By Breda Corrigan
Volkswagen’s latest electric family saloon is the strikingly-designed ID.7. Like all VW ID. models, the ID.7 is built on the VW groups’ MEB electric vehicle architecture. Loaded with new technology, it has a spacious interior, and offers both a 77kWh and 86kWh battery capacity, depending on which model is selected. It is almost five metres long from bumper to bumper, and a little over 2 metres in width, with a swooping roof that makes it look slick and sporty from every angle.
Striking Silhouette.
Despite the fact that the ID.7 has the lowest roof of any of the VW ID. electric models, inside the cabin there is plenty of space, with ample legroom and headroom for up to 5 occupants. Helping to make the cabin more airy is a model-dependent, full-length glass roof with smart glass, where the layers of glass in the sunroof can be electronically switched between opaque and clear via a slider in the roof. The spacious, upmarket cabin is dominated by a 15.0-inch colour touchscreen, mounted high up on the dash. Underneath are some touch-sensitive buttons, which are backlit so you can see what you’re doing at night. The software operates a lot like a smartphone, there is a configurable homepage with various widgets, and two rows of shortcut keys that can be swapped out to give quicker access to the functions mostly used. The massive central touchscreen is complimented by a narrow driver information display behind the wheel. This shows the important information relating to speed, range and warnings, while other functions such as navigation instructions can be viewed through the head-up display. Material and build quality throughout the cabin is excellent. The front seats have been certified by the German Campaign for Healthy Backs (AGR) and are multi-adjustable, with four-way lumbar support, and an extendable seat base to help support longer legs. They are also heated, and come with a massage function as standard. Storage is good with large door pockets which are felt-lined so that items in them won’t rattle. There is also a large cubby under the central armrest, while the two hideaway covers in the centre console conceal a pair of cupholders, two USB-C ports and a wireless charging pad. Boot space is also generous with a 532-litre capacity, increasing to 1,586 litres when the rear seats are folded.
Impressive Driving Range.
The entry-level Pro Plus (rear-wheel drive) uses a 77kWh (usable) battery pack, the same as what is available in the ID.4 and ID.5, but because of the sloped shape of the ID.7 it offers better efficiency, and has an range of up to 616km. There is an 86kWh (usable) battery pack as standard in the Pro S Plus (rear-wheel drive) and the GTX (all-wheel drive) models, with both models having a potential real-world range of 702km and 585km respectively. Rapid charging is possible at up to 170kW for the 77kWh Pro model. The 86kWh Pro S and GTX models up the charging speed to 200kW for even faster charging ability. VW claims a 10-80% refill in either version is possible in under 30 minutes. Anyone who has a 7.4kW wall-box charger at home should be able to refill a flat battery (0-100%) in a little over 12 hours for the Pro version, and just under 14 hours for the Pro S and GTX variants.
Test Car Details.
My test car was an ID.7 Pro Plus finished in Glacier White paintwork. Standard equipment includes a 15-inch colour touchscreen, keyless entry and ignition, heated front seats and steering wheel, 19-inch alloy wheels, a head-up display, adaptive cruise control, automatic high-beam Matrix LED headlights with dynamic beam control, massaging front seats, three-zone climate control and an automated parking system, ‘swerve support’ automated braking and steering assistance, pedestrian and cyclist detection, blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, semi-automated lane changing, lane-keeping steering, road-sign recognition, predictive speed limiter and a 360-degree surround-view camera system. Optional equipment fitted to my test car included a panoramic glass roof, 20-inch alloy wheels, and an interior ‘style package plus pack’, which includes ventilated front seats, heated rear seats, front and rear curtain airbags, a centre airbag and a Harmon Kardon sound system. Performance is sufficient, getting from 0-100km/h in just 6.5 seconds (6.6 seconds for the heavier Pro S version) with 545Nm of torque providing the car with instant acceleration from the get-go. The ID.7 is a refined and quiet car with a good driving position and an intuitively responsive accelerator pedal, while the steering is precise and well-weighted. There are no regenerative brake paddles, but by twisting the drive selector into ‘B’ mode, the regenerative braking function is greatly enhanced. It is quite strong, but it doesn’t go all the way down to a full stop (commonly known as one-pedal-drive). The suspension is soft and compliant, which allows it cope well with speed bumps, potholes and any uneven surfaces. With the appropriate suspension setting selected, the ID. 7 remains remarkably composed, but it never loses its feeling of supreme agility. Impressively, tyre, road and wind noise remains minimal – even at motorway speeds, and this ensures that the occupants within the car experience a near-silent experience on every journey.
Verdict, Price & Warranty.
The ID. 7 is highly commendable, zero-emission, family car, that is practical, remarkably quiet and comfortable too. It offers more space and more rolling refinement than many of its direct rivals, yet it dramatically undercuts similarly sized, but more premium competitors in terms of price. The car drives very nicely, and it performs with intuitive ease, while strong ergonomics and high levels of comfort make every journey pleasurable. The ID.7 has received a full five-star safety rating from Euro NCAP with impressive scores in the adult occupant protection category. Prices start at €56,490 for the ID.7 Pro Plus, with motor tax costing just €120 per annum. Like all VW’s the ID.7 comes with a 3-year/100,000km warranty, with the battery warranty covering 8-years or 160,000km – whichever occurs first.
