Sittard, The Netherlands December 2020: Volkswagen is set to mark a new revolution with the ID.3. In order to achieve this Volkswagen is taking it back to the roots with their 1st ever fully electric car. A special thanks goes to Wealer Sittard who provided us an ID.3 1st edition for your delight!

Text: Roley Richardson, Benjamin Wefer
Picture: Benjamin Wefer, Roley Richardson

M17A9937 4Q6A9888

In the Netherlands there are four versions of the ID.3 available and you may choose one of the four different colors. The model used in this article is the “1st Plus” which is the mid-level version with the Volkswagen keyless system (opens the doors & starts the car automatically), 19 inch ‘Andoya’ alloy wheels and many more options. Depending on your chosen version you will have 19-inch wheels or the high end 20-inch ‘Sanya’ alloy wheels and augmented heads-up display. The Keyless system is very futuristic; the car automatically starts when seated and will power off once you leave the driver’s seat. One thing you need to get used to is the VW tune logo that goes off whenever you leave the car seat. But luckily the volume of this feature can be adjusted or completely turned off!

M17A9758 M17A9763 M17A9989-2

In 2019 Volkswagen launched a brand-new logo, which is sleeker and the company’s letters do not intersect any more. The ID line is introduced with a white on black logo instead of the chrome badge.

M17A9799 4Q6A9817

One thing that becomes immediately evident is the minimalistic approach Volkswagen used. Less is more. The interior is not clustered with all kinds of knobs or information displayed on the screens. The interior feels “airy”. The main interior color is grey, with an optional three-color scheme to choose from depending on the model.

Another noticeable thing when taking place in the front seats is the 8-inch multimedia touch screen, positioned at a distance that makes it easy to access from the driver’s seat (driver’s focused cockpit). VW added on both the multimedia and steering a sensitive touch system. This can either be used as a press button or as a sensitive slide touch. Once you get used to the slider you wouldn’t want anything else.

4Q6A9986 4Q6A9782

The dashboard has a quite sporty but simple look, nothing fancy to write home about. The ambient led strip completes the dashboard. This can be configured in 10 different ambient colors (five preset colors).  in addition to the ambient light there is the ID cock pit light that runs the length of the cockpit. This illuminate whenever the car is ready to go or when the Navigation system indicates directions, which is a cool feature.

[gard]

M17A0011-2 M17A9832

Another eye-catching feature is the drive mode selector, which is a pushing ‘lever’ on the right side of the dashboard. Press it forward to put the car into driving mode or backward to put in into reverse. The Park button is a little tricky to find, but once you know where it is, it’s easy to find.

M17A9928 4Q6A9882 M17A9991

The ID.3 has a total length of 4.2 meter and is 1.8 meters wide. The benefit of an electric car on a fit-for-purpose built platform is that the rear floor is flat leaving room for a proper third seat in the middle. The front seat occupants benefit from a 1024 mm of head room while rear seat occupants need to be happy with 956 mm. Overall the ID.3 has a decent amount of interior space, but not as much of a sedan. But then again of course it isn’t!

M17A9999

The ID.3 offers a competitive trunk space of 385 liter with the seats in place. But in case you wanted to use the engine compartment as storage, you will be disappointed. This is already used by Volkswagen for windshield washer fluid etc. Luckily lowering the rear seat will provide you with some extra liters of space.

 

M17A9766 4Q6A9789 4Q6A9791

The ID.3 features these funky looking intelligent IQ.Lights. The headlights consist of a matrix of 128 led diodes that are individually lit depending on certain situations. Your GPS position, traveling speed, steering wheel position or oncoming cars determine which diode is lit and at what light intensity. This ensures proper visibility at all time.

The ID.3 is built on Volkswagen’s newest platform specially designed for electric cars. The Modulare E-Antribes-Baukasten (MEB) uses a modular battery system. In case one battery fails, you can plug a computer to the car and see which battery needs replacement. This makes the serviceability or upgrade possibilities very interesting. Volkswagen warrants at least 70% battery life remaining after 8 years or 160.000 km.

The ID.3 is provided with an APP 310 Permanent Magnet Brushless Motor, which is small enough to fit in a sports bag but strong enough to produce around 200 horsepower and 310 Newton meters of torque. The electric drive motor is located just above rear axle and transfers all that torque to a single speed gearbox. The car weighs around 1600 kg including the battery pack, but feels much lighter due to a good throttle response. It gets from 0-100 km/h just under 10 seconds and has a top speed of 160 km/u and has a turning radius of 10.2 m. All 1st models are provided with a performance upgrade which boost the response time to 7.3 seconds. In EV terms, it isn’t super quick! But just good enough to get you that sporty feeling.

Charging in theory can be done in one hour when using the combined charging system (CCS combo 2) but unfortunately, we did not have the car long enough to test this out.

M17A9809 4Q6A9784

Even though there are subsidies here in the Netherlands. The purchase price might the biggest disadvantage for buying an Electric Vehicle (EV). When you buy this vehicle, you are buying planet earth some fresh lungs. It shows that you dare to change for a better world.

The world is changing and it’s changing fast and no car brand want to stay behind. Volkswagen did revolutionize the world twice, once with the Beetle and decades later the Golf. Only time will tell if their current prediction was on point. Yes, you have to get used to its design and some of its features, but for now we can say that the ID.3 has some good qualities to be the city hatchback which might lead Volkswagen to a bright new environmentally friendly future.

[gard]

4Q6A9904