Including all-wheel-drive to a median crossover does not drastically change the way it drives. There is a bit extra grip, the gasoline financial system takes a slight hit, and the customer pays round $1,500 extra for the all-weather peace of thoughts. However with the 2021 Volkswagen ID.4, the story is kind of completely different. Volkswagen launched its first all-electric crossover in the USA with a rear-wheel-drive setup. Now, an AWD variant will be part of the lineup, providing greater than only a traction increase.
To create the AWD ID.4, VW added an extra electrical motor on the entrance axle. This motor drives the entrance wheels, whereas including a big quantity of energy to the full output. While you go for AWD in an ID.4, it comes with an almost 50% energy improve. As you may anticipate, this has a pronounced impact on efficiency.
Exterior Styling: Tiny Variations
Little or no differentiates an AWD ID.4 from a RWD one on the outside. There is a tiny flitzer badge with “AWD” lettering, and the dual-motor ID.4 options 0.6 inches extra floor clearance. Other than these minor modifications, the ID.4 stays fairly acquainted. We expect the Ford Mustang Mach-E is extra aggressive, however the ID.4 may enchantment to somebody with extra typical tastes. It is enticing with out drawing an excessive amount of consideration.
The ID.4’s face is pleasant, with customary LED headlights that give off a futuristic vibe. A body-color roof with black roof rails come customary, however we’re keen on the black roof and silver rails that come as a part of the Gradient Package deal. This package deal additionally brings in some fashionable 20-inch wheels. The bottom coloration palette is fairly boring, with Glacier White Metallic, Mythos Black Metallic, Moonstone Gray, and Scale Silver as the one no-cost choices. Blue Nightfall Metallic is unlocked on the Professional S trim, whereas King’s Purple Metallic (a $395 choice) is just out there with the Gradient Package deal ($1,500).
We might prefer to see VW supply the hotter-looking ID.4 GTX right here within the US. It is mechanically just like the AWD ID.4, however appears extra like a GTI.
Efficiency: A Enormous Energy Enhance
The RWD ID.4 employs a single electrical motor on the rear axle, producing 201 horsepower and 229 lb-ft of torque. This yields a reasonably pedestrian 0-60 mph time of seven.5 seconds, which is similar to a median mainstream crossover like a Honda CR-V or Toyota RAV4. US-spec ID.4s are solely out there with a bigger 82 kWh battery, enabling a 260-mile driving vary, or 250 miles for Professional S. Stepping as much as the AWD ID.4 retains the identical battery, however provides an electrical motor on the entrance axle, good for 107 hp and 119 lb-ft.
Mixed with the bigger rear motor, the AWD ID.4 produces 295 hp and 339 lb-ft of torque. With almost 50% extra energy, the AWD mannequin takes solely 5.4 seconds to hit 60 mph. Consider this then because the ID.4’s efficiency choice. Including two pushed wheels and a large bump in efficiency solely sacrifices 11 miles of driving vary. The EPA says the AWD ID.4 will go 249 miles on a cost, or 240 miles in Professional S guise. In our opinion, the vary trade-off for extra energy is nicely value it.
Driving Impressions: The Hotter EV
The ID.4 ranks fairly extremely on the enjoyable scale so far as EVs go. It supplies direct steering akin to a Golf, with nimble dealing with, an impressive turning radius, and a controllable chassis. However, it was gradual. The RWD ID.4 by no means felt harmful when merging on the freeway, however it was removed from thrilling. The AWD mannequin fixes that drawback.
With 295 hp on faucet, the ID.4 feels desperate to speed up. Mashing the throttle outcomes straight away jolt, however the energy curve shortly trails off at increased speeds. This acceleration will not do a lot to impress Tesla Stans, however it’s a lot faster than the common ICE crossover.
Not solely is the AWD ID.4 faster, it is grippier too. The automobile dynamics management system works in tandem with the soundness management and digital differential to determine when the entrance axle ought to interact. This method may also brake the within wheels to assist the ID.4 nudge itself round tighter corners. Mixed with the low heart of gravity from the floor-mounted batteries, the ID.4 can take turns at increased speeds than a traditional ICE crossover. It’s kind of too heavy to be thought of a scorching hatchback, however it made us grin on windy again roads.
Charging: What Vary Anxiousness?
Having a usable driving vary is meaningless if it is unattainable to cost the automobile on an extended street journey. Luckily, the VW Group operates its personal quickly increasing charging community known as Electrify America. With over 650 stations working greater than 2,700 DC quick chargers, it should not be too exhausting to discover a place to cease and “juice up” your ID.4. VW consists of three years of complimentary charging with any ID.4 buy or lease, with charging as much as 125 kW.
In the true world, VW says the ID.4 ought to cost from 5% to 80% in round 38 minutes of DC quick charging. Put one other means, it might add 62 miles of vary in 10 minutes. While you cease to stretch your legs or seize a chunk to eat, you’ll be able to replenish these beneficial electrons. For individuals who choose to cost at house, the ID.4 takes round 7.5 hours to achieve full battery on a Stage 2 charger.
Inside Design: Contact The Future
Getting into the ID.4 is a story of two cabins. The format and design are glorious, however the know-how might use some fine-tuning. After we drove the RWD ID.4 earlier this 12 months, it was a pre-production unit with unfinished software program. We famous in our evaluation that the infotainment system was laggy between menus and the touch-capacitive buttons had been finicky. Just a few months and a significant over-the-air replace have not solved the issues. The display screen nonetheless takes too lengthy transitioning between menus, and the dearth of bodily controls is distracting when you drive.
We hope VW takes a web page out of Honda’s e-book and brings again easy controls like a quantity knob and fan-speed controls. Turning up the air-con requires a visit to a separate menu display screen, taking you away out of your navigation or music. You possibly can say “Hey ID” to have the automobile change the local weather utilizing your voice, however we discovered this course of takes too lengthy to provoke and it does not at all times perceive your inputs.
We did benefit from the ID. Mild, an LED strip that extends throughout the dashboard. It pulses to indicate navigation prompts, incoming telephone calls, or charging standing, and appears correctly futuristic.
Placing the know-how apart, the ID.4’s cabin feels premium and nicely laid out. There’s ample room for telephones and drinks within the heart console, which is configurable with detachable cupholder attachments. Whereas the infotainment is a swing and a miss, we respect how the ID.4 silently involves life if you sit down and twist the drive selector. There isn’t any must press a begin/cease button. While you get out of the seat, the automobile will routinely shut down, providing you with an choice to run the heating or A/C for a couple of minutes in case you are operating out and in on an errand.
The seats are soft and have a primary therapeutic massage perform with a rolling lumbar piece on the Professional S trim. The Professional S provides leatherette-wrapped seats instead of the upmarket-feeling premium fabric within the Professional mannequin. Customary ten-color ambient lighting provides to the ambiance, with non-compulsory 30-color lighting out there on the Professional S and First Version. The inside feels ethereal because of an non-compulsory panoramic roof that extends nicely into the again seats and fortunately has a closable sunshade, in contrast to some opponents.
Trunk & Cargo: Giant Sufficient
The ID.4 competes within the compact crossover phase, although it is a bit smaller than the most well-liked choices just like the CR-V and RAV4. There are 30.3 cubic ft of area behind the rear seats, and that space opens to 64.2 cubic ft with the second row folded. A lot of the ID.4’s gas-powered opponents supply extra cupboard space. VW features a bit extra storage beneath the ground for the charging cable and different small gadgets, and the Professional S and First Version fashions embody an adjustable trunk ground with a raised and lowered place, plus a ski passthrough. Sadly, there isn’t any frunk, as that space is taken up by motors and different electrical elements.
Although it is not the most important crossover on this area, the ID.4 feels roomy for occupants. The ID.4 affords 78.7 inches of mixed legroom (41.1 inches within the entrance and 37.6 inches within the rear), and with a flat ground, all 5 passengers ought to be comfy on an extended street journey.
Pricing & Trims: America’s Least expensive AWD EV
Choosing AWD on a 2021 ID.4 will set you again $3,680 over a RWD mannequin. That is considerably greater than you will pay for AWD on a CR-V or RAV4, however these do not get a 50% energy improve. You additionally get a heated windshield, which ought to turn out to be useful for chilly climates. The bottom ID.4 Professional RWD carries a $39,995 price ticket, whereas the Professional S trim begins at $44,495. Stepping as much as an ID.4 Professional AWD prices $44,495, or $48,175 for the Professional S AWD, making this the least costly AWD electrical automobile on sale within the US. Including the $1,500 Gradient Package deal pushes the AWD mannequin as much as almost $50,000.
The ID.4 is considerably dearer than a gas-powered crossover, however it’s additionally eligible for a $7,500 federal tax credit score from the federal government, plus native incentives. That credit score may even be factored right into a lease fee, making the ID.4 very inexpensive. VW affords a 36-month lease with 10,000 miles a 12 months for $379 per thirty days with $3,579 due at signing for the Professional RWD. From subsequent 12 months, the ID.4 can be constructed regionally at VW’s Chattanooga, Tennessee plant, which can decrease the worth within the coming years.
Verdict: Get The 2nd Motor
Now that we have had that chance to drive each variations of the ID.4, we extremely suggest choosing the AWD mannequin. In the event you can afford the $3,680 premium, the ID.4 AWD feels considerably faster than its RWD counterpart with out dropping any of the driving enjoyment, and solely hurting the vary by 11 miles. The Ford Mustang Mach-E is bigger, faster, and features a longer out there driving vary, however it’s additionally dearer. And whereas the Mach-E is faster, we predict the ID.4 is barely extra enjoyable to drive, given its well-tuned steering.
VW hasn’t created a Tesla Mannequin Y killer right here, however take into account that the most cost effective Mannequin Y prices roughly $14,000 greater than the ID.4, so it is not an apples-to-apples comparability. In case you are out there for an inexpensive EV with AWD, the ID.4 is a no brainer.