Is the Volkswagen ID.4 Right for You?

After years of development, teasing, and concept vehicles, Volkswagen has finally unveiled their all-new EV SUV, and it’s pretty impressive. There’s a lot to like about it, and it’s a great first run at creating an electric SUV that is accessible for just about everyone. But if you’re looking at the Volkswagen ID.4 and wondering if it’s right for you, then you’re probably not alone. There are a lot of SUV and crossover options out there, giving you plenty of models to choose from, and you might be unsure about going with an EV.

Good news: I’m here to help. While I can’t tell you with 100% accuracy if the ID.4 is the perfect choice for your next vehicle, I can help give you some guidance and provide you with information. Today, I’m going to review a lot of the standout features of the Volkswagen ID.4 and talk about what each one means for you as a driver. By the end of this, you should have a really good sense of everything this all-new EV has to offer, and hopefully, a pretty good feel for whether it is a sound option for you or not.

EV Design and Performance

To get started, let’s talk about probably the most obvious, and likely the most important, feature of the all-new Volkswagen ID.4: its EV design. This is an all-electric SUV, so it’s not a hybrid or standard internal-combustion model. If you have absolutely no interest in an EV, then this probably isn’t a good fit for you. However, if you’re at all interested in an EV SUV, then you should definitely give the ID.4 a good look.

In terms of performance, the ID.4 looks quite good. The first wave of models will only offer rear-wheel drive, though Volkswagen has said an all-wheel drive version is coming, likely next year. The rear-mounted electric motor on the current models provides 201 hp, and it uses regenerative braking to conserve as much energy as possible. The word is that the eventual all-wheel drive models will deliver 302 hp thanks to the second motor at the front of the vehicle.

In terms of range, Volkswagen estimates the range of the ID.4 on a full charge at 250 miles, which is quite good and competitive with most other EV SUVs out there. Home charging will take a while, and while you can use the standard L1 charging cable that it comes with it, for optimal home charging, you’re going to want to get an L2 wall box installed at your home. This will charge faster, letting you go about 33 miles from just 1 hour of charge using a home L2 box.

Of course, if you use a public charger, particularly one with DC charging, then things get even better. According to Volkswagen, the ID.4 can get up to 60 miles of range off a 10-minute charge at a DC fast-charging station. In fact, at a public DC fast charger, you can get as much as 80% charge in just 38 minutes, which makes it pretty easy to keep your ID.4 ready to roll. There are more than 17,000 charging stations currently available in the US, with more being added all the time, plus they can be found in nearly every state in America. So, it’s fair to say there really hasn’t been a better time than now to get in on an electric vehicle.

Exterior Design and Look

Looking at the Volkswagen ID.4 from the outside, it’s a sleek and stylish SUV, that’s for sure. Is it absolutely groundbreaking? No, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing – after all, most of us want a vehicle that still looks like what we expect it to look like. And the ID.4 delivers a pretty great combination of a traditional look with some very nice, modern touches.

For example, there’s a glass roof that is perfect for giving you a gorgeous view of the sky overhead and letting in plenty of light, with an electric sunshade that you can use to keep the light from getting excessive. Speaking of lights, the ID.4 has LED taillights, and illuminated door handles, and available features that include LED projector headlights and an illuminated Volkswagen front logo on the grille. It all comes together and looks really good.

Interior Features and Tech

If anything, the interior of the Volkswagen ID.4 is even better than the exterior. It offers a bit more of a futuristic feel, more of what you’d expect from a groundbreaking EV model. You get a 10-inch infotainment display standard, though there’s a 12-inch display available if you want something a bit larger. Other standard features inside include heated front seats, a heated steering wheel, a wireless charging pad, and 8-color customizable interior ambient lighting.

One of the best things about the ID.4 is just how much interior room it gives you for your passengers and cargo. It has 41 inches of front legroom, along with more than 37 inches of rear legroom, so everyone inside can really stretch out. You get more than 30 cu.ft. of cargo space behind the second row of seats, and more than 64 cu.ft. of total cargo volume if you fold the rear seats down. And with nearly 100 cu.ft. of total passenger volume, the ID.4 is a spacious model that gives you seating for up to five people, and no one is going to feel cramped.

Safety and Innovation

The ID.4 has some of the most impressive safety features I’ve seen come out of Volkswagen, which is one of the things I always look for. The IQ.DRIVE package of safety features, which comes standard, includes travel assist, lane assist, front assist, and adaptive cruise control – all of which are designed to help you drive safer with semi-autonomous capability. You also get a blind-spot monitor and rear traffic alert standard, so you don’t have to worry about paying more for the safety features you deserve.

Price and Options

Right now, there is only one trim available: the ID.4 Pro. There was a 1st Edition trim offered too, but it’s already sold out as you would probably expect. That’s not the end of the world; other than a few unique stylistic points on the 1st Edition, the Pro has everything you could want, either standard or as part of two available packages. And the Pro starts at $39,995 MSRP, though federal tax credits could get that down to closer to $32,500.

Volkswagen is actually planning on a Base trim level that will be available in the future; it’s just not here yet. Word is that the base model will start at around $35,000 MSRP, which is quite a good savings compared to the Pro. However, it might be more than a year before we get this Base trim, which I admit seems strange since you’d expect a “Base” trim to be there at launch, but nobody asked me. And since it’s so far off, I can’t really tell you what the differences will be between the Base and the Pro once you have the option – and, as I said, all-wheel drive will also be an option in the next year or so.