Mad_Lads ID.3 Test Drive

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!!

McGiver wrote: »

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

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.