2021 Volkswagen ID.4 Review

The 2021 ID.4 is the first U.S.-bound Volkswagen built from the ground up as an electric vehicle. Note the key "ground up" part. Volkswagen's first U.S. market EV — the e-Golf — was a Golf hatchback with an electric motor and batteries instead of a gas powertrain. VW sold it from 2015 to 2019. VW says the ID.4 is optimized from the get-go for the best range, efficiency and interior space possible.

Marketed as an SUV, the ID.4 is smaller than VW's Tiguan small SUV. It's 4.6 inches shorter and 1.9 inches lower than the Tiguan. But its wheelbase, which is the measurement between the front and rear wheels, is only about an inch shorter than the Tiguan's. With the wheels pushed farther apart, the ID.4 has more space for passengers. In fact, it has nearly identical passenger accommodations as the Tiguan.

When the 2021 ID.4 first goes on sale in the spring of 2021 — pushed back from the original launch date of winter 2020 — through a VW reservation program, it will initially come with a single electric motor mounted at the rear axle and driving the rear wheels. The motor produces 201 horsepower and 228 lb-ft of torque.

The ID.4 is quick off the line, but that initial rush of acceleration falls off quicker than in other EVs. In Edmunds' testing, the ID.4 accelerated to 60 mph in 7.7 seconds. For comparison, the Hyundai Kona Electric, while smaller and lighter than the ID.4, can accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in 6.6 seconds. Still, if you're used to acceleration from, say, a regular gas-powered Toyota RAV4, the ID.4's acceleration will seem sporty in comparison.

With a curb weight of 4,699 pounds, the ID.4 is heavy when compared to a typical gasoline-powered small SUV. Some of that weight is masked by the floor-mounted location of the heavy battery pack. Pretty much every new EV uses this design to help lower its center of gravity, which thereby helps make the car feel more hunkered down when you're going around turns. Even so, the ID.4 doesn't feel especially sporty compared to other electric SUVs such as the Ford Mustang Mach-E and Tesla Model Y.

Our test ID.4 stopped from 60 mph in 120 feet. That's an average distance for a small SUV, but the brakes take some time to get used to for routine around-town driving. The pedal effort is unsettlingly soft, and the mass of the ID.4 means you'll likely want to give yourself a bit more room than you may be used to.

Volkswagen will release an all-wheel-drive variant, with a second motor at the front axle, later in calendar year 2021. We think this will be the one to get since it increases total output to a more robust 302 hp.

The test ID.4 we drove had the 12-way power-adjustable front seats. They provide a good amount of cushion and great range of adjustability. The massaging function for the driver's seat is also nice to have at this price point, though we'd prefer to get power seat ventilation if given a choice between the two.

Out on the road, the ID.4's longer wheelbase helps it deliver a smoother ride over its smaller EV competition. The cabin is also relatively well insulated against wind and road noise, and it's naturally absent of engine sonance.

The dual-zone climate controls are primarily touchscreen-based, though the touch-sensitive buttons below the screen offer quick access to temperature adjustments. Heated front seats, a heated steering wheel and heated mirrors are all standard.

The ID.4 cockpit is light on physical buttons or knobs. In fact, the only knob in the cabin is the drive selector that protrudes off the instrument panel, seemingly borrowed from BMW's electric i3 hatchback. There are pads with touch-sensitive simulated buttons throughout, which provide haptic feedback when pressed. If the idea of hunting around to press the right section of a touchpad seems too distracting, you can rely instead on natural voice controls. The ID.4 will be one of the only non-luxury cars with a voice recognition system that doesn't require a rigid command structure.

Though a pretty compact vehicle overall, the ID.4 has a pleasing amount of space inside. This is partially due to the versatile driver's seat. The 1st Edition model's seat is highly adjustable and even features a massage function using the lumbar support. The digital instrument panel moves with the steering wheel, so the information displayed is easily viewable no matter the wheel position.

The ID.4's cabin is also darn roomy. There's plenty of head- and legroom up front, even with the 1st Edition's panoramic sunroof. The back is also generous, with ample space in all directions and a flat floor that frees up additional real estate for a middle passenger. A pair of adult passengers are able to sit in tandem without making any compromises.

Some switchgear is obviously sourced from VW's corporate parts bin, but otherwise the ID.4's interior design is a departure for Volkswagen.

The ID.4 comes with all the tech features and driving aids you'd expect of a cutting-edge electric vehicle. A 10-inch or optional 12-inch touchscreen sits front and center and provides the majority of cabin controls. The larger screen even features gesture control, allowing you to perform certain commands by just swiping your hand in front of the screen. The system takes a while to boot up and some responses are on the slow side, but overall it performs well.

The standard suite of safety features includes adaptive cruise control, blind-spot monitoring, lane departure mitigation, automatic high-beam control, and front and rear parking sensors. In our testing we found that the adaptive cruise adjusts the vehicle's speed smoothly. The other driver aids work as promised and didn't issue any false warnings or detections during our testing.

You'll also get wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a Wi-Fi hotspot, and a smattering of USB-C ports to keep all your gear charged. On the list of cool party tricks are configurable ambient lighting and the "ID. Light" — an LED strip below the windshield that illuminates in different colors to communicate to the driver. It can convey charging status while the ID.4 is plugged in, for instance, or provide another method for alerting the driver when one of the safety systems is triggered.

The ID.4 offers some neat interior storage areas, including a useful center space between the front seats with a removable cupholder tray. You can place the cupholder tray either in the space below the center stack or in the cubby just aft. That cubby is also concealable and houses a wireless phone charger and two of four USB-C charge ports. Though the ID.4 lacks a ton of raw storage space, the bins and cubbies that do exist are thoughtfully designed.

The rear cargo storage is very generous for the entry-level EV class at 30.3 cubic feet. (That's double what Tesla Model 3's trunk offers.) The rear seats are also split into 60/40 sections that fold forward with a center pass-through section, allowing some nice flexibility when dealing with longer items. The total cargo area expands to 64.2 cubic feet with all rear seats folded. This space is on the smaller end of the class if you're comparing it to what other compact SUVs, such as the Edmunds Top Rated Honda CR-V, offer. It should be noted that there is no front trunk as some EVs provide. 

At the heart of the ID.4's powertrain is an 82-kWh battery pack mounted below the passenger compartment. The EPA estimates the ID.4 in rear-wheel-drive configuration will achieve 250 miles of range on a full charge.

As for efficiency, the EPA puts it at 35 kWh of electricity used for every 100 miles of driving. That's a little less efficient than rival EVs such as the Nissan Leaf Plus (31 kWh/100 miles) and the Hyundai Kona Electric (28 kWh/100 miles). Remember that with electric vehicles, the lower the kWh figure the better the efficiency.

Owners can expect to recoup up to 33 miles of range per hour of charging if they're recharging at home or using a Level 2 station. A full charge will take 7.5 hours, Volkswagen says. The ID.4 will also have DC fast-charging capability. To sweeten the deal, Volkswagen is also offering three years of complimentary DC fast charging at Electrify America stations. Using a 125-kW station, the ID.4 has the potential to recharge from 5% to 80% capacity in about 38 minutes.

The ID.4 will initially be offered in 1st Edition trim with a starting price of $45,190 (including destination), followed a few months later by the ID.4 Pro which starts at $41,190. The 1st Edition adds some unique badging, black exterior accents, a panoramic sunroof, 20-inch wheels, LED adaptive headlights, an illuminated grille emblem, the larger 12-inch touchscreen with gesture control, a white-trimmed interior, and a small hitch receiver with a tow capacity of 2,200 pounds.

The base ID.4 Pro standard feature highlights include DC fast-charging capability, a complete list of advanced safety features and driver assistants, a 10-inch touchscreen, heated front seats, fabric upholstery and a wireless charging pad. For an additional $4,500, the ID.4 Pro S trim adds most of the features found in the 1st Edition minus the white interior.