Just coming up this week to 12 months of ownership so I thought I'd give my overall thoughts of living with the ID3 for the last year. The title above refers to a summary given by a respected car reviewer on the launch of the car. Given my experience I would agree with him. The car drives very well, set up with an excellent suspension and very good ride quality. Overall it is very comfortable, very quiet and is an easy car to drive. It is reasonably economical (low temp software issue excepted). It has an excellent driving position and view out of the road ahead and has a very spacious and comfortable cabin for the driver and all passengers. The cabin is also light and airy with the panoramic sunroof. It is a joy to drive in the dark with the excellent lights (matrix) and auto handling of same. The car is robustly designed and built and everything feels well put together with no noticeable squeaks or rattles. It is a car that you could be confident in owning for many years and will retain its value. It is a powerful car and the RWD set up is excellent in its driving characteristics and delivering smooth acceleration (with no skittishness or wheel spin drama) as needed. To this day passing out a slow car in front brings a wide grin to the little boy in me as you pass out in an instant and you have to remember to slow down again to normal speeds.
So overall I'm very happy to own and continue to own the ID3 but no car is perfect so here are some issues IMO need attention; i.e. this is the flesh that needs to be added to the bones to make the ID3 a truly outstanding car. The infotainment software obviously. Bringing it up to software version 3.0 and fixing some known issues only brings the infotainment system up to a mediocre rating IMO. A lot more software resources need to deployed to make the system much quicker, instantly responsive, more intuitive to use and with more functionality and providing more information useful to the driver. There were over 30 separate improvements identified in a discussion thread from last year. VW could review them and perhaps prioritise 5 to 8 improvements to action. I like the minimalist design of the cabin. It certainly could never be compared to a Victorian boudoir. However, using a house analogy if you have a minimalist decor you need also to judiciously use a few throws and place soft colourful furnishings into the mix to add a sense of warmth and appeal of comfort. IMO this means replacing all the black plastic with a soft touch lighter coloured fabric etc. (including replacing the gear lever with something more substantial with a knurled surface). Replace the door cards with a lighter softer material - ideally made from recycled materials and add softer materials generally around the dashboard. Perhaps also upgrade the front seats to provide additional side support etc. What about the outside? The front aspect of the car looks so-so with an overall round and arced look. However it could do with some high cheekbones - i.e some creases on the flanks to give a more chiselled handsome look. A couple of transverse creases might help also on the front. I would also lose the plastic flange next to the windscreen. So maybe something looking more like its more handsome cousin, the Cupra.
Before the ID3 I owned the VW e golf executive - very luxurious inside with every conceivable extra, which I traded for the ID3. The ID3 is technically a much better car but this needs to be balanced with improving the aesthetics of the car as time goes on. I am interested in cars and it goes much deeper for me than a box on 4 wheels to get you from A to B. I am glad to say that I have made that necessary connection with this car and I plan to hold on to it and enjoy it for some years yet.

Just substitute Leaf E+ and your review's good points also apply! (apart from rwd)

 

You could well be right about the Leaf E+. If the ID3 didn't exist I probably would have been looking over it. It does have the perception though of being an older design - rightly or wrongly I couldn't say. The only other car that could turn my head which could compare directly with the ID3 is the new Megane E 60kWh. It is FWD but it promises to be a hell of a looker with high interior quality fit and finish. Due Qtr. 4 2022 but of course it also depends on the price at which it is launched.

 

I agree with much of the OP. The ID3 drives like a smooth, quiet, powerful, quality engineered car and there is much to be admired in that.
Clearly there are range issues around battery management and cabin heating, which seem to be being addressed in 3.0. Fingers crossed.
In terms of the core driving experience I find the suspension quite bumpy, crashy over rough surfaces - maybe hard to avoid with a weighty EV(?)
I find the brakes too spongy and inconsistent and there needs to be a tweak there somewhere the regen blending.
The A pillar visibility is not that good, particularly when pulling out at some junctions.
The sound system is weak. I recently had a Citroen C3 as a loaner and it was stiking how much better the music sound quality was.
The cabin climate control doesn’t seem too effective at demisting or maintaining a constant temperature at times. Another tweak needed methinks.
I don’t really have a problem with the interior materials at all.
I also don’t really have much issue with the infotainment. It does what I want fairly simply. It could start up more quickly though.

 

I agree with much of the OP. The ID3 drives like a smooth, quiet, powerful, quality engineered car and there is much to be admired in that.
Clearly there are range issues around battery management and cabin heating, which seem to be being addressed in 3.0. Fingers crossed.
In terms of the core driving experience I find the suspension quite bumpy, crashy over rough surfaces - maybe hard to avoid with a weighty EV(?)
I find the brakes too spongy and inconsistent and there needs to be a tweak there somewhere the regen blending.
The A pillar visibility is not that good, particularly when pulling out at some junctions.
The sound system is weak. I recently had a Citroen C3 as a loaner and it was stiking how much better the music sound quality was.
The cabin climate control doesn’t seem too effective at demisting or maintaining a constant temperature at times. Another tweak needed methinks.
I don’t really have a problem with the interior materials at all.
I also don’t really have much issue with the infotainment. It does what I want fairly simply. It could start up more quickly though.

Thanks for the detailed comments. I find the suspension fine - mind you I did find a loaner ID3 with 20" wheels from the dealer quite bumpy on uneven road surfaces. Mine are 18". I agree with you on A pillar visibility - especially looking right coming onto a roundabout - I have to stick my head out further to avoid the blind spot. The sound system is OK for me - not a huge music lover and don't even have rear speakers! The infotainment system is mediocre I think compared to Tesla and others? The latest thing that annoys me is that the car picks up on all the slip roads on a local dual carriageway and slows down needlessly. Maybe version 3.0 might prove to be significantly better - who knows.

 

Agreed on it being fundamentally a good car which is pleasant to drive, with good packaing and decent road manners.

Main issues for me are:

• touch sensitive buttons - big misstep by VAG
• low speed power delivery calibration
• grabby brakes at low speed
• software annoyances
• visibility

 

Thanks for your comments. The touch sensitive - haptic buttons is an interesting one. It seems this is where technology won over utility at a VW design meeting! It seems the technology is unable to differentiate enough between a momentary press - say 1 second and a longer press - say 2+ seconds. As a result when you want to e.g. increase cruise speed by 1kph 50% of the time it increases by 10kph and you quickly have to cancel it. Even if it worked perfectly what is the advantage over normal press buttons?

 

There's very little I don't like on the ID3. It does feel incredibly cheap not to fit rear speakers for the meagre savings vs criticism, it doesn't seem worth it for VW not to fit them. It doesn't particularly bother me, but not everyone in the back seats is a kid playing on their tablet.

Piano black finger print magnets trim - why VW? on areas that don't ever get touched its fine, but on the door handles and drive switch? Crap decision.

These 2 points alone could be fixed by VW for probably a tenner per car.

The third point is the brakes. Once you get used to the fact that the first 1/3 of pedal travel is for varying levels of regen, you're fine. For a quick test drive, I know many ICE drivers on the Golf GTI forum have said the brakes are dodgy.

They could fix this by having a driving mode in which the brake pedal only operates the brakes, but that could be incredibly inefficient, depending on your driving style (regen works really well for those that have what would be an inefficient driving style in an ICE car e.g. not coming off the accelerator in advance of needing to slow, either being on the accelerator or brakes at all times).

To utilise as much cabin space as the ID3 has, you can't really get away from the A pillar glazing set up they have employed - you just adapt. Many MPVs and SUVs have the same set up.

 

2 other points I failed to mention in my original post. The ID3 is sized very well as a compact car so that it is easy to drive about generally in towns, and particularly driving on narrow streets and roads and parking in smaller spaces. Yet it has excellent space and passenger room inside comparable to cars a class above in external dimensions. Just to note also that I'm sure the newly launched Hyundai Ionic 5/Kia EV 6 are very good cars but I wouldn't like to be driving them on narrow roads or streets. The other point is on the added weight of the batteries and the suspension - I think VW have done well with setting up the suspension to cope with the extra weight. I think this needs to be borne in mind when comparing it to suspensions generally - e.g. of significantly lighter ICE cars.

 

Just to note also that I'm sure the newly launched Hyundai Ionic 5/Kia EV 6 are very good cars but I wouldn't like to be driving them on narrow roads or streets.

I saw an Ioniq 5 in the flesh at Bluewater yesterday, they have a store in the main center at the moment. I really didn't like it at all. It seems very cramped inside. While the wide dual screen setup looks good and flashy in pictures, I thought it looked very odd in person. Kind of cheap-looking and stuck on as an afterthought. It looks & feels like a very big car with no space inside.

I agree with a lot of the comments made in this thread, though I did actually come to like the haptic "buttons". Tricky at first but once you get used to them I think I prefer them over traditional switches. I thought the brakes were fine. As others have mentioned, they take some getting used to when coming straight from an ICE car but I never thought they were underperforming (and I did have to use them in anger on a couple of very close calls). I will definitely miss the Matrix lights, though the Model 3 headlights don't seem to be anywhere near as bad as some make out.

The poor visibility out of the A pillar became a real bugbear of mine over the past few months. I drove a couple of other cars recently & I really noticed it more when I got back in the ID.3. Also the wipers. I cursed them every time it rained for leaving a swathe of water right in my eyeline after every sweep.

I suppose the thing that tipped me over the edge was the atrocious software and the even worse update process. I had a huge number of software issues for the first couple of months of ownership, which probably jaded me for the rest of the time I owned the car. Then waited for close to 3 months for the 2.3 update after signing up to get it (which is stupid in itself). The haphazard nature of if/when you get OTA updates seems weird, to say the least.

It's frustrating to get into your car, start it, then have to wait for what can be up to a couple of minutes for all the software modules to load. A bit warm/cold in the cabin? "Air conditioning system is not currently available". Press the Assist button to turn off lane assist & hear a beep so the button press worked, but nothing happens. I'd sometimes have to press the button 3 or 4 times to get the menu to load (and not only during the startup process, often after being in the car for a while). I couldn't use any other screens on the infotainment while listening to Spotify on Android Auto. If I switched away from AA to look at the car data or change any settings etc, Spotify would start to skip as if buffering. The longer any other screen is used, the worse the buffering got. The only way to fix it was get out of the car & lock it so it reset, which obviously is not practical when on a long trip on a motorway.

In general I did like driving the car. It's comfortable, performance is pretty decent, I like the open & airy cabin, the ACC is very good on longer trips in mild traffic in particular, where you would normally tire of the slow/speed up back & forth. The little niggles just got a bit too annoying. I'd have probably kept it for another year if my car wasn't worth so much more than I paid for it. I actually made money after driving it for 14 months, so it seemed like a no-brainer to sell.

 

I would concur with much of what you say. My biggest peeve would be the sound system I came from an 2018 Ioniq PHEV and the sound system in it was top notch. The Ioniq was more softly sprung than the ID.3 Family that I have, but on 18 inch wheels Id say the ride even though firmer, has better control. The comfort of the car overall is better for three hour stints even though the drivers seat has no adjustable lumbar support, and the matrix headlights of the ID.3 are astonishingly good by comparison to the Ioniq.

 

I think this thread highlights that any car is a series of swings and roundabouts, and ultimately a compromise.

There will likely never be the perfect EV for everybody, the ID.3 does a lot of things right, gets a few things wrong, and excels in some others.

Same as any car really, but for me the ID.3 ticks more boxes than not, hence it’s a winner.

 

I've had the ID.3 Tour since December and generally agree with what's already been said here.

Personally, I feel like the interior is lacking in design potential. I feel VW could have done more with it, it looks rather bland and basic at this point, especially next to the Hyundai and Kia offerings. The screens look tacked on when they could have easily made it look more sleek.

Suspension is as hard as my R-Line was, I'm guessing due to the sheer weight of the vehicle.

Haptic buttons are annoying and don't feel particularly great to use.

Infotainment system is a bit sluggish at times.

The A pillar is huge and gets in the way, especially at junctions and roundabouts.

I find the interior quality to be at least on par with the Golf R-Line I had, but I think trim quality depends on the trim level you picked.

Cornering feels a bit "people carrier-esque".

The Matrix headlights are extremely good, I know I'd miss them if I changed car at this point.

The blind spot alert is really nice, especially on the motorway.

The ride is nice, quiet, albeit a bit harsh on rough roads due to stiff suspension.

If I was buying an EV, I think I'd be tempted to look elsewhere, but that's mostly due to design decisions made by VW.

 

Agree that visibility off the starboard bow is pretty dodgy and could be dangerous for people not used to it. Steering wheel buttons are pretty awful too and a potential danger as you have to take your eyes off the road. I have no other real complaints though another 20 miles of range would be nice. But one surprise here is that no-one has mentioned road noise: I'm very aware of it and having just rented a Lexus EV on holiday (awful in every other way but Eurocar's cheapest deal) it is even more obvious. Skimping on the soundproofing, or maybe it's the EV designed tyres?

 

My ID3 is the quietest car I've ever driven, by a margin - that includes on motorways. I also quite like the haptic buttons, they don't cause me any problems.

 

Drove over 500 miles over the weekend and the ID3 is very smooth and quiet, I’m on continentals. I have no problem with the haptics they are fine, not sure why people get so wound up about them tbh.
I got 3.8 mi/kWh driving from St Albans to skipton totally normal driving speeds, the weather did allow me to turn off cabin heating for most the time though…
Another plus is that after 1 week the connectivity just came back on whilst on the M1.

 

Thanks to all for your ideas, opinions and comments. It's interesting to see what some owners see as a problem others see as not an issue for them. Quite a variety of ID3 qualities are evaluated differently according to the spectrum of owners' personal tastes and interests. I think Tooks said it well in that its impossible to fulfill everyone's expectations for the car. For example, the infotainment system with the soon to-be-implemented software improvements (and hardware?) will undoubtedly make the user experience better - however some people (including car reviewers) will retain very negative views on same. Some final points;
1. What will the VW response be to the launch of the e - Megane - in particular to internal cabin quality?
2. Not sure about this but according to a recent review of the e Megane (60kWh) it reportedly will have a greater range(even allowing for the slight battery size difference) than the ID3 (58kWh). The Megane has a reportedly higher drag coefficient of 0.29 (versus .267 of the ID3). It seems the Megane weighs in as much as 200kg lighter than the ID3 even with a slightly bigger battery. If VW could put resources into achieving weight reduction there could be major benefits in efficiency, range and overall handling of the ID3.

 

1. What will the VW response be to the launch of the e - Megane - in particular to internal cabin quality?

VW have just done a small refresh of the seat material, I wouldn't expect any significant changes with the interior for quite some time, especially with the current supply chain issues. I think the cabin quality issue in the ID.3 is overstated and skewed by early reviews. I think it's a design choice, not that the materials are any lower quality. Some people don't like the minimalist design & prefer to have leather-wrapped-everything.

2. Not sure about this but according to a recent review of the e Megane (60kWh) it reportedly will have a greater range(even allowing for the slight battery size difference) than the ID3 (58kWh). The Megane has a reportedly higher drag coefficient of 0.29 (versus .267 of the ID3). It seems the Megane weighs in as much as 200kg lighter than the ID3 even with a slightly bigger battery. If VW could put resources into achieving weight reduction there could be major benefits in efficiency, range and overall handling of the ID3.

While aerodynamics and weight play a large part in the range calculations, perhaps the Renault motors are just more efficient?

 

I wonder whether those Megane weight savings are achieved in the battery itself or the car as a whole?

 

Don't know but apparently aluminium has been used as weight saving so I assume that means more the body as a whole. Also they say that the battery pack design is not as high in vertical dimension - again, I don't know if this could have a bearing on the overall weight of the pack or not - could the pack store more energy per unit weight?

 

Well, we're very fond of our ID3 Life, warts and all.

It will be interesting to see how the Megan shapes up since it's the first direct competitor. Looks great but I think that the VW will prove to be better screwed together. And I'd be astonished if it will improve on the value for money. Maybe you'll actually be able to buy one, which would be an improvement over the current VW position.

We're hanging on to ours long-term anyway. Going to be like hens teeth in a few years!

 

I feel similarly. If the Megane had been available a year ago I would have been looking very hard at it. As it is, I’m happy with my ID.3 (barring the occasional software hissy fit) and tend to keep cars for quite a long time (three changes in the last 30 years), so by the time I’m ready to change again the choice may be tougher (in a good way!).

 

New review from the Fully Charged Show on the e Megane. Some interesting details such as that apparently the electric motor is a new lightweight design and that the motor/inverter/and all associated bits are significantly lighter. Mind you the weight difference between the e Megane and the ID3 suggests that the ID3 is approx. just 100kg heavier. Another notable point is about the quality of the infotainment software which is outsourced. I know very little about this but is this something that VW should look at and concentrate their resources and expertise on making more EVS' ? Also I suspect that the e Megane will come in €3k - €5k to the ID3

 

Sorry about last sentence - "€3k - €5k more expensive than the ID3"

 

Regarding Mégane EV, i dont like how small interior is compared to ID.3 especially in the rear and trunk. The wheelbase of ID3 is 2771mm Megane is 2685mm, also turning circle of ID3 is much more impressive. Not even talking about rear wheel drive in ID3 vs. front in Megane. I want to wait for proper 1000miles challenge by Bjorn to have better view on tech inside. Design is subjective so i don't comment on that. Anyway, Renault doesn't have good reputation for reliability among people