Volkswagen ID.3 GTX Review 2025: Price, specs & boot space

If you're after a true EV performance car, probably not. The ID.3 GTX is quick, but not especially exciting or engaging. For that, we'd look elsewhere, but if you merely want an effortlessly fast and well-equipped family EV, the GTX makes more sense. 

Some countries are given the choice of an entry-level ID.3 GTX and a more powerful GTX Performance, but things are kept simpler in the UK, with only the latter offered. Making things even easier, there's only one size of battery available. 

The most similar is the Cupra Born VZ, which uses the same platform and 326PS motor, although it's actually a tenth quicker from 0-62mph. It's a bit cheaper than the ID.3 GTX, and despite using many of the same parts, a little bit more fun. 

The MG4 XPower is cheaper still and considerably more powerful than both, but it struggles with its output and doesn't feel as well made. Somewhere between the two is the Abarth 600e, which is more modest in terms of power, but arguably more entertaining than any of them. 

The ID.3 GTX's starting price will also get you into a petrol-powered hot hatch, including VW's own Golf R. 

As the GTX was added to the range after the ID.3's mid-life facelift, it benefits from the model's much-needed quality updates, which added much more in the way of soft-touch surfaces. Before, there was a surprising abundance of cheap plastics. It still doesn't feel solid in the way that Volkswagen products from a decade or so ago used to feel, but it's a step in the right direction. 

The ID.3's new 12.9-inch infotainment system provides a noticeable improvement over the bug-prone 10-inch system used before, which pre-dates the arrival of the GTX. Responsiveness to touch is good, and there isn't any excessive lag when switching between different things.

It's annoying having to use it for climate functions, though, particularly when the climate screen doesn't automatically disappear after you're done using it, meaning an extra prod (and the associated distraction from the road) is necessary to bring back up the navigation or whatever menu you were on before. There are shortcuts for temperature on the screen bezel, and these are now backlit, so you can finally see them at night. 

The USB provision is good, with a total of four USB-C ports provided – two in the front and two in the rear. Wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay and included as standard. The GTX includes an excellent Harman Kardon sound system as standard. 

In terms of practicality, the GTX is no different from other ID.3, and that's to say, very good. Despite being only marginally larger on the outside than a Golf, it feels a lot more spacious inside. Headroom and legroom are decent for rear-seat passengers, and no occupant should feel unduly cramped.

The boot space is OK but far from class-leading at 385 litres, and while you can fit charging cables in the underfloor storage area, you'll need to pack them up just right to avoid the boot floor popping up. If you need to carry larger items, there's a 60:40 split folding rear seat bench opening up 1267 litres of load space. Just bear in mind that the rear bench doesn't fold completely flat. 

In terms of storage in the rest of the cabin, there's a massive cubby under the central armrest, a further storage area just in front plus a pair of cupholders, and some decent-sized door bins all round. 

There's only one of each – a 326PS motor combined with the ID.3's larger, 79kWh battery pack. At least, that's the case in the UK, because only the Performance version of the ID.3 GTX is sold here. In other countries, it's possible to buy a base model which makes do with 286PS. 

We haven't tried that one, but as it is, the Performance often doesn't feel like it offers an abundance of, well, performance. Accelerating from lower speeds and in Sport mode, it does feel reasonably eager, but there are also times when you put your foot down and think, "is that it?"

The problem is that although 326PS sounds like a lot, the ID.3 GTX weighs around two tonnes. And so, the 0-62mph time is 5.7 seconds, which isn't all that impressive when you consider the similarly priced, similarly powerful Golf R from the same Volkswagen forecourt can do it a full second quicker. Yes, all-wheel drive helps there, but so does a kerb weight that's nearly 500kg lower. 

Although EVs are capable of delivering their full torque figures instantaneously, many soften the initial response. That's not the case with the GTX, however, with a wickedly sharp throttle response, especially in Sport mode. 

A range of 369 miles on a full charge is impressive. That's according to the official WLTP figure, but it's not as far-fetched as some. We averaged 4.1 miles per kWh during our testing of the ID.3 GTX, despite clocking a lot of motorway miles, something which usually isn't great for EV efficiency. With a more even mix of driving at a warm time of year, you might actually achieve the 4.4 miles per kWh needed to hit the official figures. 

It's especially important for an EV to be well insulated from the outside, as there's no engine noise to help drown out any particularly vocal wind or road noise. Thankfully for the GTX does well for itself in terms of both wind and road noise. 

On the latter front, it probably helps that for a performance car, the ID.3 GTX's tyres are fairly narrow, meaning there's not a massive footprint making a huge racket as it contacts the road surface. They're 215mm wide, which is no fatter than the boots fitted to the 20-inch wheels of the Pro S Match and Pro S Essential.

The Volkswagen ID.3 was awarded the full five stars when crash tested by Euro NCAP in 2020. The GTX is structurally identical, so that rating very much applies here. 

You also get all of the usual driving assistance suspects, including autonomous emergency braking, lane assistance, and speed limit recognition. There's also something called Swerve Support, which tweaks the steering as necessary if you're swerving to avoid hitting something. 

Upgrading to the Assistance Package Plus with IQ Drive beefs up the safety systems with additions including lane change assistance, remote control parking assistance and an exit warning system.

The Volkswagen ID.3 suffered its fair share of software bugs when first released, but these were steadily fixed via over-the-air updates. The facelift brought with it some further upgraded software, too. Volkswagen placed 15th of 33 brands for reliability in the most recent HonestJohn.co.uk Satisfaction Index with a score of just over 90%, and as an electric car, there are far fewer moving parts to potentially go wrong on the ID.3. 

The warranty is pretty standard, but also nothing special, lasting three years or 60,000 miles, whichever comes first. The ID.3 also comes with the industry standard eight years/100,000 miles of coverage for the high-voltage battery pack.

The ID.3 GTX will likely be more expensive to insure than other ID.3 models. It's in group 34, compared to 27 for the Pro S version of the ID.3, and 19 for the ID.3 Life. Make sure you shop around for the best deal.

We have a double dose of bad news on this front. EVs no longer get out of paying for either Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) or the government's premium car tax surcharge. From the second year onwards, you'll need to pay the same £195 annual rate as petrol, diesel and hybrid car drivers, and as the RRP for the GTX is well above the £40,000 threshold, it's an extra £425 annually from years two to six for the premium tax.

The GTX is, in effect, a single trim level. It's well equipped as standard, coming with 20-inch alloy wheels, matrix LED headlights, ambient lighting, tinted rear windows, a heated leather steering wheel, eight-speaker (plus subwoofer) Harman Kardon sound system, 12.9-inch infotainment system, wireless smartphone charger, electrically folding door mirrors, keyless entry/start, adaptive cruise control, augmented reality head-up display, front and rear parking sensors with a rear-view camera.