What's got a range of up to 550km and will be sold as cheaply as under R500,000 or about the price of a Golf GTI?
It's the ID.3 and is Volkswagen’s first car on its spanking new MEB electric platform. It's got a cheerful face and comes in three flavours, I mean ranges.
From the mouth of VW, “The battery can be recharged with a maximum charging output of 7.2kW (AC) and 50kW (DC). 100kW DC charging is optionally also available. The vehicle’s basic model also reaches a top speed of 160kph.” Yes, that's Basic, then positioned above it will be a Mid-Range Variant and above that a Long-Range Variant.
First things 1st - 58kWh, up to 420km range
More about the Mid-Range Variant; it's also known as the ID.3 1ST and features a battery with a usable energy content of 58kWh as well as an electric range of up to 420 kilometres as per WLTP. "The battery can be recharged with a maximum charging output of 1kW (AC) and 100kW (DC). With DC charging, it is possible to recharge enough energy to cover a range of 290 kilometres within 30 minutes.”
More about the Long-Range Variant: as the name suggest, this one features the largest battery with an actually usable energy content of 77kWh and the electrically powered range is up to 550 kilometres. "The battery can be charged at an AC power source with a maximum charging output of 11kW and with up to 125kW at a DC power source.” No price for this model or the Mid-Range variant just yet sadly, or the Mid-Range version.
That name though?
Read it as Chapter 3. What book are we reading? The one that started with the Beetle, then the Golf. That's how big of a deal the new EV is to the brand. To sum it up, if this is the face of VW EVs then sign us up. The German marque doesn't enter lightly into new segments, just look at the Amarok.
We're expecting big things from VW's little livewire.
