VW ID3 FULL REVIEW- BETTER than a GOLF? 

Thanks for watching this video! There are a few comments I need to make - firstly the driver's seat wasn't in my driving positioin when I got in the back, I'd forgotten I'd moved it to film dash, the point still stands rear leg room is generous due to MEB platform's packaging. While the car pushes gently into understeer in most situations, you can overspeed the rear wheels easily, especially in the wet though ESC soon tidies this up. There is lots of trick lighting inside and out but too light during test to review it unfortunately. Much like the A2, sitting so far back from the windscreen means the A pillars can obscure vision especially an issue at junctions, this will take some adapting to. I described the ride as firm but it's not harsh at all, even Sport mode is will judged for our roads. I got jumbled up with range while driving on motorway but end result was the same, it was out by 25% The issue is that the WLTP combined range is calculated through driving at various speeds, not just motorway which is by far the least efficient way of travelling in an EV due to drag. The car has lane assist, adaptive cruise, and traffic sign recognition. It uses the traffic signs and the GPS data to control the vehicle's speed. Road and wind noise on the motorway is very well supressed, there is just a distant flutter from somewhere near the A pillars, possibly the mirrors. Rear brakes are drums but they are painted black so not especially visible. This is because regen braking means they don't do much work and under braking and all weight shift forward anyway.

don't get too hung up on the 'actual miles vs miles remaining'. I've had an e-Golf for 2 years (the best car I've ever had) - sometimes the same journey goes against me in that equation, some day for me (who knows...). The point I'm trying to make is that it averages out, but generally I get a little less than the full charge says. You live with it and start to realise the quirks and all the variables that affect the range. (doesn't like strong wind or rain). Once, directly after charging for 3 hours to full charge, I picked up my wife from work - a warm day, no aircon, about 16 miles round trip, mid-day, mixture of B roads and a bit of fast A27 dual carriageway. When I arrived home, I was +1 of the original car mileage charge estimate! who knows.... but you get to know the quirks. And if you can make it work, go for an EV. As I say, the best car I've had (admittedly I don't go on long journey's). but e-Golf a great piece of engineering, and probably get the Id.3 at some stage.

The ID.3 has been my first proper test drive of a EV . The one we have on the Isle Of Man is the same except it has the darker dash / steering wheel what in my opinion looks better , the rest was the same including exterior Colour . In my review I did for a online web / FB page for EV’s on the IOM I wrote and I mean it I did not want to hand the car back .. It’s perfect for me as my only vehicle what does also double up with taking my parents out and about . So if I could afford one I would purchase one . It’s a brilliant vehicle & I was very impressed by it .

Great honest review Andrew. A lot about the car makes sense. It does seem to require a rethink about how you use and importantly recharge. That will come I am sure with time. I do like the outside design, the inside less so. A bit like my thoughts on the golf 8. would like to see the interior in a darker finish. The main issue for most I am sure will be price. Thanks.

I can’t speak for sitting in one, but material quality seems on par with a polo. I’m 3 years away purchasing as just bought a tsi 90ps polo match dsg. When time does come hopefully initial depreciation is quite steap, and price is more like 30-32k initially like a gtd or r-line dsg golf. My thoughts are also confirmed for the range, this is no problem day to day. I often go to Dorset once a year from south Shropshire, which is on m5 from junction 6 to 25. Before the motorway though there’s a few roundabouts at end of 60 mph roads so a chance to use regen. I’m keeping and ear out to see if VW have an equivalent to Audi on demand in which I can hire one for a while. Overall I really like the car and hope to have one, as being a fan of VW I really want to say I had a mk1 id3.

Well there’s a surprise I was expecting to not like the id3 as underwhelmed by look of id4 but white steering wheel apart I would love it as a daily commuter with an occasional B road blast it seemingly coped well with - Cupra version also looked very tempting - infrastructure and range anxiety would annoy though for anything longer distance but then if I had a hot hatch in the garage for that I’d be happy. Great insight Andrew and video :)

Great video Andrew. I’m hoping to get my hands on one soon for my own verdict but this is very detailed and honest so it won’t be far away. I think for now the 1.5 e-TSI Golf is the perfect middle ground for the buyers in this position but it’ll only ever swing towards the ID3. People moan about ‘interior quality’ - firstly: I define ‘quality’ as fit and finish and robustness of components which is entirely different to material quality. I’d imagine build is to the same high VW standards but yes, the material quality is cheap for £39k. But this isn’t a conventional car, people must remember the wealth of (new) engineering sitting underneath them where scale has not yet been achieved. I imagine it will get better over time. PS... the new Ray Bans work 😎

Really interesting video, many thanks! What's the noise level like at speed? Running refinement is important to me (wind/road noise is always more intrusive than engine noise), so how well insulated is the ID3 in your opinion?

Nice review, personally I prefer the look of the Golf, if there was an equivalent new E-Golf 8 I'd go for it, but I can't seem to like this visually. On a different note, I've watched plenty of videos of electric cars and it's becoming clear that they allow for much safer overtaking with that instant response, assuming that doesn't imply one takes more risks overtaking of course.

Some old school comments on here by people who have probably not seen the ID3. The quality of the interior is not low grade when you experience it and I like the look. The Golf now looks soooooo old.

I could really see myself driving this car in a few years time. I think VW knocked it out of the park, I just wish battery technology comes down in price in the coming years...I hope economies of scale also applies here.

Another brilliant Video, I must say this car does interest me a lot. I had an E-Golf and absolutely loved it but every long journey we did was an absolute pain planning charging and unreliable charging stations and stopping often and for an irritating length of time. I ended up buying a Golf Gti TCR and going back to ICE! Also this ID.3 is £39k before government grant!? I thought the whole idea of this car was finally an affordable EV?

Thanks for the insight. I wonder what the range will be in a winter day and how warm the cabin will be after 10 to 15 mintues. To me it is a good starting point but second hand values and new battery packs are the big question marks.

Hi Andrew what's your opinion on the golf mk7 r manual to drive ..your experience is valued on this ..have manual r my self and just carnt get on with it no matter how much I try ..clutch and gearbox to me just dosent work in harmony together for me ..eny advise you could give me ..thanks wayne

Andrew, you used to service my cars in Wythall. I am picking up our new ID3 this week after the last 8 years in BMWs (including an electric i3 for the last 2 years). Looking forward to getting back in a VW and paying 1.5p a mile to drive it. Great video, good to see you still flying the VW flag

Without wanting to appear critical of the reviewer I would urge anyone who is interested in buying this or any other EV to look at the specialist reviews on RU-vid (although having the context here of an ICE is interesting). The ID. 3 is one of the most efficient EV's on sale at the moment but there are nuances that will affect your experience with the car. The series models will be cheaper and come with less standard kit. If you intend to undertake longer journeys then 100kw charging is helpful (research the charging curves of various EV's), for me essential). A heat pump will extend your range in the winter but I do not believe they will be standard on series cars. The 77kw car is able to charge at 125kw but again the charge curve here is important (think of it as miles added per minute). The gauge estimating range is called a guess o meter for good reason and predicts based on previous journeys and driving style. So if you have been on short journeys around town (where EV's are very efficient) in the week and plan on a longer journey on the motorway (where EV's are less efficient) you will not achieve the displayed range. Range is also impacted by temperature, anything south of double figures will impact it (hence the heat pump. Charging stations come in different speeds. No good going to Tesco for a 7kw charge on a journey, you want a 100kw charger. VW's build out with Ionity is very slow in the UK (loads in Germany funny enough) and very expensive outside of first edition where charging is bundled into the upfront cost. Finding a charger with the hugely buggy software is nowhere near as easy as it is with other EV's (well, Tesla). In 3 years of BMW i3 driving I have found the charging network to be fine, but I do a lot of planning. Many people may not want to. Instavolt is your friend (although I have not corrobarated if VW have tested the ID. 3 on this network, oh yes your car may plug in and not work). I also drive a Tesla model 3 and the charging experience is seamless and the benchmark for other manufacturers. I could go on, you get the drift. Great car but early purchasers are beta testers (or as VW call them, first movers, at least they gave 3 months rent for free). Give them a bit to sort it out and Ionity to build up from their current 11 chargers in the UK and all will be well. We would never go back to ICE.

Thanks for this review, a non-EV driver’s take on the ID.3 is very interesting. Range anxiety does get better, that much I do know. I own a diesel, but I’ve been driving electric on and off for two years now, and I still remember freaking out when my first rented EV told me I had 40 miles of range left when I needed to do 25 uphill in coldish weather 🤦🏾‍♀️ Luckily, someone had told me to use eco mode and let the car decide which speed would be best. I did, and was astonished that the car did nearly 60m/h most of the way, and still I arrived without problems. Range anxiety did get better after that, but I think I’d have to own an EV to get a real feel for what my car can do rangewise.

No mention of the reduction in running costs... fuel and maintenance. You need to be a long term owner to appreciate that...

Can you feel the rear drive aspect at all? We have a Golf mk7 GTD which handles quite well in a dull way and a BMW 230i which handles really really nicely and feels pleasurable and very neutral, even when not pushing on.

Great video Andrew, not sure what the clunking was when you went into a tight turn? Clearly a special car but it’s almost like you need to do mega miles for it to payback which it’s unlikely to do. Now if it was indium grey it might sway me!!

Have to say Andrew, it looks tight in the rear. You're "decent kneeroom" looks about the same as a Polo. Not good enough for a car bigger than a Golf. As for changing the way the wiper stalk works, why?. If Volkswagen want people to accept this car shouldn't it be familiar to use in its controls?. I think Volkswagen need to ask people what they want as opposed to what they (Volkswagen) think they want. Finally, £39,000!!!. I can't see the quality for that kind of money. Having said all that I appreciate your excellent review. Thanks.

Not sure if I missed it (I might have skipped a few secs) but did you give any quick thoughts and comparison to the e-Golf? Yes the e-Golf has lower range and in a way its a in-between electric vehicle half stuck in the last decade, especially with its tech, but my own biggest hurdle (aside from the price) is the move away from tactile physical controls in the dashboard. In a way, VW could have put in a bigger battery in the Golf and it would have sold, but I do feel like you, its too early to adopt to the ID3. Almost like to think about it when there is a ID3.5 (ID3 mk2?) in a few years time so they can iron out a few things.

Do you know if the ID3 has active temperature controlled air cooling/heating for the battery ...linked to the AC perhaps? Nice review btw.

Very interesting review. I can see an id3 appealing to a lot of people. I've never been a fan of electric cars, but the id3 is an excellent attempt. I feel the technology will get better & better - I wouldn't change my Golf 7.5 R estate for one, but in the future, who knows? I don't do a lot of town driving though. I also miss traditional round instrument dials (even digital ones), but that's a purely personal thing. On a slightly shallow note (this won't be an issue for most folk, I know), but I would never buy a car that didn't have a premium audio option - both my R & my previous Golf 7 GTD had the Dynaudio soundpack - when the day comes that you can have something like that in an electric car, without having to choose between listening to music or getting home, then I'll seriously consider one😂. Shame it's so expensive though (although this is something that will improve, given time, I'm sure), as my Wife would have thought about one to replace her Up! Beats TSi - think she'll go for an Up! GTi or a Seat Ibiza instead though... If only VW had a fuel cell car like this, I've always preferred the idea of a fuel cell electric car, rather than pure electric. I can't help wondering how Governments will cope without the tax revenue from fuel too.... All in all, the id3 is an excellent attempt (best yet - I far prefer it to a Tesla, for example) & will certainly be as significant a car as the original Beetle & Mk1 Golf were for VW. Not quite there for me yet though. One other thing - I'm not sure how much use an id3 would be in the North of Scotland with rear wheel drive during the winter? Front/4 wheel drive with winter tyres rules for me (although I suppose a 4 wheel drive id3 might be the way that VW go with a sporty version..). Excellent real world review - big thumbs up for that👍👍👍

Quick question from Canada 🇨🇦... Can it pre-heat or cool the interior when it's plugged in? When it's -25°C i really don't want to sit on a cold hard seat.

Contrary to some of the negative comments I've read here? An OUTSTANDING vehicle.

Great and engaging review as always Andrew. I admire the planet saving ethos of electric, though I’m in your camp when it comes to anxiety over range and practicality. Cold frosty mornings will have a hit on the batteries and it is then that the heating, heated seats and steering wheel come into their own, further depleting range. Cost is another factor despite government grants and overall fuel saving, whether PCP or otherwise. Combustion engine for me for a while to come but appreciate the detailed insight. Take care.

We get 4.2 miles/kWh on motorways and closer to 5 miles/kWh on urban. As with all EV's motorway speeds kill range and urban boosts range, directly opposite to petrol cars. The solution for us is to drive at 60 on the motorways which is not an issue go en thst there is plenty of traffic moving at or less than 60. Cranking the a/c or the heating does acfect range. Range is not an issue for us as we charge on cheap rate overnight electricity. Anybody doing 150 miles or less a day can easily manage with an ID.3 even in the depths of winter. We're having Michelin Cross Climate 2's fitted on Thursday. I expect them to affect range slightly but nothing to cause us concern at all.

I’m not sure about the interior design it looks a bit messy and I think the Golf interior looks much better. The car looks a bit like one of those cars that you would see in a 1970s Si-Fi show set in the future. My biggest concern however about this car and other electric cars is that technology tends to move at a lightning pace these days and we are still at relatively early days for fully electric cars. I just feel that while this car may be cutting edge now they are asking pretty hefty price for a car that in 4 or 5yrs time may well be massively outdated with newer models with better batteries, faster charging times and more refinement. They may also be a fair bit cheaper in a few years as new technology often comes at a premium price.

Reminds me a little of the Citroen C3 Picasso, particularly the side profile.

Nice review ! It still sucks when you live in the city and leave your car outside for the night. It's kind of difficult to throw a 50m electric cable across the street.

It reminds me of a Citroen C3 in that colour. I think it’s too expensive to persuade people to change to electric. I wouldn’t buy one. It looks like a girly car. The white steering wheel reminds me of the fiat 500! In a couple of years there will be a whole load of them for sale with makeup stained steering wheels like you see in the fiat 500 market.

waiting for you to deliver your verdict on this....and you cover every angle....good review.. hope you get to 50k subs soon

Great review as always. I’m a massive Volkswagen fan owning an Arteon and Golf 8. Big motorway driver so not sure the ID3/4 will replace the Arteon just yet.

Great video Andrew. I think it looks great, It makes the Golf 8 look old already. The coolant under the bonnet is to cool the batteries.

What's the thud sound like something is falling over when you are driving it enthusiastically ?

Awesome. Great review. Thanks for the b road excitement test.

Second video on this car. Like your presenting style as usual but this car is too expensive for a bloke of current limited means. Would a used E-Golf be more practical? Anyway, will see how it unfolds. Please keep up the good work.

Are you tempted to lease one andrew woud be very cheap to run and use your clubsport at the weekend

He could have done a little bit of homework covering the basics of electriv cars before trying to make a review. Range: The car learns arfer some miles what your driving style is. Hence the range estimate will start off pretty conservative and end up predicting your consumption pretty well after some time. If you give the car the route you are going to take, the knowlegde it gathers from the map will also contribute to a very presice prediction of range and consumption.

I think there is now no doubt that EVs are the future of the private car market. Many people still complain that EVs are too expensive; I went EV in September 2019 with a BMW i3, I'm saving money over my previous car (Mercedes C200 estate). The Merc cost me £325 a year in road tax, the i3 is £0. The Merc cost me £260 a month in petrol, the i3 costs £12 a month in electricity (charging at home on Octopus Go tariff). The Merc needed servicing, the i3 needs a new cabin filter and the brakes bleed every 2 years according to BMW - this is over-the-top in my view. The i3 is smooth, quiet and has the ability to pre-condition the cabin; fabulous on a frosty winters morning, car is warm and all frost melted, no misty windows.

Cheers Andrew , Great to hear thoughts on the Golf mk 8 comparison. Looks a similar size to my missus's Polo 2.0 GTi

Another great review. I think the machanics are good but can't get used to the front shape too stunt for me.👍

Does anyone know how long batteries last on electric cars? I’m not in a position to spend this amount of money so have to buy secondhand

The Tesla battery estimation is a lot more intelligent, when you programme in a destination it takes in to account elevation changes, regen and speed limits, so the estimated battery consumption is always within a few %.

I’m coming to the conclusion my next car will be electric, although I’ll make my current petrol car stretch a few years yet! Waiting for the Cupra El-Born. That’ll be the one

the real life 0-62 is much quicker than the advertised 7.3 seconds.

Great review I’ve drove some electric cars absolutely love them

Great car, but I feel it would be improved with a V12 and a manual gearbox

Thanks for the review, I like it even though I’m not convinced electric moves us forward to reducing co2 emissions overall, the interior colour is awful but as you said that can be changed, it’s the cost that puts me off and I do wonder what happens to these when the battery starts degrading in years 7-10.

Great test as always certainly something to think about 👍

Great video! It’s always an event what you review a new VW! Keep them coming!

Great review. Thank you.

It reminds me of the mk2 gti colour "Montana Green"

Very informative video, personally I’ll be waiting a little longer as I only do motorway driving to work. Nevertheless the ID3 looks great can’t wait for the sportier version. 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼

Love it, it looks just like a normal car, I don't want a spaceship, can't wait for a ID3 GTi!

Hell of a lot of cash. Until electric car prices drop significantly then people really ain't going switch over from petrol/diesel.

I saw one in MK the other day, looks nice from the outside but looks cheap inside?! Great video as ever! 🙂

Fantastic review as always. 40k 🤔

If your lifestyle permits a fully electric car, it's well designed and fairly practicable. But replacing all buttons with a touch screen is a fad which will rapidly be phased out once drivers realise how annoying it is.

Lovely review thanks!

Volswagen needs to do something about these interiors, it look worse by every new car they make.

Mine’s coming on Tuesday - first electric car - looking forward to it.

Good review, I'm having a test drive on one in a couple of days. Just in case you don't know driving any EV at 70mph is not very efficient, better to do 60-65 on the motorway.

Fantastic video! Will you try the Golf Gte Mk8 in the future?

great review like it but infrastructure is a problem

Hi, another great video. I would like to get an electric/hybrid car next, but I stay in a flat 2nd floor so charging would be a prob. Think I shall stay like you with the fossil fuel for a long time yet. Stay safe. 👌🏻👌🏻😎

Really struggling to get excited about this. Yes it's got a good range. Yes it's the future. Looks ridiculous in my opinion, why you'd want a white steering wheel and light coloured seats is beyond me! Is too expensive for me especially when a nice 7.5 R could be had for half the price. I definitely wouldn't choose this over a golf. Well a 7.5 at least as the 8 doesn't do anything for me either.

Great video. looks like an appliance. Not as cosy as the Golf. Big downside would be the huge torque to the rear wheels on snow covered roads. Thanks for uploading.

They should of not used mk8 golf parts miss opportunity to deliver vws ID! Mk2 ID?

Those mirrors look familiar from my old Golf R...

The pseudo futuristic minivan look outside and inside would turn me off. The Skoda Eniaq is a bit more classic in that regard...while I would not give up on an regular instrument layout.

YAWN!!!!!!!!!! I think i will have bedtime dreams of my little 3dr Pure White Up Gti, tucked away in my garage. Could you imagine an all electric Up Gti ? as exciting as a trip to the dentist

I’m disappointed he didn’t let us hear the ID3’s exhaust notes.

To me it’s a crazy price ! The Chinese will bring out something similar for about £40k !

Clearly this model was a demonstrator/show car. In the real world all those white materials (especially the wheel) would become grubby & unsightly within weeks. As someone whose OCD puts me off using a touch screen in favour of the rotary wheel on my BMW I Drive the dirty wheel & trims would drive me mad.

I would like to see you review a cupra born....

The Golf Mk8 is longer than the id3.

I hate it from almost every angle, inside and out. They should also make an E Golf that's fully designed for electricity, and that actually looks like a Golf.

Interior plastics look cheap and the cloth on the seats looks cheap (similar in quality to my 2007 Toyota Aygo which I had from 2007 to 2012) as well for a £36,000 car. VW seems to have spent the money on the battery and motor technology and overlooked interior quality.

Great video, thank you! An exciting car!

The cost simply doesn’t make financial sense when you compare it to a Golf. Also when you sit in it, it doesn’t feel like a £35000 car. Too much cheap plastic.

Fabulous review as always!

On behalf of all Golf/GTI lovers in the US (and similar hatchbacks), 😭😭😭 that this will not be sold here because of “low demand”. SUV owners drive all the decision making of OEMs

I'd like the R version when it arrives.

I could maybe warm to the exterior looks of the car. Maybe. But the inside is so cheap looking. Those seats look like something from an old peoples home. I cant be the only one that wants an electric car that looks identical to its ICE counterpart just with the drivetrain swapped out.

Heated windscreen?

I think you should get a proper camera with a lens that doesnt distort the object as much. Kinda pointless talking about design while filming the car with a fisheye lens.

Cant wait till they come out

I think VW will sell a lot of these

Seeing them side by side, the ID3 makes the Golf 8 look dated already (which it was already as VW had simply bolted on the front end of a Passat onto a 7.5 by the looks of it). What about the quality? From most reveiws ive seen on the mk8 and ID3 there appears to be a definite downturn by VW in that area.

Did he say 'cumbustion engine cars are more efficient anyway'?

Looks a bit too 'Citroen' for my liking which is a horrible insult to the class and my love of VW. I love the idea of a decent electric car from VW, but I'd much rather any new or special tech this has was put into a new e-Golf. The Golf beats this thing hands down in the looks, interior quality and style department. Apart from the infotainment and the quite nice steering wheel, the interior reminds me of my mum's old Micra! Great review though and I did chuckle and think of Project R8 when you mentioned your sensible driving and speed limits :D

30 to 35 k for the 1st edition . Alot for a hatch .

Looks cheap inside, i would want a lot more for £39,000, ill definatly be stickingc to fossil fuels

7kW charger, not kWh :P

The era of the iphone car, sad times.

Why make it wider than a Golf? Manufacturers insist on making every new car bigger - its impossible for two cars to pass one another on many urban roads because they are so fat!

various shades of gray... so you are telling me 50 shades of grey in a VW. sign me up

EVs might not be for everyone, and committing to one requires you either do more car nerding (Check out teslaBjørn on RU-vid for in-depth analysis, range and real world drives.) Or winging it, until you get the feel for range. Test out abetterrouteplanner.com In a short while, all your neighbours will have one, the charging infrastructure will improve drastically and having a cappuccino, shopping or sleeping while the car charges might improve your life. Oh, and there are a whole lot of fewer exploding bits that will go wrong over time 🤯