10 stars of 2020
01 Volkswagen ID.3
WHAT IS IT?
The opening EV salvo from an automotive giant that’s betting the farm on electrification. This Golf-sized five seater is the first vehicle to be built on VW’s new MEB architecture, which will underpin at least five all-new EVs to be rolled out over the next few years. The ID.3 is rear-drive, thanks to its aft-mount motor that produces 150kW/310Nm, and globally, the car will be offered with three battery sizes: 45, 58 and 77kW/h. Locally, the talk is of a sub-$50K tag when it eventually goes on sale here.
WHY WE’RE EXCITED
If the senior brass at VW can be believed, (no Dieselgate quips please…) the ID.3 will have exterior dimensions as compact as a Golf, interior space closer to a Passat, and deliver the performance punch of a Golf GTI.
Further, the ID.3 has the potential to be the best-realised ‘affordable’ EV on the Australian market, delivering a design freshness and crisp dynamics missing from the dowdy Nissan Leaf. Fact is, this class of car is arguably best placed to take advantage of an EV powertrain: used mainly in an urban environment, where the instant torque and single-speed transmission is best appreciated, and mostly charged from home, negating any potential public-charger drawbacks.
