When does nostalgia trip over its own feet and tumble headlong into the mires of pastiche?
Renault, I think it’s fair to say, strolled carefully up to that line with the delightful R5 E-Tech, whereas the Chrysler PT Cruiser (ask your dad …) ran up to the line, smashed through the small wooden fence and face-planted, with comical squishy sound effects, into the mud beyond. And how we laughed.
Volkswagen has its own experience of this. When VW recreated the classic Beetle atop the chassis of a MkIV Golf in 1999, it made the mistake of creating not a new, cleverly wrought Beetle, but a cartoon pastiche of one.
The world responded with a despondent shrug, and while the second-generation new Beetle that came along in 2011 was a much, much better effort (and something of an underrated car), the damage had already been done, and BMW’s much-better-executed Mini rebirth had already mopped up the nostalgia market.
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VW is at it again, but this time around, the approach to the fence line is far more cautious.
That’s because this time VW is flexing its retro muscles atop the skeleton of newness, as it’s created this: the all-electric ID.3 GTX Fire + Ice. To which the collective response from the gallery will likely be a confused “Huh?”
Well, the broad collective response will be just that, but there will be, amid the crowd, a few heads nodding in sage recognition, for Fire + Ice is, to the right sort of enthusiast, a hallowed name.
Originally applied to the MkII Golf GTI in 1990, the Fire + Ice edition was co-created with famed skiing ace Willy Bogner and his eponymous sports clothing brand. A dark, almost purple, paint job was applied, special alloy wheels and seats were added, and the tempting musk of a limited collectors’ item was sprayed liberally over all.
Now, the Fire + Ice is back, but this time the EV ID.3, in its sportiest GTX form, is the starting point. So, how special is this special edition? In one sense, it would be tempting to dismiss this ID.3 as a mere sticker and badge special. A car that wears its cloak of retro so heavily that it ends up spilling into the same mud that snared the new Beetle all those years ago. But perhaps there’s something more here …
Okay, the Fire + Ice add-ons are dangerously close to naff. The paintwork is a special three-layer job, with a glass bead effect and a smattering of snowflake decals scattered about. It can range from bright violet to a lustrous black depending on the lighting conditions.
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Then there are the surprisingly chunky red Fire + Ice badges, the almost ludicrous 20-inch “Locarno” alloy wheels finished in a bright metallic blue, and seats which wear either red or blue trim depending on which side of the car you’re sitting, and which have a massive “anorak zip” motif running up the centre. There are even flame and snowflake logos scattered around the car’s interior. I guess if you’re a collector of Bogner clothing, it might seem kinda cool. For the rest of us? Less so …
There have also been no mechanical changes. You can have an ID.3 GTX Fire + Ice with 286hp powering the rear wheels for €39,340 or this uprated 326hp version we’re testing for €42,300. Neither is what you’d call cheap, but once you clock the price of a petrol-powered Golf GTI – and GTX is currently the electric equivalent of GTI – it suddenly doesn’t seem so bad.
And there’s something more important lurking below the surface. True, this ID.3 GTX Fire + Ice is mechanically identical to the €39,025 GTX Performance Plus model, so there’s no actual benefit to you there. That said, this is an EV that’s genuinely fun to drive.
The ID.3 GTX doesn’t have the lovely, delicate mechanical feel of the Golf GTI, nor does it have the sheer fun factor of the smaller Alpine A290 GTS.
But it has a combination of pace, poise, and an occasional entertaining twitch from the rear wheels when you’re pressing on.
Aside from a too-squishy feel for the brake pedal, there’s nothing about which to complain and a lot to like. You can twiddle with the adaptive suspension dampers to shuffle the Fire + Ice between soft and comfy or firm and chunky, and it covers ground at the sort of impressive pace you’d expect of a hatchback-sized car packing more than 320hp.
It even has a very decent range, managing a solid 480km in our hands against a claim of 589km on paper (helpful when you consider the current petrol cost of running anything similarly rapid).
It’s also roomy, well-made, and practical. Could it do with being more thrilling, overall? Yes, doubtless, but the ID.3 GTX is also a well-balanced all-rounder and pushing it more down the thrilling chute might end up detracting from its more everyday appeal.
This particular model is also something of a line in the sand for VW. True, the specific Fire + Ice branding is probably going to get you more props in Val d’Isere than on Vicar Street, but the fact that VW is bringing back the sub-brand is interesting.
Against the might of Chinese manufacturing and pricing, Europe’s carmakers have but one real defence, and it’s “remember that cool stuff we used to do which you loved when you were a kid? Well, we’re doing it again, but with batteries!” It’s also a definite marker in the sand that electric cars, having thus far been almost entirely focused on their environmental and economic worthiness, can also be fun, like cars in the 1990s were.
By linking the ID.3 GTX to the classic Golf GTI Fire + Ice, VW is doing the equivalent of rebooting a classic TV series with a new, youthful cast.
It’s also part of VW boss Thomas Schafer’s plan to remind people of why they love VW, why their parents did, why they might choose to love it again, or love it some more.
Nostalgia is both a powerful aphrodisiac and a potent opiate, and both will be needed as VW tries to tackle its current financial crunch amid growing competition and swingeing tariffs.
You don’t need a Fire + Ice. A standard ID.3 GTX does the same job just as well for €3,000 less. Knowing it’s there, however, is the point.
Lowdown: Volkswagen ID.3 GTX Fire + Ice
Power: 240kW e-motor developing 326hp and 560Nm of torque, powering the rear wheels via a single-speed automatic transmission.
CO2 emissions (annual motor tax): 0g/km (€120).
Electric consumption: 15.3-16.3 kWh/100km (WLTP).
Range: 589km (WLTP) / 480km (observed).
0-100km/h: 5.7 sec.
Price: €42,300 as tested, ID.3 starts from €31,780.
