NEW VW ID3 revealed! – BIG changes in detail | What Car?
com for a great deal on your next car and to See lots more new car reviews and features subscribe to our Channel so first, why is there such a big fuss about some new changes to the ID3? Well, the ID3 was the German manufacturers. First fully electric car built on a bespoke electric platform. It hit UK roads back in late 2020 and right from the very beginning, it was clear that it was an exceptional electric car. First and foremost, it had a great electric range, which of course is a huge Plus for an EV. But there was much more to it than the distance it could travel between charges. It was great to drive comfortable, quick and practical too. It had pretty much all the necessary attributes to be thought of as the Gulf of the electric car world, but it was not perfect. In fact, there were a couple of flaws that were so frustrating it almost completely detracted from the rest of the cars outstanding package. Firstly, the interior quality was a disappointment for many years. Wed come to expect top quality Interiors from VW with plush materials and great build quality on all of its models, but a slip in standard started with the cheap feeling Plastics in the VW T, Rox interior and then the ID3 was another example that interior quality seemed To have taken a back seat in vws priorities, it wasnt terrible, but with lots of cheap feeling Plastics in an electric interior that could cost as much as forty thousand pounds.
It was just disappointing, but the cheap feeling Plastics were nothing compared to the awful technology issues that plagued vwzv. The chief offender was the infotainment system, which was incredibly glitchy and frustrating to use some over. The air updates attempted to rectify this, but didnt do enough, and the rest of the tech inside was just a muddled and frustrating mess to interact with as well. On top of this owners were reporting problems with the cars range calculations and charging issues as well. These problems were so significant and so widely reported that it was rumored to have been the reason for Herbert deese stepping down as Volkswagens CEO last year, but VW has heard the complaints and its looking to do something about it. In fact, the changes to this car werent scheduled to come as early as this, but given the feedback, this new ID3 was brought to Market earlier than planned, and even though this is really just a facelift, VW is actually already calling this the second generation ID3. So what exactly is new well lets start on the outside of the car, where you might be able to spot a redesigned front bumper with vertical air ducts and theres, also a reshaped bonnet on the previous ID3. There was a black panel just under the windscreen, but thats gone with this new model. Vw says this not only gives the car a longer look, but also apparently gives it an aerodynamic advantage over the previous car, albeit an extremely marginal one, that will be impossible to notice.
The tail light designs are all new now, including daytime running lights and refreshed scrolling indicators, and the light located in the boot lid itself is now illuminated for this new ID3. This dark Olivine green color youre, looking at, is also a new Option. Coming with a black roof, but because of the previous floors we pointed out, the bigger news is inside the new ID3, and the good news is that the quality should be better theres higher grade materials like better quality plastic, with revised graining on the lower section of The dashboard and if you go for some higher spec models, then theres new materials for the upper part of the dashboard as well. The doors have also apparently been remodeled to include softer and larger surfaces with bigger armrests, too. Quality is one thing, but it was the technology that really needed a major overhaul in the ID3, and VW has moved to address just that now the infotainment system runs vws latest software, which is what youll find in the ID Buzz its still not perfect, but it Is certainly a huge leap forward compared to what the ID3 originally launched with it will continue to be displayed on a 10 inch Central touchscreen until a new 12 inch display is rolled out in 2024.. The optional cloud based speech recognition system has been upgraded to provide it with faster reaction times, while the head up display now supports augmented reality functions, which is something we first saw in vws lineup with the id4.
The bad news is that it looks like the touch sensitive steering wheel. Controls from the first car remain. This is especially disappointing not just because they are pretty terrible to use, but because VW has already started going back to physical push button steering wheel controls on some of its other new models. Its understood that the new Passat and the new TIG one which are both due this year, will have physical steering wheel buttons instead of touch sensitive ones. Unfortunately, this is not among the changes for the new ID3. Lots of things remain the same as before. So the ID3 is still based on the same platform, its the same size and it retains the same rear mounted electric motor and batteries as before, but the lineup has been reduced slightly, whereas before you could choose from three batteries now the smallest 45 kilowatt hour option Has been ditched, leaving you with a choice between 58 kilowatt hours or 77 kilowatt hours, the trim levels have also been simplified to pro and pro S pro comes with the 58 kilowatt hour battery a 265 mile claimed range and it can cover naught to 62 miles An hour in 7.3 seconds, while the pro s gets the bigger 77 kilowatt hour battery a 3′ mile claimed range and a naught to 62 miles per hour time of 7.9 seconds. Vw has also increased the maximum charging rate from 125 kilowatts to 170 kilowatts, which is in line with an upgrade given to the id4 VW has suggested there are plans to replace the entry level ID3 with the 45 kilowatt hour battery, but it wont be part of The initial lineup when this car goes on sale shortly, are these changes enough to shake up the id3s competition against its Rivals? Well, to be honest, they could be enough to send this back to the top of the class.
The Cooper born is the id3s most direct rival, with the two cars being virtually identical underneath, but comparing them side by side. The Bourne offers a better interior in terms of quality and Tech, so when they last faced off against each other, it was the born. That was the winner. With these changes, it looks set to be a much closer call this time around. It is, though, going to be pretty much impossible for the new ID3 or any other EV for that matter, to rival the outstanding value for money that the mg4 offers to make sure you see our full in depth review of the ID3 as soon as we get Hold of it subscribe to our Channel. Tell us what you think of the changes in the comments below and dont forget go to whatco.com for a great deal on your next car.