I have the Cupra Born variant and every time I read a review criticising the buttons I think all they do is copy each other for something to say. Well done for pointing out the buttons work just fine.
I am using Android Auto a lot in my ID.3. With a stronger touch on the “Activate voice control“ button you will get to “Google Assistant“ instead of “Hello ID“. Pretty nice feature actually.
Good, comprehensive video. After driving an ID3 for 3 years, the only point I differ is on the 'deeper press' which I really don't get on with and haven't used since soon after we got the car because it wasn't reliable. However once I discovered the slide function I was completely fine, I find that it works very well, for ACC especially. So I have never needed to use the deeper press. VW really should have given owners some form of easy to read manual or tutorial on this stuff. I use the central volume slider as a quick mute function, it works very well for that.
I bought a facelifted ID3 second hand and love it. I have no problem with the controls but I thought the idea of putting the heated steering wheel on the dropdown was a good one. I already use the 2 finger tap for the heated seats. Thanks Martin for posting this informative video.
Thanks for a good and objective review (and for the useful reminder about the option of using the shortcuts, which I'd forgotten). Putting the opinions of journalists to one side, from a driver perspective we've had very few issues with the controls on our ID4, even if we didn't understand all the subtleties. Even for climate, it's a single tap to open the full menu - but even then, the only reason to do that is to switch air recirculation on or off, as everything else runs automatically. The feature in the settings to have the heated steering wheel and heated seats come on automatically when it's cold also helps keep things simple. Could you maybe do an episode looking at battery degradation - eg with an aviloo kit? Would be interesting for people looking to buy second hand, as there is so much FUD flying around on the topic.
Thank you, Martin! You are so excellent at explaining the details, even the details of the details. Me being a person who's trying to decide if our next car will be a (used) ID3, e-Niro or Kona, your videos are gold! 😊❤
Superb video. Thank you. We bought our ID.3 in March 2023. It is an early 1st Edition (November 2020) and came on v2.3 software. The only issue this presented was the 12v battery issue which was resolved under warranty. The car was upgraded to v3.2 at a VW dealer in December 2023 and we have had no issues at all with the car. We tend to use "auto" functionality wherever it is available and as we set up anything before departure, our use of the infotainment screen is very limited on the move. I prefer to use it to track journey stats so I have a very informed position on consumption. I just like this. I don't use carplay or AA preferring to let my android phone do route navigation where required and we tend to not listen to music or radio so the limited but still very adequate speaker system in the 1st Edition does not bother us. Just our preference. So many "journalists" flocked to be critical of the controls in the VW for no good reason. My opinion of many of these sheep simply repeating the bleats of their peers so as not to look out of place really did take a hit. The experiences of owners is far far more informative than the utterances of these people. My pet gripe is that we have the car serviced by a Cleevely EV mobile. They are extremely good but they cannot reset the VW service due indicator just like many other independents. Whilst this is of no consequence as we intend to just keep the car anyway and I have a comprehensive paper record of servicing, it does seem that VW are very narky about service indicators and records. It tarnishes for me the ownership of an otherwise very good and capable car. Such a tacky and cheap attitude to owners.
So pleased you've explained nicely the positives along with the negatives. Motoring journalists don't, I think, read the manuals, and never find the neat features you've mentioned, such as operating all four windows by long-pressing the 'rear' touch surface. I've had my ID.3 for four years now, I really like the window buttons. Unlike my previous cars, there's no risk that I'll embarrass myself by pulling up at McDonald's and winding the rear window down to talk to the server! I'm not so keen on the steering wheel haptic buttons, I tend to change the radio channel when I'm maneouvring, which is particularly irksome if I'm using the media player to listen to an audio book - it starts again from the beginning!
Well said, i've owned mercedes, jaguars,etc and the ID3 is my first EV. Had it for 5 months and these things like the touch controls and interior plastics are really a very minor thing and once you've owned it for a few days its all second nature. Only thing that irritates me about the older sub 5.0 infotainment is the sluggish nature of it. Slow to start up and for example press the reverse camera to 180 degrees view and there is a second delay. Sometimes you end up playing button ping pong because you think it hasnt worked so you press again and go back to where you were.
Thanks for these videos on the little details. I've had my 2023 id.3 for 7 months, very happy with it and I tolerate the suboptimal interface. Looking forward to a minor software update.
That is pretty bad that VW goes backward on that touch buttons… Your videos are very good and complete (the most precise I’ve seen on the ID.3) and VW should listen more to users like you instead of listening to journalists who only repeats the same things to surf on the trend. They should continue innovating like this, I really dont understand why some people blamed them for this. That’s pretty much the same story with the plastic board on the front, personally I dont touch this everyday and I dont care if it’s plastic finished as it costs less and that this economy serves to get the car more functionnable.
Good explanation, I find the controls fine, never understood the fuss over the window controls I think it’s an improvement over the old four buttons were I would get in wrong more times then not. Were I would agree is the back lighting on the sliders this is a problem and I understand this has been resolved, I have a 2022 ID5 very pleased with it.
We own a second hand ID3 for 3 months. At first I was really disappointed about the touch controls. The classic steering wheel on my T-Roc feels so much better. Atleast, I thought that. After driving the ID3 for a few days, I got used to the touch controls. And, it works excellent. I have no complaints about how VW implemented this and like them as much as I like my classic T-Roc steering wheel. It's a little different, but works great.
On my ID3 (just coming up to 3 years ownership) the steering wheel button slide action activates frequently when turning corners when my hands brush across them. I never use the top sliders on the central console because I can't see what or where they are from the driver's seat. On the lower buttons, for the first 3-5 mins of driving, the only things that work are the drive mode and parking mode buttons, pressing any other button activates one of those two. Eventually the climate & vehicle settings buttons work, and then I can turn off the lane keeping so that doesn't try and kill me... The climate settings only ever remembers the last setting from the app, so if I set a lowish temperature from the app to defrost the car in the morning, until I set a more usual temperature via the app it always starts up with the low temperature. And you can't change it until the software has finished booting, maybe 3 minutes. (Why would I set a low temperature for defrosting? Because using a normal temperature probably caused the windscreen to crack last year.) For the rear/front window button selector, it's really easy to brush against the selector when you're trying to wind down a window, and it forces you to look at the state of the button when driving if it's important to (say) not let the dog jump out of the car. On some screens, the resize effect causes UI elements to move which is quite irritating. Apparently later software updates have fixed some issues, but my two nearest VW dealers have come up with 2 years and 6 months of excuses as to why they can't do the work so I'll never know for sure. Despite the not particularly good UI, and a few other niggles, as you can get some excellent leasing deals on ID3s at the moment (£250/month), I absolutely would have gone for another one if the dealer support was any good at all.
sorry you're still suffering sluggish response. My 4 years of ID.3 ownership have taken me from software 2.3 to 2.4, to 3.2 and recently to 3.7. Everything now responds pretty sharply. There are still a few occasional niggles though.
I had an ID3 for nine month, no issues with the touch buttons. I have a Cupra Born for two years now, no issues and the ID7 I have too work great. The Seat Tarraco which I had before the ID7 had the traditional buttons and I found them harder to find without looking on the steering wheel because they are flat and don't have the contours as in the MEB cars. Everyone who tests the MEB cars you know what they will complain on ;-). In case you don't like touch buttons you can use voice control as you showed. The trues is if you have a modern car like the ID3 you would need 20-30 plus real physical buttons and control wheels to operate all the functions. I have my doubts if this would be better. BTW in one of your last videos I learned some new stuff even I am driving MEB cars for almost 3 years. Continue your good work!
I have an id.4 and agree with your view on the buttons. I really enjoy the car, but what I dislike is the weak window washer sprayers and bad window viper design.
I think the key point that gets people’s backs up (mine included slightly) is these haptic buttons are in deed “fine” but not better than physical buttons in any way other than saving the OEM some pennies. I have the MK7.5 E-Golf and personally love everything is touchy felt still, I never “accidentally” press a button or have one “miss register” and ultimately it just feels better to press a proper button. I had a loaner polo with “touch” climate controls and hated it, yes I could use it but it was a downgrade in my option.
Benefits of touch/haptic buttons, as mentioned in the video: - more reliable - easier to clean - more functionality enabled by having a normal and deep press of the same button Benefits of traditional physical buttons: - we are used to them And the topic of cost is actually quite important. Like it or not, cars have to be built to a budget in this competitive market. I would much rather the manufacturer cut cost somewhere where the result of the user experience is “fine” rather than on crucial aspects, like for example drivetrain etc.
Thank you for the explanation. Honestly, the issue I had with these haptic buttons is that, particularly with the first generation of the ID3, they added to the huge feeling of cheapness. In the first generation the interior was extremely cheap feeling. And whilst these controls would be something one could get used to, it still felt that you were pressing horrible pieces of plastics. A well weighted rubberized volume knob feels a lot better and more premium for instance. I was extremely disappointed as I was really looking forward to the ID3 and actually would still love to get one. The face lift improved the interior but we’re still not there.
The i3 has those rubberised switches and they wear quite badly. What is interesting that in an effort to combat the criticism of bad interior quality, Tesla switched from textured plastic to metal dials on the steering wheel. The result was a nicer look but they were counter intuitively more slippery, making them actually slightly more difficult to use. I suppose pros and cons to each solution. (No denying the extensive use of hard plastics was a huge miss on the early ID.3s from a company renowned for build quality.)
I've a very early id3 and aside from the front screen randomly cracking and the rear screen letting in water, I really like the car. The steering wheel controls are fine, after a couple of weeks of just their no problem. The biggest pain is the climate control. Turn on the heated steering wheel or the seats? Open the climate screen, tap the screen 3 times for the lowest setting, close the screen, drive away. Stop at the shop, get out the car, start the process again when you get back in as they've switched off. Maybe I'm missing something? Give me a button please.
Yes it does! But I will be honest, I rarely use it. The car having a very short bonnet and an excellent rear view camera, combined with the fantastic turning circle, parking manually is not a problem.
I don't really know, why people complain so much about the touch buttons. As you said, you get used to them. When buying my ID.4 I also looked at the Tesla M3 and was very annoyed about them removing the turn signal stalks and adding two buttons on the steering wheel. This makes no sense to me, but the touch buttons on the ID are fine.
I have absolutely no problems with these buttons. It's not like they react as soon as you touch them only slightly, they react like normal buttons if you press them. But you can additionally swipe over them, e.g. to increase the speed in the Travel Assist. I think, some people just want to find something to critizise, and here it is the buttons, no matter if it is a real issue or not (spoiler: it is not).
No, they're not. Theyre beyond awful. I've been driving ID3s for 2 years and the buttons are absolutely terrible. I also drive Golfs with proper buttons and they are much better -in a different league.
I would recommend you to read through all the other comments here from actual owners. The overarching theme is that it’s not a big deal at worst and that they are quite neat at best.
Ahoy Martin, having owned an iD3 since 2021 I look forward to your excellent explanations and always find something new. How about covering the Lefthand Mirror dipping while reversing, I find it very helpful. Keep up the good work.🫡
I have the Cupra Born variant and every time I read a review criticising the buttons I think all they do is copy each other for something to say. Well done for pointing out the buttons work just fine.
Most criticism of electric cars in general is from copycats who haven’t experienced what they’re criticising
I am using Android Auto a lot in my ID.3. With a stronger touch on the “Activate voice control“ button you will get to “Google Assistant“ instead of “Hello ID“. Pretty nice feature actually.
Good, comprehensive video. After driving an ID3 for 3 years, the only point I differ is on the 'deeper press' which I really don't get on with and haven't used since soon after we got the car because it wasn't reliable. However once I discovered the slide function I was completely fine, I find that it works very well, for ACC especially. So I have never needed to use the deeper press.
VW really should have given owners some form of easy to read manual or tutorial on this stuff.
I use the central volume slider as a quick mute function, it works very well for that.
I bought a facelifted ID3 second hand and love it. I have no problem with the controls but I thought the idea of putting the heated steering wheel on the dropdown was a good one. I already use the 2 finger tap for the heated seats. Thanks Martin for posting this informative video.
I owned 2 ID 3 since September 2020 , I like this buttons , works well, learning time about 1 week at the beginning 🤗
Thanks for a good and objective review (and for the useful reminder about the option of using the shortcuts, which I'd forgotten). Putting the opinions of journalists to one side, from a driver perspective we've had very few issues with the controls on our ID4, even if we didn't understand all the subtleties. Even for climate, it's a single tap to open the full menu - but even then, the only reason to do that is to switch air recirculation on or off, as everything else runs automatically. The feature in the settings to have the heated steering wheel and heated seats come on automatically when it's cold also helps keep things simple.
Could you maybe do an episode looking at battery degradation - eg with an aviloo kit? Would be interesting for people looking to buy second hand, as there is so much FUD flying around on the topic.
Thank you, Martin! You are so excellent at explaining the details, even the details of the details. Me being a person who's trying to decide if our next car will be a (used) ID3, e-Niro or Kona, your videos are gold! 😊❤
Clear, concise and comprehensive 👍🏼
Excellent informative video, thank you.
Superb video. Thank you.
We bought our ID.3 in March 2023. It is an early 1st Edition (November 2020) and came on v2.3 software. The only issue this presented was the 12v battery issue which was resolved under warranty.
The car was upgraded to v3.2 at a VW dealer in December 2023 and we have had no issues at all with the car.
We tend to use "auto" functionality wherever it is available and as we set up anything before departure, our use of the infotainment screen is very limited on the move. I prefer to use it to track journey stats so I have a very informed position on consumption. I just like this.
I don't use carplay or AA preferring to let my android phone do route navigation where required and we tend to not listen to music or radio so the limited but still very adequate speaker system in the 1st Edition does not bother us. Just our preference.
So many "journalists" flocked to be critical of the controls in the VW for no good reason. My opinion of many of these sheep simply repeating the bleats of their peers so as not to look out of place really did take a hit. The experiences of owners is far far more informative than the utterances of these people.
My pet gripe is that we have the car serviced by a Cleevely EV mobile. They are extremely good but they cannot reset the VW service due indicator just like many other independents. Whilst this is of no consequence as we intend to just keep the car anyway and I have a comprehensive paper record of servicing, it does seem that VW are very narky about service indicators and records. It tarnishes for me the ownership of an otherwise very good and capable car. Such a tacky and cheap attitude to owners.
Well done! Inhaber an ID.3 coming later this week and now I feel ready to go. Thanks formthe detailed explaination
So pleased you've explained nicely the positives along with the negatives. Motoring journalists don't, I think, read the manuals, and never find the neat features you've mentioned, such as operating all four windows by long-pressing the 'rear' touch surface. I've had my ID.3 for four years now, I really like the window buttons. Unlike my previous cars, there's no risk that I'll embarrass myself by pulling up at McDonald's and winding the rear window down to talk to the server! I'm not so keen on the steering wheel haptic buttons, I tend to change the radio channel when I'm maneouvring, which is particularly irksome if I'm using the media player to listen to an audio book - it starts again from the beginning!
Well said, i've owned mercedes, jaguars,etc and the ID3 is my first EV. Had it for 5 months and these things like the touch controls and interior plastics are really a very minor thing and once you've owned it for a few days its all second nature. Only thing that irritates me about the older sub 5.0 infotainment is the sluggish nature of it. Slow to start up and for example press the reverse camera to 180 degrees view and there is a second delay. Sometimes you end up playing button ping pong because you think it hasnt worked so you press again and go back to where you were.
Thanks for these videos on the little details. I've had my 2023 id.3 for 7 months, very happy with it and I tolerate the suboptimal interface. Looking forward to a minor software update.
Thank you so much for this video! So many reviewers fail to point out these features.
That is pretty bad that VW goes backward on that touch buttons…
Your videos are very good and complete (the most precise I’ve seen on the ID.3) and VW should listen more to users like you instead of listening to journalists who only repeats the same things to surf on the trend.
They should continue innovating like this, I really dont understand why some people blamed them for this. That’s pretty much the same story with the plastic board on the front, personally I dont touch this everyday and I dont care if it’s plastic finished as it costs less and that this economy serves to get the car more functionnable.
I’m afraid the reality is that my videos don’t move the needle on VW sales. But the ones from “professional” journalists do. 🙃
Great thanks really helpful.
Good explanation, I find the controls fine, never understood the fuss over the window controls I think it’s an improvement over the old four buttons were I would get in wrong more times then not.
Were I would agree is the back lighting on the sliders this is a problem and I understand this has been resolved, I have a 2022 ID5 very pleased with it.
We own a second hand ID3 for 3 months. At first I was really disappointed about the touch controls. The classic steering wheel on my T-Roc feels so much better. Atleast, I thought that. After driving the ID3 for a few days, I got used to the touch controls. And, it works excellent. I have no complaints about how VW implemented this and like them as much as I like my classic T-Roc steering wheel. It's a little different, but works great.
On my ID3 (just coming up to 3 years ownership) the steering wheel button slide action activates frequently when turning corners when my hands brush across them. I never use the top sliders on the central console because I can't see what or where they are from the driver's seat. On the lower buttons, for the first 3-5 mins of driving, the only things that work are the drive mode and parking mode buttons, pressing any other button activates one of those two. Eventually the climate & vehicle settings buttons work, and then I can turn off the lane keeping so that doesn't try and kill me... The climate settings only ever remembers the last setting from the app, so if I set a lowish temperature from the app to defrost the car in the morning, until I set a more usual temperature via the app it always starts up with the low temperature. And you can't change it until the software has finished booting, maybe 3 minutes. (Why would I set a low temperature for defrosting? Because using a normal temperature probably caused the windscreen to crack last year.) For the rear/front window button selector, it's really easy to brush against the selector when you're trying to wind down a window, and it forces you to look at the state of the button when driving if it's important to (say) not let the dog jump out of the car. On some screens, the resize effect causes UI elements to move which is quite irritating.
Apparently later software updates have fixed some issues, but my two nearest VW dealers have come up with 2 years and 6 months of excuses as to why they can't do the work so I'll never know for sure. Despite the not particularly good UI, and a few other niggles, as you can get some excellent leasing deals on ID3s at the moment (£250/month), I absolutely would have gone for another one if the dealer support was any good at all.
sorry you're still suffering sluggish response. My 4 years of ID.3 ownership have taken me from software 2.3 to 2.4, to 3.2 and recently to 3.7. Everything now responds pretty sharply. There are still a few occasional niggles though.
I had an ID3 for nine month, no issues with the touch buttons. I have a Cupra Born for two years now, no issues and the ID7 I have too work great. The Seat Tarraco which I had before the ID7 had the traditional buttons and I found them harder to find without looking on the steering wheel because they are flat and don't have the contours as in the MEB cars. Everyone who tests the MEB cars you know what they will complain on ;-). In case you don't like touch buttons you can use voice control as you showed. The trues is if you have a modern car like the ID3 you would need 20-30 plus real physical buttons and control wheels to operate all the functions. I have my doubts if this would be better. BTW in one of your last videos I learned some new stuff even I am driving MEB cars for almost 3 years. Continue your good work!
About the interior light: if you want to avoid cleaning it, do not touch it. The lights will respond, if your hand is really close. Works very well.
You can also increase and decrease temp via voice commands, specifically night time
I have an id.4 and agree with your view on the buttons. I really enjoy the car, but what I dislike is the weak window washer sprayers and bad window viper design.
I think the key point that gets people’s backs up (mine included slightly) is these haptic buttons are in deed “fine” but not better than physical buttons in any way other than saving the OEM some pennies.
I have the MK7.5 E-Golf and personally love everything is touchy felt still, I never “accidentally” press a button or have one “miss register” and ultimately it just feels better to press a proper button.
I had a loaner polo with “touch” climate controls and hated it, yes I could use it but it was a downgrade in my option.
Benefits of touch/haptic buttons, as mentioned in the video:
- more reliable
- easier to clean
- more functionality enabled by having a normal and deep press of the same button
Benefits of traditional physical buttons:
- we are used to them
And the topic of cost is actually quite important. Like it or not, cars have to be built to a budget in this competitive market. I would much rather the manufacturer cut cost somewhere where the result of the user experience is “fine” rather than on crucial aspects, like for example drivetrain etc.
Thank you for the explanation. Honestly, the issue I had with these haptic buttons is that, particularly with the first generation of the ID3, they added to the huge feeling of cheapness.
In the first generation the interior was extremely cheap feeling. And whilst these controls would be something one could get used to, it still felt that you were pressing horrible pieces of plastics. A well weighted rubberized volume knob feels a lot better and more premium for instance.
I was extremely disappointed as I was really looking forward to the ID3 and actually would still love to get one. The face lift improved the interior but we’re still not there.
The i3 has those rubberised switches and they wear quite badly.
What is interesting that in an effort to combat the criticism of bad interior quality, Tesla switched from textured plastic to metal dials on the steering wheel. The result was a nicer look but they were counter intuitively more slippery, making them actually slightly more difficult to use.
I suppose pros and cons to each solution. (No denying the extensive use of hard plastics was a huge miss on the early ID.3s from a company renowned for build quality.)
I've a very early id3 and aside from the front screen randomly cracking and the rear screen letting in water, I really like the car.
The steering wheel controls are fine, after a couple of weeks of just their no problem.
The biggest pain is the climate control. Turn on the heated steering wheel or the seats? Open the climate screen, tap the screen 3 times for the lowest setting, close the screen, drive away. Stop at the shop, get out the car, start the process again when you get back in as they've switched off. Maybe I'm missing something?
Give me a button please.
Ok, so it was not just me having a random front screen cracking from the base up, totally out of the blue.
Have you tried setting the wheel and seats heating to come on at the start of journey depending on temperature. It’s in the climate settings
Hi Martin does your car have self parking if so a video on the subject would be good ?
Yes it does! But I will be honest, I rarely use it.
The car having a very short bonnet and an excellent rear view camera, combined with the fantastic turning circle, parking manually is not a problem.
I don't really know, why people complain so much about the touch buttons. As you said, you get used to them. When buying my ID.4 I also looked at the Tesla M3 and was very annoyed about them removing the turn signal stalks and adding two buttons on the steering wheel. This makes no sense to me, but the touch buttons on the ID are fine.
I have an iD4. It's all perfectly fine.
I have absolutely no problems with these buttons. It's not like they react as soon as you touch them only slightly, they react like normal buttons if you press them. But you can additionally swipe over them, e.g. to increase the speed in the Travel Assist.
I think, some people just want to find something to critizise, and here it is the buttons, no matter if it is a real issue or not (spoiler: it is not).
No problem with the buttons, but there seems to be a huge one with the degradation of the battery.
Something I want to look into in more detail!
我是在中国的车主 全款只要两万美元 你们感觉怎么样
No, they're not. Theyre beyond awful. I've been driving ID3s for 2 years and the buttons are absolutely terrible. I also drive Golfs with proper buttons and they are much better -in a different league.
Ah so they went back to physical buttons because this is so good. The amount of copium...
I would recommend you to read through all the other comments here from actual owners.
The overarching theme is that it’s not a big deal at worst and that they are quite neat at best.
Ahoy Martin, having owned an iD3 since 2021 I look forward to your excellent explanations and always find something new. How about covering the Lefthand Mirror dipping while reversing, I find it very helpful. Keep up the good work.🫡
I do want to cover a lot of little tips and tricks in a dedicated video in the future.