Volkswagen is lastly dipping its toes within the electrical scorching hatch section with the ID.3 GTX. Essentially a sister mannequin to the Cupra Born VZ, the sporty EV is available in two flavors. There’s a base GTX and a spicy GTX Performance with the only strongest electrical motor ever developed by VW.
Stick to the common ID.3 GTX and also you get an electrical motor on the rear axle with 282 horsepower and 402 pound-feet of torque. Upgrade to the Performance mannequin and VW will up the facility ante to 322 hp whereas torque stays the identical. Predictably, these increased output figures completely match these of the Cupra Born VZ.
The rear-wheel-drive scorching hatch takes six seconds to hit 62 miles per hour from a standstill for the common GTX, or 5.6 seconds when you improve to the GTX Performance. Top velocity is electronically capped at 111 mph and 124 mph, respectively. VW says the stronger of the 2 fashions is an electrical companion to the front-wheel-drive Golf GTI Clubsport.
Both GTXs share a lithium-ion battery pack with a usable vitality capability of 79 kilowatt-hours. It helps DC charging at 175 kilowatts, through which case the battery might be replenished from 10 to 80 % in round 26 minutes. With a completely charged battery, the ID.3 GTX fashions are estimated to cowl 373 miles within the mixed WLTP cycle. The battery is mounted inside the ground in the midst of the car for higher weight distribution.
As with the ID.4 GTX and ID.5 GTX, VW made the ID.3 GTX look extra thrilling with a redesigned entrance bumper with a much bigger air consumption and a diamond-shaped sample, flanked by boomerang LEDs serving as daytime operating lights. At the rear, the efficiency mannequin will get a diffuser with a shiny black end to match the darkish mirror caps, aspect sills, and window body. In addition, there are contemporary 20-inch wheels with 215-section tires on the GTX and wider 235-section rubber on the GTX Performance.
The inside will get crimson accents aplenty. There are electrically adjustable sporty entrance seats with built-in headrests, GTX badging, and material made out of recycled materials. All ID.3s could have a brand new 12.9-inch infotainment system and a separate driving mode selector lever on the steering column. Better late than by no means, the contact sliders for the amount and AC are lastly illuminated, very similar to on the lately launched Golf Mk8.5.
The ID.3 GTX is not coming to America, so far as we all know. But in Europe, it basically competes in a section of two alongside the Cupra Born VZ. The most direct rival we are able to consider is the MG4 XPower, however that mannequin is blessed with twin motors, all-wheel drive, and a wholesome 429 hp. There are smaller EVs price mentioning, such because the Abarth 500e and the upcoming Alpine A290. Before the yr ends, we’ll additionally see a John Cooper Works (JCW) model of the brand new electrical Mini Cooper 3-Door.
Looking into the long run, VW has already prompt the ninth-generation, electric-only Golf will supersede the ID.3 since there’s no place for both in the lineup. If that occurs, the GTX will turn into the GTI because the German model intends to retain the three well-known letters. It has even trademarked a new logo with the “I” (which stands for injection) changed by a lightning bolt.