- New entry-level VW ID.3 introduced
- Gets a smaller 52 kWh battery
- Available on new Pure Essential and Pure Match trims
- Costs from £30,850 to buy outright
The versatile Volkswagen ID.3 just got more affordable after a new entry-level model joined the line-up.
Up until now, the ID.3 has been available with a choice of three batteries, which weigh-in at either 59 kWh, 77 kWh or 79 kWh - the latter of which is reserved for the performance GTX hot-hatch.
Now VW is launching two new variants of the ID.3 - ‘Pure Essential’ and ‘Pure Match’ - which both carry a smaller 52 kWh battery.
And while the cheapest ID.3 used to cost £35,700 as a starting point (for the ‘Pro Essential’ model with a 59 kWh battery), the new 52 kWh ‘Pure Essential’ car begins at £30,850, which is a price drop of almost five grand.
VW can't have failed to notice how the UK leasing market is seeing more and affordable EVs joining the party. Just this week we saw the arrival of the Renault 5 E-Tech, a funky little electric hatch with a decent range and which costs from £22,995 to buy outright.
You might see the refreshed ID.3 line-up as an effort from VW to counteract such threats.
The good news for lease customers is that the range between charges is still strong with the smaller 52 kWh battery.
You’ll get a max of 240 miles between trips to the plug as well as power of 170 PS. Rapid 145 kW DC charging can also replenish the energy from 10 to 80 per cent in 25 minutes - which is ‘just enough time for a cuppa and a sandwich on the go’, says VW.
Sitting a rung up from the base Pure Essential ID.3 is the Pure Match, which costs from £32,210. It adds 18-inch ‘East Derry’ alloys, metallic paint, heated front seats, sat nav, a rear-view camera and tinted windows.
Elsewhere in VW’s range of electric ‘ID’ vehicles, there are also subtle tweaks to the ID.4 and ID.5 offerings.
Like the ID.3, the ID.5 is also being handed a 52 kWh battery. Here you get a range of up to 22 miles between charges. That one starts at £41,050.
Meanwhile the sporty GTX versions of the ID.4 and ID.5 are getting more kit as standard. Those additional creature comforts include an electric tailgate, comfort seats with massage function, a semi-automated driving assistant that blends Adaptive Cruise Control with Lane Keep Assist, and clever self-parking tech.
Order books for all of the above open later this week.
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