The new Volkswagen ID 3 The GTI hot hatchback is the first rear-wheel drive car to carry the legendary performance badge and is designed on par with its gasoline Golf brother in terms of performance, dynamics and noise.
With 322 hp and 402 lb-ft sent to its rear axle, the new range-topping ID 3 is the sub-brand’s most powerful car yet and, with a 0-100 km/h time of just 5.6 seconds, it’s also the fastest, simply beating the current Golf GTI.
It is the second electric vehicle to carry VW’s long-running badge, following the smaller ID Polo GTI, which is due to launch in the coming months, and replaces the GTX as the flagship of the newly refreshed ID 3 range, with more overtly sporty styling and a greater focus on driver engagement.
VW claims it’s a “true performance model” that will stay true to the legacy of its ancestors – including eight generations of the Golf – with comparable driving dynamics “and precise handling characteristics.”
Those attributes will be more accentuated in a new GTI driving mode, which is activated through a physical button on the steering wheel. Said to unleash the new ID 3’s “secret sauce”, this mode makes the rear-mounted engine run at maximum speed, sharpens the steering and stiffens the suspension for “maximum sportiness”.
It also enables the Launch Control function, turns all background lighting to red and activates a synthesized combustion engine soundtrack, as in the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N and Honda Super-N.
The car’s driver focus is emphasized with a purposeful new look that nods to some of its GTI predecessors while distancing it from the more restrained GTX. That car was originally introduced as an electric equivalent of the GTI, before VW decided to retire the EV-only sports sub-brand in favor of redeploying its most successful nameplates for the electric era.
“GTI DNA is written heavily on the face of the new ID 3 GTI,” VW said, highlighting the prominent badge and distinctive red stripe on the front, a feature that dates back half a century to the original Golf GTI Mk1.
It also has more aggressive bumpers, flanked at the front by vertical LED lights and decorated with red decorative elements that resemble the trailer eyes of a racing car.
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