Volkswagen ID.3 review

The range is simple – that's range as in choice of models, not range as in how far you can drive before the battery is flat. You can have a 58kWh or 77kWh battery, both with 204bhp. They're called Pro and Pro S.

Sticker prices are £37,115 and £42,870, but that step-up isn't just about the battery. In the Pro S you're also getting 19-inch versus 18-inch wheels, velour trim and configurable colour ambient lighting. Also remember the bigger battery has 170kW DC charging versus 110kW.

Rather stingily, VW wants an extra £970 for a heat pump that reduces range loss when you run the cabin heating in winter. Most rivals have it as standard. The full driver assist pack is £2,095. Matrix headlights are part of another £1,725 pack. The HUD is £770. You could run the price up all too easily.

Good news for finance buyers: at launch VW dealers have a £3,000 PCP deposit contribution for you, with a 4.9 per cent lease rate. For the Pro that comes up over four years as: deposit £6,430, £447 a month and optional final payment £17,316.

HOW'S THE REAL-WORLD RANGE AND CHARGING?

We’ve tested the pre-facelift Pro variant (which didn't differ in official consumption) in both freezing winter conditions as well as searing summer heat, with predictable results. On a cold, frosty, dark December day, and omitting to pre-condition, against an official range of 260 miles we got 2.8 miles per kWh, or 165 miles' range. In mild weather and mixed roads we got 3.4m/kWh for just shy of 200 miles. In the 77kWh Pro S that mild-weather consumption equates to 261 miles. Driving gently you could do better than 300.

Charging power is up to an impressive 170kW with the big battery; 120kW with the smaller. Our experience shows that keeps a decent current well into the upper reaches of the battery, so we believe VW's quoted 5-80 per cent times of times of 30 minutes (pro S) and 35 minutes (Pro).

On the Pro S that means 100 miles of real-world range in 10 minutes. But this depends on finding an ultra-rapid charger of course. They also have a three-phase onboard AC charger but only at 11kW, so it's not much faster than you'd get using the standard 7.4kW single-phase AC.

Servicing is every two years with no mileage condition – a sign of the simplicity of EVs. Warranty is three years/60,000 miles, and it's an eight-year 100,000 mile battery warranty to 70 per cent capacity.