Volkswagen ID.3 58kWh Review

Practicality and Boot Space

Volkswagen believes the ID.3 will become the ‘People’s Car’ for a new era, just like the Beetle was in the 1950s and 60s. For its dream to become reality, the car needs to be big enough to offer uncompromised family motoring. Consequently, the ID.3 is a pretty practical car which can hold its head up high in terms of space against conventional cars like the Golf. The battery is stashed under the floor, which means headroom might feel a little tight for taller occupants as the floor is higher than you’d expect. But with no engine to get in the way, the engineers have been able to push the wheels right into the corners of the car, leaving much more room for passengers in the middle. As a result, there’s loads of legroom and it really does feel limo-like when you’re sitting inside.

The boot is perfectly adequate too, with 385 litres with the seats raised being a smidge more than a petrol Golf’s.

Less impressive, however, are the materials used in the cabin. The metal and soft plastics you'd expect in a Volkswagen are only in the places you see and touch frequently and you  can almost feel the cost-savings.Move to the rear compartment or look closer at other parts and you'll soon find hard and grey plastics which would feel cheap in a Polo. This was exacerbated by the white plastics used on the First Edition models, and we’ve noticed that later cars with darker trim look and feel a little more premium.

We were also disappointed by the lack of a light on the charging port at the rear. Unlike most of the ID.3’s rivals that have a bright LED that illuminates the port when you open the charge flap, the Volkswagen will leave you in the dark when you’re trying to plug in at night. Although there’s a light to indicate charging status, that only comes on when you’ve plugged in.

Technology

To reflect its role as a pioneering car for Volkswagen, the company has emptied out its tech cupboard and thrown everything into the ID.3. 

At the heart of the ID.3’s cabin is an all-new infotainment system that serves as the main control centre for everything from driving modes to the temperature of your heated seat. Early versions, including the First Edition models we drove at launch, were far from fault-free and a quick check of owner forums will give you all the grisly details about faults and bugs that buyers endured. 

Thankfully Volkswagen has worked overtime to sort the issues and the end result is a decent control centre that does most things well and some things very well. Having so many features controlled via screens isn’t to everyone’s taste, and despite a row of physical ‘short-cut’ buttons just below the main screen, it takes a while to remember where certains functions are. The haptic sliders that control fan speed and temperature are also poorly thought-out and are almost impossible to adjust with any degree of accuracy on a bumpy stretch of road. 

Safety   

All ID.3 models come with a full five-star Euro NCAP safety rating – as you would expect from a brand like Volkswagen. In its tests, the independent testing agency awarded the ID.3 an 87% score for Adult Occupant protection, 89% for Child Occupant, 71% for Vulnerable Road Users and 88% for Safety Assistance. 

​The car itself has been carefully engineered to make the most of the dedicated electric car structure. Without the need to find space for an engine, Volkswagen have incorporated extra strengthening and impact-absorbing zones at the front and side of the car.

There are airbags in all of the usual places too, plus a new centre airbag which is new to the ID.3. This pops out between the front seats and stops the driver’s and front-seat passenger’s heads from knocking together in a side impact or roll-over. 

In addition to electronic helpers which sense an impending impact and can activate the brakes, the car’s interior lighting will also glow red to alert the driver to danger. Clever stuff.

We do have a couple of concerns though. One is the visibility, which is hampered by thick windscreen pillars. The other is the wipers. As they are set up for left-hand-drive cars, they flick a splat of water or screenwash right into the driver's line of vision. It remains un-wiped for an irritating two seconds until the blades pass again, but then the process repeats itself. We know a couple of potential owners who have been put off buying the car after test driving it in the rain, so it's worth trying it out when you sample the car.