Volkswagen ID.4 review

How good is VW's first electric SUV?

41w ago
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We finally have it. ID.3's long awaited big brother. It too sits on VW's new MEB platform meant for all its future electric vehicles and despite its larger size, still features all the same benefits. The ridiculously tight turning circle, low center of gravity and good visibility make for a big car, that feels much smaller to drive than you'd think. Parking sensors are standard on both ends of the car and the optional rear or surround view cameras are crisp and make parking this 4.6m long car a doddle. To ease the pain of driving, the ID.4 can do some of it for you, with the Travel Assist system, that keeps you in your lane and adjusts to any cars, speed limits or curves that might get in your way. You can also option an adaptive suspension system, but I wouldn't bother, as the stock system does the job exceptionally well.

The single electric motor (up to 204bhp) sits on the rear axle and through a single speed gearbox, propels the car to 100km/h in 8.5 seconds, despite the car weighing in at over 2100kg, The top speed is limited to a battery saving 160km/h. All you hooligans probably perked up at the thought of rear wheel drive donuts in a VW, but the Germans are having none of it. The electronic stability control steps in at the first sign of wheel slip and no, you can't turn that system off, even a little bit. Don't think however, that this makes the ID.4 a boring car. While it's not as rapid as a Model Y, it's still fast enough and the staggered Hankook rubber setup offers more grip, than you would normally expect from a family SUV. Those hungry for more power and some additional off-road capability, can order an AWD version with 300 bhp later this year, under the GTX name.

What about the part of an electric vehicle everyone most wants to know about, the battery. Yes, it has one and it's a pretty good one at that. It has a capacity of 77kWh, which translates into 520km of range according to the WLTP test cycle. In real world, range varies on a wide variety of factors, but cold is an electric vehicle's worst enemy and the ID.4 is no exception. Fitting the car with a heat pump can help increase your range in winter and as an added bonus your cabin heats up and cools down faster. When it comes to charging, the car is equipped with a CCS combo charging port and can charge at a maximum of 11kW AC and 125kW DC. That means, it takes just over 7 hours for a full charge on AC and under 40 minutes to charge the battery to 80% on a DC fast charger.

One of the biggest criticisms of the ID.3, was its cabin and the materials used. I'm happy to report the ID.4 looks and more importantly feels, better. The dashboard and front door tops are now soft and the seats feel more comfortable than any in the smaller ID. Sitting behind the perfectly sized steering wheel feels like a more premium experience, as it should for a car of this class. For reference, the ID.4 is the size of a Tiguan with a slightly larger boot at 543 litres and more space in both rows inside the cabin, due to the lack of a dinosaur powered motor under the bonnet. Much like with the new Golf, Volkswagen has decided to ditch most buttons in favor of touch surfaces and a 10'' touchscreen (a 12'' screen is optional). Both the infotainment screen and touch surfaces are responsive and those on the steering wheel even have haptic feedback, that vibrates when pressed. You can access the common menus in the shortcuts under the main screen and control the media volume and temperature just above that. It all takes a bit of getting used to, but after figuring it out, I didn't find myself missing the buttons at all. What you may be missing at first, is the gear selector, that has been moved behind the steering wheel and is now mounted to the driver's screen. Besides selecting the driving direction, it also changes the car's regenerative braking modes. Another feature that is exclusive to ID models, is the ID. Light mounted under the windscreen, that helps the car communicate with the driver. Instead of traditional dials, you get a small steering column mounted screen that shows a very limited amount of information and cannot be customized a whole lot. The optional head-up display featuring augmented reality sort of makes up for it, but I still prefer the system found in the new Golf. Speaking of that head-up display, calling it augmented reality is a bit of an overstatement, but it's still one of the best systems out there and the additional layer of information it offers, is great at keeping your eyes on the road. When it works..

VW's been having quite a few issues with its software this past year and the ID family have been on the receiving end of most of it. Screens shutting off mid drive, mirrors failing to unfold, heated steering wheel being stuck on, climate controls not working, adaptive cruise control and lane assist not working and unfortunately so many more problems have been plaguing ID.3 and ID.4 models this past year. VW is aware of the problems and is releasing software updates to fix the issues. The good news is some of those updates can be delivered over the air and I'm very much looking forward to a time when VW figures it out, because it's a very good system, currently being dragged down by these problems.

Like the ID.3, the ID.4 is available in only two 1st variants from the start (1st and 1st MAX), followed by five ''Fast lane'' models immediately after, that will offer more options in terms of equipment. The prices for these start from just under 46.000€. You won't be able to configure an ID.4 to your exact specifications just yet, though that option should be here sometime in the near future.

While I have mixed feelings about the ID.3, I really like the ID.4. It is the first electric car from VW that can be used as a family car and its combination of size, performance and range makes it a great fit for a lot people. Looks are subjective, but to me, its wide haunches, sloping roofline and long creased bonnet all help make this one of the most interesting and beautiful VW designs in recent memory.

What your thoughts on the ID.4? Let me know in the comments below!

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