Forty-nine years after Volkswagen revealed the first ever Golf hot hatch we’re still waiting for an electric GTI-branded production car. But today VW is launching the next best thing, the ID.3 GTX, which makes its world debut alongside the ID.7 GTX you can read about in our separate story.
We got our first taste of a hot ID.3 back in 2021 when VW released the ID.X concept, though the production ID.3 GTX is different in a couple of key areas. Because while the ID.X had two motors and all-wheel drive – a setup it pinched from the production ID.4 GTX unveiled a month earlier – the ID.3 GTX, like all other ID.3s, sticks with just a single APP550 motor mounted at the back and driving the rear wheels.
But VW’s motor tech has come a long way in the last year, and if you’ve paid attention to the power boost recently handed down to single-motor ID.4s you’ll understand why the Wolfsburg team felt that they could settle for one motor and still build a convincing hot hatch.
Read: New VW ID.7 GTX Tourer Adds Zing To Electric Wagon With 335 HP
The ID.3 GTX is actually two cars. Base models, branded simply GTX, get the same 282 hp (286 PS / 210 kW) motor now fitted to the two-wheel drive ID.4, and can scramble to 62 mph (100 kmh) in 6.0 seconds. That’s not exactly lightning fast for an electric car or a hot hatch these days, but it does mean the GTX is both more powerful and accelerates more quickly than the punchiest ID.3 previously available, which has 201 hp (204 PS / 150 kW) and gets to 62 mph in 7.3 seconds.
It also puts it narrowly ahead of the recently facelifted Mk8.5 Golf GTI, which sends 262 hp (266 PS / 195 kW) to its front wheels and takes 6.2 seconds to hit 62 mph. VW says the electric motor has been set up to deliver maximum thrust within milliseconds of you matting the right pedal, so it’s likely to feel faster than the figures suggest.
GTX Performance goes 0-60 in 5.6 seconds
Pushing the electric envelope a little further, and introducing us to VW’s most powerful individual motor yet, is the GTX Performance. That makes the same 402 lb-ft (545 Nm) of torque as the base GTX but bumps the output to 322 hp (326 PS / 240 kW), helping cut the sprint time to 5.6 seconds. Which is only 6 hp (6 PS) and 0.3 seconds down on what the bi-motor, all-wheel drive ID.X hot hatch concept promised, and means the fastest ID.3 is faster than a single-motor Tesla Model 3, which needs 6.1 seconds to reach 62 mph. And while the entry-level GTX’s 111 mph (180 kmh) top speed improves on the regular ID.3’s electronically limited 99 mph (160 kmh) maximum, the Performance lives up to its name with a 124 mph (200 kmh) top end.
Both models run single-speed transmissions and get the same 79 kWh battery that’s claimed to offer 373 miles (600 km) of range and can be charged at 175 kW. But while each version gets suspension revisions to suit the extra go and their hot hatch personas, the GTX Performance gets more serious with standard DCC adaptive dampers that ought to improve both the comfort and body control versus the non-Performance GTX.
Compared with the ID.3-based ID.X concept with its intricate forged alloy wheels and dayglo detailing, the production GTX looks disappointingly mellow, with little more than some oversized mesh in a redesigned front bumper, black mirror caps and roof trim and a new set of 20-inch five-spoke ‘Skagen’ wheels marking it out as the hot hatch of the lineup from the front and side views. At the rear there’s a new gloss-black diffuser, trick LED taillights (LED Matrix lights are optional up-front) and GTX lettering where you’d find an ID.3 badge in the standard car.
Related: Next-Gen VW Golf EV Means Similarly-Sized ID.3 Could Be Killed Off
VW does seem to have tried a little harder inside, though GTI fans might be disappointed to note that there’s no plaid seat fabric in Wolfsburg’s first electric hot hatch. What you do get is red stitching and chrome GTX lettering on the sports steering wheel, more red stitching and GTX logos on the stock sports seats, and the option of upgrading to ergoActive performance seats with integrated headrests, electric adjustment and adjustable thigh support.
Like all ID.3 models going forward, the GTX also receives a larger (12.9-inch) touchscreen with a redesigned menu system and illuminated heater sliders to answer criticisms of the original EV. There’s a Wellness app that can tweak the lighting, climate control and audio system to either wake you up or calm you down, and the GTX also features the ChatGPT-powered voice assistant VW is rolling out across its model lines. Just don’t ask it who makes the fastest electric hot hatch or you might come away disappointed.
