Renault 4 vs VW ID.3

The VW ID.3 costs £3,665 more than the Renault 4. For that premium it adds 45 kW faster peak rapid charging. On EVcarsguide's combined category scores, the VW ID.3 comes out ahead overall.

The Renault 4 is £3,665 cheaper to buy. Running costs are almost identical - about £144 a year either way, at 8,000 miles on an off-peak home tariff. Add 5 years of charging and the Renault 4 comes out roughly £3,665 cheaper overall. These figures cover list price and home charging only - insurance, servicing, tyres and depreciation will move the real total.

EVcarsguide estimates a real-world motorway range of about 208 miles for the Renault 4 and 201 miles for the VW ID.3 - effectively matched, and both well below their WLTP figures because sustained high speed is the hardest case for an EV. Both rapid-charge to 80% in a similar time, around 25-30 minutes.

The two are within 13 mm on width, so neither is meaningfully easier to thread into a tight space. In a standard 2,400 mm bay that leaves about 604 mm of total clearance for the Renault 4 and about 591 mm of total clearance for the VW ID.3. The VW ID.3 also turns in a 0.6 m tighter circle, which helps with U-turns and multi-storey ramps.

Over a 8-year ownership window EVcarsguide's degradation model projects roughly 84% battery health for the Renault 4 and 87% for the VW ID.3. That gives the VW ID.3 a modest edge in retained real-world range. Both use NMC-type cells, so for daily use keep the charge limit near 80% to slow degradation. Both batteries carry a 8-year manufacturer warranty.