Powerful VW ID.3 GTX Performance arrives!

• Range-topping VW ID.3 GTX Performance arrives in style
• On sale at the end of the month from £46,225
• Electric counterpart to the VW Golf GTI Clubsport
• Gets power of 326 PS

Pace, power and practicality - say hello to the new Volkswagen ID.3 GTX Performance.

Ever since the fully electric VW ID.3 first went on sale back in 2020, VW fans have been clamouring for a saucier, more potent version.

And here it is - the GTX Performance, which goes on sale at the end of the month with an asking price of £46,225.

The regular, common-or-garden ID.3 gets max power of 204 PS and a 0-62 mph acceleration time of 8.2 seconds.

The range-topping GTX Performance variant, however, improves on that considerably.

An 79 kWh battery equates to power of 326 PS, 545 Nm of torque, and the ability to sprint from zero to 62 mph in just 5.7 seconds.

That makes it quicker than a VW Golf GTI, more powerful than then 300 PS Golf GTI Clubsport, and only marginally slower than it.

No wonder, then, that Volkswagen reckons the ID.3 GTX Performance is the ‘electric counterpart to the Golf GTI Clubsport’. The ID.3’s 385-litre boot is also slightly bigger than the one you get in the Golf, too, which is another big tick in the EV’s box.

Kai Grünitz, Member of the Volkswagen Brand Board of Management responsible for Technical Development, said: “The ID.3 GTX Performance is, for me, the electric counterpart to the Golf GTI Clubsport. Of course, an electric drive and a turbocharged petrol engine each have their own unique character. Yet the ID.3 GTX Performance and the Golf GTI Clubsport share the same fascinating lightness when they accelerate. Volkswagen is transferring the almost 50-year tradition of its compact GT models into the world of electric mobility. Driving pleasure is guaranteed.”

Contributing to that ‘driving pleasure’ are sports suspension and VW’s DCC adaptive chassis control system, which come as standard with the GTX Performance.

You get a range of up to 369 miles between charges while the battery can be taken from 10 to 80 per cent full in just 26 minutes thanks to 185 kW DC charging capabilities.

The exterior features special GTX styling - including 20-inch black alloy wheels and a unique front bumper - while the cabin enjoys sports seats, a GTX multi-function steering wheel, a GTX-specific cockpit surface, a Harman Kardon sound system and an augmented-reality head-up display.

One of the ID.3 GTX Performance’s biggest rivals will be the CUPRA Born - with both cars sharing the same underpinnings.

For comparison purposes, the top-rung 'VZ' CUPRA Born (launched earlier this year) gets identical sporting stats to the GTX Performance - ie, power of 326 PS and a 5.6-second sprint from 0-62 mph.

For other options, you might also want to take a look at the bonkers MG4 XPOWER, which gets 435 PS and is almost as quick off the mark as a Porsche Taycan 4S!

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