2021 Volkswagen ID.4 review: The electric car for the rest of us
Our Verdict
Volkswagen's kickoff purpose-congenital EV in the US eschews performance in favor of being a daily driver. Other than a laggy infotainment screen, the ID.4 hits all the needs of the average consumer.
For
- Comfortable ride
- Up to 260-mile range
- Apple CarPlay and Android Auto included
- Three years of free Electrify America charging
Confronting
- Non the most exciting EV
- Infotainment arrangement is laggy
Tom's Guide Verdict
Volkswagen'southward get-go purpose-built EV in the US eschews performance in favor of beingness a daily driver. Other than a laggy infotainment screen, the ID.4 hits all the needs of the average consumer.
Pros
- +
Comfortable ride
- +
Up to 260-mile range
- +
Apple tree CarPlay and Android Automobile included
- +
Three years of complimentary Electrify America charging
Cons
- -
Not the most exciting EV
- -
Infotainment system is laggy
Volkswagen ID.4: Specs
Release Date: At present for rear-wheel drive. Fourth-quarter of 2021 for all-cycle-drive
Price: Starts at $39,995 (MSRP); equally tested $43,995
Power: unmarried motor rear-bicycle bulldoze / dual motor all-wheel-drive
Horsepower: 201hp and 295 hp
Battery range: 240 to 260
Height speed: NA
Smarts: Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. ID Software
The EV globe is littered with high-performance rides using speed to entice car shoppers to a world powered past ions instead of dead dinosaurs. The VW ID.iv — in its ain stylish simply subdued way — as well wants to lure drivers to the quiet hum of driving an EV simply instead of using impressive aught to 60 times, Volkswagen is instead highly-seasoned to the quickest growing market segment in the automotive earth, the small SUV / crossover. The roomy and smooth driving ID.4 is better matched up against the Toyota Rav4 and Honda CRV than the Tesla Model Y and Ford Mustang Mach-E.
After over a calendar week of driving the ID.4 Outset Edition trim, we found information technology to be a solid small-scale SUV contender when pitted against gas-powered counterparts. The four-door, rear-cycle-drive vehicle offers 250 miles of range; in our mixed-use tests on the highway, surface streets, and along curvy mountain passes, the vehicle typically matched or surpassed that range number unless we were pushing the vehicles during speed tests.
Nosotros found driving to be smooth, the seats to be comfy and the vehicle's driver assistance features to exist on par with other offerings in this price range. Where the vehicle falls apartment is its laggy infotainment organization housed in a 10- or 12-inch infotainment display. Fortunately, Apple tree CarPlay and Android Auto are both supported. Overall, this is one of the all-time electric cars for those looking for a practical small SUV.
Volkswagen ID.four review: Release date, pricing and trim levels
The 2021 Volkswagen ID.iv is available right now as a rear-cycle-drive vehicle, and it's available in two trim levels. The entry-level Pro and limited availability 1st Edition offering the same single motor powertrain outputting 201 horsepower and 229 pound-feet of torque. The base-level Pro starts at $39,995, has a range of 260 miles and ships with a 10-inch infotainment display, heated seats, wireless CarPlay and Android Motorcar, and the vehicle'south avant-garde commuter assistance features.
For $43,995, the 1st Edition builds upon that listing with special badging twenty" alloy wheels, premium LED lights, and a drinking glass roof.
Available afterwards this year, the all-wheel-bulldoze (AWD) variants will exist available also in two trim levels, the Pro and Pro S. Both vehicles offer up 295 horsepower. The AWD Pro starts at $43,675 and likely has the aforementioned interior and 10-inch display equally its rear-wheel-drive counterpart. The Pro S starts at $48,175 and with the optional Slope package adds 20-inch alloy wheels. The range for the vehicles is 249 miles and 240 miles respectively. The AWD ID.4 versions are available for purchase now but won't be shipped until the fourth quarter of 2021.
The delivery charge on all the ID.iv variants is $1,195 and all are eligible for the $vii,500 federal tas credit. That eligibility gives the ID.4 a competitive border against offerings from Tesla and GM. Vehicles from both automakers no longer qualify for the federal credit.
Volkswagen ID.4 review: Range, battery and charging
Ane benefit of Volkswagen owning the Electrify America network is that all ID.4 vehicles come with three years of gratis charging at their stations.
In a mixed driving environment with the ID.4 for more than a week, the 1st Edition's 250 miles of range was usually met or even surpassed, although merely by a few miles based on our calculations. Days when the vehicle spent most of its time traveling at lxx miles-per-hr and to a higher place that number dropped as you would wait from an EV. Of course, on days when the vehicle was being tested with multiple speed runs and hard-driving, the range likewise took a hit.
All ID.iv's are equipped with an 82 kWh battery pack and of that, 77 kWh are available to the vehicle at any time. That discrepancy is at that place to counteract battery degradation eating into the vehicle's range. All batteries degrade, that's just how batteries work. But the ID.four and other EV's that set aside battery chapters to counter that upshot are probable to have the same range for years.
Charging and finding chargers has become less of an result every bit more stations are being built. We tested our vehicle in the San Francisco Bay Area where charging stations are likely more plentiful than in other parts of the country. That said, the vehicle's navigation organisation made it elementary to find charging stations well-nigh us while driving.
The ID.iv supports DC-fast charging at speeds up to 125 kW. Volkswagen says that can top upwardly the battery from 5% to lxxx% in about 38 minutes, which is in line with our testing when we had access to a charging station that supported that speed.
Ane benefit of Volkswagen owning the Electrify America network is that all ID.4 vehicles come with three years of gratuitous charging at their stations. EV'due south are already cheaper to run than gas vehicles when they're charged at home, throw in gratis station charging and some owners might not even accuse at dwelling saving themselves a lot of money.
Volkswagen ID.4 review: Interior and cargo space
If you lot spend hours a 24-hour interval in a vehicle, the ID.4's spacious and airy interior volition at least give yous some interior breathing room. The front seats are comfortable enough for long road trips with enough caput and legroom for even the tallest drivers. The rear seats are a bit cramped for alpine passengers while you could put three grown adults in the back, during our tests, unless they're thin, it's best to get in a ii adult affair dorsum there.
Cargo space is plentiful with 30.3 cubic anxiety of infinite behind the second row. During our tests we fit 14 grocery numberless behind the second row. In another test we placed two large suitcases and two smaller carry-on suitcases behind the second row without any event.
For those needing more room, with the rear seats folded downwards, the cargo space more doubles to 64.2 cubic square feet of space. Enough for a large run to Costco.
Our review unit had a fixed glass roof, which included a shade that could be deployed to cut out the dominicus'southward harsh rays. Nosotros've driven vehicles with glass roofs without a sunshade and most of the fourth dimension it's fine, but in that location are instances where the glare and heat can be annoying. The shade is a welcome edition.
Volkswagen ID.4 review: Tech and safety features
The ID.4 continues the tradition of electric vehicles offering upward tech-heavy features past delivering a dashboard that's taken some design cues from the Apple tree Store. Keyless entry and wireless smartphone connections are standard. Plus, like the Polestar two and Tesla vehicles, the ID.4 turns on when the commuter sits down.
The issue isn't the infotainment features but the latency of the organization. In some cases, I had to tap items multiple times.
Fortunately, the butt-powered ignition system is supplemented with an actual on and off button for those times when the car needs to stay on when the driver is out of the commuter's seat.
Behind the wheel and attached to the steering column is the v.3-inch ID Cockpit dash cluster. The digital display eschews the recent trend of calculation more and more information beneath the windshield and instead only shares the virtually relevant data, including speed, country of accuse, navigation and driver assistance condition.
In the center of the nuance sits a ten- or 12-inch display that houses the vehicle'due south infotainment organization. The features of the organization include all the expected settings and condition data in a familiar grid layout with a customizable home screen that displays multiple pieces of information at once similar media, navigation and phone. The issue isn't the features just rather the latency of the system during apply. In some cases, I had to tap items multiple times in lodge to make a selection, and swiping between screens also required multiple tries before there was whatsoever success.
While laggy, the Volkswagen ID Software infotainment system does offer upwardly the expected suite of features for an EV. The iteration of Volkswagen's infotainment system first appeared in the smaller ID.iii that's available in Europe and was adjusted for use in the United states for the ID.4. Volkswagen has experienced some initial problems with the software in its new electric vehicles. These growing pains are to be expected, merely information technology doesn't accept the sting off ownership a $twoscore,00o vehicle and having the infotainment arrangement take more than one swipe to switch screens.
Fortunately, over-the-air updates are available for the ID.4 and hopefully, these latency problems volition exist resolved at some betoken in the hereafter. In fact, after returning the vehicle and right earlier this commodity was published, Volkswagen issued its outset over-the-air update for the ID.3 with the ID.iv expected to receive the update soon.
Wireless CarPlay and Android Motorcar are standard likewise every bit a wireless charging pad in the center console. Each vehicle is also outfitted with two USB-C ports in the front end and ii USB-C charge ports in the dorsum.
The ID.4 comes standard with navigation that includes the ability to detect nearby charging stations. Helpful during road trips.
Safe and drivers assistance features include adaptive cruise command, lane go on assistant, rear traffic alerts while blistering upwardly and autonomous emergency braking in addition to the usual blind-spot monitoring, rear backup photographic camera, and forward-collision warning. All of which worked equally expected.
Volkswagen ID.4 review: The bulldoze
After more than than a week and hundreds of miles backside the bike of the ID.4, it'south safe to say that Volkswagen did indeed build a proper competitor to the plethora of small SUVs on the marketplace that run on gas. While the rear-bike-drive drivetrain might seem to lend itself to performance driving, the 201 horsepower 1st Edition nosotros drove was more almost grocery runs than quarter-mile runs.
On highways and surface streets, the ID.4 is composed and capable of offering up a smooth ride without any fuss. At high speeds, the cabin was withal quieter than gas competitors and the overall feel of the driver and passengers was pleasant.
On curvy backroads that haven't seen a construction coiffure in likely a decade, the vehicle'due south low eye of gravity gave it a slightly sporty feel. But simply slightly. Trunk coil was kept in check by the heft of the battery pack under the passenger compartment, merely not enough to requite yous the experience of something like Volkswagen's Golf GTI. Unlike the Mach-E and Model Y, the 1st Edition ID.4 is not going to wow anyone with its prowess around corners.
While balmy and moderate bumps were easily swallowed upwards by the ID.4 while on the highway and surface streets, deeper ruts in the road combined with a curve exposed the limits of the break. While technically an SUV, like most vehicles in this space, off-roading should exist kept to maintained dirt roads with moderate bumps, holes and ruts.
The AWD ID.4 was unavailable during our tests, but it'due south likely that its additional power and increased traction would yield improve results on backroads and offroading.
Acceleration benefits from the jot of instant EV torque, merely this is non a vehicle built for spine-snapping EV drag races. The best use of the dispatch is off the line at cease lights at speeds up to 40 miles per hour. Yes, you lot'll feel the jolt of the low-end torque but the acceleration is quickly tamed to something more at home around the neighborhood.
Braking does benefit from regenerative braking and with a turn of the shift knob to B, the vehicle'southward regenerative braking organization is placed in its high setting. Unfortunately, that setting doesn't offering the ane-pedal driving characteristic found in the Chevy Bolt and Nissan Leaf that brings the vehicle to a end when the driver lifts off the accelerator. The brakes themselves are adequate for daily driving both with just the driver in the vehicles and with four passengers and the back of the vehicle filled with cargo. During more spirited driving, the brakes could apply an boosted 10 to 15% of stopping power, but again, the ID.four isn't built for this blazon of driving.
Steering weighted appropriately for an SUV and then not much to exist excited about in that location. Withal, we were surprised at the smaller-than-predictable turning circumvolve of the ID.4, which fabricated u-turns on unmarried-lane roads a snap. Information technology also was a benefit in parking lots where squeezing into tight parking spots and having to navigate around corners with big trucks in the other lane can be a claiming.
Volkswagen ID.iv review: Navigation and driver assistance features
The ID.iv'south navigation has the benefit of the vehicle's phonation banana. We were able to set destinations without taking our hands off the cycle without much hassle. Turn-past-turn directions are available both in the center infotainment display and on the ID Cockpit dash cluster. The minimalist arrow system in the dash cluster worked well, and the ID Light (a calorie-free bar that runs underneath the length of the windshield) too offered up some help by flashing on either the left or correct side of the vehicle equally an indication of where to go as we came upon an intersection or interchange where nosotros had to plow.
Volkswagen'south IQ.Drive commuter assist features are standard and include adaptive prowl control and lane-go along help. These features are typically best used in traffic on the highway and fortunately (or unfortunately, for us), during our testing nosotros were stuck in major gridlock that utilized the organisation over the course of a few hours.
Tracking the vehicle in front end yielded no surprises, and the ID.4 slowed downward appropriately during cut-ins (when a vehicle merges into your lane in front of yous). When a slow-moving vehicle moved to another lane, the ID.4 accelerated a chip slower than we would have but non so much to impede traffic and acrimony the drivers behind united states of america. At no point did we feel that the vehicle was budgeted a stopped vehicle also quickly before applying the brakes an issue that happens often when a vehicle with adaptive cruise command of a sudden encounters stop and go traffic.
Speaking of cease and go, the IQ.Bulldoze system will follow the vehicle ahead of it later on being stopped merely simply if information technology's been stopped for less than three seconds. Subsequently the time flow elapses you have to tap either Resume on the steering bike or the accelerator. We wish that time menstruation was a flake longer particularly during extreme gridlock.
The vehicle did an acceptable job tracking the lanes on the highway just this is where we remind you that these systems are just there to assistance, you still need to actually steer and pay attention while they are enabled.
Volkswagen ID.4 review: Verdict
Volkswagen hasn't built a vehicle that's meant to wow us. Instead, it's aimed at the family unit or individual that needs a small SUV for errands, commuting, and merely generally driving effectually boondocks. It's comfortable, offers plenty of space of a family or group of friends with room to spare for their stuff. Information technology does all of this in a bundle that might non exist heady, just it's capable and solidly congenital with enough range for 95% of what you'll demand it to do. Non every EV is going to break some acceleration record; some are congenital for regular life and that's exactly where the ID.iv sits.
Source: https://www.tomsguide.com/reviews/2021-volkswagen-id-4-electric-car
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