2021 Volkswagen ID.4

In the wake of its historic diesel-emissions scandal, Volkswagen says it is reinventing itself as an electric-car company. In its home market, the first dedicated battery-electric vehicle was the ID.3, a compact hatchback. In America, however, buyer interest in small hatchbacks is waning, while U.S. car buyers are mad for crossovers. So, here in the USA, the model spearheading the charge is the new 2021 Volkswagen ID.4, a compact crossover. And much like VW's existing lineup of gas-powered vehicles, the ID.4 largely plays it safe with a design, configuration, and driving experience that seek to appeal to the widest possible swath of buyers. It's hard to fault that strategy, but VW also might've played it a bit too safe. The VW ID.4 currently is offered with a single powertrain configuration: a 201-horsepower rear motor driving the rear wheels and fed by an 82-kWh battery pack good for a range of 250 miles. A dual-motor AWD version with around 300 horsepower arrives later in 2021. In terms of size, the ID.4 is perfectly average for a compact crossover — it provides a sufficient amount of passenger and cargo, but does falls short of the Honda CR-V, Toyota RAV4 and VW's own Tiguan. Ultimately, the ID.4's price could be one of its biggest selling points. Starting at $41,190, it's eligible for at least the $7,500 federal tax credit which massively cuts the purchase price or monthly lease payment. When you consider that electricity will cost less than 87 octane and that VW even throws in three years of free charging at Electrify America stations, its value compared to gas-only SUVs only increase. What's new for 2021? The ID.4 is a completely new entry for 2021. Its rounded, blob-like styling takes an opposite tack from the straight edges and square-off shapes that characterize the rest of the VW lineup. The most futuristic aspects of the ID.4’s look are its LED headlights and grille-less visage. Otherwise, this crossover blends into the sea of crossovers that fill America’s parking lots. What are the ID.4 interior and in-car technology like? The ID.4’s interior and in-car technology are the most avant-garde aspects of the entire car — for better and worse. The style is hyper-modern, with capacitive-touch switches, a dearth of physical knobs and buttons, and (on the 1st Edition) lots of gloss-white plastic — that’s replaced with more conventional-looking gloss black on the other trims. Behind the steering wheel is a small digital instrument cluster that’s mounted to the steering column not the dash. Sprouting to its right is a trapezoidal-shaped knob that’s the gear selector; twist one way for Drive, the other for Reverse. Push a button at the end for Park. The dash is dominated by a 12-inch central display (10-inch in the base model), which looks good and is fairly easy to use. The same cannot be said, however, of most of the controls outside the screen. Annoyingly, nearly all functions are touch-activated, meaning audio volume and climate controls utilize maddening touch-sliders. …
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