Volkswagen ID 3 Pure Performance 45kWh 2021 first drive

When VW’s first mass market EV, the Volkswagen ID 3, hit our market 18 months ago, its range structure was almost unbelievably complex. This car was supposed to be about serenity and ease of operation but it seemed to take buyers several evenings of close study to decide whether a Max, a Tour, a Tech, a Family, a Style, a City or a Business was right for them.

Once that was sorted, the buyer then had to decide which weirdly-labelled motor/battery combination was right — Pure Performance, Pro, Pro Performance or Pro S? Oh, and by the way, most ID 3s at that stage were too expensive to attract the Government’s £2500 subsidy for sub-£35,000 EV purchases. Something had to be done to simplify the whole proposition and it has been, for the ’22 model year range recently launched. 

It’s still complex, mind. And unforgivably, some 2022 models still aren’t correctly listed on the UK configurator. But with a bit of brain-strain you can now choose your ideal ID 3 in just one evening. The City, Business and Tour have been bundled into a Life model (available with four different powertrain combinations) and for 2022 seven ID 3 models qualify for the government bung.

Even in unadorned form the new Life is very well equipped though confusion still reigns over option choices: extras come in five packs, each of which has a pricier “Pro” version grafted on, but at least choosing wheels and colours is an understandable process. 

However the really big news is that for 2022 ID 3 buyers can now buy a clearly defined entry model — the Life Pure Performance — whose sensible spec, steel wheels, lower-powered 148bhp electric motor and most modest 45kWh battery give it the highly attractive starting price of just £27,120 once the subsidy is subtracted.

That’s the car we’ve tested here, albeit equipped with £650 worth of alloy wheels (the standard car gets 18-inch steelies) to make it look better in the pictures. The standard fabric upholstery looks durable and well made, the seats are nicely shaped for longer distances, the rear compartment is downright spacious, there’s plenty of fascination for gadget-geeks in the flexibly configurable dashboard, and you even have puddle-lights to help when you get in or out.

Higher-spec ID 3s have been regularly tested in these pages and consistently pronounced refined, modern, enjoyable and efficient. What was different about this one was the smaller 45kWh battery, linked with the most basic motor.