What is it?
When VW’s first mass market EV, the Volkswagen ID 3, hit our market 18 months ago, its range structure was almost unbelievably complex. This car was supposed to be about serenity and ease of operation but it seemed to take buyers several evenings of close study to decide whether a Max, a Tour, a Tech, a Family, a Style, a City or a Business was right for them.
Once that was sorted, the buyer then had to decide which weirdly-labelled motor/battery combination was right — Pure Performance, Pro, Pro Performance or Pro S? Oh, and by the way, most ID 3s at that stage were too expensive to attract the Government’s £2500 subsidy for sub-£35,000 EV purchases. Something had to be done to simplify the whole proposition and it has been, for the ’22 model year range recently launched.
It’s still complex, mind. And unforgivably, some 2022 models still aren’t correctly listed on the UK configurator. But with a bit of brain-strain you can now choose your ideal ID 3 in just one evening. The City, Business and Tour have been bundled into a Life model (available with four different powertrain combinations) and for 2022 seven ID 3 models qualify for the government bung.
Even in unadorned form the new Life is very well equipped though confusion still reigns over option choices: extras come in five packs, each of which has a pricier “Pro” version grafted on, but at least choosing wheels and colours is an understandable process.
However the really big news is that for 2022 ID 3 buyers can now buy a clearly defined entry model — the Life Pure Performance — whose sensible spec, steel wheels, lower-powered 148bhp electric motor and most modest 45kWh battery give it the highly attractive starting price of just £27,120 once the subsidy is subtracted.
Join the debate
Add your comment
What does that big black plastic panel on the top of the bonnet do? Can you take it off?
I suspect you can pay more to have that extra panel on the bonnet painted, and even more if you want paint on the boot.
And if the car has just been introduced why is the car photographed a 70 plate, it must have been registered no later than February.
oh, and £28k for a 200 mile range (or 150 in winter). Somehow this makes a Zoe look appealing. That is a mighty achievement
Zoe is great value compared to this, but it is smaller too.
I'm guessing that this is a press car, which would normally have been flogged by now. However, with all these chip shortages, they'll be holding on to them for a bit longer. Thats my guess at least
Pro Performance relates to the faster 201bhp motor.
Also, had a look on VW website, they've removed some trim levels from their configurator! All of the trims available have steel wheels/hubcaps as standard. Must be the chip shortage. The Tour version with the bigger battery looks like it has been dropped