colonelpurple wrote: ↑Thu Aug 26, 2021 9:42 am
So its two months in, and I felt like sharing my thoughts
I absolutely love this car, so for those that want lots of criticism turn away now ....
Also note, I am not an eco warrior. I was looking for a new car, and bought this as it was so cool, and I am a bit of a geek and was curious about new technology
I think one of the best compliments you can give the ID3 is that its a very desirable car, and
not that its a very desirable
EV. i.e. it actually stands on its own as a strong competitor with all types of car, including ICEs (Internal Combustion Engine cars).
In summary, the sum of the parts are really "Car 2.0". In that this EV feels like a new generation of transport device over ICEs , which now seem to me to be primitive, noisy, slow and uncomfortable. i.e., I am not going back to one.
My car was delivered with firmware 2.1, which I find easy to use and glitch free. It can take a few seconds to get going though when the car is started. Also note that the display starts up slower the first time after a new firmware update.
My spec was Life with Derry alloys, white metalic paint and 58w pro performance model.
Here it is, in the state of the art Rugby Moto service station on the M6, 30 chargers !!!, someday all service stations will be like this:
As there is no front engine, and no massive rear axle, the wheels can be moved closer to the edge of the car. In combination with no drive tunnel, it means that you get much more room inside. For example, in comparison to my previous BMW 2 Touring, which is 30cm longer (or thereabouts), there is more legroom in the ID3, for both the front and especially the rear seat passengers.
I test drove most electric cars between 30 and 45k and I though it was the best (although my spec effectually ended up costing less then 30k with discounts):
1. Lovely comfortable wafting drive, for passengers as well
2. Great handling, as batteries are mid weight and its rear wheel drive (I mean for normal drivers, not car journalists as they go around corners at dangerous speed).
3. Weight of car (1.7 tons) and height of seat makes for robust, confident and classy ride. In some ways it feels like driving a small suv, like the BMW X1.
4. Interior space is unreal, a tardis. We came in to buy an ID4 and walked out with an ID3.
5. Feel of steering wheel, rake and reach (some EVs dont have reach !!), quality of materials. A lovely cosseting in front.
6. Touch controls. So clever to get rid of the things that most often break. We love the swipes and the Easter eggs
7. Driver display on steering barnacle. So clever that is it perfectly aligned whatever the position of the wheel position
8. The car looks so cool, especially with alloys. VW hasn't ruined the car like Tesla model 3 or Hyundai by adding a large pseudo engine compartment, or a fake grill. The one constant thing I get is compliments from people I have showed it to. In fact where I live, I am one of the first EV adopters and I have a queue of people who want test drives
9. The 58w battery (62 gross) has loads of range and the Pro version is very fast. Put it this way, I have left some pretty surprised Audi, BMW and Porsche drivers in my rear view mirror
10. The doors are so large. This makes it a breeze to get in and out
11. In terms of EVs, now is the time to buy. Gov charger grant, 2500 off, free tax, no congestion charge in London until 2026, etc. Soon all of these benefits will be taken away as more people get evs.
If you need a bigger boot get the ID4, but i think these two cars are VWs 4th generation of EVs and are fully matured products. Although the software will definitely keep evolving over the air....
The main negatives for me are:
1. No options to buy things separately, would have liked to buy tinted glass windows for example (might replace them anyway?)
2. Why no leather seat option, all EV drivers are not vegans!
3. Disappointing that I couldn't buy rear seat speakers
4. With clever and beautiful lighting inside at night, surprised that no lights on volume controls. Have to think this is actually an oversight, probably dropped off a spec sheet in some build sprint ....
Why I like the Life model:
1. No ski hatch in rear seats, so middle seat much better padded and comfortable when taking 3 rear seat passengers
2. Has everything we want, folding mirrors, heated seats, front and rear parking sensors. really well specced.
Would I have bought the family model if only a bit more, yes, but I don't miss 30 interior colour selection
I have changed to Octopus Go So easy to switch to, although I did have a smart meter already.
In terms of charging away from home, it a bit of a mess. I have joined sourcelondon (expensive as per minute cost, but you do get parking in central london), bp bulse (quite common around the country and I used on holiday as they ran the charger in the hotel - although £7.77 membership a month is not worth it unless you are using very regularly) and charge your car (I use in westfield london for free electricity). All these three send you tags or credit card like things for usage, however BP Pulse works without card on app, and sourcelondon can give you the bad payasyougo tariffs without the card, just using your credit card.
When I went from London to Chester a few weeks ago, I booked a hotel which had a charger in the car park, for convenience, and also stopped midway (although I would have made it all the 207 miles way without a charge) at the moto rugby service station on the M6 junction 1. It is very convenient as no app or membership is required, you just tap your credit card on the charger to start. Using Chester as a base, we drove all over north wales and england, e.g. to conway, liverpool, etc. and the range is so good on the ID3 I never needed to charge except at the hotel.
Basically, if you are driving from home, then having a home charger is all you need. If you go on long journeys you just need to do a bit of planning on where you will stop to charge (if needed) or where you chargers are in the final destination. Having a backup as well is good, in case the charger is broken or in use. Zapmap is great to use, but I generally do a backup lookup with the service providers own map system. If you are staying in an AirBnB or domestic house you can just buy a granny charger (13amp domestic plug socket). I bought one from Amazon for £200 and it works great. Takes around 11 hours to charge from 30->80%. Also I would get an extension cable with it, as most houses don't have sockets on the outside.
Lastly, in terms of home charger, I got a local installer (using the olevgrant site) to install a Zappi. The advantages of the Zappi are:
1. Well rated and apparently reliable
2. All chargers need wifi to control by the app (a few use cell sims). The Zappi has a clever system whereby it has a hub which connects to your router, and then sends a custom radio signal to connect to the Zappi, not wifi. this means it has much longer range then wifi, which helped me, as my garage and drive are the other side of my garden from the house.
3. It is the most clever in terms of dealing with things like solar panels and power walls, etc. although I dont have these.
I applied to have exemption from the London congestion charge. For some reason the auto registration lookup didnt work, so I sent them a photo of the registration document. It is great to drive in London on the weekends, and occasionally during the week when we go out for a drink, as my wife refuses to take the tube with high heels !!!
In summary we love this car, and two unexpected things are that my wife likes it so much she finds excuses to drive, and together with my enthusiasm means I might have underestimated my PCP annual mileage
anyway for now we intend to purchase at the end of the PCP period, so that hopefully wont be relevant.