Sieben heaven
For now the ID is a hatchback and a very useful one Better still it can be had as an estate Just not yet The design is recognisably part of the ID // family which will sadly leave it marooned in a few years’ time The company’s designers have lately said that the next wave of Volkswagen electric cars will to paraphrase look like Volkswagens not like electric cars Maybe at that point they’ll give it a sensible name like I dunno Passat and let us drop that annoying full stop
Anyway the body shape has an aim beyond your aesthetic sensibilities Low drag is critical if it’s to take advantage of being a low and fast tailed hatch The coefficient is shaved down to an impressive Cd and Cd x A total drag is even more impressive Which helps it reach miles on kWh Even in WLTP the ID goes per cent further than an ID with the same pack and WLTP doesn’t include much high speed driving which would widen that gap further because aero is vital on motorways
Actually there’s something else the ID has VW’s newest generation of motor and inverter which doesn’t improve the bhp just the efficiency Still you’d think bhp should make it pretty lively but this is nearly kg of large saloon Performance is like the outline substantial rather than spiky It grazes m long Those wheels are s but there’s so much coachwork they don’t look it Indoors there’s all the front room you need and in the back leagues of leg space and enough head clearance
It’s no hardship to hustle along mind It controls its body and steers well enough with a subtle RWD nudge Peer into its soul and there’s some engagement to be had Versus other cars within the brand and the Group it shows how today’s adaptive systems and motor control algorithms mean that ostensibly similar hardware can feel very different This is the nicest of the MEB cars Not least because it rides terrifically especially if you get the optional adaptive dampers It’s quiet and supple directionally stable Serene all round
If it had VW’s screen system of the past four years the karma bestowed by its dynamics would be offset by digital frustration Not here The system isn’t too clear at first but it’s customisable and logical so after a time nothing you use often is more than two jabs away
Just don’t get me started on using a proxy screen graphic to aim the motorised vents If cars had always had those and then someone invented a little plastic direct control air joystick they’d be hailed a genius