The Volkswagen ID four is cheerful on the outdoors and upscale on the inside of. 


Craig Cole/Roadshow

The ID four is Volkswagen’s very first all-electrical SUV and the brand’s very first international EV. Appropriate out of the gate, this car or truck does a great deal of issues appropriate. The ID four is roomy and comfortable inside of, it has a easy powertrain, arrives with a lot of standard driver aids and offers aggressive variety for a mass-market EV. On the area, this cheerful-seeking VW is entirely nice, but the devil is normally in the particulars and it’s the little issues that choose their toll.

You should not Like

  • Not specifically punchy at bigger speeds
  • Laggardly infotainment system
  • Annoying controls

An upscale, roomy interior

But very first, some fantastic news. The ID four Professional S interior is unexpectedly top quality, seeking — and in quite a few strategies sensation — like one thing from Volvo. The dashboard’s basic structure is present day and functional, with the infotainment screen angled somewhat towards the driver. I like the loaded, geometric patterns utilized on quite a few of the surfaces, plus there are a lot of comfortable plastics and everything’s assembled with painstaking care.

Professional S versions attribute twelve-way energy entrance bucket seats, which even provide massage features. Curiously, these chairs also have minivan-like armrests. Of course, they glance uncommon in an SUV, but they are cushy and adjustable, locking in various positions for improved comfort. Also, amongst people seats is a nicely-believed-out and adaptable middle console. Not only does it provide a lot of storage space and functions a roll-major go over, it offers a wireless charging pad, some American-sized cup holders and 4 USB-C ports, two up entrance and two serving passengers in the rear.

Talking of the backseat, it’s a different one of the ID 4’s powerful suits. You will find a lot of space in all three dimensions, the cushions are properly contoured and the flooring is approximately flat, aiding make this VW an exceptional individuals-hauler. And when it’s time to transfer cargo, the ID four ain’t also shabby, either. You will find far more than 30 cubic feet of space powering the rear backrest and far more than sixty four when you fold it down, figures that are identical to the larger sized Volkswagen Tiguan. Unlike some of its rivals, the ID four won’t have a entrance trunk.

Large-tech hits and misses

Moving together, a 10-inch infotainment show is standard devices in the ID four, even though a twelve-incher is integrated in Professional S and Initially Edition versions. Both way, embedded navigation and wireless smartphone mirroring by way of Android Vehicle and Apple CarPlay is integrated.

You will find a great deal to like inside of this all-electrical SUV, just not essentially the infotainment system.


Craig Cole/Roadshow

That up-level touchscreen would make a great very first impression. It’s colourful, tremendous crisp and uncomplicated to achieve. Sadly, the infotainment software program that lives inside of leaves much to be wished-for. The learning curve is steep as some features of the person interface will not make a great deal of perception, this sort of as how you get to the house screen or pull up the radio station you might be at this time listening to. But even worse than the menu construction is the system’s responsiveness. It continually lags when swiping amongst screens or pinching and zooming on the map. Frustratingly, it even flat-out ignores inputs sometimes.

Matching the primary show is a digital instrument cluster. At just 5.three inches, it’s little, even though it will work nicely. It moves when you modify the wheel, which enhances visibility. Other standard devices includes keyless entry, rain-sensing wipers and an automobile-dimming rearview mirror. A good deal of issues are heated, also, such as the steering wheel, entrance seats, mirrors and washer nozzles. When all-wheel-travel versions develop into offered afterwards this month, they are going to also benefit from a heated windshield to support maintain Outdated Guy Wintertime at bay.

When I very first listened to VW was switching to contact-sensitive controls on its autos I was aghast due to the fact this is a struggle automakers have presently fought — and shed. Bodily buttons and switches are normally far more intuitive and responsive, one thing new Mercedes-Benz versions establish. But in this situation, I was absolutely wrong. The contact-sensitive controls VW executed on the steering wheel work perfectly, reacting quickly to faucets or swipes and carrying out an admirable work of staying away from untrue inputs. If only the ID 4’s infotainment system were being this responsive.

Touch-sensitive controls are utilized somewhere else in the ID 4’s interior, with combined outcomes. There are quantity and temperature sliders on the dashboard that mostly work nicely, even if they are not illuminated at evening, a curious omission. The doorway locks (such as boy or girl locks) and headlamps run off contact-sensitive controls, even though they are basically Okay. A lot more annoyingly, the driver has no bodily switches for the rear energy windows. There are two for the fronts, but if you want to reduced the back again glass you have to press and hold a different contact-sensitive management which will allow people switches to run the rear windows. A VW spokesman defined to Roadshow that their investigate shows drivers almost never at any time reduced the back again glass in 4-doorway autos, so they ditched the bodily buttons. Nonetheless, I hope this is a craze that does not go on.

The ID four is roomy and comfortable. 


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Sprightly performance

The ID four Professional S makes use of rear-wheel travel, its aft-mounted electrical motor delivering 201 horsepower and 229 pound-feet of torque, respectable figures that are identical to what you get in a Chevy Bolt EUV (two hundred hp, 266 lb-ft) or Hyundai Kona Electric (201 hp, 291 lb-ft). The EPA-believed variety these SUVs provide is in lockstep, also, with this VW ready to go 250 miles amongst expenses, courtesy of its flooring-mounted, liquid-cooled lithium-ion battery pack, which has a web capability of seventy seven kilowatt-hrs (eighty two kWh gross). In comparison, the Chevy is rated at 247 miles of variety and the Hyundai 258. Constructed for the long haul, the ID 4’s battery is guaranteed to keep 70% of its authentic cost capability for 8 decades or 100,000 miles.

Like nearly just about every other EV, this Volkswagen has buckets of torque, which interprets into impressive very low-pace scoot. This car or truck is responsive when accelerating from a stop, even though its enthusiasm does wane noticeably at bigger speeds. The ID four is sprightly, but it’s not a superior-performance EV, so will not assume it to maintain speed with any model of the Ford Mustang Mach-E or Tesla Model Y, to say almost nothing of some race-ready electrical automobiles this sort of as the forthcoming Lucid Support Dream Edition, which brandishes up to one,111 hp.

When it’s time to replenish that battery, the ID 4’s eleven-kW onboard charger can do the deed in about 7.5 hrs when hooked to a Level 2 energy source. Monitor down a one hundred twenty five-kW DC rapidly charger and this VW can go from 5% to 80% in as little as 38 minutes. A welcome reward, ID four homeowners get three decades of unlimited Electrify America DC rapidly charging at no additional cost.

Sadly, you will find no entrance trunk in this SUV.


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This uplevel ID four is rated at 104 mpge in the metropolis and 89 mpge on highway drives. Put together, assume ninety seven mpge. In combined use, this SUV suggests I’m obtaining about three.5 miles for each kWh, which is about 118 mpge, significantly better than what the window sticker suggests it really should be returning. (Which is three.5 miles for each kWh instances 33.7 kWh, the electrical equal of a gallon of gasoline. Does that make perception? Nope, I will not comprehend it, either.)

Thanks to its approximately four,seven-hundred-pound as-examined suppress pounds, the ID four normally feels planted. It also rides like a luxurious motor vehicle, its chassis tuning currently being neither so business that it clops or bounds in excess of imperfections nor so comfortable that the overall body flops all over although cornering. There is a wisp of roll in turns, but surprisingly little. This vehicle’s steering is as benign as you’d assume for a mainstream SUV. It’s mild and easy, even though the turning circle is shockingly limited at just shy of 34 feet, one thing that would make maneuvering in limited areas a breeze. Snake the ID four by way of some twisties and it’s eager to perform, shockingly nicely well balanced and neutral, like it rotates about an axis that is appropriate where you might be sitting.

This VW’s entrance seats are good and supportive, but forward visibility could be better. It’s challenging to estimate where the entrance of the ID four ends and the corners are difficult to see due to the fact of the bulging fenders. Thankfully, entrance and rear parking sensors are standard devices, greatly cutting down the probability of hitting one thing.

Like other EVs and hybrids, regenerative braking allows the ID four seize electrical power that would usually be wasted. Its pedal feels easy and purely natural, even though if you flick the equipment selector in excess of to Brake manner alternatively of Push, this VW supplies much higher regenerative braking. This is fundamentally a one-pedal driving practical experience, which usually takes some obtaining utilized to but is great when you get the truly feel for it.

You will find almost nothing showy about the ID four, but it’s continue to tastefully developed and remarkably adaptable. 


Craig Cole/Roadshow

A aiding hand

All versions of the ID four occur with Volkswagen’s IQ Push suite of support functions. This bundles amenities like forward-collision warning and automated unexpected emergency braking, lane-maintaining support, blind-place checking and far more. You also get automated superior beams and street indicator recognition.

Journey Support, the German automaker’s model of adaptive cruise management with stop-and-go ability and lane centering, is standard devices, also. For the most element, this system will work nicely, effortlessly changing the ID 4’s pace to match surrounding website traffic, even though the lane centering could be improved. When engaged, it’s continually building little adjustments, shifting the wheel somewhat from left to appropriate. Competing units from Honda, Hyundai, Toyota and other automakers will not show this unsettling actions.

The ID 4’s primary rivals are the Chevy Bolt EUV and Hyundai Kona Electric. Secondary competition consist of the Ford Mustang Mach-E and Tesla Model Y.


Craig Cole/Roadshow

Examining the containers

The ID four commences at all over $41,000 such as $one,195 in spot service fees, even though that determine excludes any opportunity tax credits, which could whole up to $7,500 from the feds. This determine is a little bit steeper than its primary battery-run rivals, with the Chevy Bolt EUV kicking off at about 34 grand and the Hyundai Kona Electric all over $one,two hundred far more than that. Of study course, the stylish Mach-E is pricier continue to and an entry-level Model Y even richer. Ahead of any discounts, VW would like $forty seven,a hundred ninety for the Professional S design evaluated below, which places it solidly in Mach-E and Model Y territory.

The 2022 Volkswagen ID four does what it wants to do but, sad to say, not a complete great deal far more. Its roomy, upscale interior, enough standard technological innovation and refined street manners make it uncomplicated to reside with, however, questionable controls and a slothful infotainment system detract from an usually nice offer. The ID four has its strengths, and it’s surely not a undesirable alternative if you might be searching for an all-electrical SUV, but there are most likely better options offered these days, especially if you might be keen to spend just a little far more.