Volkswagen has finally solved the great problem of the electric car: how to make a hatchback that looks as though it has been designed by a committee, then convince you it’s exciting by painting a red line across it.

This is the new ID.3 GTI, and it has 326 PS, 545 Nm and rear-wheel drive, which is enough to propel it from 0–100 km/h in 5.6 seconds. There’s a 79-kWh battery, up to 601 km of range and 183-kW charging, because apparently we now measure excitement in charging curves.

There are also 20-inch Wörthersee wheels, a honeycomb grille, black trim and, naturally, lots of red. Inside, Volkswagen has resurrected tartan seats, presumably because nothing says “electric future” quite like raiding the wardrobe department of a 1970s Golf.

Press the GTI button and the car enters its most serious mode. The suspension stiffens, the steering sharpens and the software does its best impression of a hot hatch. Then, just in case you forget you’re driving an electric car, it plays a fake combustion-engine noise.

Yes, really.

Still, beneath the theatre is a genuinely potent little machine. It’s fast, practical and stuffed with technology.

It just feels slightly like Volkswagen has discovered that the easiest way to make an electric GTI exciting is to remind everyone what a petrol one used to be like.