New 322bhp Volkswagen ID 3 GTX revealed 

On sale Summer 2024 | Price from £45,000 (est)

If you prefer a Madras to a Korma, the new VW ID 3 GTX could be right up your street.

It’s a hot version of the VW ID 3 so it’ll be going up against a variety of other new performance-focused electric cars including the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N and MG4 XPower.

Interestingly, though, while those two cars have enormous power figures (up to 641bhp and 429bhp respectively), the ID 3 GTX is more reserved with its power output.

In regular GTX form, it produces 282bhp from its single electric motor for a 0-62mph time of 6.0 seconds (the motor is mounted above the rear axle, giving it rear-wheel drive). There's also a GTX Performance version, also with one motor, which produces 322bhp for 0-62mph in 5.6 seconds. 

While both versions offer a performance boost over the regular ID 3 Pro, it’s still no match for the acceleration offered by the 5 N and the XPower. Those cars can sprint from 0-62mph in 3.4 seconds and 3.8 seconds respectively.

However, the ID 3 GTX wins back some points for distance driving. Both version are powered by a 79kWh usable capacity battery that delivers an official range of up to 373 miles. That's much more impressive than the rivals' ranges, at 266 miles for the 5 N and 239 for the XPower.

Charging speeds are fairly competitive by class standards: both versions have a maximum charging rate of 175kWh, which means a 10-80% top up should take around 26 minutes with a suitably powerful public charger. That’s slightly quicker than the XPower, but slower than the 5 N.

To go with its power and performance upgrades, the styling of the ID 3 GTX has been sharpened, with more aggressive front and rear bumper designs, triangular LED daytime running lights and blacked out exterior trim. The GTX versions also get bespoke 20in alloy wheels.

Inside, the sporty styling theme continues, with unique GTX front sport seats, a sports steering wheel and red dashboard stitching. Elsewhere inside, the GTX features a larger 12.9in touchscreen (up from 10.0in in the regular VW ID 3), as well as Volkswagen’s upgraded infotainment system, which will get integrated ChatGPT later via a software update.

We’ve tried the new system in the VW ID 7 and can confirm that it’s much easier to use than the old set-up, with a more intuitive layout and a quicker touchscreen response. It does, however, still have the fiddly touch-sensitive sliders for the volume and climate controls, but these are now at least backlit for driving at night.  

We’ve had the chance to sit inside the new ID 3 GTX, and can confirm the interior quality is very similar to the regular ID 3's. That means you get some squidgy plastics on the dashboard and doors, although it doesn’t take long to find some unpleasant and harder materials in other areas, such as on the centre console. 

Full UK specifications for the ID 3 GTX are yet to be confirmed, but we can expect prices for the GTX and GTX Performance to start from around £45,000 and £48,000 respectively. For comparison, the XPower starts at £36,495 while the 5 N costs from £65,000.

Read more: The UK's best electric cars

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