- Volkswagen ID.3 options to choose and avoid
- Volkswagen ID.3 options to choose
- Volkswagen ID.3 options to choose
- Volkswagen ID.3 options to choose
- Volkswagen ID.3 options to choose
- Volkswagen ID.3 options to choose
- Volkswagen ID.3 option to avoid
Volkswagen ID.3 options to choose and avoid
If you’re looking for an electric car that doesn’t require too much compromise in your day-to-day life, the Volkswagen ID.3 is as good as they come. That’s because it offers a practical, well-equipped interior, an official range of up to 336 miles between charges and a genuinely fun driving experience.
Our full Volkswagen ID.3 review can give you the complete picture of the model – including what it’s like to drive and live with – but here we’re concerned with getting you the most for your money if you buy one.
We favour the entry-level Life trim because it includes useful features including front and rear parking sensors while keeping the ID.3 cheap enough to qualify for a £2500 government electric car grant towards its purchase price.
It also allows you to choose the Pro Performance battery and motor, which officially offers up to 263 miles of range and a 0-62mph time of 7.3sec. That makes the ID.3 a realistic option for most people to use on a daily basis, but to really make the most of what it can offer, we’d add the following options.
Volkswagen ID.3 options to choose
1. Mode 2 3-pin mains charging cable (£185)
This cable allows you to connect your ID.3 directly to a three-pin mains socket, which will come in handy if you’re running low on battery somewhere where you can’t find a dedicated charge point. It’s well worth the money to have peace of mind that you won’t be caught short of your destination, particularly if you’re a first-time electric car buyer without an option to charge at home.
Volkswagen ID.3 options to choose
2. Energy efficiency heat pump (£1020)
The heat pump in the ID.3 compresses refrigerant under high pressure to generate heat, which is used to warm the cold air around the car. This reduces how much battery power the conventional high-voltage heater needs to use to warm the interior, which improves the range you’ll get from a charge. Given how often it’s cold in Britain, this option is sure to come in very handy.
Volkswagen ID.3 options to choose
3. Infotainment Package Plus (£2230)
The main reason to buy the Infotainment Package Plus is for its trick head-up display. This projects your speed, the limit for the road you’re on and navigational arrows on to the windscreen. It’s especially useful in unfamiliar areas because it keeps your eyes on the road, improving your hazard perception. It also adds a heat-insulated windscreen, which should help to improve range in cold weather by reducing how much you use the heater.
Volkswagen ID.3 options to choose
4. Assistance Package (£1040)
The Assistance Package makes the ID.3 much easier to live with in town because it adds a reversing camera and a self-parking system. It allows you to connect your smartphone to the car and choose an open space detected by its sensors, at which point it will park itself. This is helpful if you’re faced with a particularly tight spot – as is all too common in city centres – but if you’d rather do it yourself, the camera is nice to have anyway.
Volkswagen ID.3 options to choose
5. Metallic paint (£665)
You may enjoy the ID.3’s standard, solid Moonstone Grey paint, but we’d recommend adding a splash of colour by choosing one of the metallic options, such as the vivid Makena Turquoise (pictured). That’s because they’ll help your ID.3 to stand out from the crowd, and improve its already-strong resale value once the time comes to move on.
Volkswagen ID.3 option to avoid
1. Design package Plus (£2510)
The Design package Plus adds a number of luxury items for your convenience, including LED headlights that automatically dip to avoid blinding oncoming traffic. However, we’d avoid choosing it because it doesn’t add enough utility to justify its high cost. Instead, pocket the £2510, which covers almost half the cost of our recommended options.
Keyword: How to spec a Volkswagen ID.3