Why would anyone choose the ID.3?

VW are privvy to a breed of owners who will pick them regardless.

When the ID.3 came out, I was able to pick one up for ~£25k, which was a big reason, but they withdrew that model in th end and started them at ~£35k instead.

At £30k+, they start to look rather poor VFM; especially compared to the Cupra clone that generally has better styling, spec, and materials

 

VW are privvy to a breed of owners who will pick them regardless.

When the ID.3 came out, I was able to pick one up for ~£25k, which was a big reason, but they withdrew that model in th end and started them at ~£35k instead.

At £30k+, they start to look rather poor VFM; especially compared to the Cupra clone that generally has better styling, spec, and materials

You've got to hand it to VW they have been great with their marketing and still live off that wave, back in they day they were superior cars in terms of build quality and reliability, now they aren't and in many instances are far worse than other mainstream manufacturers but they still have this cult following, as do the other German brands.

I had someone in a few months ago looking at a Megane, her iD3 was coming to the end of its PCP, she slagged the car off said it was awful, always in the garage, pretty much everything about it was crap, I could tell straight away from her and her husband they were never getting the Renault, they just had that look, he had a BMW iX. She replaced her iD3 with another!

We have this weird obsession in the UK with German cars.

 

VW now have the ‘match’ models which bundle a load of the extras. I suspect there are discounts available too…

the Born comes with a 5 year warranty too now - which is an extra.

personally I’m quite put off the Megane given the widely reported cases of the first ones being badly put together - extensive leaks due to missing sealant between wheelarch panels.

Lots of fans of the MG4 too - which is similar size and cheaper than both.

anyway. Why not have a drive of both and see what floats your boat 😀

 

Yeah, I'd ignore list prices, I paid considerably less.

VW also just launched the new model with a much upgraded infotainment system that comes from the id.7 with bigger screen.

I considered a Megane, but the interior felt cramped and quite dark in comparison which I didn't like.

It's horses for courses.

 

Yeah, I'd ignore list prices, I paid considerably less.

VW also just launched the new model with a much upgraded infotainment system that comes from the id.7 with bigger screen.

I considered a Megane, but the interior felt cramped and quite dark in comparison which I didn't like.

It's horses for courses.

It's always amusing when people say the Megane interior is dark, to me it's quite bright compared to the Mokka I got rid of.

I think I might still prefer the Mokka TBH.

Gaz

 

Nobody pays full price for vw though. Took a quick look on autotrader and you can get a brand new id3 with matrix, 20” wheels and a 77 kWh battery for £35k. I imagine if you put a bit of effort in you could do a lot better.

 

I‘m seeing even bigger discounts on AutoTrader for new Megs - £4.5k - £5.5k off a new Techno+, making it even better value compared to the ID.3

 

That's mostly wrong, Top Gear are using old specs. The ID3 is sold in a single Match* spec at the moment. Apart from 20" alloys (which you don't need - the ID3 looks good on all the alloy options) - it includes everything you mentioned as standard. It's £36.5k, so it undercuts the Megane if your pricing is correct, before discounts.
More to the point, the ID3 is just a brilliant car if you are happy with the haptics. I'm sure many people would prefer it to the Megane, but they should look at and test drive both. The software is no longer an issue and it drives great. Lots of space for a family hatchback. Although if buying new now, I would probably wait a couple of months to be sure of getting the updated software version, which will have battery preheating for charging and be a bit slicker in operation.

* you can also buy an "Essential" for less, but it's missing a lot of stuff, the Match is much better value

 

Does the megane now come with matrix/pixel lights where you can have full beam on and it just blocks out segments for other cars rather than an auto full beam?

 

The beauty of choice seems to be lost here. Why does it matter how the two cars compare? Try them both and choose which one you like the best. It's like buying teabags - Tetley or PG Tips. They are the same type of thing but are different - vive le difference!

 

I thought the Megan was a handsome thing murdered out in all black, wife hated it though so never got as far as a test drive.

 

As others have said - test drive both and see which you prefer. Both handsome cars IMHO.

 

I don’t understand why people don’t buy the things I like either 😂

@cjx I will concede the #vanlifers are super weird. Even transit customs are bonkers money now. I’ll never understand people who sell their cars and daily a van. It’s more of a lifestyle choice than a simple van choice, it’s like they are buying an identity.

 

I don’t understand why people don’t buy the things I like either 😂

@cjx I will concede the #vanlifers are super weird. Even transit customs are bonkers money now. I’ll never understand people who sell their cars and daily a van. It’s more of a lifestyle choice than a simple van choice, it’s like they are buying an identity.

When I worked at a VW parts department (many years ago), they'd be ordering all sorts of weird transporter stuff all the time. I asked several, subtly, if they'd ever owned anything that wasn't VW, and I'd always get the "oh...no..no" response, as they stood there looking like they had been generated from the search results of "VW Transporter crap" on AliExpress.

I concluded a long time ago that it is a vacuum sucking in from an absence of personality

 

Two technical comparison points:
1. I believe the ID3 does cell balancing at the end of each charge (?) Does the Meg do that, if not when? My Renault Zoe does it at 99% which I like as I can decide when to let it balance.
2. Does each come with an accessible OBD socket with computed SOH data available via an app?

 

Two technical comparison points:
1. I believe the ID3 does cell balancing at the end of each charge (?) Does the Meg do that, if not when? My Renault Zoe does it at 99% which I like as I can decide when to let it balance.
2. Does each come with an accessible OBD socket with computed SOH data available via an app?

The ID3 seems to balance cell voltages continuously/regularly during use. You can monitor them in carscanner. It does continue to balance after charging or use, at least for a while, but it doesn't normally seem to make much difference after a very short period of time. You don't need it plugged in or anything like that, indeed it always stops charging as soon as the first cell hits the upper voltage limit - it doesn't take any more after that.

The ID3 will give you a "maximum energy content of the traction battery figure" from the OBD port via carscanner, which if you divide it by the nameplate usable capacity gives a theoretical SoH. It has a wide error band on it and varies with temperature. If you buy a approved used VW they now give you a battery certificate with a "quick test" SoH % on it and, if you ask and they really want the sale, they can do a more accurate test for you. (They did this for my ID4 and the result was 5% better than the quick test so it was well worth them doing, but the procedure took them three days as it involved driving the car down to below 10% (BMS) and then charging it back up to full with their kit plugged in.)

 

Id cell balancing is obviously quite sophisticated. Can any Meg owner comment of how that car does it?

Re: CarScanner app can anyone recommend an OBDII adaptor that works on both cars (I'm currently undecided on which way to jump for a Zoe replacement!)

 

In answer to your question: more people would prefer the ID3 as VW have historically been more reliable and used higher quality parts. That's why in general, VWs hold their money better than Renault.
I fully expect some to argue with the above, but that's the answer to the question raised.
Most sane people realise that a good way to lose money is to buy a brand new car.
Lovely as the Scenic is, like most new models from all makers, there will be initial manufacturing bugs to iron out. An example of this was the leaky Megane e-techs.

 

Yep, there is that issue. The e-tech issues have been resolved regarding leaks and the newer models are getting the bigger central console screen. What I like about the e-tech used prices, is that even the basic spec model is well specified and only slightly more expensive than an equivalent MG4 LR.

The e-tech is now 2 years old and ready for a mid life update. That is usually when you see the more reliable versions of cars with the bugs ironed out.