A well balanced and informative video. I have owned a id3 first edition for over a year and certainly agree the software is poor but it is improving with the updates also when you first try the car you tend to try all the gimmicky software features but in normal use you just drive the car and tend to ignore all the added features as it is basically a very easy and straight forward car to drive and it does all the normal features very very well and is perfect for normal family driving where the range is rarely a concern. One feature those new to ev’s won’t expect is the effect that very cold weather has on the range… the car eats battery charge heating up the batteries on cold mornings (

We have driven our id.3 for about 14 days now and its fantastic.We went for the base model with the middle battery.The only problem i've got is i cant stop driving it and once i'm in the driving seat i don't want to get out. One cool car.

I'm so glad someone else is as annoyed by the steering wheel media controls as me! Like you say, this car could be so good. I'm just hoping the 3.0 update that you alluded to will fix a lot of the sluggish infotainment and usability issues

If you use 2 fingers and double tap the red and blue area above the CLIMA and ASSIST buttons it turns on the heated seats without going through the CLIMA screen. If you repeat it cycles to the lower and then the off settings.

Person in charge of audio entertainment - I hear he’s a retired tumbling trampolinist, who does his best creations while twisting & summersaulting on the trampoline. Excellent honest review, thank you.

ID3 is an excellent car, with an excellent range and retail price thanks to that kind of video 😉. Never had major sotware issue in 4000km with the latest update, everyone should make his own opinion trying one for real. My problem with the software is the very poor trip planner. Try it, but you will finally be using ABRP !

I’ve had an ID3 for over a year now and since the 2.1 update last March the infotainment system has been absolutely fine. A little slow to boot but you can do anything you normally want with 1 or 2 clicks. And you can also set shortcuts if required. Issues have been hugely exaggerated imo. As to egolf, it served its purpose, but a purpose built platform is needed to give you the battery size/range and space needed to do longer distances- which most people want occasionally from their car.

Great review, I’m looking at buying an id3, I’ve decided to wait for the software update, then see what people are saying.

I'm sure those radio controls are the same as our Up! GTI and our previous Golf. No issues with software yet on our id.3

We have our id3 since August 2021 and i mostly agree with you . Good car with some software issues to be solved. The strange delay for starting never happened to us, as the car is always ready when you in. There is a power on/off button but it isn't needed for normal use so we never press that button. The niggle I have with the software is that almost each time I get into the car, it pops the question is I want offline or online mode. Of course I want online mode but it won't remember that preference. I do believe the downward tilting side mirrors for parking is a strong you can select in the menus. Although the flow in those menus isn't great.

Yes! EVSteve is back! Your Tesla Model S accident video was the final push to that encouraged me to buy an early 2021 Model S. Although I sold it for the refreshed 2022 Model S, I am now sold on EVs thanks to you. Please keep these videos coming. Thanks!

Thanks for the info and run-through. I'm due delivery this month waited since september

I'd love basically a bigger battery version of my e-golf. Love the car but while charging infrastructure is still as bad as it is for the long journeys I do (North Wales direction) it really has made me want to get an upgrade for that extra range. Really appreciate the honest review here as the systems and buttons are the main things you interact with they do weigh quite heavy in my preferences on what I've been looking at. I'd also really like a car with V2L. If you ever get your hands on the ionic 5 be very interested in your thoughts on that.

Great to see you doing a car review again Steve. I am also a very contented, albeit range-constrained, eGolf leaser and I can totally relate to everything you said. When my lease runs out will probably go down the ID3 route as cannot really justify the expense of a Tesla and I also agree completely that the adaptive cruise control in M3 is not as nice to use as the eGolf. The M3 is great fun to drive, but I’m always a bit nervous about what it’s going to do next. Probably like riding a thoroughbred race horse. Lovey review, has made me less nervous of getting an ID3, many thanks Steve, all the best for 2022

Great review Steve. I got my E Golf based on your review. I was wondering if I’m getting an ID3 when my lease runs out. But you answered ALL my questions. Thank you. Hope my lease goes down in year 3.

Having lived with both the egolf and Id3 your comments are very relatable, those light surrounds around the dome light really annoy me at night! Be glad you didn't have to experience version one of the software! The amount of times it "detected" 100mph speed signs and gave it ago is quite amusing..

Very interesting, Steve. Thanks. Great to see you reviewing from behind the wheel again. Happy Christmas!

commenting for the algorithm gods, great video, I have a 2017 eGolf which I love and was looking forward to the ID.3, sadly I find the interior much worse than the eGolf, I have the same problem with the MK8 GTI. Don't know what VW is thinking the eGolf infontaiment is already faster than most cars I have been in, not sure why they thought they needed it to change.

Thank you for this review. This is VERY unlike the normal YT fanboy rant. So fair! How can that be? You seem to be a chilled guy. Have you reviewed anything else? I will check your videos...

Yes! EV Steve has been reborn!! 😂 Awesome to see you back doing some EV videos buddy 🙂

Great real world review. Re. Regen, as I understand it VW and Porsche etc prefer drivers to use the traditional pedal to brake but this combines regen and brake pads at final push. (Not just brake pads)

Thank you for an excellent and really informative video.

Great review, thanks!

Steve, I've followed (and recommended) your videos on the Gtech ebikes for ages and in 2022 I'll be in the market for a full EV car. I'd been keeping an eye on the ID.3 as well as the Tesla Model 3 but I really want the software to be good. I've had a great physical drive but unreliable s/w for years in my Fords and I want more s/w reliability. I'll watch the news on the March update with great interest and I hope you'll be in a position to do another video then. Thanks for the honest, factual and entertaining videos, sir. I'll stay subscribed!

What software version is yours running? The current 2.3 has quicker startup times 3.0 isn’t necessarily available from March 2022, there's no confirmed date yet Rearrange the icons on the infotainment system to put the most common items you use in the best places for you Make use of the shortcuts when you drag down from the top of the screen, and customise them too Turn off the voice control activation word, then press the steering wheel button when you want it to listen Double tap the heating sliders below the screen with 2 fingers to turn on heated seats Regen on B isn’t customisable today A charge rate of 22mph will be higher in summer when your predicted range is greater, I prefer to think of a 7kW charger adding 12% per hour

Heated seats shortcut: Long press the heptic feedback button under the symbol.

100% agree with your review. I have the car for 7 months now. Biggest pain points in my eyes: software in the car (super slow booting, lags) and mobile app (does like 2 or 3 things, but nothing else). I work in IT and I just shake my head. I wouldn't if they at least monthly deliver some updates, but they do not. I have no real hopes about the software 3.0 as there was almost no change between 2.1 and 2.3.

Great review!

Great video, thanks

Great balanced review. I went to an ID3 from a Model 3 LR AWD and prefer the ID3. My issues with the ID3 are the scheduled charging doesn’t work properly and you cannot preheat the battery whilst plugged in (both issues due to be fixed in V3 🤞🏻). I’m on V2.3 software and honestly don’t have the issues you shown with the lag on the screen.

Excellent fair review. I also have a VW ID.3 Life Performance Pro, incidentally on a 3 year lease. What you have found on the Pros and Cons I would generally agree with. One thing you didn't mention - the Driver Assist feature - it will end up killing you if you trust it to do its job. You are probably used to Tesla Autopilot, which is definitely superior [I know, I've driven a Model 3]. As a basic driving car I've found the ID.3 to be really good fun. It's quick, if not quite Tesla quick. I goes round corners very nicely and fires out of them impressively. And there is that interior space, which is impressive. The visibility is very good overall, although I have my seat position up quite high and the visibility out of the triangular window angles isn't brilliant. At the time of viewing [late Jan 2022] I have all the current software updates, obviously bar the March 2022 one. It really needs a lot of improvement. I know that some people who would consider it a deal breaker. At worst it is ponderous in how long things take to function after an input. And there's the too oft alert that says "this setting is only available with the ignition on", when you might want to change something. The Voice Commands are still a joke. The air-con controls are not available via Voice, for example. And asking the car to Navigate somewhere requires a reverse order, ie, City, Road/Street, Building Name/Number. For example "London, Pall Mall, Buckingham Palace". Why can't it be in the order that everyone uses? It's counter-intuitive. Software that requires a person to hugely adapt to it, to work, is either 20 years out of date or is very poor. This is the latter.

your egolf videos helped me buy mine a year and a half ago! happy to see more car videos! I took a test drive of an ID.3 after obsessing over it for a while, and instantly found it to not be the car for me. Much prefer the egolf interior and build quality and buttons on everything. I nearly lost it when you held up the sheet of paper.... omg I am now in the battle of finding the right gen2 egolf (2017+) to upgrade to from my gen1 egolf, i'd like all the bells and whistles, heat pump, etc :D

i share lot of your frustrations as an ID3 Max owner .. i am missing stronger B like i had in my eUP

Oooh a car video again! Lovely to see :D

Good review have been looking at these.

Great video!

Love the review. Great work - definitely following. I sold a Tiguan to buy an ID.3 Pro S Tour 77kWh in November. It’s definitely smaller inside than the Tiguan, but my son is 6’6” and he says it’s fine in the back. Things I love in the Pro S: the heads up display is brilliant; the electric massage seats are just gorgeous. The sheer comfort on long journeys is amazing. All the climate controls work on voice control - and they work beautifully. Tell it your hands are cold and it will warm your hands. 💕 The heated seats: tap temp up and down simultaneously and they will turn on. Also, you can program the car to have them automatically turn on when you get in. Things I hate: the 77kWh is 2.25 tonnes, and you can feel that weight, especially on wet or bumpy roads. It isn’t as well sorted as the 58kWh car. The 77 also only has two seats in the back. And FYI - I charge mine with a 3-pin at home. This is our 4th EV, but the first as a “main” car. It is better than any other car we have owned. It does everything we want from a car.

Really great and informative video Steve - many thanks!

Loved your honesty

Really interesting video!

I really enjoyed this review and as a result I pick my id3 up next week.

Great video. I've got a golf 7.5 and I'd find much of what you've covered here completely infuriating. I've had 3 VW's in a row, but I think I'll switch brand after this.

That point you made about the dipping mirror was the same in my 1998 Škoda Octavia, and the 4 subsequent octavias and my 2011 Škoda Yeti. It's just the way VW cars have operated for at least three last 24 years. Not sure why the id3 would be different.

You missed one of the vital points of the ID.3 regenetative braking. Stick it i D mode and enable ACC. You dont have to SET a speed. In traffic, just take your foot off the accelerator, and ACC will do the regenetative braking for you. Great for at smooth ride. (And yes, the volume controlls on the steringweel is complete awfull)

Great stuff

Had my id3 for a week and the big issues you mention are sorted. I turned off the voice activation though, it was always chiming in. My biggest gripe now is that if anyone sends me a text apple car play pops up. I would rather it didn't unless i select it. If anyone knows how to sort this please let me know.

If you go into settings you have the option to have your mirror dip when reversing permanently. Mine does.

Next week I pick up this car and I wonder how those all season tyres hold up

My comments on the ID3 mirror those of others. Do VW engineers read these forums? Will the upcoming software address the niggles? I guess we will have to wait and see but I'm not holding my breath. I have two other gripes. Why are the heating controls not lit in the dark (or am I missing a button to press hidden away in the menus?) and secondly why can't I have a odometer on the pod screen that stays on all the time? The ability to customise the screen more effectively would be most welcome. Winter Range. I was getting c 4.5miles/kWh in the summer and this has dropped to between 2.5 and 3 in the winter. I keep the car garaged overnight to avoid frosty mornings. I have fitted Vredstein winter tyres and this seems to have had a negative hit. Tyre life. The original tyres had done 12000 miles and were down to the tread wear limit. In fact I was lucky to get that far on them as when it went in to VW for the V2.0 software upgrade a nice free 'health check' recorded that the tyres were between 50-60% worn after 2,500 miles. When I queried this with the dealer saying this suggested a life of c 5,000 miles for the tyres I was told, in a rather patronising way, that 'I didn't understand the figures and there's nothing to worry about'. Querying this with VW produced an 'off the shelf answer' saying it was simply down to my style of driving and the road surfaces. I would add that I've had a Tiguan from new and have just changed the front tyres at 30,000 miles and the rear have plenty of tread left. Overall though, it's a lovely car to drive..and thanks for the videos

I presume the lack of strong regen braking is due to the rear mounted motor - putting heavy regen on the rear is going to reduce stability compared to a fwd EV or AWD

genuinely think that the steering wheel audio controls might stop me from taking this car for a test drive. would drive me crazy

Quick question. Does it have the auto hold hand brake function that the egolf does? Really useful on my egolf.

Great video Steve, what is a flexible lease and who do you use ?

It's a VW, so if you think they'll fix the bizarre firmware quirks, I think you'll be disappointed. My petrol Golf mk7 does a number of annoying things, and despite reporting them in 2018, absolutely none have been fixed - I like to drive it in Eco mode, currently with Stop/Start off (as it spends most of it's time infrequently doing short journeys and I want to keep the battery topped up). It forgets the stop/start settings every re-start, defaulting to "on" every time I start. Eco mode sticks, except that it isn't actually in Eco mode - it doesn't coast after restarting unless I re-select Eco mode again. So every time I start it, I have to re-select Eco mode, and then turn off Stop/Start. Stop/Start mode can sometimes be laggy to engage too, so you press the button, and it doesn't change the dash or button state; so you press it again and then it acts like you double pressed. That's my biggest grumble with it as a car, the firmware is annoying. It's excellent otherwise; performs well, drives well, handles well, and it's quiet and very well built. I'd happily buy another, but I am so tempted to have a go at cracking the firmware so I can fix the annoying quirks...

Is the v3 software a dealer install ? How do you get it as dealer knows nothing

I'm from the future and this is how things are now. Electricity prices are through the roof, those who could afford it downloaded OTA update but mirrors won't fold until next update, the rest of us are riding horses now, so next up are hey reviews.

Hey Steve I ordered a Tour Pro S so this info has been really help full! I see you got a Tesla Wall charger can you confirm for me if that wall charger connects and charges the ID. 3?

Probably my next car but they will have to solve those stupid problems, and there seems to have quite a few. Very surprised that after all their pre-market testing, that these stupid issues even exist.

VW has a nasty habit in pushing products onto the market, which have not been fully tested/developed yet. Just wait a couple of years and then the EV's from VW will hopefully give less trouble... (and have a lower salesprice!).

Why they couldn't have put the E-Golf specs into the ID3 is beyond me!? It smacks a little of techies who don't drive, managed by accountants, designing the car! I can't charge at home, but will be prepared to charge at my Mum's and Tesco for free. I only cover about 40 miles per week, but have 5 or 6, 300 mile trips a year, so need a longer range ev. I can't afford to buy a longer range ev, so the bigger batteried golf would be out and I don't like the initial rental fees with leases. My company, has a good salary sacrifice scheme though - with the 40kwh Leaf available for £180/month and the ID3 Life 58kwh for £222/month, so I will probably go the company car route - I guess they're so cheap(ish) at the moment because of their individual problems!? If only they could sort the software out? Did this car come with the 2.3 update on it? I heard it was mainly for performance etc, why not sort the naff infotainment out?

Great review! Can I ask what car you’re waiting for? I’ve had my Model 3 since May and love it but I’m already on the look out again.

It’s ironic that the life trim seat trims are better than the rest of the range , I personally opted for a id4 awd for my car in the states but my test in the U.K. if a launch id3 was less than impressive I honestly think the infotainment is worse than the egolf and seriously needs a processor upgrade, it crashed 4 times in the test. The heat pump broke only blowing out cold air . The things I say need fixing are as follows 1 vw stop shortchanging U.K. owners with half a glove box because you won’t move the fuse box , 2 allow potential owners to have a light roof line including trim on the A pillar and door cards 3 fix the infotainment vw it’s essential and please give us back proper volume controls that that haptic that never works in the cold or with anyone with poor circulation. (thats 20% of anyone over 40 not just the retired ) and why oh why did you remove the 4 window down switches it’s a sad day when a the accountant wants to save a few penny’s , put them back on the car buyers will thank you and final request move the hazard lights I fed up turning them on when I have to rest my hand over a pot holed road

Isn’t the Tesla a lot more expensive then the id3 ? Hard to compare the two models

What about the silly wipers?

Still on 2.1….disappointing…. but still a super car in many ways.

E Golf for me please!

This is truly horrifying. Most of us would agree that using a hand held mobile phone when driving is dangerous and, quite rightly, illegal. If we have to allow these faulty cars into the country (why), shouldn't it be made illegal to operate most of the screen based controls while driving?

everything is good, but the mic could be a lavalier!

Clima happens to be the German word.

Vw and there tech isn't the best is it, well if the reconnect app is anything to go by, Vw could've captured the uk EV market if they'd only gone and made a MK8 e-golf, you watch how well the renault 5 electric car will sell when that's released next year i think, so ive another year left on my egolf lease, i can keep it but if i don't id probably got for a ionic 5 or maybe a ev6. Surely once new ICE cars are banned they'll have to make another e golf won't they?

Excellent presentation, but I was hoping to see you take it for a spin. Yes it is a shame and very disappointing that VW did not get the software and controls "right" from the start. They seemed to have hired a bunch of average and too young kids to code the software and make the controls more like a video game instead of simple and intuitive. My 2019 Golf is a pleasure to use because there are no annoying controls or goofy software. I guess by 2024 they may redo the controls and software completely, because the basic car is just fine.

We've had an ID3 since Nov 2020 and also run a Tesla Model 3. I think your review is very balanced and informative. I agree that the car overall is well engineered and built, but badly let down by the software. It's as if VW brought in the A team to do the basic car design but went to the cheapest outsourcing company they could find to write the software. Worse, I think they brought in from retirement the UI team who won the award for best design in 1989 to design the user interface. It's really that bad. But you eventually get used to the annoyances and you can't argue about the car's refinement or driving poise - both of which are better than the Tesla Model 3, even if the overall handling would leave hard core drivers a bit dissatisfied. But to judge it on those terms would be unfair - this is a family hatchback, not a performance saloon. My BIG worry though is that VW have realised they can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear - and in this case the sow's ear is the whole computing platform in these cars - the hardware, the OS, the UI framework, the app framework etc. VW's new software group (CARIAD) have already announced their roadmap and it's clear that the ID3 won't be getting too many more updates after this next one (3.0). And based on their performance to date - 3 releases in 18 months - I'm not confident it'll amount to much. By comparison, our Tesla has had 47 updates in just over two years and is today a better car in many ways than it was when I got it. This is VW's biggest corporate challenge in my view. Building a new platform is probably right for them, but us ID3 (and ID4) owners will I fear be left with cars running obsolete software before 2022 is out. A software platform for the Covid era!

Cheap and nasty inside , hard plastics and bare metal , on a very expensive car ! And don’t get me started on that dashboard.

Such a tragedy. Forgetting the crazy cost and complete lack of ANY EV's for delivery inside a year, I want to give VW a fair crack but the software is just appalling. It looks inside like a Nissan circa 1980 and where can you rely on a working, available fast charger? If I had a smallish fortune I would have to get the awful looking, too low Yank 3, but with fart sounds disabled. Why do none of you 'expert journos' mention the total lack of product for delivery inside at least 12 months and the crucial fact the Octopus GO tariff has gone last autumn?