Let’s start with some particularly good news. The VW ID.4 is the least “range anxiety” inducing electric car I have driven to date.
In my experience, this is a hugely significant and important factor when considering buying an electric car as it saves you being distracted from the overall driving experience. It further reduces both your heart rate from going off the scale and the rising sense of panic when driving a very thirsty, high-performance EV whilst simultaneously watching the miles being devoured every time you turn on the air con or heating.
So, a massive shout out to the very talented experts at VW who I have always been very fond of as I love their considered innovation and build quality, including the reassuringly solid but gentle sound when closing the doors. It’s a sentiment that may seem rather sad to some but gives me all manner of joy and reassurance when purchasing and driving them. No surprise then that VW have in fact been working on all electric vehicles since 1972 when they produced the first T2 Camper – dubbed the Elektro Transporter. In 1977 it went on sale to the public under the memorable slogan “Zero litres per 100 kilometres”. I like that.
Rather than regale you with fast paced and exciting motoring adventures across Sussex this time round, this award-winning ID.4 urban SUV commanded my attention enough to really look into some different and broader aspects of what might appeal to a potential purchaser.
I will start by saying that I felt that this is quite a conservative car. It was far better described in one of its many reviews as “don’t expect too much in the way of driving enjoyment” – which I
thought was very fair and a good way to have one’s expectations met in advance. Please don’t be put off by this statement as this is a nicely economical, very secure and understated, no nonsense family car which will appeal to many, especially those of us who are thinking of taking an immediate leap over to an EV.
It has outstanding safety credentials receiving a full 5-star rating when crash tested by Euro NAP but also gained Advanced status which is a mark of a car’s superior on board safety technology. It gained 93% score for adult protection, 89% for children and 85% for the car’s safety systems – adaptive cruise control, a city emergency braking system and a driver fatigue alert system.
It comes with a 3-year warranty plus breakdown cover for ID models and the battery pack comes with its own 8-year/100,000-mile cover. Servicing is after 18,000 miles or 24 months or whatever comes first.
Having seen many people jump out of the way of EV’s as they stealthily pass by, a big clarion call out that this ID.4 can also be heard a little more easily by pedestrians than other EV models through artificially generated vehicle noise. The Acoustic Vehicle Alerting system (AVAS) – sounds when starting up at speeds up to 30km/h and when reversing. Hooray!
STATS
Model tested: VW ID.4
Power: 201 bhp
Battery: 77kWh
Speed: 0-60mph 8.2 secs
Top: 112 mph
Range: 310 miles (quoted)
Price from: £34,995
