Volkswagen ID.7 review: A premium electric car that happens to be a sedan

SUVs dominate the U.S. market. They account for about half of all vehicles sold. So when Volkswagen wanted to start their electric car assault on America in the wake of Dieselgate, it made sense that they would start with the ID.4. It’s on the small side as far as SUVs go, but it’s still an SUV.

Then… nothing. for many years. While European buyers also have the option of an ID.3 hatchback (which we can never seem to get) and the new ID Buzz van, we’re left waiting. Now, not only has Volkswagen finally brought us its redesigned electric van, but its long-awaited ID.7 sedan will also hit U.S. dealers in 2024.

Volkswagen has been quietly sowing the seeds of anticipation for this long and luxurious journey. While the car won’t arrive in dealerships until later this year, I was lucky enough to spend a few days driving this pre-production German-spec ID.7 around town. After some cold winter weather testing, I was impressed with the Volkswagen’s looks, even if the sedan didn’t offer the most memorable driving experience.

The 2024 ID.7 is a sedan that’s becoming increasingly rare in the United States. Its wheelbase is 5 inches longer than the generously proportioned Arteon sedan, which is exiting the U.S. market amid an industry-wide sedan decline.

As far as sedans go, while the ID.7 isn’t the most exciting-looking car out there, it has a clean, sophisticated look that has more presence than the humble ID.4. But there are definitely some styling elements borrowed from the 4, most notably the single sweeping line that forms the shape of the roof, running from the base of the windscreen to the leading A-pillar, above the doors, and then down to the top of the doors. . trunk.

The overall silhouette is very similar to the Arteon, but the ID.7 has significantly less chrome and detailing. The biggest change is on the nose. The Arteon has a pronounced grille, while the electric ID.7 has reduced cooling needs and just a small air intake under a largely featureless front end.

The overall impression is of a sophisticated, stately car, especially in the subtle moonstone gray color you see here. However, I hear the nose of the final American sedan will at least look more aggressive.

Now, before we get into that, I’d like to say that I call it a sedan, even though it doesn’t have a proper trunk. The ID.7 has a liftback hatch like the Arteon, which opens to reveal a good 18.7 cubic feet of cargo capacity. For reference, that’s about 25 percent higher than the Camry.

Pulling small levers on either side of the cargo bay folds the rear seats, more than doubling cargo space to 56 cubic feet.

Those are solid numbers, but I have bad news for you glum fans out there: there’s no storage space there. You can open the hood and see all the high-voltage equipment, but not even a token compartment for the charging cable.

I know this will upset some of you, but I’m okay with it. Even though electric cars don’t have engines, their inverters, coolers, heat pumps and other components have to be installed somewhere. Stuffing them under the hood opens up the layout of the rest of the car.

And the layout is very spacious. The rear seats offer plenty of legroom for the power forward. Even the tallest people can stretch out, gaze upward through the panoramic sunroof and enjoy the seat heaters running. The rear seats are very comfortable and even offer a bit of lateral support.

But beyond that, there’s little in the backseat: just a couple of USB-C ports for keeping devices powered, and some deep door pockets for a water bottle or vapor deck.

There’s plenty of storage up front, too, including a floating center console with space underneath for a medium-sized purse or small dog. The front of the armrest has a slider that reveals cup holders, a wireless charger, and another pair of USB-C ports. There’s a deep, wide cavity at the end, perfect for anything you want to forget.

The front seats are more attractive than the rear seats. They’re deep, plush, and made from “Art Velours” and Artex microfiber, making them not only incredibly comfortable to wear, but look great with perforations and blue piping. The front seats can be heated and cooled and even have a massage function.

The ID.7’s seats, while nice, are nothing particularly new. However, Volkswagen combines them with some logic to create an in-car experience that’s very responsive to your needs.

Like many cars these days, the ID.7 has a pseudo-intelligent voice assistant that you can summon by name. VW named it “Ida,” but you can rename it to anything you like. Voice assistants can handle everything from navigation tasks, such as entering an address or finding the nearest Starbucks, to modifying in-car settings.

What’s exciting are the features of the voice assistant and the ID.7’s HVAC system. You can say, “Hey Ada, my feet are cold,” and it will direct warm air to the lower parts of the cabin.

We first saw this in the ID.4, but in the ID.7 Volkswagen has taken it to another level with the car’s digital air vents. Say “I’m cold” and if you’re the only one in the car, the HVAC system will automatically focus all the vents on you for maximum toastiness.

There are some other neat tricks, too, like a seat mode called “Dry Boost” that combines heating and ventilation. It’s designed to be a quick fix when things get a little messy – you know, right there.

Operations that cannot be controlled by voice can be handled via the 15-inch touchscreen located in the center of the dashboard. The ID.7 presents a bright, clean, customizable interface, and you might just replace it with Android Auto or Apple CarPlay (both wireless). But when it comes to the basics of quickly accessing heating controls or changing car settings, everything is quick and easy.

Volkswagen’s software interface has come a long way since the slow, chaotic launch of the ID.4 four years ago.

There are more controls on the steering wheel, and unfortunately they are of the capacitive touch type. Volkswagen received generally negative reviews for deploying these buttons on the ID.4, and I’m glad to see the upcoming Golf return to actual buttons. Not so here.

I also lament the lack of a physical volume knob, but I fear I’m increasingly becoming a minority with this complaint.

Despite its larger proportions, the ID.7 has a small instrument cluster behind the steering wheel, similar to the ID.4 or Ford Mustang Mach-E. Still, it conveys everything you need about speed and vehicle status.

But where there’s a need there’s a need, and you’ll want to check out a generously sized augmented reality head-up display. Projected onto the windscreen is another slim instrument cluster displaying further information on the active safety systems and charge status. It’s a bit repetitive with the instrument cluster, making me wonder if the latter is necessary, but the bigger trick happens higher up in the glass.

If you stray too far from your lane, the HUD will draw a flashing orange line on the road as a visual cue to stop your meandering and get you back in your lane. It also helps provide navigation tips and other proactive safety warnings.

It’s not as advanced as the HUD in the Mercedes-Benz EQS sedan, but it costs about twice as much, so I’d go easy on that. I do like to see advanced technology incorporated into more accessible cars like this.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to sample the navigation functionality. The German car came to me with no local map data, meaning the car’s navigation screen was nothing more than a big white box. It has no roads, no points of interest, not even a Starbucks. Therefore, I cannot test augmented reality navigation in ID.7. But having used these systems on other cars in the past, I can tell you that having a giant arrow floating in space, literally pointing the way home, makes it harder to miss a turn.

If that’s not enough, the ID.7 continues the row of LEDs on the windshield, a design also found on the ID.4. They flash and flicker to let you know of upcoming turns and wayward pedestrians.

The Volkswagen ID.7 is a luxury car in many ways, which is how I would classify the driving dynamics. Or, should I say, lack of energy. The model I drove was a rear-wheel-drive model that will match the first cars coming to the U.S. later this year, with 282 horsepower and 402 pound-feet of torque.

Those numbers are acceptable for most sedans, but keep in mind this is a long electric car with a large battery pack. This is a heavy-duty machine, and the combination produces steady but barely neck-breaking acceleration.

If you’re the kind of person who needs more power, a dual-motor all-wheel-drive version is said to be coming soon. But to be honest, I don’t need or want the ID.7 to be a rocket ship.

Plenty of other electric cars are vying for mind-blowing acceleration honors. I’d rather see more manufacturers focus on ride quality and comfort. The ID.7 excels in this regard. It floats over bumps and takes some time to settle after cruising the rails, but it nonchalantly absorbs the constant frost heaves and asphalt cracks that crisscross upstate New York’s roads this time of year.

Sure, the steering is sluggish, the brake pedal is long and soft, and the throttle is relaxed even in Sport mode, but none of that bothered me. I was too busy enjoying the ride and the excellent Harman Kardon sound system.

I know, you all want to know the range. I can tell you that I averaged 2.8 miles per kilowatt-hour, which equates to a theoretical range of 230 miles on the 82kWh battery pack we buy in the US. However, most of my testing took place during winter storms with below-freezing temperatures. There were also quite a few acceleration tests along the way.

In other words, worst case scenario. Volkswagen says the estimated driving range for the European WLTP test is 386 miles. Without completing EPA testing, we can’t know for sure, but 320 miles should be a reasonable estimate for a U.S. model.

We can’t confirm pricing yet, which is a shame because it’s hard to recommend a product if you don’t know how much it costs. Looking at the drop in the ID.4 and European ID.7, I’d guess the price is in the low to mid $50,000 range. For a comfortable long sedan that combines luxury with the practicality of a hatchback, the ID.7 is decent value.

As far as the most popular electric cars on the road go, the ID.7 is closer in price to the Tesla Model 3 than the Model S, even though it surpasses the Model S in terms of utility and comfort. Sure, it won’t offer speed, and it’ll certainly fall short in range, but in my opinion, once you get over 300 miles on a charge, the difference is mostly academic.

But the question is whether there is really a market for this thing here. Although the ID.4 has not yet taken the world by storm, it has already given Volkswagen a strong boost in the U.S. market. Sales of electric vehicles grew by more than 80% last year and accounted for more than 10% of Volkswagen’s total sales. Volkswagen’s overall performance this year has been strong, with sales increasing by 40% in the last quarter and 10% for the full year.

As a result, interest in Volkswagen’s electric vehicles is growing, but demand for sedans is currently not strong. Arteon sales have never been very strong, and it’s hard to imagine the ID.7 following such a blowout success.

The ID.7 is so good that it’s a very compelling alternative to the low-end Hyundai Ioniq 6 or the high-end Tesla Model S. If the price is right, I’ll buy one too. But I have a heavy feeling that once the ID.Buzz finally comes to an end, that will be the only Volkswagen people talk about.

Photography: Tim Stevens/The Verge