The Volkswagen ID.3 GTI could struggle to win over the hot-hatch faithful — despite being the most powerful GTI it’s ever made | Tech Radar
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The Volkswagen ID.3 GTI could struggle to win over the hot-hatch faithful — despite being the most powerful GTI it’s ever made
The ID.3 GTI boasts one extra horsepower over the Golf GTI Edition 50
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It’s the second model in the lineup to wear the marque’s famous badge
Rear-wheel drive and its weight could deter the faithful
Volkswagen has taken the wraps off its highly anticipated ID.3 GTI, arguably the closest thing we will get to a fully electrified Golf GTI until the German marque decides to make one.
This is the second model in the lineup to wear the famous performance badge, after VW announced that the smaller ID. Polo would also be given the red-hot treatment.
Volkswagen says the ID.3 GTI will follow the ID. Polo GTI into production, with the former due to launch in the first quarter of 2027.
It’s also a sign that Volkswagen is getting more serious about this high-performance electric stuff, after pussyfooting around with the slightly warmer but very confusing GTX badging on earlier ID.3s and, perhaps most bizarre of all, the ID. Buzz.
But soon, customers will be able to get behind the wheel of an all-electric hatchback that boasts 240 k W (326 hp), 545 Nm (403 lb-ft) of torque and a 0-62 mph sprint time of just 5.6 seconds. As a show of defiance, the ID.3 GTI has one horsepower more than the previously most potent Golf GTI Edition 50.
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But unlike any other GTI model in history, power from the single motor is delivered to the rear wheels, while engineers told Evo Magazine that they tweaked the software to prevent those rear tires from spinning up when the full force of the torque is unleashed, even with traction control deactivated.
Unlike the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N and 6 N, as well as the cheeky little Honda Super N, Volkswagen hasn’t decided to offer simulated gear shifts to increase driver engagement, but it has introduced fake engine noise into the cabin to crank up the sportiness.
While the exterior now comes in the famous Tornado Red GTI paint color and sports some bespoke 20-inch alloy wheels, the majority of the performance touches have been added inside the cabin, where tartan-style upholstery and a big GTI button on the steering wheel give the game away.
Volkswagen claims that despite the performance on tap, its ID.3 GTI will still manage 373 miles on a single charge, although peak charging speeds are capped at 183 k W, making it difficult to perform the sort of rapid, track-day battery top-ups that Hyundai’s high-performance EVs are capable of.
Volkswagen has more than 50 years of GTI history, and nearly all of those vehicles sporting the famous badge have been celebrated by fans, owners and journalists alike.
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From the first Golf GTI in 1975 to the more recent Edition 50, they’ve all delivered scampering, front-wheel-drive thrills alongside Volkswagen’s comfort, build quality, usability and purposefully restrained styling. Fans can argue all day long about which iteration was the GOAT, but it’s generally agreed that they are all some of the best hot hatches ever made.
Attempting to transfer this badge into the electric era was always going to be a tough ask, as everything that made some of the best GTIs legendary is missing here.
According to Top Gear, the new ID.3 GTI weighs around two tons, which is a good 500kg heavier than even the weightiest ICE Golfs, while the decision to send power to the rear wheels will fundamentally alter the way this electric GTI behaves.
Couple this with the lack of synthesized (or real) gear shifting and other technological wizardry that makes Hyundai and Honda’s performance EVs feel more engaging, and what we are left with might be the fastest and most powerful ID.3, but is it really a true Golf GTI successor?
I’d love to be proven wrong, but I feel Volkswagen is going to have a tough time convincing petrolheads to ditch their Mark 7 Golf GTIs and climb into this.
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Leon has been navigating a world where automotive and tech collide for almost 20 years, reporting on everything from in-car entertainment to robotised manufacturing plants. Currently, EVs are the focus of his attentions, but give it a few years and it will be electric vertical take-off and landing craft. Outside of work hours, he can be found tinkering with distinctly analogue motorcycles, because electric motors are no replacement for an old Honda inline four.
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