VinFast VF3 initial review: The VinFast VF3 is unlike any car or EV I’ve driven in the Philippines. It’s surprisingly decent despite its affordable price, and anyone looking for a reliable EV to use around the city should have this cutie on their shortlist.

Apologies are in order from me to VinFast: When I first saw the VF3 in my Facebook feed, I thought it was an absurdist joke. Something so tiny couldn’t possibly be practical, right? Well, I was so, so wrong. I got to drive around in Pasay for an afternoon with the VF3, and despite my initial reservations about it, it proved to be more practical and roadworthy than I initially thought.

Before anything else, let’s discuss the VF3’s biggest strength: price. The VF3 with a battery subscription has a sticker price of Php 645,000. If you want to buy the battery outright, it’s Php 745,000. The version with a battery subscription is more affordable than a base-level, manual transmission Mitsubishi Mirage, which starts at Php 711,000. As the VF3 is officially classed as an EV, it also gets the same no-coding privilege as most EVs in the market today.

You’re probably wondering what “battery subscription” means for the VF3. Well, it’s essentially the “renting” out of the battery in the VF3 to you, which lowers the initial cost of ownership for the VF3. In exchange, you’re paying VinFast a monthly fee for the use of the batteries depending on how many KM you drive a month. Here are the battery rental packages for the VF3:

• Php 2,800/month for mileage under 1,500 km
• Php 3,800/month for mileage between 1,500 and 2,500 km
• Php 6,300/month for mileage exceeding 2,500 km

VinFast VF3 Initial Review Philippines: Exterior

There’s only one way to describe the exterior of the VF3: freaking’ adorable. The VF3 looks like the child of a Toyota FJ Cruiser and a Suzuki Jimny, in a good way. It’s a head turner for sure, and every inch of the exterior exudes a whimsical charm, down to the steelies that accompany the 16-inch wheels. VinFast is also offering the VF3 in nine color variants, which is a lot for a single model.

VinFast knows its target market, and the EV’s youthful vibes are meant to appeal to young, first-time car owners who need a vehicle but don’t necessarily want to mess around with the maintenance required for traditional ICE-powered cars.

Since Vietnam and the Philippines have roughly the same weather and perennial problems with flooding, it’s not surprising that Vinfast made the VF3 able to traverse most puddles and gutter floods that plague both countries, with the VF3 having a ground clearance of 191mm. Contrary to popular belief, EVs aren’t more susceptible to floods and water compared to a regular ICE vehicle – there’s plenty of proof out there that EV batteries, when properly sealed, can withstand catastrophic levels of floods, even if the cars that they’re in are functionally ruined.

The VF3 sits on 16-inch steelies, which add to the visual charm of the vehicle. It’ll be available in 9 colors: Crimson Red, Electric Blue, Aquatic Azure, Infinity Blanc, Iris Berry, Rose Pink, Summer Yellow, Urban Mint and Zenith Grey.

VinFast VF3 Initial Review Philippines: Interior

Because the VF3 is essentially an affordable EV made for the masses, the interior is a little sparse. The infotainment system and the dash are integrated into one, 10-inch display in the middle of the console, kinda like how Suzuki does it in their S-Presso. Roughly 1/3 of the display is devoted to the battery status, speed, and status of the car, while the rest is the infotainment system. There’s Apple CarPlay and Android Auto in the VF3, as well as a rear camera to help you with reversing.

One of the things I and the rest of the Unbox crew joked about was if I, a 6-foot tall, 240lb man could comfortably fit inside. Surprisingly, the answer is yes – though you’re not going to be fitting a comparably-sized adult human at the back of the driver unless said human is a contortionist. There’s seating for four people, but like most compact cars there’s no room for groceries at the back if you decide to take three of your friends with you – it’s either you’re doing your groceries or you’re taking them with you – there’s no middle ground here.

The cloth seats are surprisingly a lot more decent and comfortable than I was expecting considering the price. The sideview mirrors are completely manual though, which was a pain in the butt to adjust. And since we’ve been seeing a bunch of people ask, yes the car has aircon.

VinFast VF3 Initial Review Philippines: Driving Impressions/performance

Quick disclaimer here: we were able to drive the VF3 for around an hour and a half and we’re still waiting for a review unit to completely test it out. With that being said, our driving impressions are positive, though I was surprised that it didn’t accelerate as fast as I thought it would, being an EV and all.

That’s mostly because of its slightly anemic 40HP rated, 32kW single motor, though Vinfast does promise that the VF3 has 88Nm of torque. And as unimpressive as the acceleration was, it managed to keep up with most cars on the road while driving in ASEANA in Pasay, and that’s with three other adults riding in it.

There are a few caveats here though. VinFast’s quoted 215KM range is optimistic, to say the least, and if your daily drive involves a lot of uphill climbs (like if you live in San Juan or hilly parts of QC), that range is going to drop significantly. It has a 100 KM max speed, though you’re only achieving that speed if your battery is above 50%. That’s a no-go if you plan to take it on long trips, and in my opinion, pretty much relegates the VF3 to inter-city travel only. On the upside, the VF3 is mostly designed for that anyway but it’s something to keep in mind.

Then there’s the quoted battery fast charging times of 10% to 70% in just 36 minutes. Take note that with a fast charger – home charging via a regular outlet is going to take longer.

VinFast VF3 Initial Review wrap-up and verdict

The VinFast VF3 is an interesting EV. It’s one of the cheapest, if not the cheapest EVs in the Philippines (those toy China EVs notwithstanding), which has an inherent value in itself in a country where you really need a vehicle of some sort to get anywhere. Its affordable price, cute styling and the low running and maintenance costs that are inherent to the platform make it attractive to young people and first-time car buyers who just need a car to get around town.

That being said, its biggest asset – being an affordable city car – is also its biggest weakness. Its limited range and speed make it less ideal for anyone who travels outside of a major city and away from major charging stations, and its slow speed on highways might get it in trouble with other, faster ICE and EVs. The VinFast VF3 certainly has a lot of promise, but it does have its fair share of limitations as well.