Volkswagen ID.3 long-term test: capable electric hatch is held back by frustrating tech

Verdict

There is an awful lot to like about the ID.3 – not least its good range, strong efficiency and excellent range of technology. But the laggy infotainment system is the reason this 2023 version gets no more than four stars here. Yes, it’s better than the original set-up; and yes, you can live with it. But a better system is coming, and that could well make a very decent car even better. 

• Mileage: 3,955
• Economy: 3.6mi/kWh

Read any review of the Volkswagen ID.3, and in no time at all you’ll realise that there is one major complaint. It seems everybody moans about the infotainment system – and, in particular, how laggy it is. 

It’s something I noticed as soon as the car arrived, but the beauty of a long-term test is that it would let me see if I could learn to live with the issue. And, if you’ll forgive me cutting to the chase, yes, the set-up isn’t great, but there’s no deal-breaker here. Indeed, the system in this 2023 model year car is far better than that fitted to the first ID.3. But we know a better set-up – shared with the ID.7, and already fitted to European ID.3 models – will be coming to UK cars soon. 

For now, though, the delay between me pressing a button and the requested action taking place can seem to take an age – long enough for me to worry I didn’t do it properly in the first place. Worst of all, the response is very inconsistent. Sometimes, things happen immediately, but on other occasions the wait is long enough for me to consider timing it with a stopwatch. Above all, I hate having to check the screen to see if it’s doing what I want, because that means taking my eyes off the road for longer than I’m comfortable with. 

And while we’re talking frustrations, a dishonourable mention has to go to the volume and temperature sliders. They’re hard enough to use in daylight, but how the car was signed off for production without those controls being back-lit, I will never know. They’re awful at night – and again, the result is that common actions demand you take your attention from the road.

Of course, you can adjust the volume using steering-wheel buttons. But here, too, VW lacks attention to detail. The controls’ position means I often accidentally change the radio station when turning the wheel – which drives me nuts, because getting back to my desired station usually takes a good few prods.

It’s a real shame, because a lot of the onboard tech – in particular, the optional Driver Assistance Pack and Interior
Pack – is absolutely first rate. The former bundles together Side Assist, Traffic Jam Assist, keyless entry, a rear-view camera and an around-view monitor. Given that I live in south west London, where traffic is permanently heavy and parking spaces are at a premium, all this helps to ease the stress of life behind the wheel.

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Likewise, the augmented-reality head- up display that comes as part of the Interior Pack is fabulous. The lower part shows your speed and sat-nav directions, but all manner of extra information can appear on the animated upper section. For instance, as you approach a junction when using the sat-nav, arrows flash in your line of vision – without distracting you, I hasten to add – and point you to the correct road. It’s a very neat idea.

Finally, I’ve come to really appreciate adaptive cruise control and lane-keeping assist on my frequent trips to see family in Sussex. They’re among the best such systems I have ever used, particularly in the super-smooth way they adjust the car’s speed. 

As you drive, the set-up also reads speed-limit signs and, if necessary, adjusts how fast the car is going to suit. Most of the time, it’s a very useful back-up – but the system is occasionally too clever for its own good. For example, on a section of the A3 I use regularly, it reads the 30mph signs on the slip roads even when I stay on the main carriageway, which has a 50mph limit. Also, on the past two occasions I’ve headed south on the M23, the car read something that convinced it a 100mph limit was in force. 

Fortunately, these have been isolated incidents, and the ID.3 is wonderfully simple to live with most of the time. From its smooth powertrain and excellent refinement, to the spacious cabin, wireless Apple CarPlay integration, and keyless entry and start, it generally helps to make everyday motoring that little bit easier and more pleasant.

Volkswagen ID.3 Pro S: first report

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It feels like a new beginning for our man with an electric hatch

• Mileage: 2,104
• Economy: 4.1mi/kWh

They say you can’t teach an old dog new tricks, but as I embark on six months with a Volkswagen ID.3, I feel like a learner driver all over again. You see, although I’ve been reviewing cars for more than 30 years and driven plenty with plugs, this is the first time I’ve ever run a pure-electric car on a long-term basis.

True, I’ve run a couple of plug-in hybrids, so I’m more than happy to top up a car’s battery at home. But I confess I’ve never really dug into the details of kilowatt hours, batteries, cables and chargers.

Then again, the ID.3 – and this 77kWh version in particular – should mean the learning curve isn’t too steep. It’s quite clearly a conventional five-door hatchback, which means it’ll slot into our family life very easily; and I already know that I can run a charging cable out under the garage door to the driveway at the front of our house.

In due course, I’ll need to look into the challenges of public charging, but to start with, I’ll be topping up the car exclusively at home, and from a three-pin socket. My theory is that I don’t do many miles, so I’ll never be charging the car from ‘empty’, and I’ll almost always be able to top it up sufficiently overnight for whatever I have planned the next day.

My most regular longer haul is down to the Sussex coast to visit family, but given that the car has a quoted range of 347 miles, I should be able to get there and back on a single charge easily enough. That’s a story for a future report, though, when I’ll also see how cooler weather affects the range.

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Hopefully, the answer to that is ‘not much’, because one of the options fitted to this car is a heat pump. This means that the car uses less energy from the battery to power the heater, preserving the range.

It’s one of several optional features on this ID.3 – despite it being the top-spec Pro S model – with the two most expensive being the Driver Assistance Pack Plus and the Exterior Pack. The former bundles together Side Assist, Traffic Jam Assist and Emergency Assist with Area View and a rear-view camera, plus keyless entry and Park Assist Plus.

The Exterior Pack adds matrix-LED headlights with dynamic light assist, an illuminated ‘grille’, LED tail-lights with dynamic turn signals, and tinted rear glass.

The driver-assistance features are most welcome, given how much time I spend in London traffic; and overall, I think the styling add-ons make the ID.3 a very smart-looking car, particularly in the (also optional) Olivine Green metallic paint.

This car benefits from being the recently revised model, too. That means it has a new-look nose, with extra air intakes in the front bumper and a longer bonnet, plus a chrome-effect strip running along the sides of the car over the windows. Inside, meanwhile, there are smarter materials designed to lift the perceived quality.

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In all honesty, I think the interior still says £30k, rather than the £51k that the car actually costs once all the options have been taken into account. And I confess that, as with many others, I am rather underwhelmed by the laggy infotainment system. But otherwise, I’m finding EV life quite easy at the moment.

The ID.3 is perfect as Dad’s Taxi in suburban south west London, thanks to its combination of a smooth and refined powertrain with strong performance and relatively compact dimensions. It’s nice and relaxing in even the heaviest traffic, easy to navigate through city streets and no problem to park at the end of the journey.

*Insurance quote from AA (0800 107 0680) for a 42-year-old in Banbury, Oxon, with three points.