New Volkswagen ID.3 2023 facelift revealed in full
Volkswagen started to get really serious about its all-electric future with the introduction of the ID.3, a Golf-sized family hatchback that was the first model in the entire VW Group to use the bespoke MEB EV platform. Now, less than three years after the VW ID.3 went on sale, the car is being treated to a series of upgrades that are extensive enough for VW to refer to it as a “second generation” ID.3.
From the outside, the evolution of Volkswagen ID.3 looks relatively typical fare for what the car industry often calls ‘mid-life enhancement’. There are new colour options – including the vivid Dark Olivine Green of the vehicle pictured here – and the ID.3 gets fresh headlights and new tail-light clusters that create an arch-shaped motif and incorporate X-shaped brake lights. Cars equipped with Matrix-LED headlights also now feature an animation that welcomes and says goodbye to the user as they approach and leave the vehicle.
There are more significant bodywork alterations, though, that go beyond normal facelift fare. The front bumper is modified for a sharper look, but significantly, the black plastic area at the base of the windscreen has been removed altogether, and replaced by a larger body-coloured bonnet. VW says the move is designed to “create an additional impression of visual lengthening”, although it’s an abrupt U-turn from the original design, which was conceived to make the bonnet look shorter.
Claas-Lennard Stöhr, the ID.3’s product manager, says the tweaks are designed to move the model away from its ‘cute’ image. “With the new front end, there’s definitely a little more aggression,” he told us. “It’s still a friendly model but the sharper bumper and the surfacing on the bonnet means it’s more grown-up, a little more mature. That’s the look we’ve been aiming for.”
In any case, the ID.3 doesn’t change its overall dimensions – so it’s still a family hatchback measuring 4.26 metres long and 1.81 metres wide. Those dimensions continue to place the model between VW’s Polo and Golf in overall length, although the longer wheelbase allowed by the MEB architecture means that the interior space is actually closer to that of a Passat. The boot remains a match for the Golf’s, meanwhile, at 385 litres, with up to 1,267 litres if the rear seats are folded down.
There are bigger alterations to the ID.3 recipe in the passenger cabin, where VW says it has listened directly to customer feedback. There are more areas padded with foam – in response to those who said the initial ID.3 felt considerably less plush than a Golf – and the door inlays have been redesigned to incorporate softer, larger surfaces. There’s ambient lighting, too. VW says the changes create a “new haptic experience”; based on our time with an early car in a studio in Germany, the environment does feel considerably more upmarket, particularly thanks to double-stitching and the padded areas on the main fascia.
The cabin also features greater use of sustainable materials; its fabrics are completely animal free, and the microfibre material used on the door trims and seat covers, called Artvelours Eco, is made from 71 per cent recycled plastics.
The VW ID.3 has received widespread criticism for its digital and driver interfaces, but despite being able to alter the software using over-the-air upgrades, VW has elected to overhaul only some of the features in the ‘second-gen’ model. The digital instrument panel remains unchanged, at 5.3 inches across, and the vehicle continues to have a rocker switch at the side of the steering wheel for gear selection.
Autoexpress
