Renault Scenic vs VW ID.3

The Renault Scenic costs £6,135 more than the VW ID.3. For that premium it adds 151 miles more WLTP range, 160 litres more boot space and 35 kW more power. On EVcarsguide's combined category scores, the VW ID.3 comes out ahead overall.

The VW ID.3 is £6,135 cheaper to buy. The VW ID.3 is cheaper to charge, roughly £144 a year versus £184 for the Renault Scenic, at 8,000 miles on an off-peak home tariff. Add 5 years of charging and the VW ID.3 comes out roughly £6,335 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 274 miles for the Renault Scenic and 201 miles for the VW ID.3 - both below their WLTP figures, because sustained high speed is the hardest case for an EV. The Renault Scenic goes roughly 73 miles further between charging stops. A rapid charge to 80% takes around 37 minutes in the Renault Scenic and 25 in the VW ID.3, so the VW ID.3 loses less time at each stop. So the Renault Scenic stops less often while the VW ID.3 stops for less time - pick on which you would rather do.

The VW ID.3 is the easier car for tight UK car parks: it is 55 mm narrower than the Renault Scenic. In a standard 2,400 mm bay that leaves about 591 mm of total clearance for the VW ID.3 and about 536 mm of total clearance for the Renault Scenic. The VW ID.3 also turns in a 0.7 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 Scenic 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.