The Volkswagen ID.4 does not try and smack you in the face and say: “Hey look at me! I am a cool EV” – and that is a good thing!
It looks like a normal mid-size SUV and there is even an ersatz grille at the front.
Even the interior is restrained compared to some EVs, although it does share the lack of tactile controls common to many; more on that later.
It is very spacious inside, feels roomy and the front and rear leg room is decidedly generous.
The specifications seem to have been chosen to help keep the price under the magic $80,000 mark to get the clean car rebate ($72,990), so you get manual seat adjustment, fabric seat coverings and a smaller 10-inch screen.
The Pro+, which gets a larger 12-inch screen, electric seats and more is $89,990.
Starting the ID4 is rather unusual, you just get in the car with the proximity key, put your foot on the brake and select forward or reverse on the lever on the right-hand edge of the driver’s display and away you go – total simplicity.
Volkswagen term this Intuitive Start, and it sort of is, once you know where that shifter is!
There is a central 10-inch screen with all the usual audio and multi-function controls, and this also controls a lot of the car functions.
You’ll find a couple of semi-tactile controls below the screen for temperature and fan speed, although we found these difficult to use.
Most of the climate controls have to be accessed via the screen, something that is not ideal when driving, but which EV car makers seem to think is required to be cool!
The seats and driving position are comfortable and there is great visibility front and rear.
As is typical of an EV, there is excellent and abundant power delivery from the 150kW electric motor, which makes driving effortless.
Handling is good – especially during a run over the Kaimai Range which provides a good test.
Around town, we were not a fan of the brakes which felt a bit soft, but we had cause to use them for an emergency stop when some numpty sailed through a stop sign across our bow on the open road.
The brakes worked in exemplary fashion, earning high praise from the passengers when we avoided T-boning the offending Corolla.
With a 519km (WLTP) range you are a bit less inclined to range anxiety than in some other EV’s I have tested.
The ID.4 seems to also have better real-life vs claimed range than some other EV’s.
We put this to good test with three people for a trip to from Tauranga to Cambridge and back, (around 200kms).
Climbing the Kaimai Range with a load typically sees many EVs shed range on the trip meter faster than the km’s are being covered.
Unusually, the ID.4 performed better here, and we arrived home with about 69 percent left on the battery gauge.
Prior to taking delivery of any electric vehicles for test purposes, I recently upgraded my garage wiring with a 15-amp outlet in place of the usual 10-amp one.
This helped speed the ID.4’s charging and after 16 hours, the VW had around 93 percent charge.
If you need to use public fast chargers, the ID.4 can take up to 125kW DC charging.
As well as the roomy interior space for people the ID.4, being an SUV, has generous cargo space with a good-sized boot area.
The ID.4 is a very practical EV option with plenty of room for people and stuff, good range and an exterior which does not shout ‘EV’ at you.
By Cathy Parker
