Volkswagen ID 4 – All Electric SUV
Its been almost 5 years since the diesel gate issue and Volkswagen is putting some serious bets on the all electric market. Yesterday debuting the all new Volkswagen ID4 which is an all electric SUV with a 250 mile range and sub $40,000 price tag.
Built on the all new modular electric vehicle platform they are dubbing MEB and claiming they will move 1 million battery electric vehicles by 2025 as they are investing heavy into the all electric market.
Priced to be a high volume mass market offering which although sitting at sub $40,000 when you factor in the federal tax incentives it brings the cost of ownership down into a pretty competitive range.
With the market already filled with EV options such as the Tesla Model 3, Nissan Leaf, Chevy Bolt and VW’s own e-Golf how will they compete? First off none of the offerings in this price range are SUVs but small size sedans. With EV’s making up around 3% of total car sales in the US, automakers are placing bets on that percent rising as the cost of ownership drops.
So what stands out with the new ID4?
The motor in the VW ID4 has 201 horsepower and gets around 228 pound feet torque where the all wheel drive variant will produce around 302 hp and be released in late 2021. Both AC and DC charging will be available with stats showing an ID4 can go from 5 to 80% charged in about 38 minutes using a DC charging station. Every ID4 will come with 3 years of free charging courtesy of Electrify America EV.
When it comes to interior design we feel VW has nailed it with a very tech focused, futuristic looking design which is clean. Despite being a smaller footprint compared to the Tiguan the interior is actually the same size. Most notably the lighting stands out in the interior with their all new ID Light feature. A light strip runs below the windshield and another across the center of the dashboard giving it a very futuristic appeal. But don’t be mistaken the all new lighting features are not just a “bells and whistles” type of improvement. VW has stated it is a “intuitive lighting” system with different colors and sound to signal to the driver various activities such as when the car has been unlocked or locked.
The ID4 is just the beginning of Volkswagen’s push into the all electric market as they already are making headway in their other brands with Porsche recently debuting their all new Taycan and back in 2018 the Audi E Tron SUV.
So what do you think of this all new compact SUV? Love it or hate it?
