Insider
The VW Group has backed battery electric vehicles in a
way unmatched by any other mainstream car maker. The
ID 3 hatch is the first of 50 (yes, 50) EVs due between now
and 2025. Golf-size on the outside but closer to Passat-size
inside, plus a cutesy face.
Initially the ID 3 tends towards the modest in its outputs.
There are three battery sizes – 45, 58 and 77kWh – and
two power outputs, 148bhp and 201bhp, both with 229lb ft.
Expect around 7.0 seconds to 62mph via single e-motor and
rear-wheel drive. Twin motor and all-wheel drive come later.
VW claims 205, 261 and 342 miles under WLTP conditions
for the three battery sizes. Every ID 3 has 100kW charging
capacity, with around 160 miles worth of charge in 30
minutes. VW also guarantees the battery pack for eight
years or 100,000 miles, and ‘1st’ models benefit from one
year’s/2000kWh of free charging.
Basic ID 3 will cost around £30,000 before any government
grants in the UK, with limited-run ‘1st’ model coming in
at around £36,000 with an augmented-reality head-up
display and a glass roof. Standard wheels are 18 inches, with
range-ruining 19s and 20s on the options list.
An EV that has a bigger range than most of the competition,
is shaped like a familiar Golf but roomier inside, and doesn’t
cost the earth? We’re truly interested. It’s also pretty decent
and unscary to drive, according to CAR’s Georg Kacher in
our September 2019 issue.
Even four years after we first saw it in concept form,
Porsche’s four-door super-EV still looks like it’s from the
future, blending 911, Panamera and Space Shuttle styling,
and inside a glossy, screen-heavy cockpit bursting with
clever EV details.
Porsche is still very much a sports car maker. To emphasise
this, the first models are dubbed Turbo and Turbo S, with a
93kWh battery pack giving 678 and 751bhp respectively.
And unlike Teslas, the Taycan is built to handle repeated
launch-control take-offs. Turbo S claims a 2.8sec 0-62mph.
Taycan has Range mode for maximising available distance,
allowing for up to 279 miles between charges for the Turbo,
256 miles for Turbo S. Its 800v battery architecture (most
EVs are 400v) allows you to add 60 miles of range in just five
minutes, and go from five to 80 per cent full in as little as 25.
Three years of Ionity charger use is included in the price.
Less powerful and less expensive versions are on the
way, but initial Turbo and Turbo S models will set you
back £115,858 and £138,826 (before grant) respectively.
Air suspension and Porsche’s suite of driving aids are all
standard, with S featuring ceramic brakes.
How can we not get excited by an insanely powerful
all-electric Porsche? The VW looks like it will do a great job
of bringing reasonably-minded folk into the EV fold, but
Stuttgart’s new electric cruise missile promises to propel you
into a new dimension Time to join the 20,000-long queue...
I’ve been
living under
a rock...
Egalitarian
VW or
powerhouse
Porsche?
Power like
a taser or
a lightning
strike?
How much
will I have
to pay?
And the
winner is...
German EV
pioneers face off
VW and Porsche’s crucial new electric cars finally arrive. By Jake Groves
VW ID 3 P O RSC H E TAYC A N
How far will
it go and
how fast to
charge?
CAR
WINNER
22 CARMAGAZINE.CO.UK | OCTOBER 2019
