New Volkswagen ID.3 GTX 2024 review: electric hot hatch lacks the wow factor

Verdict

The Volkswagen ID.3 GTX is, on paper, a fantastic fast family car with punchy acceleration, superb range and an interior that feels much better trimmed and equipped than before. However, if you view the car as Volkswagen wants – as an electric hot hatch to replace the VW Golf GTI – the GTX disappoints with its brisk-but-not-breakneck acceleration, slightly numb handling and general lack of excitement. It’s a great motorway weapon, but if you really must have an electric hot hatch, the Cupra Born VZ offers a few more thrills.

Watching the pole vault competition at the Olympics over the summer was a keen reminder of how the higher the bar you set, the more difficult it is to overcome.

It appears, then, that Volkswagen Board Member, Kai Grünitz, may not have followed the Games as closely as we did, having recently set an incredibly high bar when he dubbed the new ID.3 GTX “the electric counterpart to our sporty compact car icon, the Golf GTI Clubsport.”

Yet Volkswagen’s growing line-up of high-performance GTX EVs have thus far largely failed to whet the appetites and capture the hearts of enthusiasts. While the ID.7 GTX may have originally been teased using the bonkers 550bhp ID.X performance concept with its racey styling and giant rear wing, the production version isn’t an out-and-out sports saloon.

Sift through VW’s dense press releases and you’ll find the ID.3 GTX appears to be, on paper, all one could ask for from an electric hot hatch. For starters, Volkswagen is very keen to point out that the hot ID.3, with its handy 322bhp in top-spec GTX Performance guise, is more powerful than even the V6-powered Golf R32.

Yet what makes the ID.3 GTX appear more enticing than its petrol counterpart is that, unlike the Golf GTI which sends its power through its front wheels, the electric car’s motor is mounted on the rear axle. This, mated to a low centre of gravity provided by the new 79kWh battery, should provide fun sports car-like handling. That is, if you believe Volkswagen’s marketing material.

At a glance, the GTX doesn’t quite look like the shouty performance model Volkswagen markets it to be; sure the front and rear aprons have been resculpted for a more aggressive look, plus the GTX gets some exclusive X-shaped LED running lights. But mostly, this is the same ID.3 we all know with its friendly, somewhat under-the-radar look.

Take a seat inside, however, and it’s evident that you’re in something a little more serious; the vegan leather and suede bucket seats are emblazoned with red stitching, piping and a GTX logo on the integrated headrest. Thankfully, they aren’t an optional extra, and hug you nicely – even if you’ve had a few too many currywurst. That said, the seating position itself is quite high, and reminiscent of that in the Abarth 500e, which is certainly no compliment.

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More GTX-specific touches can be found elsewhere in the cabin, namely in the form of a sportier steering wheel with red stitching and a badge on the bottom spoke, as well as some stitching on the doors and dashboard. Thanks in part to a recent facelift, material quality is generally much better than before, and a step above that of the petrol Golf GTI – as you’d hope given the ID.3’s higher price tag.

The highlight of the interior is the 12.9-inch infotainment display in the centre; bright and vibrant, this is responsive to your inputs and, from our experience, is largely free from the software issues that plagued the previous 10-inch system. We like how the sat-nav zooms in to show individual lanes and the ‘augmented reality’ head-up display appears to project directions onto the road in front of you. Having said that, most drivers won’t see these benefits if making use of the wireless Apple CarPlay or Android Auto.

What is perhaps more important to prospective ID.3 GTX buyers is the way it drives. Has Volkswagen given us the electric answer to the Golf GTI? Well in short, no. But that’s not to diminish how dynamically capable the hot ID.3 really is.

That aforementioned low centre of gravity does a sterling job of keeping the deceivingly portly (Volkswagen quotes a figure of 1,985kg) and tall ID.3 from leaning all too much when you press on though the bends. This is also helped by the ID.3 GTX’s retuned suspension; buyers can spec adaptive dampers for an additional cost, which stiffen up or slacken off depending on which drive mode you’re in. Yet, even the standard set-up is comfortable enough, if a tad firm with the GTX’s large 20-inch alloy wheels.

Also retuned for the GTX is the braking system, which sadly falters in the same way as other performance EVs. Manufacturers are struggling to strike the perfect balance between mechanical and regenerative braking, and the result here is a somewhat spongy brake pedal that provides little response at first and then an overly sharp one the further you depress the pedal.

The steering, whilst direct, also lacks much in the way of weight and feedback – even with the car switched into its sportiest setting. Consequently, the steering’s over-assisted nature means it can be quite difficult to ascertain the car’s limits. When you do find it you’ll discover the GTX is sufficiently sure-footed thanks to a set of upgraded Bridgestone Turanza tyres.

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Such grippy tyres aren’t quite enough to eliminate the rear slip you get when flooring the throttle on wet roads; we drove the standard 295bhp ID.3 GTX – only the 322bhp Performance will be available in the UK – but both produce a mammoth 545Nm of torque. That rear-drive set-up lends itself nicely to fleeting bouts of oversteer.

Yet, this sort of hooliganism is the only real way to get the kind of adrenaline shot GTX (and former GTI) buyers might be looking for. A 0-62mph time of 5.9 seconds is certainly brisk, but in a world of sub-four-second sprints, Volkswagen’s efforts look comparatively underwhelming. This isn’t helped by the car’s lack of aural excitement; while we’re not huge fans of the GTI Clubsport’s augmented exhaust burble, it adds engagement the ID.3 can’t match.

Volkswagen claims a rather fantastic 375 miles on a single charge. Drive like you should in a hot hatch and this figure will drop somewhat – but maybe not as much as you’d expect; during our time with the car, we averaged around 4.2mi/kWh, which translates to a real-world range of around 316 miles. The ID.3 GTX can also rapid charge at speeds of up to 185kW, with a 10 to 80 per cent charge taking just 26 minutes.

Such an impressive range even when on the limit is perhaps an indicator how and when the ID.3 GTX makes the most sense. While Volkswagen wants you to see this, for now, as a future-proof replacement for the GTI, it perhaps feels more appropriate as the successor to the Golf GTD, or GTE.

Starting at £46,225 in Performance guise in the UK, the ID.3 GTX is priced in-line with the top-of-the-range petrol Golf R, which may limit its appeal to private buyers. However, like the GTE did before, the hot ID.3 instead offers business drivers with a sporting streak, a solid option thanks to its low Benefit-in-Kind company-car tax rates. 

Another perk of the ID.3’s recent facelift means that, even with its big battery, the ID.3 can function as a family car thanks to its three working, if tight, rear seats, as well as a 385-litre boot. That’s a bit small for the class, but decent enough if you view the GTX as something with the performance of a rear-driven sports car – albeit without much of the excitement.

Perhaps the biggest indicator of its halfway-house status, though, is that even with the birth of the GTX sub-brand, Volkswagen apparently refuses to give up on GTI – recently hinting that hot, all-electric Polo and Golfs are just on the horizon.