Mad_Lads ID.3 Test Drive

As usual, this is a review based on my opinion and personal preferences and expectations not meant to be the be-all and end-all go test it and make your own mind up.

The test drive was overall positive it was the 1st edition, car is good to drive, smooth and quiet, very refined, you wouldn't know what speed you are doing which makes me also wonder how the speedometer is calibrated ? Handling was good but the overall drive is let down by the numb steering, they could have done better with it to be honest and it's a pity the weight doesn't adjust by the mode, it's always numb.

I drove it from Sheehy Motors in Carlow Town out towards Castledermot to the M9 South for Waterford and turned off at the Tinryland Exit and back in towards Carlow Town then out the Hacketstown Road to Walshes Pub in Killerrig and back, anyone local reading will know the route.

Definitely more whack from a standstill than the i3, the i3 had to be calmed down due to the torque breaking motor mounts, it will be interesting to see if vw will need to do this to the id.3, though the overall acceleration doesn't feel a lot different to the i3 just the mapping if that makes sense ? the id.3 has a nice bit of poke on the motorway but id.3 owners will most of all and should most of all appreciate the wonderful rear wheel drive setup, no matter how I tried I couldn't get the wheels to spin, the traction didn't even come on which is amazing considering they allowed so much torque from 0 and it's just so much better than the Kona, E-Soul and Leaf 40 I drove, Night and day.

Space, plenty of rear space with my driving position but foot space for rear passengers is very tight, I had the rear seat down all the way as I normally do so that might be uncomfortable for rear passengers if the driver or front passenger isn't prepared to lift the seat up a bit. I didn't pay attention to the width. The boot is decent.

Infotainment ? well, I didn't have time to play around with that, I'm not a fan of needing the touch screen for almost every function, it's distracting and a pain in the ass if you're driving, BMW's I drive is just leaps and bounds superior, I would like a few buttons for real basic stuff like the Radio with some preset buttons so I don't have to fiddle through menus, it's not good, God knows what I'd think of a Model 3, better implemented perhaps ?

The Gear selector or whatever you want to call it was similar to the i3, a great system and all cars should have it in the same location, it's just great.

One thing that struck me was how weak the regen ( when you lift off the throttle ) was even in B, in all modes, Eco Sport etc, adjustable ? again, no time to play with menus but my old 24 Kwh Leaf had stronger regen, but perhaps VW programmed it to provide much more regen when you press the brake pedal but it's definitely not one pedal driving or even close.

The adaptive cruise works as one would expect, the lane keep assist is just ping ping, will bounce you from like to line, a real shame traffic assist can't be ordered.

Now to the not so good, the interior, some of the plastics look as if they should be in a van, hard plastic mostly, the grey interior is not so nice and the seats are worse when you see them for real than in the pics, they have a colour that make them appear to have faded due to age, they are hideous and a real shame VW couldn't have done better being the Worlds largest Auto maker. The seats though are comfortable so no complaints there. Definitely the colours chosen are not appealing in the slightest, perhaps different colours might make it a little more palatable. I found the arm rests poor, just useless to me to be honest.


Over all what does Mad_Lad think ?

Apart from the interior, if you can live with it it's a good car to drive, smooth, refined with decent handling and decent power. It's a real shame there is no traffic assist at the price or not even the option, perhaps future versions will have more options but to have to go to the Max version to get travel assist would make the car too expensive and you might as well have a model 3 with a lot faster acceleration and much faster charging on DC.

If you don't care about decent lane keep assist the id.3 with RWD is definitely going to be way better to drive + 100 Kw charging for the 1st edition, probably optional for all other cars so beware of this .if you drive endless kms on the motorway then the Korean cars or Nissan Leaf might be the better option with their more advanced lane keep assist systems but then you will experience very frustrating wheel spin.

Pics coming.

The Pics are high res so use the browser zoom function to get a good close up.

eagerv

Deleted User wrote: »

As usual, this is a review based on my opinion and personal preferences and expectations not meant to be the be-all and end-all go test it and make your own mind up.

The test drive was overall positive it was the 1st edition, car is good to drive, smooth and quiet, very refined, you wouldn't know what speed you are doing which makes me also wonder how the speedometer is calibrated ? Handling was good but the overall drive is let down by the numb steering, they could have done better with it to be honest and it's a pity the weight doesn't adjust by the mode, it's always numb.

I drove it from Sheehy Motors in Carlow Town out towards Castledermot to the M9 South for Waterford and turned off at the Tinryland Exit and back in towards Carlow Town then out the Hacketstown Road to Walshes Pub in Killerrig and back, anyone local reading will know the route.

Definitely more whack from a standstill than the i3, the i3 had to be calmed down due to the torque breaking motor mounts, it will be interesting to see if vw will need to do this to the id.3, though the overall acceleration doesn't feel a lot different to the i3 just the mapping if that makes sense ? the id.3 has a nice bit of poke on the motorway but id.3 owners will most of all and should most of all appreciate the wonderful rear wheel drive setup, no matter how I tried I couldn't get the wheels to spin, the traction didn't even come on which is amazing considering they allowed so much torque from 0 and it's just so much better than the Kona, E-Soul and Leaf 40 I drove, Night and day.

Space, plenty of rear space with my driving position but foot space for rear passengers is very tight, I had the rear seat down all the way as I normally do so that might be uncomfortable for rear passengers if the driver or front passenger isn't prepared to lift the seat up a bit. I didn't pay attention to the width. The boot is decent.

Infotainment ? well, I didn't have time to play around with that, I'm not a fan of needing the touch screen for almost every function, it's distracting and a pain in the ass if you're driving, BMW's I drive is just leaps and bounds superior, I would like a few buttons for real basic stuff like the Radio with some preset buttons so I don't have to fiddle through menus, it's not good, God knows what I'd think of a Model 3, better implemented perhaps ?

The Gear selector or whatever you want to call it was similar to the i3, a great system and all cars should have it in the same location, it's just great.

One thing that struck me was how weak the regen ( when you lift off the throttle ) was even in B, in all modes, Eco Sport etc, adjustable ? again, no time to play with menus but my old 24 Kwh Leaf had stronger regen, but perhaps VW programmed it to provide much more regen when you press the brake pedal but it's definitely not one pedal driving or even close.

The adaptive cruise works as one would expect, the lane keep assist is just ping ping, will bounce you from like to line, a real shame traffic assist can't be ordered.

Now to the not so good, the interior, some of the plastics look as if they should be in a van, hard plastic mostly, the grey interior is not so nice and the seats are worse when you see them for real than in the pics, they have a colour that make them appear to have faded due to age, they are hideous and a real shame VW couldn't have done better being the Worlds largest Auto maker. The seats though are comfortable so no complaints there. Definitely the colours chosen are not appealing in the slightest, perhaps different colours might make it a little more palatable. I found the arm rests poor, just useless to me to be honest.


Over all what does Mad_Lad think ?

Apart from the interior, if you can live with it it's a good car to drive, smooth, refined with decent handling and decent power. It's a real shame there is no traffic assist at the price or not even the option, perhaps future versions will have more options but to have to go to the Max version to get travel assist would make the car too expensive and you might as well have a model 3 with a lot faster acceleration and much faster charging on DC.

If you don't care about decent lane keep assist the id.3 with RWD is definitely going to be way better to drive + 100 Kw charging for the 1st edition, probably optional for all other cars so beware of this .if you drive endless kms on the motorway then the Korean cars or Nissan Leaf might be the better option with their more advanced lane keep assist systems but then you will experience very frustrating wheel spin.

Pics coming.

Thanks for all that.


Did you drive the 1st or the 1st Plus? I know the pics are the Plus.

kris_2021

I thought armrest was very good. Did u set it up correctly
I don't think seats looks bad but everyone has different taste. I am glad you liked the drive - which is the most important to me and that is why I have no regrets of buying one (delivery next Friday 1st basic).

eagerv

Deleted User wrote: »

One thing that struck me was how weak the regen ( when you lift off the throttle ) was even in B, in all modes, Eco Sport etc, adjustable ? again, no time to play with menus but my old 24 Kwh Leaf had stronger regen, but perhaps VW programmed it to provide much more regen when you press the brake pedal but it's definitely not one pedal driving or even close.

Sounds like Regen 1 and 2 in the Koreans.
I personally don't like 1 pedal driving, preferring the stronger regen in the brake pedal.

Pity if there is no zero regen though, my favourite..

Silent Running

eagerv wrote: »

Sounds like Regen 1 and 2 in the Koreans.
I personally don't like 1 pedal driving, preferring the stronger regen in the brake pedal.

Pity if there is no zero regen though, my favourite..

The one I tested freewheeled like the Ioniq when the regen wasn't in B. But the strength of the B mode was too low for my liking. I didn't notice auto regen either, which is a great feature in the e-Niro.

eagerv

eagerv wrote: »

Thanks for all that.


Did you drive the 1st or the 1st Plus? I know the pics are the Plus.

The pics are the 1st the plus is what I drove, I text the salesman to confirm. But I didn't notice the difference ?

kris_2021

kris_2021 wrote: »

I thought armrest was very good. Did u set it up correctly
I don't think seats looks bad but everyone has different taste. I am glad you liked the drive - which is the most important to me and that is why I have no regrets of buying one (delivery next Friday 1st basic).

The drive was good, the RWD makes such a difference to grip in an EV, just wish I had more time in it.

Best of luck with your id.3.

Silent Running

Silent Running wrote: »

The one I tested freewheeled like the Ioniq when the regen wasn't in B. But the strength of the B mode was too low for my liking. I didn't notice auto regen either, which is a great feature in the e-Niro.

Yeah the regen was strange I have to say and not programmable, at least not that I could find.

I do not like creep, I absolutely hate it, the i3 doesn't creep and it's a joy but the id.3 creep is much less annoying than in the Korean cars, it just shoots forward when you lift off the brake, it's ridiculous and in my opinion shouldn't happen, the car should only move forward when you press the throttle at least the option should exist to turn it on and off.

Silent Running

Deleted User wrote: »

Yeah the regen was strange I have to say and not programmable, at least not that I could find.

I do not like creep, I absolutely hate it, the i3 doesn't creep and it's a joy but the id.3 creep is much less annoying than in the Korean cars, it just shoots forward when you lift off the brake, it's ridiculous and in my opinion shouldn't happen, the car should only move forward when you press the throttle at least the option should exist to turn it on and off.

You really have a hatred for the Korean cars, don't you?

The e- Niro doesn't shoot forward at all. Any movement can be controlled with the brake pedal. I would much prefer that than jumping from accelerator to brake and back to achieve small movements, or to roll forward in traffic. It's the same as any automatic car I have owned. None of them shoot forward.

Creep won't happen at all with auto hold turned on and there will be no creep if you stop the car with the left paddle.

I would suggest that you park your hatred, read up on the features so that you know how to use them and go on a test drive in the e-Niro. Try out the lane follow (not the lane keep, that's worse than useless), try the auto regen turned on and off, try auto hold, both on and off, use the adaptive cruise. Just don't do what you did when you tested the Kona: going in blind and giving out that nothing worked.

The RWD on the ID.3 is really good, the car just feels better pushing than the FWD pulling, but the 1st Plus I drove left me feeling a bit dry. No lane follow was a big loss for me. Storage for cables and tools is a lot less than I have in the Niro, and I carry a space saver spare, jack and brace. The voice commands seemed slow and a bit clunky for new tech. And of course, there's the range...

jonnythefox

Deleted User wrote: »

Yeah the regen was strange I have to say and not programmable, at least not that I could find.

I do not like creep, I absolutely hate it, the i3 doesn't creep and it's a joy but the id.3 creep is much less annoying than in the Korean cars, it just shoots forward when you lift off the brake, it's ridiculous and in my opinion shouldn't happen, the car should only move forward when you press the throttle at least the option should exist to turn it on and off.

There is a "hold function" on the ID3 that turns off the creep.

eagerv

Deleted User wrote: »

Yeah the regen was strange I have to say and not programmable, at least not that I could find.

I do not like creep, I absolutely hate it, the i3 doesn't creep and it's a joy but the id.3 creep is much less annoying than in the Korean cars, it just shoots forward when you lift off the brake, it's ridiculous and in my opinion shouldn't happen, the car should only move forward when you press the throttle at least the option should exist to turn it on and off.

I like the creep on our Ioniq, I find it much easier to inch up to a charge point with your foot covering the break, but each to their own.


The pics you posted were definitely a Plus.

Silent Running

Silent Running wrote: »

You really have a hatred for the Korean cars, don't you?

I would suggest that you park your hatred, read up on the features so that you know how to use them and go on a test drive in the e-Niro. Try out the lane follow (not the lane keep, that's worse than useless), try the auto regen turned on and off, try auto hold, both on and off, use the adaptive cruise. Just don't do what you did when you tested the Kona: going in blind and giving out that nothing worked.

The RWD on the ID.3 is really good, the car just feels better pushing than the FWD pulling, but the 1st Plus I drove left me feeling a bit dry. No lane follow was a big loss for me. Storage for cables and tools is a lot less than I have in the Niro, and I carry a space saver spare, jack and brace. The voice commands seemed slow and a bit clunky for new tech. And of course, there's the range...

https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=112461377

Worth a read, to prove I am not anti Korean, I enjoyed my E-Soul extended test drive.

RC4

eagerv wrote: »

Sounds like Regen 1 and 2 in the Koreans.
I personally don't like 1 pedal driving, preferring the stronger regen in the brake pedal.

Pity if there is no zero regen though, my favourite..

Regen level depends on the charge level of the battery according to the manual. Looks like little or no regen when the battery is fully charged. I’d assume the dealer would have it charged before a test drive so that could be why it feels light

RC4

RC4 wrote: »

Regen level depends on the charge level of the battery according to the manual. Looks like little or no regen when the battery is fully charged. I’d assume the dealer would have it charged before a test drive so that could be why it feels light

Good point, never even checked the charge level of the test car to be honest. Very good point,

I never checked efficiency either, I was more interested in how it drove.

I can't wait to hear about cold battery charging or whether they have implemented a means to mitigate this rather big issue.

RC4

eagerv wrote: »

Sounds like Regen 1 and 2 in the Koreans.
I personally don't like 1 pedal driving, preferring the stronger regen in the brake pedal.

Pity if there is no zero regen though, my favourite..

Regen level depends on the charge level of the battery according to the manual. Looks like little or no regen when the battery is fully charged. I’d assume the dealer would have it charged before a test drive so that could be why it feels light

McGiver

Deleted User wrote:

One thing that struck me was how weak the regen ( when you lift off the throttle ) was even in B, in all modes, Eco Sport etc, adjustable ? again, no time to play with menus but my old 24 Kwh Leaf had stronger regen, but perhaps VW programmed it to provide much more regen when you press the brake pedal but it's definitely not one pedal driving or even close.

Hmm. One pedal driving is a thing I won't ever let go from the i3. And non adjustable regen is no good. Almost a deal breaker for me. In the i3 you've full control over the regen.

Sounds like a decent car overall, with a few quirks, but I'm not 100% sure vs the i3.

McGiver

RC4 wrote:

Regen level depends on the charge level of the battery according to the manual. Looks like little or no regen when the battery is fully charged. I’d assume the dealer would have it charged before a test drive so that could be why it feels light

Well, at 100% SOC all EVs regen less.

Hope the level of regen doesn't increase even at lower SOC values, that would be silly.

KCross

When I test drove it the SoC was well down and the regen didnt feel alot stronger than the old Leaf... much the same as everyone else has reported.

I didnt see an adjustment for it either other than D and B but, like most others here, didnt have the time to delve into every menu either to find out.

Each to their own but regen strength isnt a deal breaker for me. It was fine. Not that interested in one pedal driving. If the car is fun to drive and comfortable and charges fast and goes far, I'm good with it!!

McGiver

McGiver wrote: »

Hmm. One pedal driving is a thing I won't ever let go from the i3. And non adjustable regen is no good. Almost a deal breaker for me. In the i3 you've full control over the regen.

Sounds like a decent car overall, with a few quirks, but I'm not 100% sure vs the i3.

Yes the i3 regen is decent and having the ability to control it with the throttle is nice.

The id.3 is a pretty decent drive yeah but the i3 is a different beast, it's more sporty, you feel the road more and the steering has a lot more feel. The id.3 would be more comfortable in town over speed bumps and broken town surfaces but on the open road and on back roads the i3 is a lot of fun, I just wish I could get a spin in the S.

However, for a normal car the id.3 drive wise is pretty good, nice and refined, comfortable and decent handling. Hopefully a sport version of the id.3 arrives but I don't think many People would be disappointed with the drive at all.

KCross

KCross wrote: »

When I test drove it the SoC was well down and the regen didnt feel alot stronger than the old Leaf... much the same as everyone else has reported.

I didnt see an adjustment for it either other than D and B but, like most others here, didnt have the time to delve into every menu either to find out.

Each to their own but regen strength isnt a deal breaker for me. It was fine. Not that interested in one pedal driving. If the car is fun to drive and comfortable and charges fast and goes far, I'm good with it!!

VW could have configured it to give max regen only when pressing the brake pedal.

Charging speed is probably the best out there at the moment in a car of this class, I just hope VW thought of something to warm the battery for fast charging in cold weather.

McGiver

Deleted User wrote:

Charging speed is probably the best out there at the moment in a car of this class, I just hope VW thought of something to warm the battery for fast charging in cold weather.

Unlikely. But with 100 kW DC it's probably not needed, the battery will heat up pretty quick and cooling will kick in instead.

McGiver

KCross wrote:

When I test drove it the SoC was well down and the regen didnt feel alot stronger than the old Leaf... much the same as everyone else has reported.

Right so leafy type of regen in general.

KCross wrote:

Each to their own but regen strength isnt a deal breaker for me. It was fine. Not that interested in one pedal driving. If the car is fun to drive and comfortable and charges fast and goes far, I'm good with it!!

Sure. My opinion though is that one-pedal driving is totally EV, two pedal driving is essentially an ICE system. All EVs should be one pedal, and of course if you wish you can use the break and do two pedal, but the default should be one pedal.

So VW are ICE-thinking here - probably they intend the car for masses of people new to EVs? Conservative thinking. Why would the driver need to thump the break all the time if the car can do it itself? What's the rationale.

Tesla does one pedal, BMW does it, Jaguar does it, even Hyundai and Nissan does it.

Should be an option at least.

KCross

McGiver wrote: »

Should be an option at least.

No argument with that. It is a preference thing.

Even in the Leaf I would have rarely used B, one pedal driving would not interest me. I prefer the car to coast when I lift off, not immediately think that I want to stop and I dont want to be messing with paddles either... just coast please.

I can see the attraction if you are in alot of stop/go traffic though.... so an on/off switch for one pedal mode, like the new Leaf, would be good for those people.

Lumen

McGiver wrote: »

One pedal driving is a thing I won't ever let go from the i3.

I've found that one pedal driving (with strong regen) is not only a great driving experience, it can make you a better and safer driver; because there's little efficiency penalty and no brake wear from slowing down, it is more natural to vary your road speed naturally to account for hazards.

This plus the stupid creep mode would stop me from buying one (and I am genuinely looking for a second EV, although prob not buying for a couple of years).

graememk

Lumen wrote: »

I've found that one pedal driving (with strong regen) is not only a great driving experience, it can make you a better and safer driver; because there's little efficiency penalty and no brake wear from slowing down, it is more natural to vary your road speed naturally to account for hazards.

This plus the stupid creep mode would stop me from buying one (and I am genuinely looking for a second EV, although prob not buying for a couple of years).

Only ever driven a leaf once on a test drive with the epedal, so not enough experience to comment.

We came from an automatic car to the eNiro, so the creep of that was just natural.

Driving the eNiro we have regen at level 1, auto, so if the car in front of you is slowing down more than level 1 regen, it will crank it up as necessary.

Finally its dark enough at night and I have experimented with the different levels of regen going down a hill.

when regening on level 1 - no brake lights, level 2&3 brake lights come on.
The auto regen icon shows what level you are at.

Although ive been almost 1 pedal driving since i started driving, keep plenty of space for the car to slow down without braking etc.

Also when you "brake" the car regens more, i think the actual brakes are used very little.


There is G meter apps for phones, we could get actual numbers for the different deceleration modes

Leaf, with epedal, the Kia/hyundai levels 1,2,3, the i3, teslas and then the id3, takes the "Feel" out of it.

Find somehere relativly flat, drive at 50km/h and foot off the accelerator. I think we have enough people here with nearly all the electric cars on the (irish) market.

liamog

Lumen wrote: »

This plus the stupid creep mode would stop me from buying one (and I am genuinely looking for a second EV, although prob not buying for a couple of years).

You just need to turn auto hold on, car will not creep when you press the brake. The car is an improvement over the Ioniq as it remembers your auto hold preference instead of having to turn it on everytime you turn on the car.

adunis

Agree totally with mad lad re.regen anfd lane keeping
Regen feels super weak
Lane keeping is indeed utter ping pong which is a shame cos it's actually very good at seeing even very poor road marking.

McGiver

liamog wrote:

You just need to turn auto hold on, car will not creep when you press the brake. The car is an improvement over the Ioniq as it remembers your auto hold preference instead of having to turn it on everytime you turn on the car.

At least that. I need to test drive it. Will go B mode.

adunis

adunis wrote: »

Agree totally with mad lad re.regen anfd lane keeping
Regen feels super weak
Lane keeping is indeed utter ping pong which is a shame cos it's actually very good at seeing even very poor road marking.

Regen feels weak but perhaps it's a lot stronger when the brake pedal is pressed ? I'd be pretty confident it is.

McGiver

Lumen wrote:

I've found that one pedal driving (with strong regen) is not only a great driving experience, it can make you a better and safer driver; because there's little efficiency penalty and no brake wear from slowing down, it is more natural to vary your road speed naturally to account for hazards.

Yup. Makes you anticipate much more because with one pedal driving you must anticipate when you're using it.

Anyway, shame it's not an option. VW went conservative as I said. Yeah they tried design and this and that but if look at it, ID3 is a conservative car, nothing revolutionary really.

McGiver

[Deleted User] wrote: »

Regen feels weak but perhaps it's a lot stronger when the brake pedal is pressed ? I'd be pretty confident it is.

That's what I assume. But it's not the best way to regen. Wears pads, tyres and isn't that smooth.

liamog

McGiver wrote: »

That's what I assume. But it's not the best way to regen. Wears pads, tyres and isn't that smooth.

Not really, there isn't a difference between wear on a car with brake pedal based regen and regen via lifting the accelerator. At the end of the day its just a sensor telling the car to draw current from the motor.

the cars I've experienced that use brake pedal regen have all seemed pretty smooth, I can't really tell when it transitions to brake pad instead of regen.

McGiver

liamog wrote:

the cars I've experienced that use brake pedal regen have all seemed pretty smooth, I can't really tell when it transitions to brake pad instead of regen.

But it does use the pads. One pedal driving doesn't use the pads at all, if you do it correctly.
Actually, to such an extent that one must intentionally use the brakes every week or so to clean the disks of debris and rust.

liamog

McGiver wrote: »

But it does use the pads. One pedal driving doesn't use the pads at all, if you do it correctly.
Actually, to such an extent that one must intentionally use the brakes every week or so to clean the disks of debris and rust.

No, it only uses the pads if you depress the brake pedal enough, or if you brake whilst at high state of charge.

The only car that doesn't use regen on the brake pedal is Tesla. I suppose you could be talking about whether the car will come to a full stop on regen, but that's going to cause very low wear on the brake pads anyway.

ELM327

Interior reminds me of the first gen Zoe. Awful! Would expect more.

Yea that interior is muck!
I'll probably buy one of these when they get to the second gen.
They have to do a GtID3 model with sexy seats and 3 doors(yea right!).

Lumen

ELM327 wrote: »

Interior reminds me of the first gen Zoe. Awful! Would expect more.

It must just photograph badly, right? Like, this platform has cost billions to develop, and it looks like a shiny suit inside.

McGiver

McGiver wrote: »

That's what I assume. But it's not the best way to regen. Wears pads, tyres and isn't that smooth.

Not necessarily, could be like the original leaf where pressing the brake pedal only just skimmed the disks for a split second or less.

The id.3 brakes might even never touch the disks unless you need more braking power than regen can apply.

McGiver

McGiver wrote: »

But it does use the pads. One pedal driving doesn't use the pads at all, if you do it correctly.
Actually, to such an extent that one must intentionally use the brakes every week or so to clean the disks of debris and rust.

Pressing the brake doesn't have to use the pads at all only when more braking power than regen can provide is needed.

The i3 uses the brakes when the battery is full or nearly full to still provide that one pedal feel, I can hear the pads on the disks when the radio and ac is off.

ELM327

ELM327 wrote: »

Interior reminds me of the first gen Zoe. Awful! Would expect more.

BrownFinger wrote: »

Yea that interior is muck!
I'll probably buy one of these when they get to the second gen.
They have to do a GtID3 model with sexy seats and 3 doors(yea right!).

Hopefully more options will be available in a few months, different interior colour and fabric options and possibly leather.

It should have been better, surely different colours and fabrics wouldn't have cost more ?

Dayor Knight

McGiver wrote: »

Yup. Makes you anticipate much more because with one pedal driving you must anticipate when you're using it.

Anyway, shame it's not an option. VW went conservative as I said. Yeah they tried design and this and that but if look at it, ID3 is a conservative car, nothing revolutionary really.

Well, in fairness, except that it's all electric with 400+ km range at a mass market price (ish). I haven't driven one yet, but I do think it could revolutionise the 'compact' car market.

From reading here it seems like the ID.3 is pitched at regular i.c.e. drivers in the Golf (and similar) category prepared to electric, rather than those already driving other bevs. We won't notice lack of regen braking if we never had it. And it makes sense for VW - that's the mass market they're aiming at.

Great thread, though, thanks. I've been looking enviously, and curiously, at the i3 and it's really good to get that perspective. Thanks, Mad_Lad.

KCross

Deleted User wrote: »

Hopefully more options will be available in a few months, different interior colour and fabric options and possibly leather.

It should have been better, surely different colours and fabrics wouldn't have cost more ?

There are 3 different fabrics and colours available in the plus, no full leather though (leatherette only). the 1st and max only had one option.

Im sure series production will give all the options.

McGiver

liamog wrote: »

No, it only uses the pads if you depress the brake pedal enough, or if you brake whilst at high state of charge.

The only car that doesn't use regen on the brake pedal is Tesla. I suppose you could be talking about whether the car will come to a full stop on regen, but that's going to cause very low wear on the brake pads anyway.

So if you depress it half way then it's just regen?

McGiver

Dayor Knight wrote: »

Well, in fairness, except that it's all electric with 400+ km range at a mass market price (ish). I haven't driven one yet, but I do think it could revolutionise the 'compact' car market.

From reading here it seems like the ID.3 is pitched at regular i.c.e. drivers in the Golf (and similar) category prepared to electric, rather than those already driving other bevs. We won't notice lack of regen braking if we never had it. And it makes sense for VW - that's the mass market they're aiming at.

Great thread, though, thanks. I've been looking enviously, and curiously, at the i3 and it's really good to get that perspective. Thanks, Mad_Lad.

Yeah that's what I said few threads back or maybe on another thread. VW are aiming at average Joes and EV-naive buyers here....

KCross

McGiver wrote: »

So if you depress it half way then it's just regen?

Its computer controlled depending on the speed you are doing, the amount of regen available and how far you press the pedal.... the computer decides when to engage the brakes.

A light press of the brake pedal will not use the brakes. It will go to max regen first and then use the brakes if it deems them necessary to stop/slow down.

mikeucc

I had a test drive on Saturday.
Having never driven an electric before, it was quiet a change

Auto-hold was turned off on the car when I started it up initially. So it would creep forwards/backwards in drive/reverse.
But once auto-hold was turned on it felt more natural. Once you hit 0K/m the car would lock in place until you hit the accelerator again

I drove it in B mode most of the time. I found it more aggressive than ICE engine breaking. And I was using the break pedal much less than I would normally. From the other comments I have seen on regen breaking, One pedal driving must be really aggressive, as I found that dropped from 80KM to about 15 in around 300M (I am only guessing that distance)
Fun to drive, much prefer it to my current Opel Astra (Which I am trading in against the 1'st base model).

I did keep reaching for the handbrake/Gear stick and was pressing the phantom clutch a few time approaching roundabouts.

The user interface is a bit Windows 10 touchscreen mode. But I am not too worried about that as the software is really in beta at the moment. So hopefully some improvements when they update the software later this year

McGiver

KCross wrote: »

Its computer controlled depending on the speed you are doing, the amount of regen available and how far you press the pedal.... the computer decides when to engage the brakes.

A light press of the brake pedal will not use the brakes. It will go to max regen first and then use the brakes if it deems them necessary to stop/slow down.

Right, if that's the case then it's OK. I'll report after the test drive...:cool:

McGiver

mikeucc wrote: »

Auto-hold was turned off on the car when I started it up initially. So it would creep forwards/backwards in drive/reverse.
But once auto-hold was turned on it felt more natural. Once you hit 0K/m the car would lock in place until you hit the accelerator again

Hang on. But if you press accelerator again it will start creeping again in both D/B and R?

McGiver

mikeucc wrote: »

I drove it in B mode most of the time. I found it more aggressive than ICE engine breaking. And I was using the break pedal much less than I would normally. From the other comments I have seen on regen breaking, One pedal driving must be really aggressive, as I found that dropped from 80KM to about 15 in around 300M (I am only guessing that distance)
Fun to drive, much prefer it to my current Opel Astra (Which I am trading in against the 1'st base model).

Yes, if you're coming from an ICE car then it feels really strong. But it's not really strong compared to other EVs. EVs with one-pedal driving will basically come to a stop when you release the accelerator. I drive like that all the time. I already know how much distance it needs to come to a stop and use that when coming to a stop at lights, stopping or slowing down at roundabouts etc.

D mode would be your mode basically simulating engine breaking somewhat, but then actually it may coast more in fact. In some EVs the D mode just coasts as if you were N in an ICE car.

I'll test both modes in the ID3.