2019 Volkswagen ID.3 58 KWh RWD (145 HP)

Vehicle Overview

Volkswagen launched the ID.3 in the Fall of 2019 at the Frankfurt Motor Show, thus revealing the first product based on the MEB platform, designed especially for electric vehicles.

While it wasn’t the first full-electric vehicle built by the German automaker, the ID.3 didn’t use an adapted platform, as was the case with the Golf EV or the e-UP! Moreover, the new base helped the automaker create a small-sized vehicle with a wheelbase suitable for a mid-size sedan.

The ID.3 represented a new beginning for the German brand, and it had to look different than the rest of its siblings. Its front fascia featured just a small grille on the lower side of the bumper, while the headlights sported a surrounding LED daytime running light signature. From its profile, the EV showed its short front side and the raked, wide windshield that started the shape of the arched roofline for the greenhouse. At the back, the raked-forward tailgate completed the image of this small-sized hatchback.

Inside, due to the 2.77 m (9.1 ft) long wheelbase, the automaker was able to create a spacious cabin. At the front, there was a pair of bolstered bucket seats separated by a tall center console that hosted cup holders and two other storage compartments, but no shifter. Fronting the driver was a trapezoidal LCD for the instrument panel, while atop the center stack, Volkswagen installed a second screen tilted toward the driver for the infotainment system. At the back, thanks to the flat floor, there was enough room for three passengers on the split-folding bench-seat.

Volkswagen installed the motor under the trunk’s floor, in the back. That sent the 204 PS (201 hp) to the rear wheels and was fed by choice of three battery packs: a 45 kWh, a 58 kWh, and a 77 kWh, respectively.