New VW ID 3 Review | Best Electric Lease Cars 2021

VW ID.3 Hatchback review

One of the newest electric cars to add to your “leasing wish-list” is the brand-new ID.3; an alternative for all of the Golf fans out there.

The push towards electric cars continues to grow in the UK (tax legislation, clean air zones and media influence) and the appetite for pure electric vehicles is increasing rapidly.

For the e-car lease team, the interesting observation is that this isn’t just about business/company car customers looking to minimise company car tax; individual customers are looking to get an electric vehicle on personal contract hire too. Why? There is a realisation that we need to reduce emissions, reduce energy usage and prepare for the changing landscapes across the UK.

VW ID.3 Electric Car Lease

If towns and cities stating charging for entry if your vehicle does not qualify, the cost of your daily penalty will be more than the additional cost an EV would be per month.

Customers are also conscious that the Government grants for charge point installation and the grant towards the purchase/lease of the car may come to end. It is better making a decision now while there is support in place.

Customers can now be heartened that there is plenty of choice coming throughout 2020 and beyond.

Why have VW introduced the VW ID.3?

VW have been a manufacturer under the microscope for some time. This arises out of the infamous “dieselgate” scandal. As such, the group have spent literally billions putting together more efficient petrol/diesel engines together with an electric component.

The VW e-UP and e-Golf have been the VW group’s leading option for the last 3 or 4 years, and while these are great examples of usable EVs, the issue is that their technology and range fall behind the competition.

The ID range, which will include a number of different vehicle types, is the next generation cars.

As you will all probably note, Tesla are still very much controlling the electric market; their Model 3 has been the car of 2019/2020 so far. Before they dominate any further, other manufacturers had to bring about equally desirable and functional cars to compete.

VW ID.3 Hatchback – when, where and what?

There will be a number of launch editions and demonstration models arriving into the UK during the latter parts of 2020. If rumours are true, many of these 30,000 are reserved/pre-sold already.

For anyone interested, head over to the VW website and sign up to their latest news updates.

The VW ID.3 Hatchback will be launched with 3 different battery sizes – 45kWh, 58kWh and 77kWh – i.e. a small, medium and large option. When you browse a car leasing website, most use CAP data, which means you will always see the vehicle description including the phrase “kWh”. Essentially this means kilowatt-hours, and provides the customer with an indication of how big the battery is.

Volkswagen ID.3 Electric Car Leasing

For a customer, this helps them to understand the potential range of the vehicle and also the time it will take to recharge the battery.

For example, if you have a 7kW home charger and your EV can charge at 7kW AC (or more), you can work out the charging time – for a 45kWh battery, this would roughly take in the region of 6 to 7 hours, and for the 77kWH option, this would take around 11-12 hours.

When you do review a vehicle, the range provided should be WLTP, which means that it should be more of real-world example of how far the vehicle actually travels.

You also need to take into account weather and temperature; batteries do not perform as well in cold and so expect less range in the winter months!

For the ID.3, their wholesome 77kWh option is suggested to achieve around 340 miles on a full charge. This will bring it firmly in line with the Tesla. If priced more competitively, this will be a car for the masses.

From a charging perspective, the ID.3 will work off the same principle of the e-Golf, in that the charging unit will be placed where you would expect to see the fuel cap.

There is a Type-2 connection for AC charging, coupled with the additional points for the rapid charging CCS unit. VW even provide a nice set of images (below) to help customers understand the different points available:

So how long will it take to charge an ID?

As above, it will depend very much on what you are looking to plug the vehicle into. VW headline the 58kWh as being capable of achieving 260 miles worth of charge in 30 minutes via a rapid DC option.

For the base model, expect a 7kW charger to achieve full capacity in around 7 hours, and a 50kW DC rapid charger to achieve 125 miles' worth of charge in just 40 minutes. With a bigger battery, the longer-range option will take longer but, if this is true, VW will enable the vehicle to be charged via more rapid AC and DC solutions.

Using 11kw AC, a complete charge will take just over 8 hours and on a 125kW DC charging unity, the longer range will get from 10-80% in just over 30 minutes. Each car will come with a fastidious 8-year battery warranty (or 100,000 miles).

What about the VW ID.3 Hatchback technology?

While information is still very much limited, there are some flagship features including:

ID.Light – an intelligent lighting concept which communicates with the driver to navigate through traffic and will respond the driver’s voice. The smart light signal will even say goodbye when exiting the vehicle.
AR HUD - the optional virtual display will send useful information to the windscreen to assist the driver about speed, navigation, and where to turn when using assisted functions.
Panoramic sunroof – another clever option, which will try to mirror the all-glass roof in the Tesla Model 3. For those wanting their entire roof to be a vast glass panel, this is one to consider.
Exterior – key features to include matrix LED lights, redesigned VW log and a futuristic overhaul.
Interior – as you will see from the images, the approach to the interior is very functional, frugal but futuristic.