Moving on

[chrisfs]

I liked the e-Niro when I tested it, has a lot going for it. Quite spacious despite not being designed as a pure EV, therefore not taking full advantage of not needing space for an engine, gearbox, fuel tank etc.

I do love how the id3 drives and a big part of that is the rear wheel drive. Watch out for the torque steer if you put your foot down in the e-Niro, it has great poke but I didn’t like the sensation and didn’t feel as secure.

[OB1CCFC]

I liked the e-Niro when I tested it, has a lot going for it. Quite spacious despite not being designed as a pure EV, therefore not taking full advantage of not needing space for an engine, gearbox, fuel tank etc.

I do love how the id3 drives and a big part of that is the rear wheel drive. Watch out for the torque steer if you put your foot down in the e-Niro, it has great poke but I didn’t like the sensation and didn’t feel as secure.

The Niro EV has reshaped the torque profile to improve traction and make it less ‘skittish’ than the e-Niro. Or so they say. I’ll give it a good test
You might be right about rear wheel drive, although I live up a large hill and couldn’t make it up once in the ID3 last year and has to walk a mile home in the snow (quite enjoyed it tbf!).

[OB1CCFC]

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[DickieBoy]

I liked the e-Niro when I tested it, has a lot going for it. Quite spacious despite not being designed as a pure EV, therefore not taking full advantage of not needing space for an engine, gearbox, fuel tank etc.

I do love how the id3 drives and a big part of that is the rear wheel drive. Watch out for the torque steer if you put your foot down in the e-Niro, it has great poke but I didn’t like the sensation and didn’t feel as secure.

The Niro EV has reshaped the torque profile to improve traction and make it less ‘skittish’ than the e-Niro. Or so they say. I’ll give it a good test
You might be right about rear wheel drive, although I live up a large hill and couldn’t make it up once in the ID3 last year and has to walk a mile home in the snow (quite enjoyed it tbf!).

Was the rear wheel drive in an ICE snow issue not mainly down to lack of weight over the rear wheels? For an EV it might not make much of a difference which wheels are driving the car.

[OB1CCFC]

The Niro EV has reshaped the torque profile to improve traction and make it less ‘skittish’ than the e-Niro. Or so they say. I’ll give it a good test
You might be right about rear wheel drive, although I live up a large hill and couldn’t make it up once in the ID3 last year and has to walk a mile home in the snow (quite enjoyed it tbf!).

Was the rear wheel drive in an ICE snow issue not mainly down to lack of weight over the rear wheels? For an EV it might not make much of a difference which wheels are driving the car.

Good point. I think you are right

[OB1CCFC]

Generally, it’s pleasing to see more variety of mid range EV’s coming on stream. The Megane etech is coming this year, then the Astra-e and Ford ‘Mini Mustang Mach-E’ next.
I seem to be seeing more variety on the roads rather than just lots of Tesla M3’s…

[duncsand]

There seems to be a lot of confusion between build quality and material tactility. If the car is highly visible well screwed together, with no rattles and squeaks and does as was intended by design, build quality is good. oth our ID3s scored in that area.

The use of black gloss in areas that will see fingerprints all over them is poor design - the performance Golfs use plenty of black gloss, but in places like instrument surrounds where you're not going to have your fingers leaving highly visible fingerprints. I found the dash top materials plenty soft enough, and the door cards weren't that hard - the Golf does tend to keep the hard stuff out of touching range - the bottoms of a Golf door card are very hard.

When the perception of interior quality is based on the tactility of the materials, you've got to wonder why they don't spend a little more - a plusher set of door cards probably doesn't add more than £20 per car (equating to a likely extra £50 on the car's RRP). For me, the properly cheap feeling parts of the ID3 are the skinny armrests and the minimalist central console - I far prefer the Born's conventional central console with big pad armrest between the 2 front seats. I doubt the ID3 solution cost significantly less than the Born's. To a point, there has to be a differentiation between the 2 cars in interior design, but I just found those skinny armrests a bit crap in use, and as a result, I never used them, whereas I use the Born's.

The Born cheaps out on a more basic rear door card, because someone decided they could save a fiver per car and no-one would notice. When I talk about "cheaping out", the amounts being talked about are tiny, which makes it all the more galling on a relatively expensive car like the ID3 or Born.

The Audi difference is only skin deep - start pulling the interior bits on any mass produced VAG car to fit a dashcam, andyou'll find that they're all screwed together the same way - Torx screws and sprung clips holding interior trim in place. The Audi literally had an extra £100-200 spent on it, which in the grand scheme of total car cost is a very small amount, but allows them to justify a huge premium to sell.

Agreed. VWs have always been very well screwed together, but a bit utilitarian in their interior styling. I remember my dad getting a Mark 2 Golf GTi as a kid and feeling very underwhelmed by it as a passenger. Spending a few more pounds would make a difference but there again, it might devalue the Audi proposition.