• A hotter VW ID.3, the ID.3 GTX, has gone on sale in Germany priced at €52,295 ($57,930).
  • A current incentive scheme in Germany reduces the price by €3,570 ($3,900) to €48,725 ($53,260), but you can get a new Golf GTI Clubsport for €48,075 ($52,550).
  • The 322 hp GTX Performance gets to 62 mph in 5.7 seconds, compared with 5.9 seconds for both the base ICE-powered Golf GTI and existing 282 hp GTX, and 5.6 seconds for the GTI Clubsport.

VW launched a new Golf GTI and GTI Clubsport this year, but the brand’s hot hatch fans in Europe trying to work out which of those to buy can add another option to their shopping list. The electric ID.3 GTX Performance has just gone on sale, offering an extra kick over the existing ID.3 GTX, and an interesting alternative to the GTI Clubsport.

The ID.3 GTX and GTX Performance were both launched in the spring, but until now only the base GTX has been available to order. Both models get a single, rear-mounted electric motor, but while the GTX makes 282 hp (286 PS) and takes 5.9 seconds to reach 62 mph (100 km/h), the GTX Performance benefits from a beefier 322 hp (325 PS) motor that drops the 62 mph time down to 5.7 seconds.

Related: 322 HP VW ID.3 GTX Performance Is The Golf GTI’s Electric Alter Ego

Other Performance-trim benefits include a 124 mph (200 km/h) – rather than 111 mph (180 km/h) – top speed and DCC adaptive dampers in place of the stock GTX’s passive shocks. The $1,500 premium takes the price of a zero-options Performance to €52,295 ($57,930), though VW is offering German customers a €3,570 ($3,900) incentive – also available on the base GTX – that drops the price of the Performance to €48,725 ($53,260).

And that discounted price brings it very close to its ICE-powered alter ego, the €48,075 ($52,550) Golf GTI Clubsport. The Clubbie makes 296 hp (301 PS) from its 2.0-liter turbocharged engine, and just sneaks ahead of the GTX Performance in a race to 62 mph, getting there in 5.6 seconds, a tenth faster.

VW’s ID.3 GTX Performance Is Slower And More Expensive Than A Golf GTI Clubsport, Which Would You Pick?

We’re still waiting for a chance to get behind the wheel of all four of the GTX and GTI variants, but from what we’ve seen so far the entry level GTI looks the best deal of them all. Now uprated to 262 hp (265 PS) as part of the MK8.5 Golf facelift, it hits 62 mph in just 5.9 seconds and costs thousands less than the other three cars.

A base GTI will set German buyers back €44,505 ($48,650), though if we’re talking good deals, it’s American GTI buyers that come out on top. The new GTI is likely to cost just $34,000 in base trim in the US, where the ID.3 is not offered in any guise.

VW’s ID.3 GTX Performance Is Slower And More Expensive Than A Golf GTI Clubsport, Which Would You Pick?
VW’s ID.3 GTX Performance Is Slower And More Expensive Than A Golf GTI Clubsport, Which Would You Pick?
VW’s ID.3 GTX Performance Is Slower And More Expensive Than A Golf GTI Clubsport, Which Would You Pick?
VW’s ID.3 GTX Performance Is Slower And More Expensive Than A Golf GTI Clubsport, Which Would You Pick?
VW’s ID.3 GTX Performance Is Slower And More Expensive Than A Golf GTI Clubsport, Which Would You Pick?
VW’s ID.3 GTX Performance Is Slower And More Expensive Than A Golf GTI Clubsport, Which Would You Pick?
VW’s ID.3 GTX Performance Is Slower And More Expensive Than A Golf GTI Clubsport, Which Would You Pick?
VW’s ID.3 GTX Performance Is Slower And More Expensive Than A Golf GTI Clubsport, Which Would You Pick?
VW’s ID.3 GTX Performance Is Slower And More Expensive Than A Golf GTI Clubsport, Which Would You Pick?
VW’s ID.3 GTX Performance Is Slower And More Expensive Than A Golf GTI Clubsport, Which Would You Pick?