Volkswagen ID.3
Shares rank 21 of 40 electric cars by recommenders
People like its adaptive cruise control and low cost after subsidy, but critics cite buggy software, unexpected braking from driver assists, and touch controls instead of buttons.
People like its adaptive cruise control and low cost after subsidy, but critics cite buggy software, unexpected braking from driver assists, and touch controls instead of buttons.
19 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 9
- criticize it
- 10
- approval share
- 47%
Recommended in 5 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 9 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- 0.9 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, not met.
- Recommended in 5 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Buggy software despite updates
“just too expensive, buggy, and constanly positioned as an alternative to much cheaper and better equipped Golf/Polo lines”
Comment from 19 Jun 2026 in “Swiss parliament lifts ban on new nuclear power plants” “software is TERRIBLE (like embarrassingly bad, even years and years after release and endless OTAs)”
Comment from 12 Oct 2026 in “Citroen revives the 2CV for an electric age” Driver assists brake or nudge unexpectedly
“It's baffling. There are certain roads that trip it up for me and make it slam on the brakes”
Comment from 8 Jul 2026 in “All Cars Sold in the EU Now Require a Camera Aimed at Your Face” “I'm constantly being nudged by my ID.3 one way or another on rural roads.”
Comment from 8 Jul 2026 in “All Cars Sold in the EU Now Require a Camera Aimed at Your Face” Touch controls instead of buttons
“The windows' "rear" button thing is especially infuriating.”
Comment from 6 Jan 2026 in “Volkswagen Brings Back Physical Buttons” “Id.3 2024 - touch capacitive buttons”
Comment from 5 May 2026 in “Mercedes-Benz commits to bringing back physical buttons” Unappealing looks and feel
“It's one of the least appealing electric cars out there.”
Comment from 3 Jul 2026 in “Why Europe doesn't have a Tesla” “I can't stand how these cars look or feel”
Comment from 21 Mar 2026 in “Why western carmakers' retreat from electric risks dooming them to irrelevance”
Other electric cars people recommend
The four most recommended other electric cars, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tesla vehicles | 209 | 411 | 34% | 13 | 6 yrs24 owners | — |
| BYD electric cars | 157 | 53 | 75% | 12 | 1 yr3 owners | Approved |
| Ferrari Luce | 140 | 319 | 31% | 7 | — | — |
| Tesla Model 3 | 128 | 115 | 53% | 13 | 6 yrs32 owners | — |
| Volkswagen ID.3This page | 9 | 10 | 47% | 5 | — | — |
What people said
20 of the 22 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“they even had to idle some factories which produced the car due to lack of demand”
“software is TERRIBLE (like embarrassingly bad, even years and years after release and endless OTAs)”
“Putting down the throttle of my first BEV was magic”
“It's baffling. There are certain roads that trip it up for me and make it slam on the brakes”
“my VW ID3 clearly indicates what the issue is on the dashboard”
“Not so on the ID.3, and other newer Volkswagens, unfortunately.”
“I'm constantly being nudged by my ID.3 one way or another on rural roads.”
“I love the adaptive cruise control”
“It's one of the least appealing electric cars out there.”
“the car did actually launch in 2020 with an after-subsidy cost of under 30k”
“just too expensive, buggy, and constanly positioned as an alternative to much cheaper and better equipped Golf/Polo lines”
“I love it but a lot of people don't.”
“the ABS pump could drop off which would cause brake fluid to leak out”
“Only models starting in 2026 like Id.Polo and Id.3 Neo seems to have real buttons back again.”
“Id.3 2024 - touch capacitive buttons”
“We are perfectly happy with it”
“buy an id3 with a reasonably sized battery”
“I can't stand how these cars look or feel”
“a huge win for independence and the internal market”
“The windows' "rear" button thing is especially infuriating.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.