{"id":69,"date":"2020-10-05T07:52:35","date_gmt":"2020-10-05T07:52:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thenextweb.com\/?p=1321560"},"modified":"2020-10-05T07:52:35","modified_gmt":"2020-10-05T07:52:35","slug":"a-closer-look-at-volkswagens-all-electric-suv-the-id-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/?p=69","title":{"rendered":"A closer look at Volkswagen\u2019s all-electric SUV, the ID.4"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This article<\/a> was originally published by Steve Schaefer<\/em> on<\/span><\/i> Clean Fleet Report<\/span><\/i><\/a>, a publication that gives its readers the information they need to move to cars and trucks with best fuel economy, including electric cars, fuel cells, plug-in hybrids, hybrids and advanced diesel and gasoline engines. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

The all-new 2021 Volkswagen ID.4 is the car VW is counting on to build its post-diesel-scandal electric car business in the United States. Based on a first look\u2014but sadly, not a drive\u2014I\u2019d say they have reason for optimism.<\/p>\n

The hottest segment in the American vehicle market today is compact crossovers\u2013think Toyota RAV4 and Honda CR-V. That\u2019s precisely where the <\/span>ID.4 fits<\/a>\u2014except that it\u2019s all-electric only, while those two cars are available as gas cars, a hybrid (the CR-V and RAV4) or a plug-in hybrid (RAV4 Prime).<\/p>\n

<\/i><\/a>VW starts with a 4. Steve Schaefer & Volkswagen.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I had a chance to visit a sparkling white preproduction vehicle last week, examining every angle and sitting in the front and rear seats. The styling is new and fresh, looking both like a Volkswagen and like the other compact SUV guys, too. The look is softer and more flowing than the chunkier gasoline crossovers VW sells, such as the Tiguan and Atlas.<\/p>\n

Inside, the design is clean, modern and not cheap looking. Textures are not pretend leather or faux anything\u2014VW celebrates the car\u2019s modern materials. The seats look and feel like leather, but are actually leatherette, perforated in the sample car in an elegant hexagon pattern. Leatherette is a classic Volkswagen material\u2014my 1968 Squareback featured it, too.<\/p>\n

The VW engineers and designers used their tape measures, because the ID.4 is within a hair\u2019s breadth of the aforementioned Toyota and Honda models, with a couple of inches more headroom. Based on the company\u2019s new MEB electric car platform, the battery is tucked out of sight and doesn\u2019t intrude on passenger or cargo space. The interior passenger volume is a spacious 99.9 cubic feet. Cargo capacity is a generous 30.3 cubic feet with the second row up and a plentiful 64.2 cubic feet with them folded.<\/p>\n

<\/i><\/a>It\u2019s got the shape America craves right now. Steve Schaefer & Volkswagen.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

And VW equipped the ID.4 with extras above its competitors, such as larger standard wheels, bigger dash displays, wireless phone charging and app connect.<\/p>\n

After what feels like a long wait, VW is taking deposits now for the 1st<\/sup> Edition<\/span> model, which offers numerous upgrades at a 10 percent premium over the \u201cPro\u201d model, the standard version that debuts in Q1 of 2021. After the 1st<\/sup> Edition<\/span> is sold out, to get all the extras you\u2019ll have to order the Statement and Gradient packages. It adds in the kinds of things people like and will pay for if they are not trying to be budget conscious, such as 12-way power seats with massage lumbar and a massive glass sunroof.<\/p>\n

The 1st<\/sup> <\/span>Edition model comes with a 201-horsepower motor, mounted in the rear (like a Beetle!) with 228 pounds-feet of torque. The ID.4\u2019s 82 kilowatt-hour (kWh) battery is made up of 288 pouch cells in 12 modules housed in a lightweight aluminum structure bolted to the frame. Range is expected to hit 250 miles, which is right in the heart of the \u201caffordable\u201d EV market. All-electric competitors include the Chevy Bolt EV (259), Hyundai Kona Electric (258), and Kia Niro EV (239). Next year, a higher-performance all-wheel-drive ID.4 model will arrive with 302 horsepower.<\/p>\n

Charging up<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Even if buyers love the ID.4\u2019s style and features, the lingering EV charging issue remains. With the ID.4, as with most EVs, you can use Level 2 (240-volt) charging or Level 3 DC fast charging. With the former, through an 11-kW onboard charger, the battery will add 33 miles of range per hour, taking about 7.5 hours to complete from empty. That\u2019s perfect for home or workplace charging. The 125 kW DC fast charging is designed for quick topping off when traveling. You can boost the battery from 5 to 80 percent in just 38 minutes\u2014a freeway lunch stop.<\/p>\n

To make fast charging convenient, VW has allied with the charger network it\u2019s building, Electrify America, and offers free fast charging for three years. How long it\u2019ll take to rival Tesla\u2019s Supercharger network is uncertain, but they are offering more than 2,500 DC fast charging locations (5,494 plugs) already. That makes it easy to  drive the ID.4 across this wide country without much trouble at all. That removes a major objection to going EV.<\/p>\n

<\/i><\/a>A fresh-looking interior. Steve Schaefer & Volkswagen.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The modern interior will be the freshest in the market. One unique feature is ID.Light. It\u2019s a thin strip below the windshield that lights up for various reasons\u2014to indicate turns, warn you of automatic braking for an object ahead, show charging status and much more. Once you learn it, it serves as an instant and almost subconscious reminder. There\u2019s wireless mobile charging, and the Car-Net feature adds a mobile hot spot for up to four devices. The dash offers gesture control, so you won\u2019t get greasy fingerprints on your touch screen.<\/p>\n

EVs aren\u2019t generally thought of as tow vehicles, but the ID.4 can pull 2,700 pounds\u2014200 more than the RAV4 Prime and 1,200 more than the CR-V Hybrid.<\/p>\n

The Source \u2014 Germany now, Chattanooga in 2022<\/strong><\/h2>\n

A chastened VW says they\u2019re aiming to be carbon neutral by 2050 per the Paris Agreement. Meanwhile, at the <\/span>Zwickau plant<\/a> <\/span>in Germany, they\u2019re using electricity generated from renewable sources and are buying carbon offsets to allow a carbon-neutral balance there. More is coming, they say, and <\/span>Clean Fleet Report<\/em> will<\/span> be following it.<\/p>\n

Zwickau is currently the sole production facility for the ID.4, but it will be supplemented in 2022 when the Chattanooga, Tennessee, plant opens. At that point, all the U.S. ID.4s will be built there, including a lower-priced $35,000 model.<\/p>\n

<\/i><\/a>The 1st Edition seats. Steve Schaefer & Volkswagen.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

For now, the 1st<\/sup> Edition<\/span> ID.4, with all the trimmings, is available for delivery in 2020 for $43,995, plus, I assume, shipping. The ID.4 Pro comes out in Q1 of 2021 for $39,995. Once the 1st<\/sup> Edition<\/span> is sold out, you can add the Statement package to the Pro to recreate the 1st<\/sup> Edition<\/span> model, more or less, minus the special \u201c1st<\/sup> Edition<\/span>\u201d badging and cute features like play\/pause accelerator and brake pedals. I was told that the mostly white interior I saw is part of the 1st<\/sup> Edition<\/span>, too. For qualified customers through Volkswagen Credit, the monthly lease payment for a 36-month lease on the ID.4 Pro with 10,000 miles a year, is $379 per month with $3,579 due at signing, excluding tax, title, license, options and dealer fees.<\/p>\n

At this point, VW still hasn\u2019t sold enough EVs to lose its $7,500 Federal tax credit, and you can receive more discounts and rebates, too, depending on where you live. The $40,000 price tag is right in the heart of the market for mainstream EVs; VW has priced its entry vehicle very well.<\/p>\n

A private tour<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Jeffrey Lean, Product Manager, Electric Vehicles for Volkswagen of America, was my one-on-one tour guide for my hour with the ID.4. He is intimately familiar with this all-new car, and told me that he thinks the ID.4 is the most important VW launch since the Beetle, because it\u2019s the right:<\/p>\n