The return of the drum brake
03/25/2021
When the VW Golf was presented in 1974, critics turned up their noses. In fact, the 1.1-liter model came with drum brakes all round as standard. Disc brakes were available at the front on the faster 1.5-liter 70 hp versions (picture above).
At the rear, however, many versions remained with drums until the Golf 3 in the 1990s. It was not until the Golf 4 that disc brakes were fitted at the front and rear. And it was then that the drum brakes were finally abandoned. But far from it!
Today, almost 50 years after the birth of the VW Golf, the VW ID.3, basically the Golf of the electric generation, is back with drum brakes at the rear (see picture above). Indeed!
How did they come up with this idea, which is unusual for today? Apparently, the braking performance should not suffer and drum brakes are probably cheaper to manufacture than disc brakes. Nevertheless, this equipment seems like a trip into the past. But it is actually nice that the ID.3 still has something in common with the early VW Golf, despite the rear engine, rear-wheel drive and lack of a combustion engine.