Volkswagen ID.3 Forum

Hi,
my old diesel car is now looking a bit tatty and may not last another winter so was thinking about a 4 year lease via my work

i know absolutely zero on electric cars, just that the money i currently spend on road tax, insurance, fuel would be drastically cut making the id.3 affordable to me and that's not including any maintenance and repairs on my old car, but no way could i buy one though, way out of my price range

1st thing,
what's the main difference between the range,
i see 4 models available on the lease site linked from my workplace ranging from £242 pm to £255 pm with the family pro the highest cost

2nd is charging,
i don't usually drive on many long trips but i use my car almost every day, how do those chargers in say tesco's work and how much charge will it give in around 30-60mins whilst i shop and have a cuppa?
i'd still end up having an home charger fitted, but if it's free electric at tesco and also get a prime parking spot
also how much on average does it cost for a standard home charger fitted? i've read about a gov't grant towards it but says "upto" in grants

3rd and probably the most important,
i've been driving for nearly 30yrs and never ever used an automatic car and this 1 doesn't even have a gear stick, what the heck happens to your left hand and foot!
i've booked a 3 day demo of the 150kW Life Pro Performance 62kWh 5dr Auto in a few weeks and worried that if i don't take to it within that time it'll put me off, just thinking about reverse parking or a 3 point turn which i can do blindfolded seems a tad tricky with switches behind the wheel

ta

1. Look on the VW uk website and choose build a car. You can pick the different trim levels for the ID3 and see what they contain. You also need to look at packs for options. Basically the lowest model the life is very well specced, much in the family is not that useful to me, but there are some useful things, eg speakers in the back and tinted windows. If it’s only 10 a month I would get the family. There are 3 batteries, 45,58 and 72. The 72 only has 2 seats in the rear, not three. The 58 is more then enough for the driving you describe. There are two motors, the 150ps and 204ps. Both are quite fast but I like the faster one more.

2. It sounds like you will only need a home charger. The car car be charged every 2-3 weeks with low mileage or more often depending on your daily drive. Tesco sounds good but the car parks normally have a time limit and the chargers might not be available. I wouldn’t use it for regular charging. Generally every non-free charger will be much more expensive then your own house. If the charger can be mounted on the same wall as your electric meter or front of the house it will start at around £550 inc gov grant.

3. Once you drive an auto there is no going back

1. There are 3 battery sizes with different ranges: 45kWh, 58kWh, and 77kWh (usable), just think of them being like a different size fuel tank in your diesel car. The smallest battery will give you maybe 140-180 miles most of the year, the middle will be maybe 180-230 miles most of the year, and largest maybe 230-280 most of the year. They’re all better in the summer and worse in the winter.

2. Tesco chargers are most often 7kW, they’re really only for topping up what you use to get to and from the store, they’ll add 25-30 miles of range in 1 hour at most. Most home chargers cost less than £600 after the government grant, but the convenience of just plugging in overnight and the cost on an off-peak electricity tariff is well worth it.

3. Your left hand stays on the wheel, controls the infotainment screen and sat nav, helps you drink tea or coffee, or just nothing at all with your arm on the armrest. Your left foot enjoys the ride, maybe tapping along to whatever is on the radio.

You’ve done well to get a 3-day test drive, make the most of it, you will definitely know if the car is for you, there’s a lot of tech to get used to but try not to get bogged down by the “new-ness” of it all.

thanks for the reply,
i'll look in to the charging options once i've decided after the test drive, and my meter is at the front a few yards from where my car is,
the model i'd be looking at is the Volkswagen ID.3 5 Door 145PS Family Pro Auto
it's the getting used to automatic that worries

I switched to automatic for my previous car, a Mercedes C-class diesel, I’ll never go back to manual.

korky wrote: ↑Wed Jul 14, 2021 9:54 pm thanks for the reply,
i'll look in to the charging options once i've decided after the test drive, and my meter is at the front a few yards from where my car is,
the model i'd be looking at is the Volkswagen ID.3 5 Door 145PS Family Pro Auto
it's the getting used to automatic that worries

I have been driving for 53 years and a dyed in the wool manual driver. My first modern auto was a BMW Z4 in 2015 that I still drive with the manual option and paddles. The EV drive is not comparable with anything else I have ever driven.
The motor that spins up from zero to max speed constantly engaged with the wheels silently delivering diesel like torque instantly when you press the pedal is the Wow factor. It is the ultimate auto. I describe my experience of my ID3 as a quantum leap forward in motoring. I could never go back. The drive is not comparable with an ICE manual or auto.
Will you miss the manual drive? I doubt it.
Will you get used to it? Seconds after the first Wow.

1. You have to think between 20 and 80% of battery. You hardly ever charge it to 80% to protect the life of the battery. In winter this means that from 8p% charge you'll be looking at 150 miles range, 190 ish in the summer motorways this will reduce. Also you don't want to go too flat under 20% unless you have to. so I recommend the 58 kw. I have that, I normally charge it once a week.

2. Tesco normally have either 7kw or 22kw chargers and I use them when I go shopping. 7kw is the same as at home. It will add 7kw in one hour, between 24 and 30 miles of range depending if its winter or summer. 22kw, you only get 11kw as its alternating current and the ID3 can only take 11 Ac (100 dc on rapid chargers). When it was hot yesterday on the 11kw I added 43 miles of range from that in an hour. It's a bonus of shopping there for me, I don't rely on it.

3. I've only ever owned manual cars. Will never go back unless I'm on a track. Its so effortless to drive these cars.

I used to get charged at Tesco but of late most times I go the four chargers are all taken. Usually by families in Teslas watching movies.

thanks for all the replies
just noticed a lidl even closer to me has charging points too, test drive in 2 weeks, will probably need to use it to make sure i leave enough charge for them to drive it back
do you need to register to use the (pod-point) or just drive in a plug in, had a brief look at 1 and there's a screen and looks like you need their app?

Unfortunately all the charging providers have different ways of doing it. Pod point you need the app, but no subscription. BP pulse is payg or subs and you don't need the app for payg. Source london is payg without an app but its terribly expensive, for £10 one off you get a better rate but it takes 5 days to register. I haven't used any others yet

Podpoint app is alright - worked fine at a Lidl near me (in fact its not charged me yet... for two dollops of 30kw...)
(yet!)

just driven it for an hour, can't believe how easy it was and how smooth to drive, really expected to be wanting to use my left side but nothing,
will park up in tescos later and try out the charger, got it until wednesday so will have a better idea but 1st impression is great

korky wrote: ↑Mon Aug 02, 2021 9:43 am just driven it for an hour, can't believe how easy it was and how smooth to drive, really expected to be wanting to use my left side but nothing,
will park up in tescos later and try out the charger, got it until wednesday so will have a better idea but 1st impression is great

The ID3 is a revelation, particularly if you come from an ICE. My wife has no interest in cars, but she has been making up journeys just so she can drive it

just took it for a last spin before it goes back in the morning and though the wife's not driven it, she likes it too, but maybe not me driving it,
i currently have a 2.2 civic and although i hardly ever put the foot down, it's nice that it's there when needed and she always grabs hold of something if i'm overtaking, but wow, the kick on this, she thought she'd ended up in the back!
she was absolutely terrified
(this was on a empty dual carriage way and still didn't go over the limit btw)
love it and ordered 1