Volkswagen Unveil ID 3

[Wooloomooloo]

So VW has opened pre-orders for the ID 3 and by all accounts the special edition version is doing well.

I have to be honest, I have a personal soft-spot for VW, I was heartbroken about Diesel-Gate which was a big reason I bought a Tesla ultimately. When I was a kid, everyone had posters of Porches, Lambos and Ferraris on their walls, but I wanted a Golf GTI (a pragmatist even at 8 years old).

Funnily enough, the car I traded in for my Model 3 Performance was a Golf GTI, and I still think it is one of the most driveable/practical cars you can buy today, and you have to spend a LOT to get something better in that class.

Anyway, personal feelings aside, one has to think that VW is probably going to be Tesla's biggest competitor in the near to mid-term. They have loyal customers in Europe (I'm originally from the UK), they can afford to position bost mass-market cars under the VW brand, as well as up-market models via Porsche and Audi using the same underlying technology, so plenty of synergies, and they're the only car company who has taken building a charging network seriously, although in the US that's all part of the diesel scandal payback. But still, they're doing it.

In autonomy, they may not be in the game yet, but I would not under-estimate their ability to join the party with Tesla and help grow the market. Personally I think it's great that the world's 2nd larget manufacturer of cars is going "all-in" on electric.

 

[Tiger]

I personally, am not huge fan of brand loyalty. I'd buy ANY ev which fulfills the following:

• stabilized build quality, skip first 1,5 model years (ev build specifically)
  
• 7 seater suv
• sub 3 seconds 0-60mph
• 400 miles range
• 8 year warranty or better (1 million miles would be ok)
  
• 600 mph charging rate and chargers abundantly located, chargers in every city at every time of the day 365 days a year (and queues shoud max be similar to gas stations)
  
• serviceability, either mobile service at home or service center within 2h drive from home
• 5-star safety rating, all typical modern driver assist functionalities
• good perceived quality in terms of soft touch
  
• preferably good road/wind noise sound attenuation and a good stereo, but these can be installed aftermarket

I would not care what brand, what looks, and what price, so long as it is not much more expensive than a more or less equivalent ICE.

 

[Wooloomooloo]

I would not care what brand, what looks, and what price, so long as it is not much more expensive than a more or less equivalent ICE.

I think the vast majority of people are the same - perceived loyalty is often more of a habit than real loyalty, but there are always going to be people that tick with brands for whatever reason.