► Our first report on life with a VW ID.7
► The ID.7 is VW’s most aerodynamic ID car
► Does it also happen to be the best one?
It’s taken five years for Volkswagen’s ID range to proliferate into an entire family of EVs: we’ve now spent significant time with the ID. 3, ID. 4, ID. 5 and ID. Buzz, the latter my own last-but-one long-term test car. Hopes are high that they’ve ironed out the shortcomings of the previous quartet and squeezed learnings galore into the ID. 7.
Available as a hatchback or estate, it’s priced from £51,550 as a rival to the Tesla Model 3, BMW i5 and a growing list of alternatives. We’ve plumped for the saloon in entry-level Pro Match spec. Even this lowliest trim brings niceties such as three-zone climate control, electric everything, keyless entry and start, adaptive cruise and clever matrix lights; the novelty of their dancing beams may wear off, but I shall always be grateful for the excellent visibility they provide at night.
The drag coefficient is an impressive 0.23, achieved by the combination of sleek shape and smooth surfacing. Very little sticks out; the door handles are near-flush, there’s no airflow-snagging grille on the nose, and the underside is as flat as can be. The effort put into aerodynamics pays off with an official range of 383 miles from the 77kWh battery.
Underpinning the ID. 7 is Volkswagen’s ubiquitous MEB hardware, which in the case of our relatively cheap model involves a single e-motor driving just the rear wheels. The 282bhp output is a substantial step up from the 201bhp of my ID. Buzz. This is neither a light nor a small car, at 2.2 tonnes and 4961mm long, but performance is sprightly enough with a 6.5sec 0-62mph sprint time.
Ours comes in a sober suit, with Aquamarine Blue metallic paint and black roof (at no extra cost, which can’t be taken for granted these days). It’s slightly anonymous but at least it looks and feels lower-slung and more saloon-like than the bulbous ID. 4 and ID. 5. I just wish there were more character in the design – although everything in the ID line-up pales beside the head-turning, joyful Buzz.
There are a few options on our car: the standard 19-inch alloys have been upgraded to 20-inch Montreal rims with a diamond-turned finish (yours for £480) while an automated towbar drops out on command (£1050) and there’s a three-⊲ point-plug charging cable that I’ll probably never use, but it’s nice to know we have a last resort if I ever get desperate. At £190, it’s the most expensive extension cable in my household.
The priciest extra is Volkswagen’s Interior Pack Plus, which brings the excellent Harmon Kardon sound system, ventilated massage seats for both front occupants and heated outer rear seats. The pack adds £2000 to the bill and so far it seems nice-to-have rather than an essential upgrade. The stereo sounds crisp and clear, but I think I’ll appreciate the seat massage function most. Is that worth two big ones?
It’s a roomy package and I’ve already ferried family teenagers and grown men in the back without complaint. There’s pleasingly no intrusion in the rear passenger footwell, thanks to the electric-drive architecture, and the boot is capacious and sensibly sized, too. VW quotes a luggage capacity of 532 litres, expanding to 1586 litres if you tip the rear seatbacks down.
There’s a lot to be said for the Tourer. It’s a modest £690 more than the hatch and packs an even more commodious 605-litre loadbay.
Whichever body you go for, the 77kWh lithium-ion battery is warranted for eight years or 100,000 miles (whichever passes first) and can accept charge at up to 175kW if you find a suitably rapid DC charger. That’s not as quick as the 350kW you’ll find in a Hyundai/Kia or Tesla, but should be sufficient to top up 126 miles of range in just 10 minutes. A fuller charge from nearly empty to 80 per cent will take around 28 minutes, according to its maker.
We’ll be testing the true range of the big electric VW in the months ahead. For now, we’re just getting to know our way around the interior, which seems to be well made from good-quality materials, and has a huge touchscreen. My bugbear on earlier ID models – that the touch sliders weren’t illuminated at night – has thankfully been fixed. Quite why such a ludicrous error was made in the first place remains a mystery, but it’s almost certainly down to the rush towards electrification after Dieselgate.
It might’ve taken a global business scandal to sire this range of electric Volkswagens, but the ID. 7 doesn’t feel rushed at all. Early drives suggest it might just be the best electric car VW has made yet – and this extended long-term test should provide the definitive answer.
Logbook: VW ID.7 Pro Match 77kWh
Price £51,550 (£55,270 as tested)
Performance 77kWh battery, e-motor, 282bhp, 6.5sec 0-62mph, 112mph
Efficiency 4.7 miles per kWh (official), 3.3 miles per kWh (tested), 0 g/km CO2
Range 383 miles (official), 254 miles (tested)
Energy cost 7.4p per mile
Miles this month 242
Total miles 3569