Born VZ, ID.3 GTX P or ?

Zico

Zico

Zico

Soldato
Joined
15 Jan 2003
Posts
4,965
Location
South East
Have started to look around for an EV with my initial preference being the Cupra Born VZ or ID.3 GTX Performance.

I've got an (almost) 11 year MK7 Fiesta ST and while I've loved it as my daily for all the years I have owned it, I think it's time for an upgrade into something a little more modern / EV related.
A small part of the "mid-life crisis" in me went onto CarWow to get quotes on the Born VZ, ID.3 GTX and also the VW Golf R Black Edition. The prices that I have had back are as follows:

Cupra Born VZ (with the two addons) - £35,470 PCP (to end of September - 23.3% off list), £37,470 cash (19% off list).
20" Firestorm machined alloy wheels in glossy black with wider performance tyres and dynamic chassis control £835
Pilot L pack with remote park assist - Born £585

ID.3 GTX Performance (with the three addons **but ignore/deduct the heat pump from the prices as I've read that it's pretty useless in both the ID.3 and Born) - £41,915 PCP (16.4% off list so far more than the VZ), £47,915 cash (4.5% off list).
Energy efficient heat pump £1,150
20" Skagen black with sporty dynamics alloy wheels £450
Assistance plus package with RPA - GTX ID.3 £2,240

I'm not really sure on what else would fit into the similar bracket that the Born/ID.3 seem to cover. I've tried to crawl through the massive EV thread (long time forum member but only just started to frequent the forum again over the last month or two) but I've no idea where to start :D.
 
Last edited:
Something you've probably spotted in the EV thread - see if you have a salary sacrifice scheme available at work and assess if that's a competitive way for you to get into one these (some schemes are great, some are a rip off).
 
RWD aside, stellantis stables Alpine 290 / junior velocee maybe the more sound/fun/distinctive/light investment if it's your own £40K
 
One you probably won't have seen, and scratch that "crisis" itch - The MG Cyberster. Dumb name, but it looks expensive and goes pretty well. Guy at work has one and he likes it, but he's only had it about 6 months so couldn't say what it's like reliability wise -- I mean, it's an MG.....
 
Kenai said:
Something you've probably spotted in the EV thread - see if you have a salary sacrifice scheme available at work and assess if that's a competitive way for you to get into one these (some schemes are great, some are a rip off).
Click to expand...
I did check, and I don't see anything for cars unfortunately. I work for a County Council, and they have a cycle2work scheme that is splashed about every year, and ways to cover mileage etc., but it doesn't appear that there is anything for actual car/vehicle ownership.

jpaul said:
RWD aside, stellantis stables Alpine 290 / junior velocee maybe the more sound/fun/distinctive/light investment if it's your own £40K
Click to expand...
Will take a look at the other suggestions, but otherwise, yes it's my own money at this point that I would be spending.

Howling said:
One you probably won't have seen, and scratch that "crisis" itch - The MG Cyberster. Dumb name, but it looks expensive and goes pretty well. Guy at work has one and he likes it, but he's only had it about 6 months so couldn't say what it's like reliability wise -- I mean, it's an MG.....
Click to expand...
Will take a look thanks.
 
Apparently, a colleague I messaged earlier, has said that we might be getting some kind of salary sacrifice for EV's in 2026, but other than that, no more news for now.
 
Im really happy with my born VZ. Build quality is good, its spacious. Im 6ft 4' and theres still plenty of headroom and legroom in the back of the vehicle for passengers.
It handles like a go kart. Rear wheel drive means you can have a lot of fun in it without it causing you too many problems as the esc kicks in to correct before it goes too far.
Its built for 'A' roads, i havent taken it on the motorway yet. It's plenty quick enough, 5 seconds ish 0-60 and the power delivery as with all EV cars is instant.
Put it into 'B' regen and its a very easy drive around the town. There's no one foot driving but it virtually is in 'B' mode, i very rarely have to touch the brakes unless coming to
a complete stop.
Luckily i got £10k off list due so the cost and depreciation isnt too bad.
 
Last edited:
@ScoobyDoo did you use a broker or something like CarWow when you purchased yours?
The CarWow offers came back with five dealers for me, with my nearest being the better offer without any comm's.
Carwow PCP offer
£35,470
You save
£10,770 (23.3%)

This is only good till the end of September, and to be honest I'm not in a rush. I'm likely to wait and see if there will be any salary sacrifice from work next year before I make any decisions now. I'm still interested to see what the price would be like in December near the end of the month.
 
Last edited:
jpaul said:
RWD aside, stellantis stables Alpine 290 maybe the more sound/fun/distinctive/light investment if it's your own £40K
Click to expand...

The Alpine A290 is a smaller (and less powerful / lower range) FWD car so may not suit the OP but it's definitely worth a look as it's a much nicer looking car IMO.

I'd also expect the resale value would be better if you ever wanted to sell it. I worry within a couple of years VW group will replace the ID/Born range with a dedicated GTI/Cupra/R badged electric Golf/Leon which will likely wreck the residuals of the ID3/Born (if that matters to you which it might as a private buyer). It's also easier to spec an Alpine A290 below the £40k 'luxuxy' car tax bracket which saves a few more thousand over the first few years of ownership.

Personally, I'm still a bit unsure about the longer term economics of EV ownership. So I think I'd only buy a new EV on a lease deal where I know the costs upfront and didn't have to factor in running the car once it's out of warranty or worry about residuals. That's maybe just fear of the unknown on my part though.
 
Last edited:
silvagti said:
The Alpine A290 is a smaller (and less powerful / lower range) FWD car so may not suit the OP but it's definitely worth a look as it's a much nicer looking car IMO.

I'd also expect the resale value would be better if you ever wanted to sell it. I worry within a couple of years VW group will replace the ID/Born range with a dedicated GTI/Cupra/R badged electric Golf/Leon which will likely wreck the residuals of the ID3/Born (if that matters to you which it might as a private buyer). It's also easier to spec an Alpine A290 below the £40k 'luxuxy' car tax bracket which saves a few more thousand over the first few years of ownership.

Personally, I'm still a bit unsure about the longer term economics of EV ownership. So I think I'd only buy a new EV on a lease deal where I know the costs upfront and didn't have to factor in running the car once it's out of warranty or worry about residuals. That's maybe just fear of the unknown on my part though.
Click to expand...
Had a quick look at the A290 and first thoughts were what the hell with the white crosses slapped on the front? I keep thinking of Love Death + Robots on Netflix.

I'd have to have a proper look at the A290 as online it looks a little squashed up. The smaller battery is a bit of a put off (not that I do long distances but charging more frequently for me would be a bit more faff - I live in a flat so can't rely on cheap home charging outside of 3-pin dangling out of the back window all night).

I've been thinking of leasing as well for a few years. Would give me a chance to see what develops in the future, and if I do the same and buy my next car to last.
 
tom_e said:
In my experience the born definitely looks nicer but the id3 feels better built.
Click to expand...
Only briefly sat in a Born (not a VZ model so couldn't compare the bucket seats) and it felt ok. Haven't been to the ID.3 yet but I can't imagine that it would be much different.
 
tom_e said:
In my experience the born definitely looks nicer but the id3 feels better built.
Click to expand...
Pretty much the same car so this doesn’t make sense. The born has nicer materials and the seats in the VZ are so good.

Test drive them all I guess to see what suits you, both for driving and usage Battery size of 79kWh is massive for the car class and its 326PS
 
Simon said:
Pretty much the same car so this doesn’t make sense. The born has nicer materials and the seats in the VZ are so good.
Click to expand...
Why not? The underlying platform may be the same but as you've said the finishes are different.

Like I say having had a born for a few weeks and now owning an id the born definitely had more creaks and rattles.
That's just my experience.
 
Neither of mine creaked or rattles. Probably just a smoother ride or something. Build quality to me is about panel gaps, material used etc.
 
tom_e said:
Why not? The underlying platform may be the same but as you've said the finishes are different.

Like I say having had a born for a few weeks and now owning an id the born definitely had more creaks and rattles.
That's just my experience.
Click to expand...

My used Born eBoost has a fair few creaks and rattles but about the norm for what I knew was a relatively cheaply built car. Nice materials in the drivers cabin dashboard and seats, but a massive sea of cheap plastic everywhere else. I accepted this when I bought it. Frankly the newer “refreshed” ID.3 I checked out didn’t feel any better.

I came from a lease I-Pace and tried a used VZ for the “performance” but it just didn’t impress me at all in that regard. Yes it is OK, but nothing special. I saved myself a lot of money and went with a used 77kWh Born V3. My logic was that both were a step down in build quality, luxury, performance and handling compared to the I-Pace. It was the nice sporty handling compared to the rest of the competition (MG4, ID.3, Megane) that I liked about the Born.
 
Last edited:
Did you use cupra button on the VZ to get the full power. Without that it’s no quicker than a eboost. But yes it’s not as brutal as the ipace.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom