This Volkswagen electric car shattered an EV myth as it only lost 8 miles of range after 107,000 miles

The Volkswagen ID.3 just crushed a long-standing EV myth: that electric car batteries wear out faster than your smartphone.

After four years and 160,000 kilometres (that’s roughly 107,000 miles), Germany’s ADAC testing team found the ID.3’s battery still holds a staggering 91 percent of its original capacity.

In everyday terms, that’s a loss of only about eight miles of range.

For an electric car that’s been charged hard, driven hard, and left fully topped up for days, that’s nothing short of remarkable.

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The long-standing EV myth has been debunked

The test was carried out by the engineers at ADAC’s Test and Technology Centre in Landsberg am Lech, Germany, using a Volkswagen ID.3 Pro S with a 77-kWh battery.

Over the course of 160,000 km (around 99,000 miles), the team didn’t baby the car at all.

In fact, they did almost everything experts say you shouldn’t do if you want to protect your EV battery.

More than 40 percent of the charges came from high-speed DC fast chargers, and the car was often left sitting at 100 percent charge.

It might not sound that bad, but this is something that’s typically considered battery abuse.

Yet despite all that, the ID.3 shrugged it off like a champ.

Volkswagen’s official warranty guarantees at least 70 percent battery capacity after eight years or 160,000 kilometres.

The ADAC’s results show the real-world performance is far better.

That’s great news not only for new EV buyers, but also for anyone considering a used ID.3.

“A high battery capacity of over 90 percent after 160,000 kilometres confirms that our ID. models are also very attractive as used cars,” said Martin Sander, Volkswagen’s board member for sales and marketing.

Translation: your ID.3 won’t turn into a short-range city car any time soon.

In fact, the carmaker is so confident in its EVs, it even gave its UK customers 100 days to try out a Volkswagen EV, before they decide whether they want to keep it.

The test shows that the ID.3 actually got better over time

ADAC’s engineers also praised the car’s build quality.

Despite years of near-constant driving, the body, suspension, and steering all held up impressively well.

Software updates throughout the test improved charging speed (up to 170 kW) and boosted efficiency, especially in cold weather.

That means the ID.3 didn’t just age gracefully, but actually got better over time.

The next time someone claims that all EVs lose half their range after a few years, you can point to this ID.3 and say: myth busted.

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