2020 Volkswagen ID.3 1st Edition priced from £36,000

The all-new ID.3 is a bespoke electric car designed to be Volkswagen’s third big influence in modern motoring after the Beetle and the Golf. The first of those mobilised a generation, the next defined the C-segment hatchback. And the ID.3? Volkswagen is hoping it will open up electric mobility to the masses with an affordable battery electric vehicle – one that it is betting on will genuinely be able to replace an internal combustion car for a majority of road users. It might not strike the traditional chords with us, but it is a significant car at a significant time, and one of the first full-scale reactions to our changing automotive landscape.

Though details of lesser models are still under wraps, Volkswagen has announced that orders for the ID.3 1st Edition are now open for those that pre-booked a slot. Priced from £36,000 (including government grant), it’s certainly not cheap, putting it above the BMW i3 and just £2900 below the base-model Tesla Model 3. In return, buyers receive 1st Edition badging, a two-tone honeycomb decal, LED headlights, 19-inch wheels and a host of other kit as standard.

As for specs, it boasts a WLTP-certified range of 260 miles through the use of a 58kWh battery pack, with a 150kW electric motor sending 198bhp and 229lb ft of torque to the rear wheels, enough for a 7.3sec 0-62mph time and 99mph top speed.

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The ID.3’s cab-forward design and tall roofline gives it a distinctive silhouette, one driven by the completely different technical package afforded by its underlying chassis design. Rather than being a derivative of an existing package like that seen in the Peugeot e-208 or Renault Zoe, the ID.3 uses a skateboard-style chassis, with the batteries mounted underneath the passenger cell. As a result, designers were able to push the windscreen forward, unlocking more room in the relatively compact footprint. At 4261mm long, the ID.3 is a mere 3mm longer than a current Golf, but its wheelbase is 145mm longer, leading to its wheel-at-each-corner stance. It’s also 60mm taller, and 10mm narrower than a Golf.

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Power is sourced from an electric motor mounted on the rear axle, technically making the ID.3 both rear-engined and rear-wheel drive (sound familiar?) and will be available in time with three different battery capacities. Volkswagen is claiming a WLTP range of 205, 260 and 341 miles depending on capacity – extremely high numbers for an electric vehicle of this size and price. The ID.3 won’t be a Tesla Model S rival in terms of outright performance. Instead the ID.3 will appeal as a commuter car, and it will indeed be the price that’s the defining factor, with an expected figure starting at under £27,000 for basic versions. With a charging capability of up to 100kW, recharging those battery packs shouldn’t take a huge amount of time either, although it does lack the headline recharge figures found in more expensive electric models such as the new Porsche Taycan or Tesla Model S.

The interior has also been through a total reimagination, with a stark, open and simple design dominated by a large touchscreen interface that will eventually find itself in the next Golf and its derivatives. The high-mounted gear selector and floating screens are joined by what Volkswagen calls a new augmented reality head-up display that will be standard across most high-specification models.

Is there room for a performance derivative? As a company famous for turning what would otherwise have been nothing but a small commuter car into the GTI phenomenon, we wouldn’t put it past Volkswagen. But for now the standard ID.3 represents Volkswagen’s immediate future, one that will need to start paying back its enormous investment. Over 30,000 pre-orders have already been taken by Volkswagen, with deliveries beginning in Germany mid-2020 and other markets following soon after. The marque has also confirmed that order books for seven other ID.3 variants will open this autumn.