Road test: Volkswagen ID.4 Pro

Five years is a long, long time – 36 years in cat years, and perhaps even more than that in car years. This is how long Volkswagen New Zealand has been negotiating the arrival of the ID.4, and you could hear the joy and relief in their voices as the model finally launched locally earlier this week alongside its coupe cousin, the ID.5.

The ID.4 and ID.5 are just the start for Volkswagen’s electric ID range. Soon they will be joined by the ID.Buzz and ID.Cargo – a pair of T1-inspired vans – and a fleet of plug-in hybrids headlined by Golf, Tiguan, and Passat.

Volkswagen, like everyone, has been battling delays caused by the global semiconductor shortage, which in part is why we’re finally seeing the ID.4 almost three years after it landed in Europe and North America. Admittedly, they’ve made up for it with the ID.5. New Zealand is one of the first markets to get it, beaten only by Europe and China.

The ID.4 and 5 are Volkswagen’s second and third releases built on its all-new MEB architecture (Kiwis missed the first MEB release, the ID.3, although we’re set to get the facelift). Both enter the incredibly busy $70,000–$90,000 EV price bracket; the same sandpit as the likes of the Ford Mustang Mach-E, Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Ioniq 6, Kia EV6, and their twin-under-the-skin, the Skoda Enyaq.

All ID.4 and ID.5s come with the same powertrain and battery set-up; a rear-mounted motor sending 150kW/310Nm solely to the rear wheels, paired to a 77kWh (82kWh gross) li-ion battery. The ID.4’s range is rated at 519km on the WLTP cycle, whilst the ID.5’s slipperier shape means it gets a slightly higher 530km rating.

This point in the story is normally where I’d talk about car launch routes and the kind of driving we did in our brief little spin in the shiny new car. But the launch of the ID.4 and ID.5 was different. We had a presentation, had some food, got given a set of keys, and were told to give the car back in a week’s time – elevating this from being a simple launch tale to a road test.

In our case, we were handed the keys to what’s likely to be the model’s best-seller; the base $79,990 ID.4 Pro. For now, it shares equal-price billing with the ID.5 Pro, but only because Volkswagen has graced the latter with an introductory discount. The flagship ID.4 Pro+ and ID.5 Pro+ models, meanwhile, are priced from $90,990 and $95,490, respectively.

At 4584mm long and 1852mm wide, the ID.4 is just slightly longer and wider than a 5-seater Tiguan. Where things differ most is in wheelbase; the ID.4 almost equalling the bigger 7-seater Allspace when it comes to real estate between the wheels. This gives it an objectively larger cabin space than the 5-seat Tiguan, and I’d argue it’s roomier in the second row than the Allspace, too.

Does a longer wheelbase equal a smaller boot? Well, yes … but it’s not as bad as you might think. The ID.4’s 543L with the seats up and 1,575L with them flat is down is 72L/80L down on what you get in a 5-up Tiguan, but it’s still a comparatively usable, versatile space.

Disappointingly, there is no useful ‘frunk’ to speak of, despite the ID.4 seemingly packing a lot of empty space up front. Nevertheless, its boot stacks up well next to EV rivals, comfortably trumping the Mustang Mach-E’s 402L and down slightly on the Enyaq’s 585L.

Ah yes, the Enyaq. It’s inevitable that comparisons will be drawn between the two similarly sized MEB-based EV wagons. Having been given a $13,000 trim in June, the Enyaq also starts at $79,990, and makes use of the same 150kW/310Nm motor. The similarities are undeniable. But, so are the differences – namely, how they drive.

Tuning is a wonderful thing, isn’t it. The Enyaq has the same platform and steering rack, but drives very differently. Where the Skoda is more plush and laid back, the ID.4 feels quite a lot more pointed and agile. Tipping the scales at about two tonnes, it is far from light. But the 100kg-odd edge it packs over the Enyaq is enough to aid how it feels on challenging roads – while likely contributing to its one-tenth advantage in the 0–100kph stakes (8.5 seconds).

Inevitably the ID.4 is more firm but ride is well managed, never lowering itself to the point of being ‘crashy’, even on broken surfaces and even while Sport mode is engaged. Overindulge on corner entry and you get served understeer, but that’s more to do with the limitations of the tyre and the ID.4’s hefty mass than the MEB platform. You can feel that with a bit more rubber and power (cough, ID.4 GTX, cough), this would make for a rather compelling drive.

Dial the aggro back a little, and the ID.4 is quiet and comfy. Classic Volkswagen. On pick-up, our fully charged ID.4 displayed a frankly outrageous range estimate of 658km. I regularly saw averages of around 13.5kWh/100km combined, which means drivers should expect more than 450km of range in standard driving conditions.

Standard tech is reasonably generous. The base Pro comes equipped with a 10-inch touchscreen, wireless device charging, ambient lighting, heated front seats, a heated steering wheel, and a comprehensive active safety suite that includes the requisite adaptive cruise and lane-keep software.

The Pro+ is where you find features like tri-zone climate control, power seats with massage, a better sound system, and a bigger 12-inch screen. But for most consumers, the ID.4 Pro will feel like plenty of car for the money.

On first glance the ID.4’s interior is impressive to look at with plenty of room for adults in the front and the back. There’s some neat touches, too, like the twee ‘play’ and ‘pause’ symbols on the throttle and brake pedals, and the ‘car talk’ ambient light bar under the windscreen’s ability to communicate vehicle messages to you by using different colours (trigger the AEB, it flashes red. Give it a voice command, it glows white. And so on).

But, there’s also features in here that, to put it kindly, needed more thought. The plethora of haptic feedback buttons spread across the steering wheel, centre stack, and lower right of the driver, for instance. Many of these buttons struggle to register inputs, making them occasionally frustrating to use.

The decision to remove the rear-window controls from the driver’s side door and replace them with a touch toggle button seems particularly cruel. The touch controls underneath the touchscreen for air conditioning and volume don’t light up at night, rendering them unusable.

Volkswagen has clearly taken on feedback from customers and critics. Its infatuation with haptic controls has reportedly been benched on its upcoming future products. But, the ID.4 won’t be getting facelifted Down Under for at least two years. By comparison, the Enyaq’s pleasant cabin has no such quirks.

And then there’s the lack of almost any internet-based services. So, no over-the-air update functionality and no connected app for your phone. Volkswagen conceded that these features are unlikely to be added to the model until the facelift arrives – a bummer, given that these features are what seasoned EV customers expect these days.

That said, the ID.4 isn’t what I’d call a ‘miss’. Handsome, spacious, great to drive, it represents a solid opening account to Volkswagen’s EV journey in New Zealand.

But, with more Japanese and Korean brands giving their EVs ‘premium positioning’ and new brands from China releasing genuinely competitive products, brands like Volkswagen will need to watch their backs.

Bonus images