New Volkswagen ID 7 vs Tesla Model 3

The contenders

NEW Volkswagen ID 7 77kWh Pro Match

List price £51,550
Target Price £51,550

Larger than its Tesla rival, Volkswagen’s all-new electric flagship offers limo-like interior space and an impressive 383-mile official range

Tesla Model 3 Long Range

List price £49,990
Target Price £49,990

In entry-level RWD guise, the recently revamped Model 3 is our reigning Executive Car of the Year, but this time we’re testing the range-topping Long Range version

What you’re looking at might just be Volkswagen's most important car of the past decade. It’s called the Volkswagen ID 7 and it represents the sum total of everything the brand has learnt about building electric cars (EVs) up to this point – a learning curve that has proved steeper than anticipated.

You see, while its first ID product, the Volkswagen ID 3 hatchback, impressed us with its spacious, practical interior and decent range, it was far from perfect, suffering from a bug-riddled infotainment system and a level of material quality that didn’t live up to its elevated price. And while several ID models have been launched since, including the ID 4 and ID 5 SUVs and the Volkswagen ID Buzz MPV, these haven’t fully addressed our criticisms.

Hence the importance of the ID 7 – a ‘benchmark’ car for Volkswagen and one that, on paper at least, has some promising specifications. We’re talking about a next-generation infotainment system, fancy ergonomic seats, an impressive array of standard features and a heightened standard of interior quality that will soon be implemented throughout the ID range; hard plastics are out, soft-touch materials are in. Additionally, an all-new motor and related electrical gubbins promise efficiency gains, resulting in an impressive official range of 383 miles.

But what to put it up against? It was a question that we wrestled with, because one aspect that doesn’t come across until you see it in the metal is the sheer size of the ID 7. With a length of 4961mm, it’s longer than a BMW i5 or Mercedes EQE, so you could argue that it is a rival for luxurious premium models like those.

However, its price (which is well below what you’ll pay for an i5 or EQE), electric range and standard equipment suggest the ID 7 has been positioned to steal sales from the EV of the moment: the recently facelifted Tesla Model 3. In entry-level RWD form, the Model 3 is our reigning Executive Car of the Year, but this time we’re testing it in range-topping Long Range specification, with two motors and four-wheel drive.

Driving

Performance, ride, handling, refinement

For a car that places efficiency and range ahead of outright performance, the Model 3 has no right to be as quick as it is away from the line. Stamp on the accelerator and just 4.6sec later you’ll be passing 60mph, with no drama and no gimmicky driving modes. It’s a disarmingly easy car in which to go quickly.

The ID 7, with a single motor driving the rear wheels, feels noticeably less punchy. It has strong traction off the line and surges up to motorway speeds effortlessly enough, but its 0-60mph time of 6.2sec is respectable rather than scintillating. If you want a faster ID 7, you’ll just have to hope the striking 550bhp ID X Performance concept is put into production.

The Model 3’s power advantage is one thing, but it also happens to be more than 250kg lighter than the ID 7. And it’s this relative lack of weight that helped it to stop  from 70mph in just 57.9 metres – nearly two metres before the ID 7 – in the sodden, cold conditions that dominated our day of testing.

What’s more, the Model 3 has predictable, confidence-inspiring brakes, whereas the ID 7’s are less consistent and don’t start to bite until you’ve pressed the pedal down a fair way.

More impressive, though, is the ID 7’s adaptive regenerative braking mode (which helps the car to shed speed when you lift off the accelerator while feeding energy back into the battery). It may not offer a ‘one-pedal’ driving function like the Model 3 (in which you rarely need to touch the brake pedal around town), but on the motorway the system is brilliant. Using radar, it increases the level of regen if the car in front slows down, and does so in a gentle and progressive manner.

The ID 7 feels at its best when cruising along on the motorway, where it generates a touch less wind and road noise than the Model 3 (the pillarless windows of which produce a bit of buffeting beyond 60mph). The ID 7 also has a softer, more pillowy ride than the Model 3, as long as you tick the box for Dynamic Chassis Control adaptive suspension (£1000 as part of the Exterior Pack Plus). This allows you to firm up or soften off the suspension to suit the road conditions and delivers a much more settled ride than the lumpier standard set-up.

That’s not to say the Model 3 is uncomfortable, though. Unlike the pre-facelift version, this latest model never causes thumps or thwacks to intrude, even along broken urban roads. And it stays calm and settled on twisting, uneven roads, whereas the ID 7 tends to heave and bounce a bit more in the same circumstances.

Likewise, the Model 3 stays flatter through quick changes of direction, and its sharper steering gives a greater sense of connection to the front wheels. If you were brought up believing American cars can’t navigate a bend, think again, because the Model 3 could show most petrol-powered executive cars a clean pair of heels down a country road.

Many buyers, though, will be more interested in range, and generally the bigger the battery an EV has, the farther it can travel between charges. We say ‘generally’ because Teslas often prove to be an exception to that rule, thanks to their class-leading efficiency.

It’s the same story here. As part of our winter Real Range test, we drove both cars around our simulated road route until they ran out of juice. With a sizeable, 77kWh (usable) battery, the ID 7 averaged a respectable but hardly stellar 3.3 miles per kilowatt hour (kWh), allowing it to cover 254 miles before it conked out. The Model 3 may have a slightly smaller battery (75kWh), but its greater average efficiency of 3.9 miles/kWh gave it a real-world range of 293 miles.

Now, it’s worth pointing out that the Model 3 comes with a heat pump (which is used to warm up the interior more efficiently in cold conditions), whereas this is a £1050 option on the ID 7. To see what difference this would make, we also brought along an ID 7 equipped with a heat pump. While it was more efficient than the standard car, an average of 3.6 miles/kWh and a 268-mile range represent improvements of only 5.2% in temperatures of 10-11deg C, so think carefully before ticking that option box.

Behind the wheel

Driving position, visibility, build quality

Both cars have fundamentally sound driving positions, with pedals that line up neatly with the seat and steering wheel, but you’re more elevated in the Volkswagen ID 7, whereas the Tesla Model 3 provides a sportier, low-slung feel. Personal preference plays a significant role here, of course, but on extended journeys the ID 7’s standard ‘ergoActive’ seats are hard to beat. Certified by the German Campaign for Healthier Backs (yes, really), these seats offer superior side and under-thigh support to the flatter ones in the Model 3.

Finding your ideal driving position is easier in the ID 7, too. While both cars have electric seat adjustment controls conveniently located where you’d expect to find them (on the side of the seat), the Model 3 requires you to use a combination of the central touchscreen and scroll buttons on the steering wheel to adjust everything else, including the door mirrors and the position of the steering wheel itself. This is a frustrating process and not advisable while driving.

In a further backward step for usability, the pre-facelift Model 3’s stalks behind the steering wheel have been replaced by touch pads on the front of the wheel to flash the lights, wash the windscreen, access the surround-camera view and trigger the indicators. The indicator controls are particularly tricky to use while navigating junctions and roundabouts.

Furthermore, the Model 3 lacks an instrument panel in front of the driver, and a head-up display isn’t available as an option. Instead, all essential information, including speed and navigation instructions, is displayed on the central screen. This set-up is nowhere near as easy to read at a glance as the ID 7’s combination of a small digital instrument panel and an augmented reality head-up display that shows lane-keeping guidance and can project animated navigation arrows onto the windscreen in your line of sight as you approach a junction.

When it comes to interior quality, it’s closer than you might expect. While the ID 7 is a massive step on from every other ID product so far, with lots of soft, stitched surfaces and configurable ambient lighting, the Model 3 feels just as plush, if not quite as well screwed together.

We do love the ID 7’s optional photochromatic panoramic glass roof (£2100 as part of a pack), though; with so much glass above you, it’s nice to be able to switch from clear to opaque at the touch of a button, especially on a sunny day. The Model 3 has a more conventional (albeit very large) tinted glass roof.

Infotainment systems

Volkswagen ID 7

The 15.0in touchscreen in the ID 7 is much better than those of previous ID models. Not only does its sheer size allow you to see lots of information in one go, but permanently displayed, configurable menu bars also make navigating the system much easier and less distracting. Almost any function can be programmed in to the five bespoke shortcut buttons that are displayed on the home page. However, we found the new voice control system to be frustratingly inconsistent.

Tesla Model 3

As part of the Model 3’s recent facelift, the 15.4in infotainment screen got a thinner bezel and brighter graphics, but no major changes were made to the software. However, that’s no bad thing, because the operating system remains intuitive to use, is packed full of great features, including navigation, web browsing and social media apps, and is quick to respond to inputs. Rear passengers now get their own 8.0in touchscreen, allowing them to stream movies or play video games on the move.

Space and practicality

Front space, rear space, seating flexibility, boot

Both cars have an abundance of front head and leg room, but the Volkswagen ID 7 is in another league when it comes to rear space.

This isn’t to say that the Tesla Model 3 is cramped in the back; it actually provides generous leg and head room compared with rivals such as the BMW i4 and Polestar 2. However, stepping into the back of an ID 7 feels akin to entering a luxury limousine. In addition to a lower floor and more under-thigh support, the ID 7 offers acres of leg room, allowing occupants to stretch out in complete comfort.

Similarly, while both cars can carry three passengers in the back with relative ease, thanks to their flat floors and broad glass roofs (which not only free up head room but also lend an airy feel), the physically larger ID 7 benefits from a much wider middle seat and greater elbow room.

The Model 3 fights back, however, when it comes to luggage capacity, because it has both a rear boot and a smaller ‘frunk’ under the bonnet. The ID 7 doesn’t get this luxury. So, despite having a longer, wider and more accessible boot than the Model 3 (due to it being a hatchback rather than a saloon), the ID 7 can hold only eight carry-on suitcases, compared with the nine swallowed by the Model 3 (eight in the main boot and another under the bonnet).

Boot space

Volkswagen ID 7

Boot 532-1586 litres Suitcases 8

Tesla Model 3

Boot 594 litres (rear), 88 litres (front) Suitcases 9

Buying and owning

Costs, equipment, reliability, safety and security

You’d probably expect to pay more for a limo-sized Volkswagen than a BMW 3 Series-sized Tesla, and that is indeed the case if you were to purchase the cars outright, with the Volkswagen ID 7 commanding a £1560 premium. But despite being less efficient than the Model 3, the ID 7 will be slightly cheaper for private buyers to run over three years, mainly because it’s predicted to shed value at a slower rate.

That said, most buyers will go down the PCP finance route, and here the ID 7 looks even more attractive. At the time of writing, Volkswagen was offering a £2000 deposit contribution and a low borrowing rate of 3.9% APR. You’ll therefore pay a reasonable £586 per month for the ID 7 and a punchier £758 for the Model 3, assuming you’ve put down a £5000 deposit with a 10,000-mile annual limit over four years.

While the ID 7 comes well equipped, featuring Matrix LED headlights, keyless entry and a heated steering wheel, you still have to pay extra for a number of items that are standard on the Model 3. These include heated front and outer rear seats and ventilated front seats (all part of the £2000 Interior Pack on the ID 7), plus the panoramic roof and heat pump we mentioned earlier.

Both cars will be highly tempting for company car drivers, and there’s hardly anything between them in terms of benefit-in-kind salary sacrifices: between now and April 2025, a 40% taxpayer will have to pay just £1132 to run the Model 3 and £1167 for the ID 7.

With a peak charging rate of 250kW, the Model 3 can be topped up from 10-80% in as little as 27 minutes, while the ID 7 (which can handle up to 175kW) takes a minute or two longer. Remember, though, that the Model 3 gives you full access to Tesla’s dedicated Supercharger network, which offers quicker, more reliable and cheaper charging than most other public networks. A full charge at home will take about 12 hours with the Model 3 and 15 minutes longer with the ID 7.

The ID 7 is too new to have featured in the most recent What Car? Reliability Survey, but the pre-facelift Model 3 ranked ninth out of 20 models in the electric car category. In the overall brand league table, Tesla came 10th out of 32, well above Volkswagen (22nd).

Both cars were awarded a five-star safety rating, but it’s hard to compare the results, because the Model 3 was tested under a less stringent procedure when it first arrived in Europe back in 2019.

Verdict

Volkswagen has been clear from the outset that the ID 7 is a car by which the company should be judged. So, has it delivered?

In short, yes. The ID 7 is the best EV that Volkswagen has produced to date, by quite some margin. Not only is it a quiet and comfortable cruiser, but it’s also immensely spacious and is currently available with tempting finance deals.

The ID 7 might have beaten the old Model 3, but Tesla has moved the goalposts yet again. On top of its potent performance, long range, generous level of kit and superb charging network, the latest Model 3’s gains in interior quality and refinement mean there simply isn’t a better EV package currently available.

For all the latest reviews, advice and new car deals, sign up to the What Car? newsletter here

1st – Tesla Model 3

For Fantastic efficiency and range; punchy performance; very well equipped; capacious boot; Tesla’s charging network
Against Some fiddly controls; predicted resale values aren’t as strong as the ID 7’s
Recommended options None

What Car? rating 5 stars out of 5

Tesla Model 3 review >>

Tesla Model 3 deals >>

2nd – Volkswagen ID 7

For Smoother ride; quieter at a cruise; acres of rear leg room; more comfortable seats; cheaper to buy on PCP finance
Against Inconsistent brakes; not as sharp through corners; so-so real-world range; you’ll want to add some options
Recommended options Exterior Pack Plus with electronic darkening panoramic sunroof (£2100)

What Car? rating 4 stars out of 5

Volkswagen ID 7 review >>

Volkswagen ID 7 deals >>

Specifications: Volkswagen ID 7 77kWh Pro Match

Engine Electric motor
Peak power 282bhp
Peak torque 402lb ft
Gearbox 1-spd automatic, RWD
0-60mph 6.2sec
30-70mph in kickdown 5.3sec
Top speed 112mph
Braking 30-0mph 10.6m
Braking 70-0mph 59.7m
Noise at 30mph 59.3dB
Noise at 70mph 65.9dB
Kerb weight 2172kg
Tyre size (standard) 235/50 R19 (front), 255/45 R19 (rear)
Battery capacity (usable) 77kWh
Rapid charging type CCS
Maximum charging rate 175kW
Charging time 7kW home wallbox (0-100%) 12hr 15min
Charging time rapid charger, peak rate (10-80%) 28min
Real-world range 254 miles
Official range 383 miles
Efficiency on test 3.3 miles/kWh
CO2 emissions 0g/km

Specifications: Tesla Model 3 Long Range

Engine Two electric motors
Peak power 351bhp (est)
Peak torque 377lb ft (est)
Gearbox 1-spd automatic, 4WD
0-60mph 4.6sec
30-70mph in kickdown 3.7sec
Top speed 145mph
Braking 30-0mph 10.6m
Braking 70-0mph 57.9m
Noise at 30mph 60.1dB
Noise at 70mph 66.1dB
Kerb weight 1899kg
Tyre size (standard) 235/45 R1
Battery capacity (usable) 75kWh
Rapid charging type CCS
Maximum charging rate 250kW
7kW home wallbox (0-100%) 12hr
Rapid charger, peak rate (10-80%) 27min
Real-world range 293 miles
Official range 390 miles (on 19in wheels)
Efficiency on test 3.9 miles/kWh
CO2 emissions 0g/km

Read more: Best and worst electric cars >>