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VW ID.3 Preview event in London on 25th January, fancy going?

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So the event started at 11 and lasted until 12:30ish. We hung around for another hour to mingle and chat with Jonny Smith.

The event itself was just a PR shindig, to repeat most of the things you can find on the VW website and elsewhere.

They did have one ID.3 on show, but it was a preproduction LHD model, which we weren’t allowed to open the boot. Alas no test drive either.

They did announce some new information here as well to be fair.

Firstly price. The 1st Edition model (the launch car which is basically the 2nd top trim/model) will cost just under £36k after the government grant. I take that to mean £35,999 or thereabouts. So just under the “Luxury” car tax bracket.

The 1st edition will be the only car being delivered during the launch period, with no firm dates on when the other trims will go into production.

Talking of the product line; VW will start producing the cars so that deliveries can begin in Q3 (any time between July and September). As VW are the official car partner for Euro 2020, the ID.3 will be heavily promoted during the tournament and there will be a number of them on the road around Europe to transport VIPs, including in London where the semi finals and final will take place.

VW will send out emails to 1st edition reservation holders towards the end of Q1 (basically in March), to configure their car interior and paint colour choices. There will be a five week window for these customers to confirm their orders, failure to do so within that time frame will result in the reservation holder losing their place in the production line.

Reservation holders may be able to opt for a different trim other than the 1st Edition. However these will only go into production once all the 1st edition vehicles have been built.

The car itself looked and felt well built, even though it was a preproduction model. However, it didn’t feel as lush or premium as my M3 SR+. I was surprised that the model on show did not have power adjust seats or steering column (not sure if the UK 1st Edition will be the same). They had a cool HUD demo stand, but apparently this will not be available for the 1st edition cars.

I could not get any confirmation able the possibility that Long Range models might only have 4 seats to accommodate the larger battery pack.

All in all the event was nice. But I’ve come away a bit disappointed that this car will cost almost as much as a M3 SR+, which in my biased opinion a way better car. I know there will be 2/3 lower trim models that hopefully will be a bit cheaper. But those will have lower range and power.

Thanks again to @IanB for getting me the invite.

Couple more details:

VW will have 2 connected services
We Connect: remote car app to control things like charging schedule, locking/unlocking and preheating/precooling.

We Charge: a charging service that will allow owners to use all public chargers (EU wide) that VW managed to sign up, including IONITY, so that they can handling billing through one monthly payment instead of having to sign up to all the charge providers separately.

Additionally, VW will give all 1st Edition owners 2000 kWh of free charging for the first year from any of the public chargers that are part of the We Charge Service.

VW will also be selling their own “connected” home charger that will apparently work with better synergy with the ID.3 than using a universal one from Pod-Point, AO, Rolec etc.
 
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That’s the thing, circa £36k for a first edition with a decent spec. Yes there are lower trim alternatives, but will require delving into the options list, pushing the price up. Also no HUD available is just awful.

This is a very expensive car once you have a decent spec.

Another thing baffling me is that a Tesco near me has just had ‘VW’ chargers installed. But its free and anyone can use them. Presumably one these get on the road, they will charge for non VW folk, so the charging industry proliferates further. Will car brand be linked to the shop you prefer to go to in the future. Crazy and doesn’t bode well for the long term. Baffled EV drivers with wide array of restrictions to charge. Awful.
 
...

Another thing baffling me is that a Tesco near me has just had ‘VW’ chargers installed. But its free and anyone can use them. Presumably one these get on the road, they will charge for non VW folk, so the charging industry proliferates further. Will car brand be linked to the shop you prefer to go to in the future. Crazy and doesn’t bode well for the long term. Baffled EV drivers with wide array of restrictions to charge. Awful.

I believe that this will not be the case. VW, Pod-Point and Tesco have partnered together to install these charging points at Tesco car parks.

But these will remains free to use by all EVs. Tesco will pay for the electricity, VW and Pod-Point paid for the installation. Tesco hope to get more shoppers, VW get a free ad billboard, and Pod-Point get more customer awareness.
 
I believe that this will not be the case. VW, Pod-Point and Tesco have partnered together to install these charging points at Tesco car parks.

But these will remains free to use by all EVs. Tesco will pay for the electricity, VW and Pod-Point paid for the installation. Tesco hope to get more shoppers, VW get a free ad billboard, and Pod-Point get more customer awareness.

fair... but I’m cynical. I hope this is the case. VW don’t need billboards in Tesco car parks surely. It must be linked to a longer term strategy.
 
We Charge: a charging service that will allow owners to use all public chargers (EU wide) that VW managed to sign up, including IONITY, so that they can handling billing through one monthly payment instead of having to sign up to all the charge providers separately.

This is the sort of thing that can help adoption of EVs, assuming they don't mess it up.
Plug car in, charger screen confirms price/kWh and indicative cost for a 100% charge*, you press agree & start

*This is because many EV drivers won't have a clue how big their batteries are. With a petrol pump you're standing there squeezing a handle while the cost goes up whereas in an EV you might come back to find a £25 quid bill for leaving the car on an expensive charger while you were off having a cuppa.
 
I'm feeling a bit underwhelmed by the ID3 at the moment. Range looks to be poor, price is high, and it sounds like there are messy compromises where it comes to battery size vs load capacity. The interior is a bit marmite too. And that's before you even start thinking about public charging. I think if I had to choose a car in the ~£40k bracket, it would be the Model 3 SR+, not the ID3.
 
If that is the boot it looks tiny with no false floor, I recon its not much larger than the boot in our X in 6 seater config. Looks like VW have really struggle to get a big enough battery for the range into a smallish car and the packaging has been compromised as a result.

Have you looked inside a Golf? Millions and millions of people happy with those over the years and seem to manage as a family car. When I was young, our family car was a Mini which gave us many years of long distance holidays 4 up.

From Golf 2018 review. I don't see Id.3 being significantly different.
upload_2020-1-27_7-53-41.png


Battery is under the floor - longer range battery just extends the proportion of the under floor that has battery beneath. It has motor in the rear, which, like Tesla, encroaches on low down boot space. In launch version, not all underfloor packs are populated - so room to increase battery capacity easily.

VW I.D. BEV Concept Chassis - Drivetrain Cutaway | CleanMPG

upload_2020-1-27_7-55-5.png
 
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I'd better withdraw the above bit about Ionity, as it seems they are charging a pretty staggering £0.67/kWh.

If going directly through them without a subscription (if you have a car from one of the manufacturers sponsoring them, that does not apply).

Get a Maingau pass as I did and it's €0.35 per kWh over here even when you have an Evil Tesla.
 
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If that is the boot it looks tiny with no false floor, I recon its not much larger than the boot in our X in 6 seater config. Looks like VW have really struggle to get a big enough battery for the range into a smallish car and the packaging has been compromised as a result.

Well, in our day .... this was my parents, me, my brother, the dog, the cat in an orange box on the boot lid ... about to set off for Scotland!
minimove.jpg
 
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