Volkswagen ID.3 Forum

Hi all, hopefully have a Glacier white Max coming soon (Plan car leasing).

Bit annoyed that the Max comes with the most basic 'Aero steel' wheels, which don't look particularly good and therefore looking to get these changed.

Do the 'Aero steels with bi-colour wheel trims' look that much better in person?

Any other third-party alloys that look better than the Aero?

The East Derry cost more than I'd like to spend on a lease car.

Thanks.

The black and silver VW trims are a BIG improvement. I’ve had them on mine since day 1 of ownership (July 21) and in the flesh they work well.

Echo your sentiment that a nearly £40k car doesn't come with alloys. Especially since cars nearly £10k cheaper do come with alloys.

Someone on speakev.com shared how the other trims look:





I do think they look better but somehow they more easily betray the fact that they are just wheel covers and not alloys.

BTW - those steel wheels with (either) hubcap are worth 0.02 - 0.03 off the drag coefficient compared to the alloys...

BTW2 - having scraped my plastic wheel trims 2-3 times now on sharp sticky out kerbs (I HATE YOU B&Q car park...) I am very glad I've scraped my £20-30 trim rather than £500 alloy....

rikimaru wrote: ↑Tue May 17, 2022 9:27 am Echo your sentiment that a nearly £40k car doesn't come with alloys. Especially since cars nearly £10k cheaper do come with alloys.

Someone on speakev.com shared how the other trims look:





I do think they look better but somehow they more easily betray the fact that they are just wheel covers and not alloys.

When I ordered my Max I couldn't believe that alloys were extra.

I am in the same boat and just as surprised haha. Probably keep it for a little to get used to and then look for something that looks a bit nicer :p

Might put them back on during winter for the extra (tiny bit of) range haha!

To be fair - if I paid £40k for an id3 I’d expect it to have alloys… but I paid a lot lot less than that for mine (it is a lowly life pro) so really don’t mind!

My car fanatic friends 8yo daughter said ‘cool wheels’ as the first thing when she saw it… so I’ll take that compliment

MotMot wrote: ↑Tue May 17, 2022 5:13 pm To be fair - if I paid £40k for an id3 I’d expect it to have alloys… but I paid a lot lot less than that for mine (it is a lowly life pro) so really don’t mind!

My car fanatic friends 8yo daughter said ‘cool wheels’ as the first thing when she saw it… so I’ll take that compliment

I get what you're saying. I just took it for granted that alloys were standard on the majority of new cars.. it has been in my experience. I noticed that one of the id3 trims alloys come with the car.

Haha that's a bonus that you have a fan of the wheels, definitely a compliment.

My car looks exactly like the first picture with the standard wheels and was wondering how much it would cost me to upgrade to alloys - just out of interest…. However I have got used to them now and actually quite like them! And as the previous poster mentions, any extra miles has got to be good right?!? Also we have a lot of high kerbs round here so if I do scratch them, it’s a lot lot cheaper to replace! They’ve certainly grown on me !

The ID3 feels a lot wider than my old Corsa, I haven’t hit a curb in 7/8 years of driving. Then with the ID3, day 2 and I hit a curb haha!
At least it is only very minor and can only really see if you stare at it haha!
Think I will keep the steel wheels because like @rmrpanda the wheels are actually growing on me haha!

I don't mind the steel wheels and plastic covers on our ID3. It is white so maybe that's part of it.

Anyway, I think they suit the appliance like nature of the ID3. They also prepare one for the decidedly utilitarian interior.

Hypercube wrote: ↑Wed May 25, 2022 10:39 am I don't mind the steel wheels and plastic covers on our ID3. It is white so maybe that's part of it.

Anyway, I think they suit the appliance like nature of the ID3. They also prepare one for the decidedly utilitarian interior.

I agree.

I am aware my ID.3 is a lowly entry model but the wheels and caps look right on my car (Scale Silver).

Whilst I don't tend to kerb wheels I am quite relieved that I don't have to consider replacing expensive alloys.

I suppose its horses for courses.

I have seen some superb looking alloys on many ID.3s and they look great so I am not dissing them.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Precisely why my wife married me!!

motmot; thanks for the comment earlier re cd difference between 'bin-lid' wheels and 'alloys'. fwiw, where does that value come from - it seems a rather large drag (coefficient) difference, i'd have expected 0.002 to 0.003 ?
atb - ttp

It was via this article - which was open but now seems paywalled sorry

https://www.springerprofessional.de/en/ ... r/18323254

In a way the rise of the 19/20/21/22 inch alloy wheel coincides with the rise in the cost of vehicles and they way that they are now seen as as extension of the owner's 'worth' (Instagram worth, not monetary).

I have read many comments with people expressing their desire to only have huge alloys as 'anything less than 20's are not worth having' and somehow belittle the owner in the eyes of other road users.

Don't want to seem like I am stereotyping, but BMW's and Landrover products do tend to have massive alloys. Just saying...

Personally I love the bin-lid wheels for all of the reasons above: cheap to replace a cover if I kerb it, really easy to clean (some alloys seemed to be deliberately designed to be as awkward as possible to get clean) and the 18-inch wheels have sensible 55-profile tyres, adequate for the huge number of cavernous potholes in my area of the world (the local authority 'doesn't do' pothole repairs as a matter of policy, it seems, but they love painting random white lines on roundabouts and claim how wonderful the new layout is)

thanks, motmot.

I’ve got a set of momo revenge 18”, including tyres in black. 07985 749804 £750 (wheels and tyres)

Now that I have my ID.3 Max, I have to admit the "Aero Steels" don't look as bad in person as they did in the photos, and are growing on me.

Debating whether it's worth paying £160 odd for the black/silver two tone ones.

Just for anyone thinking about replacing their plastic trims, I did with the Loen 18" alloys on my Max and IMO it looks much better!