Alan_uk
A2OC Donor
Just come back from test driving an ID.3 1st Edition today. After an hours drive my first impressions are that it is an excellent car. Once I raised the drivers seat the the feel was much the same as driving an A2. Importantly for me with my back that plays up from time to time, is the seat height, relative to the ground, is the same as the A2. So no climbing down on entry and up on exit.
Quickly got used to 1 pedal driving, but occassionally still looking for the gearstick and the handbrake! Only 2 choices of retardation: Normal is very little but when On it is quite strong.
Steering was light - dealer said that the steering force varies according to speed. Didn't push the road holding but it felt reassuring on country roads - 1st time I have driven a rear wheel drive for probably 50 years!
The main noise is the tyre noise which I thought was greater than my A2. ID.3 had Goodyear 215/50 R19 93T tyres. Can't recall hitting any pot holes for the acid test!
Like all EVs the acceleration could get addictive.
There has been lots of criticism over the plasticly interior but I didn't find it off putting. Will be easier to keep smart compared to my A2 black door cards. But I think the white steering wheel on the demo ID.3 is not a good idea.
The other criticism is over the touch slide switches but I forgot to check those. Like a lot of modern cars so much is automatic. I'm sure many people, just like Windows, will accept the default settings rather than hunt through lots of menu settings. Like Robert Llewellyn on the YT fullycharged channel, I found the bleeping when I strayed too near the white line very irritating. It's internet connected - how long before one gets hacked - weeks?
Will I succumb and buy one? Probably not due to the 1st year depreciation on a new car - like throwing money down the drain. Next year there is a 45kWh battery model out called the ID.3 Pure, though the dealer said he knew nothing about that. That model has a winter / highway real range of 120 miles (enough for me) compared to 140 miles in the ID.3 1st. At the other end the summer / city driving is 250 / 310 respectively. The Pure has an estimated cost of 25,000 euros but could well be £30k here given the way the pound is falling. See https://ev-database.uk
Still, I enjoyed my ride home in my A2 along the A36 which has been resurfaced in recent times. Nice and smooth with hardly a sound from the diesel engine and the acceleration with the remapped engine felt good! And I reminded myself the A2 only weighs 1000 kg cf 1794kg on the ID.3 1st Edition
My 4 options:
1. ID.3 Pure 45kWh
2. BMW i3 120Ah 38kWh - 1 year old. Aluminium and carbon fibre at 1345 kg but winter / highway range is only 100 miles
3. Keep A2 for another 16 years (should see me out!) and buy a used small city EV for local use
4. Convert A2 to electric - I'm watching this Norwegian guy who is using Tesla batteries so the range should be good but I think the cost is going to be too high.
Quickly got used to 1 pedal driving, but occassionally still looking for the gearstick and the handbrake! Only 2 choices of retardation: Normal is very little but when On it is quite strong.
Steering was light - dealer said that the steering force varies according to speed. Didn't push the road holding but it felt reassuring on country roads - 1st time I have driven a rear wheel drive for probably 50 years!
The main noise is the tyre noise which I thought was greater than my A2. ID.3 had Goodyear 215/50 R19 93T tyres. Can't recall hitting any pot holes for the acid test!
Like all EVs the acceleration could get addictive.
There has been lots of criticism over the plasticly interior but I didn't find it off putting. Will be easier to keep smart compared to my A2 black door cards. But I think the white steering wheel on the demo ID.3 is not a good idea.
The other criticism is over the touch slide switches but I forgot to check those. Like a lot of modern cars so much is automatic. I'm sure many people, just like Windows, will accept the default settings rather than hunt through lots of menu settings. Like Robert Llewellyn on the YT fullycharged channel, I found the bleeping when I strayed too near the white line very irritating. It's internet connected - how long before one gets hacked - weeks?
Will I succumb and buy one? Probably not due to the 1st year depreciation on a new car - like throwing money down the drain. Next year there is a 45kWh battery model out called the ID.3 Pure, though the dealer said he knew nothing about that. That model has a winter / highway real range of 120 miles (enough for me) compared to 140 miles in the ID.3 1st. At the other end the summer / city driving is 250 / 310 respectively. The Pure has an estimated cost of 25,000 euros but could well be £30k here given the way the pound is falling. See https://ev-database.uk
Still, I enjoyed my ride home in my A2 along the A36 which has been resurfaced in recent times. Nice and smooth with hardly a sound from the diesel engine and the acceleration with the remapped engine felt good! And I reminded myself the A2 only weighs 1000 kg cf 1794kg on the ID.3 1st Edition
My 4 options:
1. ID.3 Pure 45kWh
2. BMW i3 120Ah 38kWh - 1 year old. Aluminium and carbon fibre at 1345 kg but winter / highway range is only 100 miles
3. Keep A2 for another 16 years (should see me out!) and buy a used small city EV for local use
4. Convert A2 to electric - I'm watching this Norwegian guy who is using Tesla batteries so the range should be good but I think the cost is going to be too high.