► ID.3 gets a hot hatch makeover
► Significant power boost and styling revisions
► The closest thing to an electric GTI?
It’s almost refreshing seeing the electric hot hatch class growing as it is. At one point it looked like this genre of cars would be lost against the tide of SUVs, but thanks to a flurry of new models in 2024, things are looking positive.
This year alone we’ve seen the new Mini Cooper Electric, Hyundai Ioniq 5 N (if you can call it a hatch) and Cupra Born VZ land in showrooms. And now there’s another option – the Volkswagen Golf ID.3 GTX Performance.
It’s by far the hottest version of Volkswagen’s ID.3 hatch, and though this EV might never have received the reception VW hoped for at its original launch, it’s continued to get better since. So is the GTX the icing on the cake?
At a glance
Pros: Strong performance, long range and efficient, more fun than a standard ID.3
Cons: Quite expensive to buy, a Cupra Born is more engaging, styling is too subtle
What’s new?
Volkswagen has had a lukewarm reception to its sportier GTX models so far – both the ID.4 and ID.5 proving entirely unmemorable, and the ID.7 GTX not being worth the extra expense over the standard car.
Unlike the other all-wheel-drive GTX models, the ID.3 retains its RWD layout (yay) and gets a significantly more powerful motor. Up until now you’ve never been able to have an ID.3 with more than 201bhp, but for the GTX this figure surges to 322bhp – mirroring the performance of the similar Cupra Born VZ. But more on the stats in a minute.
But whereas the Cupra Born VZ looks suitably sporty, the ID.3 GTX looks rather plain in comparison. Styling changes are very subtle compared to the standard VW hatch, and include a new front bumper with black detailing and black 20-inch alloy wheels. The white colour of our test car certainly does the GTX’s looks no favours – did someone white-goods appliance?
What are the specs?
More impressive about the GTX is its specs, with 322bhp and 402lb ft of torque on tap, its figures aren’t too dissimilar from a Volkswagen Golf R. Accelerating from 0-62mph takes 5.7 seconds (a tenth of a second more than the Cupra) and the ID.3’s usual 99mph top speed is raised to 124mph.
The GTX is the only ID.3 to get Volkswagen’s newer 79kWh battery, too, which brings improved range and charging speeds. Impressively, and despite the additional performance, the GTX also boasts the longest range of any version of this hatch, with a claimed 369 miles from a charge, with 300 miles likely in real-world conditions. It can also charge at up to 185kW, enabling a 10 to 80 per cent charge to take place in just 26 minutes if the charging stars align.
How does it drive?
Unsurprisingly with 120bhp more than a standard ID.3, the GTX feels much brisker to drive, though not exactly quite as quick as the power figures suggest. Power delivery is well-modulated, so you never get the tilting sensation as you do with rivals like the MG4 XPower, but rather the car stays flat and doesn’t push you back in your seat like you might expect from a performance EV.
Volkswagen’s Dynamic Chassis Control (DCC) comes as standard with the GTX, allowing you to quickly flick through the settings to find your preference – or set up your own mode in ‘individual’. Changing driving mode isn’t as simple as on a Cupra Born VZ, however, which gets a big switch on the steering wheel. With DCC, there are 15 different damper settings available from comfortable to sporty.
For the most part, and despite its large 20-inch alloys, the GTX rides well for a hot hatch, with only the lumpiest roads or a few bumps in quick succession unsettling it. The steering is direct and with a decent weight to it, and it doesn’t take long before you’re pushing it. Grip levels, admittedly on our dry test drive, were never an issue.
This might be a rear-wheel-drive hot hatch but don’t come expecting a drift hero – the ESC cuts in ridiculously early in its standard setting to the point it doesn’t really feel like you’re in an RWD car. You can turn it back to ESC Sport, but even then it only marginally lets you have a bit more fun before reining you back in line. Volkswagen refers to the GTX as the ‘electric counterpart to the Golf GTI Clubsport’. I’m not sure I agree – it more feels like the Golf R equivalent. Very quick but a bit sensible sometimes for its own good.
I only had a fairly short go in the ID.3 GTX but from first impressions, the Cupra Born VZ just has that added degree of playfulness to it that makes it the finer choice to drive, though it’s not quite as comfortable.
What’s it like inside?
The same interior treatment as you’d expect on a Golf GTI is applied to the GTX. You get nicer seats trimmed in suede and leather-effect material, and they’re great – supportive, comfortable and look the part. There’s subtle red piping and stitching on the seats, dashboard and steering wheel, and it all does enough to elevate it over a standard ID.3 in a way I wish the exterior could match.
Volkswagen worked to improve the quality as part of the 2023 ID.3 facelift and the GTX feels like the best-built version of this hatchback yet with generally pleasant materials used throughout. There remain a few interior own goals, however. There aren’t four buttons for the electric windows, but rather two and you then select ‘rear’. It annoys me as much as it did four years ago, as does the gloss black area on the door cards, entirely at the point you rest your hands. Within a day of leaving the dealer they’ll be blathered in fingerprints and the gloss black is so prone to scratching.
It’s also a pretty practical family hatchback, with room for two adults quite comfortably in the rear seats. There is a middle rear seat (unlike early ID.3s fitted with the 77kWh battery) but three across the rear bench is a squeeze. The 385-litre boot almost matches that of a Golf, but you’ll want the £75 height adjustable boot floor so you don’t have to negotiate a high boot lip all the time.
Before you buy (trims and rivals)
The GTX sits at the top of the ID.3 line-up, commanding a £6,000 price increase over the next most expensive version. It starts from £46,225, which is a lot of money for a hatchback – especially when you consider it’s £1600 more than a Cupra Born VZ.
Standard equipment is particularly generous, though, with electric and heated front sports included along with a Harman Kardon sound system and augmented reality head-up display. A 12.9-inch touchscreen is also fitted, and though it can still prove annoying having minimal physical buttons, at least the software works well these days. The one thing the ID.3 GTX really lacks is a standard heat pump, which is ridiculously an option on all electric Volkswagens.
Rivals for the ID.3 GTX? Well, the Cupra Born VZ is the obvious one, and it comes with a longer five-year warranty, but there’s also the MG4 Xpower. With its 429bhp and a starting price of £36,495, it looks a steal at first but feels quite unfinished in many respects.
Verdict
The ID.3 GTX is the most engaging electric Volkswagen yet, and deserves commending for that reason. It feels more of a significant difference than any other VW to wear the GTX nameplate, yet retains the ID.3’s practicality and general day-to-day ease of use.
But it’s perhaps a little bit too sedate for a rear-driven hot hatch with 322bhp, with room still for more rear bias that would dial up the engagement factor. More should have been done to it on the styling front, too.
So the ID.3 GTX is a very competent EV and will appeal to many because of its long range, but the Cupra Born VZ is the more convincing sporty MEB-based electric car.