VW got everything right just in time.
Before the arrival of the highly anticipated event Electric van ID.Buzz and the aerodynamically adept, road-going model VW ID.7 hatchbackVolkswagen has set the stage with a healthy, family-friendly electric vehicle that impresses in almost every way.
It’s a stage the brand created years ago. Long before the ID.4 was introduced (early 2021 for North America), VW promoted it as the electric vehicle that mainstream buyers would understand – and one that would easily be seen as superior to top sellers like it Toyota RAV4, Honda CR-Vor Subaru Forester.
2024 Volkswagen ID.4
In short, I love the way the 2024 VW ID.4 rides, drives and handles in its intended lens. With a well-equipped, spacious, very intelligently designed interior, relatively fast charging and a range that stands up to the real world, it’s exactly what those entering the world of electric vehicles for the first time need.
When the ID.4 originally launched for 2021, VW seemed to forget that these mainstream crossover drivers were used to relatively simple interfaces. It didn’t fit the mainstream ethos at all. Using haptic (touch-sensitive) controls below the screen, as well as a series of haptic buttons and surfaces on the steering wheel, the interface felt like a work in progress, similar to the efforts of an off-brand tablet maker.
2025 Volkswagen ID.7 GTX Tourer
The ID.4 interface now appears to be designed for EV drivers
Now VW has redesigned the user interface so that it appears to have been designed by people who would actually drive, use and charge the vehicle. A new 12.9-inch interface for all but the base model ID.4 Standard offers far faster computing performance. The climate functions are stuck at the bottom of the screen, while a bar of shortcut icons at the top takes you quickly to the most important functions. Submenus appear on the left and open to the right. More on-screen menus explain the why and what in tabs adopted from Tesla. It all makes a lot more sense.
This new hardware has speed on its side and responds without latency – which is necessary whenever the driver needs to briefly hold their finger on a point on the screen to display icons or menus.
2024 Volkswagen ID.4
2024 Volkswagen ID.4
2024 Volkswagen ID.4
After looking around the screen for a few minutes, it was easy to see how clear this will be for newbies. Trip planning features are built into the native navigation, and you can easily adjust your route to a different charger while on the go. The system tells you what your maximum DC fast charging rate will be when the device is plugged in, so you don’t have to doubt whether it’s the charger. And you can easily start preconditioning the battery for quick charging stops – at the touch of a button or automatically – and actually see what you gain.
And yes, you can still pair your iPhone or Android phone wirelessly with Apple CarPlay or Android Auto, ignore most of the menu and otherwise enjoy the ID.4’s mostly standard and straightforward switchgear. It has turn signal stalks, door handles, traditional steering wheel adjustments and mirror controls, although you’ll still come across the universal power window controls that combine the front and rear windows into one switch.
2024 Volkswagen ID.4
More impact, more range
What underlies the ID.4 from a dynamic perspective always felt perfectly tailored to the mission and perfectly tailored to ride, handling and comfort, unlike most of its market competitors. In the 2024 update, VW has kept all of these good parts but made them even better with quicker acceleration from a new rear-engine unit developed internally at VW, called the AP550. It will also be used in the upcoming ID.7.
Power increases most noticeably on the rear-drive versions with the 82 kWh battery (77 kwh usable) – to 282 hp and 402 lb-ft of torque from the previous 201 hp and 229 lb-ft. The dual-motor AWD versions also receive a power increase from 295 hp to 335 hp. The front engine in the AWD versions, an induction unit with an output of 107 hp and 119 lb-ft, is carried over.
The addition of this new rear-engine unit increases performance and efficiency, with the AWD versions now able to accelerate to 60 mph in just under five seconds. Meanwhile, EPA ratings increase slightly for the AWD model to 263 miles from the previous 255 miles and for the rear-wheel-drive single-motor version to 291 miles from 275 miles previously.
2024 Volkswagen ID.4
According to initial indications, efficiency remains high. In a dual-motor Pro S AWD model, my driving partner and I averaged 3.0 miles per kWh on a brisk 69 miles through LA’s boulevards and freeways and then up the Angeles Crest Highway and back. On a shorter, flat route through boulevards with the single-engine, rear-wheel-drive Pro S model, I averaged 3.5 miles per kWh—all while outside temperatures were in the 60s.
A warning: The base ID.4 Standard at $41,160 with its 62 kWh battery (58 usable), offered only with rear-wheel drive, retains the old 201-hp rear motor as well as the old 12.0-hp -engine at. inch screen. We will be restocking this model at some point in the near future, but for now it is the special model in the lineup.
Standard versions also charge quickly, with a peak power of 140kW, compared to 175kW for the rest of the range. In both cases, however, a charging stop of 10% to 80% should take about 30 minutes.
2024 Volkswagen ID.4
Dynamically excellent ride, handling, comfort
Sticking to boulevards, highways and commutes, the ID.4 impresses with an almost luxurious elegance, with ride comfort, a quiet cabin and soaking up harshness seemingly the main priorities here. If, like us, you don’t see what happens when you push this innocuous-looking crossover harder in Sport mode, you might think it’s no match for high-speed corners or canyon carving, so it increases its propulsion and steering responses a bit.
2024 Volkswagen ID.4
2024 Volkswagen ID.4
2024 Volkswagen ID.4
2024 Volkswagen ID.4
As we reached California’s scenic and technically challenging Angeles Crest Highway and did so, first impressions were forgotten – with great respect for VW’s suspension tuning. It’s a masterpiece how the ID.4 manages to integrate such driving and handling capabilities into the overall package with the rather flat 20-inch tires on my Pro S test model and without using air suspension or adaptive damping. All-wheel drive models retain their near 50:50 weight distribution, and with slightly more power sent to the rear wheels than before, you can turn the rear in the tightest corners if you apply a little more zeal.
2024 Volkswagen ID.4
The ID.4 features a regenerative braking system that some drivers will find refreshingly simple and straightforward, while others may be frustrated by the lack of options. There are no shift paddles with multi-stage recuperation like on Hyundai’s Ioniq 5, but only a “D” and “B” setting for the shift lever, which now still rotates to change gears, but is no longer part of a large extending extension from the instrument cluster. “D” provides a very small amount of regeneration, allowing even more glide than many petrol vehicles, while “B” increases regeneration to a maximum of 0.13 g – not much at all compared to other electric vehicles and without a special “one-pedal” function. mode, although of course the system recovers much more when you press the brake pedal.
2024 Volkswagen ID.4
2024 Volkswagen ID.4
2024 Volkswagen ID.4
ID.4 is a top choice for seating and space
The ID.4’s seating also remains fantastic. While some electric vehicles tend to skimp on lower bolsters to make more room for the battery underneath, the ID.4’s perches can be adjusted to a comfortable height to keep your hips in place and your lower back supported support. And whether it’s about shoving my lanky 6-foot frame into the back seat or installing a child seat, the wide door cutouts and generous seat padding make the ID.4 one of the best.
Back to the interface, the ID.4 features the excellent ID.Light, a strobe light bar where the dashboard meets the base of the windshield, reminding you of your next turn or active safety alerts with color, direction and urgency. It’s one of those features that, once you live with it for a few days, makes you wonder how you got along without it.
The ID.4 is still not perfect. All the control redundancies and depth of choices in the interface still make the ID.4 seem a little more complex than it needs to be. This is partly due to the abundance of submenu screens, but to be fair, these are first impressions made after a few hours with the vehicle, and after a few days of getting used to it As I’ve become familiar with the top toolbar and its layout, I might have a different feeling.
2024 Volkswagen ID.4
The VW ID.4 still offers good, if not excellent, value for money
Prices have gone up a bit, but the mid-range Pro S models we were in are the best bet for the range, assuming you can forego heated rear outboard seats and a rear climate zone. Priced at $51,420 with rear-wheel drive or $55,300 with all-wheel drive (plus a $395 charge for the Aurora Red Metallic paint in our tester), you get 20-inch alloy wheels, a power liftgate, leatherette seats and more Cabin lighting and the illuminated VW logos front and back, turning you into a rolling advertisement.
I could perhaps do without the latter, but the fixed glass roof also included in the Pro S onwards and the brighter, more colorful interior combinations offered in the ID.4 make it a refreshing departure from this grey-on-gray austerity -Golf you may have driven years ago.
2024 Volkswagen ID.4
The ID.4 is a great package that will really appeal to mainstream crossover families. Aside from the base battery versions getting some of the same worthy upgrades, we really hope VW stops doing this in a few years – now that it’s actually figured out how to use the lure.
