Volkswagen ID.3 review: reliability & safety rating

The Volkswagen ID.3 is built using relatively new technology, and while it’s not the first electric car the company has made, it’s tough to give a definitive verdict on its reliability. In the 2023 Driver Power owner satisfaction survey, Volkswagen came 27th out of the 32 manufacturers ranked. That really isn’t great news and is even worse than last year’s performance, though it mostly reflects the brand's combustion-engined cars.

Volkswagen ID.3 reliability & problems

In the 2023 Driver Power survey, 26% of Volkswagen respondents reported an issue with their car in the first year – while this above-average figure isn’t a good sign, it’s worth considering that this is mainly reflective of the brand’s petrol and diesel cars. EVs are generally expected to be more reliable than petrol or diesel models, because they have fewer moving parts. There are also fewer parts that need servicing, so it’s harder for owners to miss key aspects of maintenance like oil changes. There are lots of Volkswagen dealers in the UK, too, so you should have no issue finding one that can take care of your car should it have any problems.

Safety

Euro NCAP crash-tested the ID.3 in October 2020, awarding it the maximum five-star overall score, as well as 87% and 89% for adult and child occupant protection respectively, plus 88% for its safety assistance systems. The body commented that: "robust structural integrity and the latest in restraint technology are combined with high-tech sensors to offer excellent all-round protection for the car’s occupants and for other road-users".

Standard safety equipment is a strong point, too. All sorts of high-tech kit is available, including autonomous emergency braking (AEB), adaptive cruise control, lane-keeping assistance, a reversing camera and matrix LED headlights for superior visibility at night. There's also something called 'swerve support', which adds to the amount of steering force you put in when you steer to avoid a crash.