At the end of 2019, Volkswagen took a new direction, and that direction was characterized by the letters ‘ID’. That became the basis for a complete, purely electric family of models, which now includes a set of SUVs under the names ID.4 and ID.5, a van called ID. Buzz and soon a sedan, the ID.7, may fall. However, it did all that with the ID.3, a car that had to earn a similar place in the history books as, say, the Beetle or the Golf. He may not have succeeded completely yet, but the upcoming facelift should give the ID.3 another push in the right direction with a number of important changes.
Sharper looks
That starts with the looks, although you don’t have to expect earth-shattering changes there. For example, we learned from sketches that Volkswagen itself released that the general interplay of lines remains unchanged, but that the ID.3 will look a bit sportier. For example, the somewhat uninspiring muzzle will be refreshed with a sharper-shaped bonnet and slightly easier to digest bumpers than the current ones with their hexagonal scales. The latter also happens at the rear, and Volkswagen already showed the new light signature of the rear lights on its LinkedIn page. The shape of the units themselves remains the same.
Finally Volkswagen quality
The design also remains almost unchanged inside, but everything you touch should feel just that little bit firmer. The materials of the current ID.3 were not always convincing, but Volkswagen promises that they will be of higher quality from now on. In addition, the Germans banned all animal materials from their ID.3 production line, so vegans can also breathe carefree in the cabin of the renewed copy.
Bottleneck No. 1: infotainment
Vegan or not, just about everyone is currently disturbed by the operation of the infotainment system in the ID.3. Not only is it difficult to navigate the menus, but the climate and volume controls with their touch-sensitive strips are unintuitive and, to make matters worse, also not illuminated. That should all change with the facelift, because Volkswagen promises a brand new screen with a diameter of 12 instead of 10 inches. Based on the sketches, it also looks like they will mount a row of touch buttons with LED lighting underneath. In addition, there is a chance that the touch-sensitive buttons on the steering wheel will make way for simpler, physical ones, although nothing has been confirmed yet.
Loading becomes easier
In addition to the infotainment software, the brain of the electric powertrain would also receive a refresher. For example, the updated ID.3 will be available with Plug & Charge technology, which recognizes and activates the charging station without requiring a pass to… euh… comes in handy. In addition, there are rumors that the hatchback will be able to charge considerably faster, but that has not yet been released in so many words by Wolfsburg.
Sporty GTX on the go?
Furthermore, Volkswagen is also silent in all languages about the powertrains of the electric hatchback, although we can assume that they will remain largely unchanged. However, there is a good chance that a GTX version of the ID.3 will appear shortly after the launch, as already happened with the ID.4. That will be a sportier variant à la GTI, although the comparison with Volkswagen’s R models may have been made easier. The ‘X’ in the name indicates four-wheel drive, and the Germans presented a preview two years ago under the name ‘ID.X’. It showed off two electric motors and an output of no less than 328 hp…
We don’t have to wait long to learn everything about the updated ID.3: it is scheduled for March 1, 2023. At Volkswagen itself, they already seem to be counting on a lot of demand, because after the factories in Zwickau and Dresden, that in Wolfsburg started producing ID.3s from the facelift.
