car has said anything bad about them.
Appearance: really doesn't matter much to me but I find it "non-descript" and inoffensive.
Practicality: good, wide doors with great access. Boot is sufficiently large for our needs even when we go camping.
Driver adjustability: 6'4" male and 5'4" female driver. Adjusts easily and could go further either way.
Interior: don't know what the fuss and criticism is about. It's practical and functional. Why do people want an excess of luxury?
Haptic buttons: you get used to them in days and you don't even think about them any more. Likewise the window switches: they work, end of.
Software: dealer updated to version 3.2. all works fine except the voice activation which is intrusive imo. Just turn it off. The nav is excellent. We just use comfort mode and D.
Range: we have had 305 miles in the summer and a low of 180 miles in the worst of winter. The heater/aircon does suck quite a bit of juice so use preheat whislt plugged in before you leave on cold days and you make massive winter range gains.
Best bit? So easy to drive and just so practical.
Worst bit? The bastard who smashed the drivers door window just for fun.
Niggle: would prefer smaller rims. 19 inch with 50 profile tyrea is silly. 17 inch with 60 or 65 profile would be much better for both efficiency and comfort.
Insurance? Cheaper than I feared and it actually went down on renewal.
MOT and servicing: had Cleevely EV come out and give it the first service as it had not been serviced from new. Replaced the brake fluid at 3 years. MOT'd with no faults or advisories.
Would I buy it again? Yes. Definitely.
When will we replace it? When we have to. We will keep it for as long as we can.
I don't know how you drive EVM but we've never seen such crap efficiency and we don't try.
At last someone honest and clear headed, who seems focuses on value and function.... Buying mine in a couple of weeks, used, at a good value. Hope my experience goes according to yours.
EVM? Thank you for your comment I’m going to buy a used one in a few weeks. Can I ask how much your mobile service was please?
@@BigALBoomer 'EVM' > channel that posted the video ??
Software updates have improved the winter range issue. We were getting 3.8 m/kWh in colder days but in the past couple of days we have seen 4.6 m/kWh. We are averaging over 4 m/kWh.
For us it's just a car but a very competent and capable car. It does what we need.
Nicest features? Auto lights and wipers, auto hold "handbrake", the hatch(kills a Model 3), the incredible headlights and so on.
We drive in Comfort mode and mainly use "D" rather than "B", we have been using the heating as desired.
Ours is a 1st Edition bought with less than 12,000 miles and one owner costing less than a new MG4. We just preferred it to the MG4 or a Kona.
Hi EVM. I think this is a super review. Thank you. It's clear. To the point. The camera work is great - I could really see what it was like if I were to buy one. Your opinions are clear and reasoned. Really helpful - and not too long.You said in 24 minutes what some people would take 44 minutes to say. Good call.
I've been waiting for your ID3 review for ages and found it to be much more informative than the Fully Charged review.
Well, the fully Charged review is usually Robert saying 'its lovely to drive - really smooth' or something similar..........!
Tbh evm does better reviews then robert on fully charged and well suprised he didn't use a brolly on this one.
Others on the fully charged show review cars better than robert, i think once they lost jonny the reviews dropped on that channel tbh.
Btw i do not dislike robert.
I haven't seen many on the roads. I'll be honest. Don't think it's sold as well as VW were probably expecting. Maybe the scandal with dieselgate is still ruining sales. I personally really like the id3. I haven't been in one but just looking at it and the range, it's more than good enough for most people. I'll be interested to see the bigger battery one being reviewed to see the real world range it gets.
@@dannya6825 Parked next to one a few weeks back the people were just coming back to the Car as I was walking round it 😂. Just said I hadn’t seen one and said very nice, they took it well and just said they were enjoying it so far.
EVM review good as always. User "battery life" has made a lot of videos as owner, if you're interested.
I can’t look at that front end, without seeing Wallace saying, “Cheeeeeeeese”.
Odd you say that. Every time a see a Kona, I can't help but think Noddy car.....
I have been looking for a change to my hybrid for the last few months. Thank you for the review. I managed to track down a 70 plate ID3 Pro Performance Business with less than 10.000 miles, for just over £1250 with my old car as the balance. I think you hit the nail on the head in this piece. Its about our expectations. I looked at what I used the car for, how long it just sat on the drive, and the furthest I actually regularly drove. Which when you actually look isn't as far as you think. I did try a Kona, but felt that was cramped with the large silver looking center console. Even thou it has a little longer range. Again everything is a compromise. Keep up the good videos and honest comments.
Great review - test drove one and felt the same about the cheap hard plastic interior compared to all other VW's I've owned. But the penny pinching gets worse - Only top 2 trim levels have rear speakers. In other words you have to pay over £36,000 to get them. Bizarrely the family model doesn't have them. The cheapest car on the UK market, the Dacia Sandero, even has a full set!
EVM is one of the best channels for trusted car reviews imo.
No waffle, no bull$#1t, no niceties justbno nonsense real-world opinions by "joe average" ( no offence intended ) rather than by pseudo sponsored, biased reviewers who are clearly contractually obliged to give a favourable review in return for having food put on their table.
I do hope that the channel continues in this vein and doesn't succombe to sponsorshipitis.
Anyway, the id3,....A decent buy for £25k but a huge anticlimax. The exterior I quite like, at least it is identifyable as an EV, looking fairly futuristic, but that interior is a poor effort.
I anticipate the id3 becoming widely discounted in the not too distant future. If they want to sell cars £49k+ they seriously need to up their game on design and material choices for the interior and included kit.
...and thanks for making me aware of the brilliant octopus energy a couple of years ago!... :)
I have a First Edition id3, I have owned it since October 20. I agree completely with your assessment of the id3. I did test drive a model 3, brilliant car but not for me. It was to big and to low(I am in my 70s) The consumption leaves a lot to be desired and your comments on the interior are bang on. Well done.
Yes I too have discounted the Model3 for the same reason. Far too low a boy racer car. The Model Y still needs some refinement too especially around suspension. Why can't these car companies make a decent car :-( they have been doing it all my life ... we VW have. Tesla you should know better.
I’ve had my id3 life for a couple of months now. Love it.
i am choosing between life and business, do you miss any of the options?
@@philj212 I miss keyless entry from my Kia soul ev. That's it really. Parking sensors are fine, don't miss the camera.
Getting mine tomorrow, soooo excited!
Placed an order for one today. 6 months waiting time now. How are you guys finding it?
My theory on the weird electric window controls: they can use the same switch panel for cars with four or two electric windows, just don't print the "rear" legend on it for the latter and disable the light.
Another very good video - thanks for posting it 👍
I'm not yet an EV owner but will be in the next few months ........ when I can actually test drive the cars! The ID.3 is on my shortlist and I've noticed on the VW configurator there is an 'option' described as "Energy efficient heat pump", which costs £1,250. Below it is a note saying "other options at additional costs may be required". It doesn't say what the other options are, or how much they cost, but seems to me like this could be an expensive option.
VW claim that if you have the additional heat pump it not only uses natural, carbon neutral refrigerant R744, which is apparently less harmful to the environment, but improves the car's range by up to 30%, which is quite a claim.
I respect you knowledge and experience of owning EV's so trust your real world, year round range figures of 170 (winter) to over 200 (summer). If the VW claim about the heat pump is true the real world range may be as low as 220 or as high as 260.
Interesting that VW claim the 58kWh battery with 204PS motor "has a real world range of 263", so I reckon they're quoting the range if a heat pump is fitted, yet don't mention that in any of the marketing information. Naughty but not surprising sadly .......
The car industry is going through a revolution but the same old story about being economical with the truth prevails. 😒
I'll be very interested to hear what the sales team say about this when I can finally get into showrooms to discuss the car and ask them this question.
Apologies for my scepticism but 45 years of owning cars has taught me to take any manufacturers claims about fuel efficiency with a very large pinch of salt!! Rule of thumb has always to reduce any claimed mpg figure by 25%.
If I was spending £26k on a new car I would buy an MG5. Because I did. Again, not super exciting, but a nice place to be, decent efficiency (it reports 3.6 miles per kWh, but distance travelled / usage says more like 4.5. Not sure why it underreports) and the front wheel drive was nice and solid in the recent snow. Rear wheel drive always seems like it will be unstable in bad conditions.
@timemachine_194 That doesn't surprise me overmuch - the Kona has far too much power for its chassis to cope with, put your foot down on a dry road and it spins the wheels. On the other hand I've seen several BMWs (with a 50/50 weight distribution) fail to get up a snowy hill that I happily cruised up in my Leaf. The bigger issue, though, is that a front wheel drive car doesn't spin out where a rear wheel drive car does.
I look forward to your reviews on the Seat and Škoda variants to see how they compare.
Especially keen on a review of the Skoda. If the interior of the ID3 isn't up to VW standards may as well go for less premium brand, right? I think it looks better too, at least in photos.
Cupra Born, maybe more interesting to drive?
I find the rear button for the back windows a good thing. Means I don’t open the back windows by accident.
When do people even open the rear windows. And if really needed with a longer press on the rear window activate button you can open all windows at once.
@@remco6816 I suppose you might open the window if you have a pukey child in back and the rear controls are locked out/out of reach.
@@Markle2k Just have a roll of plastic bags in the car...
@@ikketotalthjerneskadet1648 That's too late. Fresh air removes the symptoms.
But its penny pinching, my car has 4 buttons and there is no doubt about which windows i am opening. Silly design choice IMHO
Love the way you cower away from the splashing when going through the puddles. Hope there was not too much water ingress into the car with you in it!!!
Great Video EVM, Unfortunately I believe that the VW group is so entrenched with the concept of lies that I couldn't trust them to organise a piss-up in a brewery. I would not buy this VW EV.
16/09/21 - just found out that the MG ZS EV that I'm taking delivery of next week has the following in common with the ID.3 :
1. Same battery pack and electric motor plus controlling electronics, comes from SAIC, MG's parent company;
2. The floor pan from a VW T-ROC;
3. The steering wheel from a mk 7 Golf
4. and the same flipping badge to open the boot.
HOWEVER, I bought my MG for 18,000€ (equiv to about £15,000) including gov. grants. Can't wait to take delivery.
Quite agree with you most people go for good quality interior on VWs not cheap finish what that looks like and no good switch gear.
That will be it down fall to many good other EVs out there now and more Chinese EVs arriving this year.
Great 👍 review as ever.
These are all over our town in the Netherlands, and despite his recommendation otherwise, we're getting a higher spec one. We want the extra doo-dads beyond the base/cheap model, but the short of it is the ID3's size and nimbleness is ideal for our needs. We value reliability and manufacturing first and foremost. I work in software and know it will get better over time (and it has, by leaps and bounds) but or us, his recommendation to skip up to Tesla for a higher end model doesn't fly - Tesla's won't be on the menu until they've got hardware reliability down better and offer better service, and additionally, the cars are physically smaller (but that smaller car is 3 years away at best). It's not relaxing driving the QE2 down a narrow Dutch road. It'll be the ID.3 for us.
Where I live a base model tesla with tge same wltp range would have cost us 10k euros more. I do like tesla but i do have hopes for vw. The software will improve but to be honest I wanted an electric with decent range and charging. No need for all those software extras or a fancy interior as long as it drive good which is the only real reason why I use a car.
Very good informative video I've liked & subscribed 👏👏👏👏 I haven't seen anyone commenting on cable theft . You are charging your car at a public place go shopping can the cable be secured to the car ? Thanks again
Did a video about it in December.
They’re always locked to the car.
All the press have driven that specific car (KY70 BNL)!!
Great review! I don’t think people realise how Terrible the consumption is compared to other cars. You’re the Bjorn of Yorkshire! Keep the great reviews coming!
However TeslaBjorn did longer trips and claimed it was highly efficient. Maybe not so in winter but he was running it on longer trips on temperatures of minus 18 and lower.
This is the kind of review owners of this car would hate, but non-owners may appreciate.
Is the interior “value engineered” to leave market space of a Audi badged ID3 with a posh interior (and Audi price)?
It would be worth paying extra to get rid of that black plastic and to get more buttons
2.8 miles/kWh - that's just pathetic
Had the choice of one of these or e-C4 opted for the Citroen due to the comfort and interior. Much prefer the look of the id3 but I do 20-30k per year so fingers crossed I made the correct choice🤞Looks like id3 has the same quality interior as the Caddy van?.
Yea I'm getting 3.6 miles/kWh out of my 30kwh leaf at this time of year, have to say its very disappointing !
I'm getting around 4mi/kWh on the egolf (short journeys) in winter
@timemachine_194 Im just like you. I want a hatchback and nothing else will do for me for the same reasons. Looks are subjective but efficiency figures are not. Coming from a mk7 golf R which has a much nicer interior, this would be a downgrade for me, not to mention performance. Its as mentioned here. Good car but as an EV it has nothing that really stands out and the interior is the straw that broke the camels back for me, its as bland as a swarf cake. The mrs has a model 3 SR+ and I prefer that to drive more than the dsg golf with every possible extra hence why im holding out for a model Y as a replacement since it ticks all the boxes for me. You just cant beat them as an EV for the money if you are looking at efficiency and performance and the way it drives.
How many mpk does the hot battery save.
Basically vw have converted this to a 68kwh car, but if they get more mile per kWh out off that 68kwh over longer journeys (where you actually care) than an unheated 75kwh then that's a win.
Who cares that the mpg is sub 3 if you never use have to charge during the day.
Loved the "Welcome to Yorkshire" as you hit a puddle.
I bought this as IMHO its one of the best looking family cars currently. The interior is solid and good looking. The hard plastics dont seem bad as well. Not much different to the BMW 2 grand tourer it replaced, except that has soft plastics on the lower end. The window switches are great. I only change the front ones most of the time, and switching over to the back ones is easy. There are also tricks like keeping down the rear window switch for a few seconds make it flash, which then means that the buttons move all four windows. Very cool and useful. The touch buttons are different for old fashioned folk, but are much better as (i) they dont break over time, like mechanical switches, and (ii) are easy to use for the touch phone generation. The ride is very fast and quick, it feels like a much more expensive sports car. I cant compare to other VWs, as its my first one, but after a few days in a good EV, you cant go back to the noisy, sluggish, large bonneted ICEs. I test drove all the EVs between 30000 and 45000 and this was the first one which I felt stood its ground against ICEs, ie. you would buy for itself, rather then just because you are looking for electric cars. The range is the highest compared to manufacturer quoted range. The 260mile ID3 58 engine gets over 240m which is a higher ratio then all other electric cars vs manufacturer quotation.
See :th-cam.com/video/2hn31vLKgho/w-d-xo.html
Things that put me off was the laggy entertainment unit, low quality interior (hard plastics, ugly sear materials), only having speakers in the front ( I’ve never owned a car with less than 4 speakers. What was good… the drive and smart cruise, heated steering wheel, very good size and is really well packaged. Just wished they had carried over the interior quality from the golf.
Excellent and proper northerner review. Told me what I wanted to know 👍🏻
Great review, the efficiency issue is so frustrating. Why on earth have they gone for such a rapid battery heat up rate? It makes it less appealing as a daily commute car. Complety agree about the interior quality, that's the reason why I'd already discounted it in favour of the Skoda enyak (despite the id3 being a better size for my needs). I'm assuming the heat up issue is common to Skoda, so I'm afraid that's off my shortlist too.
That efficiency is crap, i get better than that out of my MGZS EV at this time of year. Even on my short 5km journey to work (each way), with heater on and in wet cold weather.
I am averaging 3-3.2mpkwh. The MGZS EV can be got for under £30k and the interior looks and feels better IMO.
I know its all very subjective and that we are all different.
Great review as always EVM ! 👍
I cancelled my ID3 preorder after seeing it in person at the Frankfurt motor show launch (remember the days we could travel?). The whole thing felt very sub-premium, plasticky and toylike even, and not VW at all.
At Christmas taken delivery of Tesla model 3 long range. Thats another story. Mostly stuck outside in lockdown doing nothing i notice huge drain >1% each day. (Btw tried everything recommended to properly standby). On top of day 1 panel gap issues and much less range than I expected, the regen has just failed. Less than 600miles done and not a happy Tesla owner. Makes me appreciate my BMW i3 all the more.
Why do Brits never wear proper rain gear when it rains there so often.
I picked up a new Business (58KW) with heat pump and 19" Andoya wheels for 29K, on the road last December. It's had the 2.1 software update, now awaiting the next. Last winter 165 miles was lowest, this summer up to 230miles. I have achieved 5.2M/KW on rural runs, normally it is between 3.8 to 4.5M/KW. The interior is built to a price, I don't care, I don't chauffeur VIP's, and it doesn't worry me about any dog scratches. Is it an engaging drive - no, but it is a relaxing drive. lot's of clever tech and all the switches that every tester complain about are not an issue with use. I was going to buy a Model 3, but with a 14K saving the id.3 works out okay - great rear hatch opening for taking crap to the tip, so more functional than the Model 3. Only do home charging so the supercharger network makes no difference to me and at the price I paid I can trade it for 28.25K today - so I consider I got a good deal.
I like the window switches like that, I hardly ever want to open the rear windows, if I do lower a rear window in my current car (with 4 switches) is almost always by mistake when I have to take a parking ticket or pay at a toll boot.
Also, a nice trick, hold that "rear" switch for a second and then you can lower/raise ALL windows simultaneously with either window switch.
Extra Yorkshire point earned for mentioning the word 'sup'. FYI non Yorkshire folk, 'sup' is an ancient Yorkshire verb meaning, 'to drink' and is nothing to do with 'wazzup'.
eg. The id3 sups a ridiculous amount of power in winter.
Sup means “to drink small mouthfuls “ I don’t think it has anything more todo with “Yorkshire” than “Yorkshire Tea”, but if it makes you happy🤢
@@mikesl1573 sip means to drink small mouthfuls. Trust me, supping is something altogether more extreme.
@@martinwray7001 sup is to beer what sip is to tee
spot on review, im also thinking id3 gives u more bang for ur buck if u go for the lower end, than high end, esp if u just care about general short travel day to day. What extra features do u think is needed if u go for the cheap one? U said heat pump?
The interior is where you spend the most time. If the interior is crap, the car is crap.
Not only the battery heater but the cabin heater is also even more inefficient. I usually drive with heating wheel and chair but with occasional cabin heater. Makes a huge difference on efficiency.
Our eGolf lease is up next summer. We were looking at the iD3 but we have not seen one in person yet. It is either that or the Model 3. Looks like the Model 3 might be a better choice. Thanks for your review.
Great review. Which camera and mic were you using
The BMW i3 has very similar proportions, etc. (eg. short nose, long wheelbase, side cutout, two-tone colour, shift lever design, spacious cabin) and I suspect VW took many cues from it.
Same with my 2017 Chevy Bolt EV, you can see the areas they skimped on to hit their price point. But, it's great to see that the more affordable EV's are arriving!
You can hold down the Rear button to activate convenience Open and Close mode
Thanks EVM for another great and honest review. Your are right about the high RRP of ID.3 and there is obvious cost saving. The interior is OK but not what you would call premium. I though having only 2 window buttons was penny pinching but in practice the idea works well and you can open or close all 4 windows with one touch. As for economy I was very disappointed initially but it is, as you say, by the current cold weather and VW excessive battery heating. The temperature was better here the other day, 12C, I saw over 4 miles per kW on a short 10 mile journey. I read somewhere that Tesla and some other manufacturers, when displaying miles per kW only count the energy used by the traction motors. Do you know if this is true can you test it in your SR 3+? Interestingly did you drive in D or B. I find D to be more efficient for normal day to day driving as the car coasts so well, and prompts you when to do so.
Also when comparing costs I believe the the SR 3+ price of £40K includes the Government Plug In Grant whereas the £40K top of the range ID.3 does not making it £37K for comparison purposes. Also there are no discounts for Tesla M3 as far as I know and whereas VW were discounting the ID.3 last year.. The model you tested could have been bought last December for just under £30K so £10K less than a SR+. Don't get me wrong I think the SR+ is a great car and would have bought one if it were a hatchback.
As I said a great and honest test keep up the good work.
Awesome review as always. By far the best review Ife seen of the ID3. I can't believe how poor the interior is, especially for the top of the range model.
I think as soon as you go above £35k, you're already spending so much you may as go with the Tesla. Their drive train, battery technology and supercharger network is worth at least £5k, I'd say nearer £10k.
I think if you could pick up the basic life model with smallest battery for around £20k that might be a great buy. I think VW would be a bit embarrassed to not be competing in the mid to higher premium EV market though.
Competing at the higher end of the EV market will be taken care of by Mercedes, BMW, Audi and Jaguar..........Jaguar recently announced that they will be 100% electric by 2025........ And I'd have to agree re: the ID3's interior. The seats etc -in the video - looked like a basic Fiesta from 30 years ago........ I can't help but feel that you'd get a better feeling sitting in a Hyundai Ioniq.....
It's a shame Tesla don't make anything that isn't a saloon, or a saloon lazily scaled up to SUV size in mspaint. You can't put a dog in the boot of a model 3, at least not without the RSPCA getting involved.
@@gardnerp96 yeah I wish the model 3 or at least a version of it was hatch back.
@@JonathanPalfrey I really wish they'd square the back off a model 3 and make an estate, the boot is huge but no good at all as a family car. I do most of my journeys by bike and my wife has an eNiro to commute in but we occasionally need something bigger or I need a car while she's out. I'm still hoping that VW don't fumble the ID Space Vizzion in the same way they seem to have done here. Or that Skoda do something better with the platform before my 12 year old diesel estate dies.
For me thing’s to change
1 - infotainment software - a badly needed refresh, and get rid of the touch buttons attached, Just going to a screen such as the enyaq did and physical shortcut buttons
2 trim colours , gray gray and gray give us some options for the seat covers, like the light colour option with the us id4.
3 roof trim should be offered in a lighter colour option too.
4 sunroof option on the tour pro s
5 disable the always heat battery pack. Other ev’s from korea don’t use it so why do we need it above 4c , the pack will naturally warm most of the time just driving follow tesla and just limit max output while still warming and in low temp zones Highlight the zone with a cold blue etc whilst warming
6 offer 4x4 options not just with a gtx or r type
7 door switches, give us 4 window switches not a combination code
8 a one colour option, not just two tone
9 my test car had a really spongy break pedal, the id4 had the same so this really needs solving ASAP . Adding. One peddle option is a must it can be added with the software update as b just isn’t strong enough, please give us the option to set regen
10 the miles per kw needs improving, ideally 4kw in all conditions, As it only creeps over this in 20 zones fully preheat or on a byorn test run
11 move the lighting switches and fuse box to the right , the glovebox is a joke on rhd
12 give users the option on disabling the auto on when the break peddle is pressed , thus allowing user to jump out open a gate etc without turning off , but also as a safety element when young children get into the car when the door is open , also add a pin to start with the auto on for people that have the key within the wake up unlock zone in there home
13 offer a 360 cam option on all trims
That’s still too expensive...
The side profile, rear spoiler section that is black, visible from the side is extremely good design, visual trickery to give that C-Pillar and the back of the car a more aggressive shape. Hats off to VW, a small detail but smart.
Almost looks like Skoda from 10 years ago designed the interior of the ID3. :)
I watched this as we're thinking of getting one 2nd hand as a 2nd car. A 21 plate, 35,000 miles 58kwh Pro performance with nice alloys - £12 grand 🤣I'm so glad we didn't get tempted to buy one new - but at 3 years old it makes a lot of sense. Still a decent chunk of battery warrant left
Gotta pay for dieselgate somehow !. Great review as usual.
100% with you on the penny-pinching interior. For the money, I would expect so much more quality, but then I remember it's VWG. It's a damn shame as I had high hopes for the ID3 and VWG.
Great review, i was looking at one of these but I wasn't keen on that interior. I ended up grabing the E208. Felt much nicer inside although this is a nice car over all
I was an electric sceptic lol…WAS! Im a petrol/diesel old tech kind of person and was open to the idea of electric but only when i had no choice until i drove a 1st edition model yesterday and im sold, i want one, if the charging network improves then there will be no stopping the electric revolution, everyone should have one!
If you had to take one sounds like you'd rather take the e-C4? I would.
You'd think someone from VW would've had a ride in a Kia E-Niro / Soul before signing off on that interior.
Agreed. Kia knocked those two cars out of the park. I've yet to find something I prefer over the Soul EV.
I wonder if VW didn't release the ID.3 in North America because of the Chevy Bolt? It's far cheaper than either the ID.3 or the Soul EV.
Downside I discovered with ec4 is no proper charging timer. Can turn it on but not off. I'm not getting up at 430am to turn it off (octopus go). Shame as I was ready to trade in my leaf for it.
At 2.8 miles per kilowatt your not the first and probably not the last TH-camr to mention the bad stats on short journeys! Poor show VW it feels like we are going backwards not forward , my1st gen leaf still getting 3.8 in winter. Great and impartial review keep up the good work.
My questions after watching your review:
- Would I have to go to a dealer to update the software?
- Will it come to Canada? At what price?
- How will it stand up over time?
Based on 15000 km It does 150 miles in the winter and 220 in the summer.
It is basically like a SR+ in range.
It is my wifes daily - I drive a Model 3 LR awd.
I would choose the SR+ but my wife insisted on the ID.3 even given the choice.
It is more comfortable than the Model 3 and more quiet.
It does have a quality feel - but the SW is a disaster - really bad and I am not talking about infotainment.
The seats easily get stains but they wash out.
One big advantage (in my opinion) is the small turning circle of the ID.3. Makes it so much more agile than the Model 3.
After 7 months finally pick up tomorrow cheers for all your info
You are going to love the ID.4 then. That appears to be where they went with the quality of the interior. I totally agree about the efficiency, in winter, at the very least, but the car always makes me smile when I drive mine. In terms of deals, I got the 1st Edition model in December and managed to find £9000 off the list price! (£3000 government grant, £3000 VW deposit contribution, £3000 further off as part of the offer). Think there are deals to be had for those who want one.
9:47 those 'buttons' also don't light up at night, good luck trying to use them when it's dark
They don’t on the Golf 8 either
you don't have to use them at all. The steering wheel has volume control and the touchscreen has climate temperature controls.
That heat pump option is very cheeky at that price. Is it included in any models? The one thing you would put in to make the car more efficient, in both heating the cabin and batteries.
@timemachine_194 it's basically an AC unit, so should be pretty reliable.
@timemachine_194 never heard of heat pump issues on any 2013+ Leaf here in Sweden. If they can survive our winters and outside heat pumps for houses works for decades i don't really see when they will fail.
As you say, short range efficiency in the cold sucks, and being in Norway I know. Other than that (going by various tests around), it is as, if not more, efficient than most other EVs currently on the market - but that's over distance.
I hope they give us the option to turn off battery heating for short journeys - perhaps automatically determine if it's worth it based on navigation destination.
I chose my Max over a model 3 SR+ and the Korean triplets for a variety of reasons - could go into them but I think they are said by others many times over in various places. :)
Can you pre-warm it to warm up the battery when it's plugged in at home before getting in the car?
Of course.
Another good car review which encompasses all the consumers actual queries. Keep it up 👍
Enjoyable review, and I think your impressions are similar to mine. I currently lease an eGolf and I am actively looking for something to replace it in approx 12 months. I had a 4 day test drive in an ID3 and was totally underwhelmed.....such a shame. Efficiently and driving experience were so much worse than my eGolf by the end of the test I was happy to give it back. For £30k (probably my limit) I think I would rather have a second-hand M3 than a brand new ID3
Originally, I opted for an entry-model ID.3. But I, unfortunately, wrecked my old car and had to get a new one before the ID.3 even came out. So I ended with the Corsa-e. And aside from the boot-space, I don't regret it for even one second! And it has a much sportier feeling ride IMHO.
bit classic honda civic type R in side profile. The look is growing on me a lot. Base model is an ok price but the higher specs get too close to model 3. I’d need to figure out the best combination of options/battery/spec to see how much cheaper it would be. If its within 1-2k of a Tesla SR+ I’d just go for the Tesla. But if you can get active cruise, lane keeping for a lot less might be interesting. Augmented reality sounds nice and I’d like to try it on a test drive, and I’d like surround view camera which tesla doesn’t offer. and powered hatch would be nice. Maybe a facelift in a couple/three years will adjust the buttons to be more ‘blind use’ friendly
Great review, very balanced. Shockingly poor efficiency and as you say on higher trim models they're well into Model 3 territory. They'll need to watch out in a year or two of the Tesla Model 2 rumours turn out to be true!
Overall you’d prefer the Citroen EC 4 then?
When are you getting the ID4?
Is there a 'meh' button. I think that sums it up....
Rear wheel drive in snow? I would prefer a 4WD option 80Kw option
We have an id3 life and an egolf the id3 base model is packed full of kit, we got the alloys and heat pump though. Efficiency is still awful with the heat pump, the egolf winter range is similar to the id3 winter range
Good review. I'm still not that impressed with the inside of the car but the black finish is definitely better then white. Seems the ergonomics isn't that good? And another thing is why are there so many options on this car when they really should come as standard? I'll stick with the Zoe thanks, currently getting 3.4m/kWh as well 😄
Thanks for the video, no punches pulled.
For that kind of money I'd expect more to be honest. You can pick up top model MG5 for about £22k on autotrader for a basic car and that will have better warranty. If you're talking above £30k there's still the Kona and eNiro and if you get to the £40k Tesla all day long.
Worried me when I looked at a PCP on these - 16.7p per mile extra charge, my present diesel is 10p per mile extra . The extra mileage charge is usually directly linked to the depreciation and resale value of a car. Are VW expecting the value to drop massively?
Thanks for the candid review, my mate delivers cars and says these are trouble, often just not starting for no apparent reason, needing some fiddling / resetting to get going again lol.
I loved my golds but atm this looks like a big miss.
Always like a good rear entry!
An excellent in depth review of a car that is going to sell in the millions. I like your no nonsense review technique, ( probably because you are a Yorkshire lad like me). As a former very high mileage driver, in many company cars, you hit on all the niggles that would annoy me also. I have recently changed my car, but deferred from an EV this time, since in the next 2/3 years a lot of the early deficiencies in terms of efficiency, design and build quality should have been addressed as well as pricing levels. 👍😎
Can you preheat the battery
Still yet to see one on the road yet I’ve seen loads of Mk 8 Golfs. Maybe people still just prefer a petrol engine. I live in hope for the ID range, it’s always been a big mistake to buy a new model of any car, maybe the facelift or Mk 2 ID3 will be better in a couple of years.
I agree on the quality, at least at the higher end. I’d rather have an Audi equivalent with a smaller battery. As in theory, it would be a higher quality car in terms of interior especially if it started at a higher price. Less range wouldn’t bother me with say 160 mile real range as I’d only be stopping to charge on a long journey once a year. And if charging was say 70-100 kWh I’d mind even less. I think in making it start relatively cheap the interior has to be. Great review
It’s a bag of nails according to many of the owner forums with terrible software issues. It’s so bad that VW are just about to issue a complete recall for all ID3’s to try and update the software build to make them reliable enough for the average owner.
A huge pointer as to how legacy ICE companies are going to suffer getting the gen 1 software to work.
Goodness - that sounds, well, not great. Let's hope they resolve those issues.
VW are not about to issue a big recall. When I purchased the ID.3 in October VW told me upfront that in Q1 2021 I would have to bring the car to the dealer for a free software update. This has been planned for months and owners were told before purchase. After that OTA will be working. In this video he found no issues with the software and it will only get better.
@@marcusevjourney566 I was thinking a recall was a bit drastic for a software update.
The software recall is deliberate, it is to put the 2.1 version on the car, which they always intended to have ready by the time it hit the roads. The software has already improved a lot since the initial version that was on mine to the 2.0 version I have today.
@@scottvessey915 Lord Knows that Teslas have software updates right after a major release! When the first versions of full self drive came out, man...they were sending software updates all day.
13:27 this is bad news as it negates one of the major advantages EVs had over ICE - that they were more economical on short journeys.
They are. I moved to the ID.3 coming from a petrol car that used 15 L / 100 km (18 mpg) for short city trips.
I could buy 5 liters of petrol (56 mpg) with the cost of the electricity I need to run my ID.3 under the same conditions.
@@danielardelian2 That's good news then and I guess in warmer conditions it will be even better as less battery conditioning will be required?
@dwftube my etron is terrible in winter, efficiency wise. Less than 2m/kWh. But its still more economical and better for the environment and cheaper to fuel up than a corsa 1.2. (I had one as a courtesy car whilst my etron was in for a bumper repair).
£10 for a quarter of a tank of petrol got me 50miles. £10 would get me 400 miles in the etron charging at home. At least 150miles charging at an expensive roadside charger. Zero emissions too.
@@danielardelian2 But in short order the id3 will be competing against other family 5-doors with an electric drivetrain. Being the thirstiest will not help it out.
The interior trim is pretty poor, and why are these companies using silly so called buttons, you can have good old fashioned buttons on electric cars . When you was touching the screen I thought it looked sluggish, are these companies using computer chips from the 90s
Totally agree going capacitive touch , reducing buttons to open the windows, were some of the worst Decisions vw made. This is a big step back from the e-golf. not displaying kw going instead of just time when charging, more seat colours and optional full leather should be offered, as well as a painted roof
@@ram64man I found so many things wrong with this car even the seats looked boring
I get what you mean about expectation. As a seat Leon ST owner I was looking at the new Leon phev. But at 31k it's too expensive for a Leon. Leon makes a good car at about 22k, you accept a less than premium but still well built interior at that price, golf and this about 25 to 27 as they're a little bit nicer but 40k. Are you kidding! The interior is not premium enough and I'd pick the model 3 every time. At just under 30k competing against the leaf, Kona, eniro etc. sounds about right.
I assume your car doesnt have the heatpump, here in Norway you can get versions with heatpump which makes it more efficient during winter.
Biggest problem with this car is price, if you take the cheapest version your missing essential things like rear view camera.
Heat pump is a £1200 option in the UK
Hi a very good review and I must say I agree with you on the inside of the car it feels a bit cheap. I do like the outside shape. But the efficiency is pretty poor at 2.5 to 2.7. Our Kia e Niro feels a lot better quality and a dam site more efficient we have been out today and on a 35 mile round trip got 3.9 but as usual with Volkswagen / Porsche most of the options on those cars is standard on ours. But weather or not we would buy one doesn’t mater the fact is it’s an other Ev on the market to chose from.
how do you pre-heat an electric battery by standing still, surely preheating the cabin does not create enough load on the battery to actually warm it up
I've just ordered one of these (Life Pro Performance) and I'm a little worried I havent done my homework - I knew nothing about the heatpump bit, the dealer didnt even know if it came with a charging cable (he since informs me it does, hope he's right) but perhaps a bit worse is the economy of it. My diesel returns pretty much the same MPG regardless of weather or at least its little affected, probably because the heat generated is there like it or not. I wonder what that same trip would have been with another EV - I'll scan your other reviews - To achieve the 260 claimed does that mean a straight division of the mileage by full battery capacity in KWH ie it should be producing nearer 4.5 miles per kwh? Is this a bit VW Dieselgate - can it be achieved. in WLTP terms?
VW Group cars have had the same headlight switch design, in the same place, for years. And they have always worked well in my experience.
So why change it into something that's awkward and harder to operate? Makes no sense to me. :(
It's a step backwards
I really appreciate your reviews. You deserve way more subs
Does the steering wheel adjust fully or just up and down?
Great video review. But doesn't our model 3 do the same with warming the battery up on short journeys effecting the efficiency. I find my Model 3 terrible on efficency for short journeys
Not to that level.
HELP NEEDED I’m looking at getting either a VW id3 or Skoda Enyaq iv 60 not a clue about charging from home and costs etc to have a unit fitted also I work nights so will only be able to home charge at weekends I’ve looked at octopus go for my energy but with these vehicles is there a way to work out time to charge / against mileage available as I want to go electric but not sure if working at night and only using a home charger mostly the weekend will work. I only travel around 200 miles a week 100 of those are at weekends. I really hope you’re able to read this and can help in any way possible or I might have to change for another hybrid car instead as I’m totally in the blind when it comes to EV ownership Chris Jones
I get what you mean. VW has been doing this a lot with interiors recently. The T Roc was first but now the Skoda Octavia interior outdoes the Golf mark 8 and this. I know they have to build to a price but 4 window switches instead of 2 surely isn't much.
I agree that the interior is disappointing, my 7 year old Polo has nicer materials. I ordered mine around 25 November, looking at a few month wait. One thing I did notice that ID.3's built after 1 December get the MY22.5 update which includes more premium panels on all ID.3 models and changing the seats and including the v3.0.0 software update. Lower to middle end of the range I agree that this is a good purchase, but like you say, start maxing this out and you may as well start looking at things like the IONIQ 5 and Model 3.