ALACANT, Spain — Volkswagen is not short of ideas when it comes to electrifying its lineup. Globally, its ID-branded electric vehicle family includes the Golf-sized ID.3 hatchback, the ID.4 crossover and the long-awaited ID. Buzz. One of the empty slots is in the shape of a sedan, and the company will fill it when it turns the ID.Aero concept unveiled in 2022 into a flagship sedan called the ID.7. The model won’t debut until later in 2023, but I had the chance to take a prototype for a quick spin.
The word “flagship” is nebulous; it means different things to different companies. You’re on the wrong track if you’re thinking of a follow-up to the Phaeton, the underrated Bentley-related luxury barge developed for the S-Class and launched for 2004. The ID.7 will be positioned closer to the Arteon, it’s i.e. it will be big and expensive for a Volkswagen rather than big and expensive, period. It’s not being developed to compete in the same arena as, say, the Mercedes-Benz EQS or the BMW i7.
I can’t tell you much about the ID.7’s exterior design because I’ve been sworn to secrecy until the sedan’s official unveiling on April 17. What I can say is that, like the concept, the production model was designed to be just as aerodynamic. as possible Volkswagen pegs the sedan’s drag coefficient at 0.23, which lands it in the same bracket as electric sedans like the BMW i4 (0.24) and Porsche Taycan (0.22). It stretches 195.3 inches long, 73.3 inches wide and 60.6 inches tall, which is larger than the 2022 US-market Volkswagen Passat, which was a huge car, measuring 191.9 inches long, 72.2 inches wide and 58.5 inches tall. The ID.7 rides on a 116.8-inch wheelbase, while the Passat’s wheelbase clocked in at 110.4 inches.
The relatively long wheelbase hints at what’s under the sheet metal. Volkswagen built the ID.7 on the modular MEB platform that underpins its existing ID models. It’s an architecture designed specifically for electric vehicles, so the company is able to experiment with different packaging solutions and ratios. This partly explains why the ID.7 has a much longer wheelbase than the Passat and why it’s 2 inches taller. An electric motor is more compact than a turbo-four, but the battery takes up space at the bottom.
The use of the MEB platform makes the ID.7 the first rear-wheel drive Volkswagen sedan in many decades, but Volkswagen didn’t just transform the ID.4 into a fastback. At the heart of the drivetrain is an updated electric motor that benefits from a host of upgrades, including water- and oil-based cooling systems. Yes, this is an EV you can get an oil change on…although Volkswagen tells me the oil (which is closer to transmission oil than engine oil) and no the filter should be changed because they are designed to last. the life of the car. Don’t open an EV-only Jiffy Lube franchise just yet.
The engine outputs 282 horsepower and 402 pound-feet of torque, making it the most powerful unit in Volkswagen’s arsenal, and it spins the rear wheels through a single-speed automatic transmission. Will this engine find its way into other EVs with ID? Will a dual-motor all-wheel drive variant of the ID.7 join the range sooner or later? My crystal ball says “yes” to both questions, but that’s pure speculation.
Globally, the ID.7 will launch with two available lithium-ion battery packs: the base Pro version will ship with a 77-kilowatt-hour unit while the Pro S will receive an 86-kilowatt-hour unit time As is often the case, range depends on who you ask and how you drive. In Europe, Volkswagen expects the smaller pack to offer up to 382 miles of range, while the larger pack should power the ID.7 for up to 435 miles. However, these figures are estimates obtained using Europe’s WLTP test cycle, which leans towards the optimistic side of the scale. The EPA estimated numbers should be lower for both battery packs.
The ID.7’s flagship aspirations and the benefits of stretching the wheelbase are evident from the driver’s seat. There’s more interior space than the fastback silhouette suggests, and people sitting in both rows benefit from it. I’m 5ft 11 so I’m pretty easy to sit in the back of, even in a European market hatchback. However, in the ID.7 I was able to sit behind a fellow who is 6ft 5 with plenty of room to spare; that’s pretty impressive. There’s plenty of headroom in both rows, and Volkswagen quotes roughly 18.7 cubic feet of trunk space, with more available if you fold down the rear seats. This is also better than the old Passat.
Once you’re comfortable, look around and the ID.7 feels like a mix of old and new. It looks like the existing members of the ID family in many ways, the pedals are labeled “pause” and “play” and the rear window switches haven’t made it to the driver’s door panel yet, but many of the functions that need improvements have been improved. The volume button… hasn’t landed yet. But, the touch-sensitive slider below the touchscreen is now backlit, making it easier to use at night.
Speaking of the touchscreen, the ID.7 gets a 15-inch unit (up from 12 inches on the ID.4) that showcases a new version of Volkswagen’s infotainment system. Some of the changes made to the software reflect a reality that is becoming increasingly clear across the automotive spectrum: Using what is almost a giant smartphone to control your car is relatively dangerous. Volkswagen doesn’t want you to bump into a deer or worse while trying to turn off the heater, so it added tile-like modules to the home screen to display commonly used functions, such as settings for the cruise control system. climate, front and center at all times. These coexist with other menus, such as the navigation system and entertainment options. You can adjust, for example, the fan speed of the heater without leaving the navigation screen. Saving two or three taps of a touch screen may seem totally trivial, but it makes a big difference while driving.
Volkswagen’s commitment to keeping the driver focused goes beyond the touch screen. In the driver’s seat, you’re faced with a digital instrument panel that’s embedded in the dash and much smaller than the unit fitted to the ID.4, while an augmented reality display displays additional information such as navigation directions. The ID.7 also features what the company calls “smart air vents”: these are electronically controlled and adjustments are made via the touch screen (top left). This setup will take some getting used to, but at least it’s reasonably intuitive. Large, vague screen sliders let you move individual vents; alternatively, you can use voice commands to direct the air where you want it to go. “Hello Volkswagen, I have cold hands” conjures up warm air in your hands. So it works, but we’d like to know the person who finds it faster and more convenient than leaning forward a bit and moving a lever half an inch.
To further drive home the “flagship” point, Volkswagen offers luxury features in the ID.7. Globally, buyers will be able to configure the ID.7 with power front seats with 14-way massaging, 30-color ambient lighting and a 14-speaker Harman Kardon sound system. However, it’s too early to tell which features will be offered in the US.
My time behind the wheel of the ID.7 was spent in a fully camouflaged pre-production prototype on the rolling roads that wind through the mountains north of Alicante, Spain. It takes a couple of laps to realize that this big sedan doesn’t drive like a rear-wheel drive car. This is partly due to the heavy battery mounted under the cabin, which lowers the center of gravity and places it in the middle of the car. The result is a more balanced and less playful handling than you’d expect from a rear-engine sedan. It’s mostly quiet and comfortable, and Volkswagen fitted a five-link rear axle that helps deliver the kind of smooth, predictable ride you want on a long haul.
I couldn’t get anyone at Volkswagen to tell me the weight of the ID.7, but I imagine it’s not light (EVs never are). Still, it feels reasonably quick: 282 horsepower isn’t huge, but 402 lb-ft is almost on par with a V8-powered Ford F-150, and the engine’s full torque output is available out of line This is a benefit in the mountains, where you’re constantly slowing down for a turn, accelerating, ducking behind a group of riders and passing when the opportunity presents itself. I suppose it also makes the ID.7 at home on the freeway, although beyond a brief stint over the limit I wasn’t able to test higher speeds. Must do: Autobahn quality is an important feature in the constitution of the character of a large German sedan.
Volkswagen programmed four driving modes called Eco, Comfort, Sport and Individual, which can be conveniently accessed via an icon at the top of the touchscreen. Comfort is the default profile, and the one that best suits the character of the ID.7. Sport sprinkles some performance over the overall experience, but doesn’t quite turn the ID.7 into a GLI. Throttle response becomes sharper, but the steering remains light and the suspension system doesn’t feel much different. It’s never too firm, keeping excess body roll in check, but clearly tuned with comfort in mind. Eco neutralizes the car to save range and Individual allows the driver to dial in different settings to create a personalized profile.
Once you’ve chosen (or created) a profile, you have an additional choice to make: D or B. People who drive an ID.4 will be familiar with these options. Leave the gear selector in D and the ID.7 coasts when you lift your foot off the accelerator. The transmission gets energy back, but it mostly happens behind the scenes and you need to step on the brake pedal (or, in Volkswagen speak, the pause button) to come to a complete stop. Sliding the gear selector into B offers a noticeable amount of revving and easy one-pedal driving, especially when Sport mode is engaged. There is no right or wrong answer – it’s a matter of preference. Dialing in extra regeneration levels wouldn’t hurt, as in the various Hyundai/Kia models that will also stop themselves, but there’s something to be said for keeping it simple.
I’ll have to wait until it spends time in a production model to decide whether the ID.7 deserves the flagship label, but my first impressions are positive. It doesn’t pretend to be something it’s not: it offers big-car comfort and technology without pretending to be an alternative to the Audi A8 or trying to make the driver believe it can outrun a BMW M3 at Laguna Seca. How it will be received in the United States, where the large sedan market looks like the dinosaur hall of the National Museum of Natural History, depends largely on whether it is priced like a flagship or like a Volkswagen flagship.
Built in Emden, Germany for the American and European markets, and in China for China, the Volkswagen ID.7 will make its world debut on April 17. Pricing and full specifications will be released in the weeks leading up to the release. date Sales in the United States are scheduled to begin in 2024.
