Volkswagen ID.4

The Volkswagen ID.4 is a family-sized, all-electric SUV with plenty of trims to choose from

Overview

The 2022 Volkswagen ID.4 comes hot on the heels of its smaller sibling, the ID.3. Both cars share the same electric MEB platform, developed by Volkswagen and shared across the VW Group on Audis, Seats and Skodas.

The ID.4 is an SUV, though it’s also referred to as a ‘crossover’ (basically like a hatchback, but larger). It comes in both rear-wheel-drive and all-wheel-drive versions.

As you’ll see below, there are plenty of trims available to suit a variety of tastes, needs, and wallets.

Inside it’s spacious both in the front and back, with tons of room for five adults.

The decor is fairly restrained – you could even say minimalist – though the combination and quality of the cabin materials and plastics is a success.

What’s it like to drive? As with all EVs, it’s quite heavy due to its batteries placed along the bottom of the vehicle, but this also gives it a low centre of gravity which helps avoid roll. It’s not one of the quickest accelerating electric cars (the Tesla Model 3 can rest easy), however the electric motor gives you instant power with no lag as speed increases. The ride is smooth and comfortable. In a nutshell, it’s very easy to drive and performance is as expected for a family-oriented vehicle.

Storage? Lots of it, plus a big boot.

There’s also the inevitable central touchscreen which is both your sat nav and hub for controlling many aspects of the car.

You can choose from two battery sizes – which dictate your range on a single charge – and full details of battery capacities, range, performance, and charging times / costs can be found below.

All in all, the Volkswagen ID.4 is a generously proportioned, sensible, all-electric family car.

Prices, Trims & Variants

The price of the Volkswagen ID.4, including the government grant (where applicable), starts at £42,640 for the base Match Pure trim, and goes up to £54,205 for the top spec 4MOTION GTX trim. Here are all the variants:

Trim / Variant	Price	Drivetrain
Match Pure	£42,640	Rear-wheel-drive
Match Pro	£44,360	Rear-wheel-drive
4MOTION Match Pro	£46,080	All-wheel-drive
4MOTION GTX	£54,205	All-wheel-drive

Batteries & Range

How far can you drive on a full charge of the battery in the Volkswagen ID.4? In ideal conditions, you should be able to achieve the official ‘WLTP’ range in miles. However in winter, for example, electric car batteries don’t perform as well, and actual range will be lower.

This table shows both the more optimistic WLTP range, and a rough, more likely ‘average’ range for the various versions of the Volkswagen ID.4:

Trim / Variant	Battery (useable)	Average Range	WLTP Range
Match Pure	52 kWh	184 miles	224 miles
Match Pro	77 kWh	286 miles	349 miles
4MOTION Match Pro	77 kWh	267 miles	326 miles
4MOTION GTX	77 kWh	264 miles	322 miles

Efficiency

We are all used to ‘miles per gallon’ of petrol or diesel when thinking about efficiency in traditional cars. With EVs, you need to replace ‘gallon’ with ‘kWh’. 1 kWh = 1 unit of electricity. So the ‘miles per kWh’ measure tells you how many miles you can go on 1 kWh of electricity – the higher the number the better.

Here’s data for the Volkswagen ID.4, together with an equivalent in miles per gallon (yes, electric cars really are that efficient!):

Trim / Variant	Efficiency (electric)	Efficiency ('MPG')
Match Pure	3.53 miles per kWh	141 miles per gallon
Match Pro	3.72 miles per kWh	149 miles per gallon
4MOTION Match Pro	3.47 miles per kWh	139 miles per gallon
4MOTION GTX	3.43 miles per kWh	137 miles per gallon

Charging Times & Costs

If you have off-street parking, the best and cheapest place to charge your Volkswagen ID.4 is at home. Depending on your home energy tariff, you’ll either charge at a standard flat rate or at a lower off-peak rate. The 0-100% charge times below are a ‘worst case’ scenario – typically you will charge 1-2 hours a day, or maybe go for a longer charge on just a couple of days a week.

Charging at Home on an Off-peak rate of 10p per kWh

Trim / Variant	Charge Time 0-100%	Cost per mile
Match Pure	7 hours 2 minutes	2.8p
Match Pro	10 hours 25 minutes	2.7p
4MOTION Match Pro	10 hours 25 minutes	2.9p
4MOTION GTX	10 hours 25 minutes	2.9p

Charging at Home on a Peak rate of 34p per kWh

Trim / Variant	Charge Time 0-100%	Cost per mile
Match Pure	7 hours 2 minutes	9.6p
Match Pro	10 hours 25 minutes	9.2p
4MOTION Match Pro	10 hours 25 minutes	9.8p
4MOTION GTX	10 hours 25 minutes	9.9p

When you’re on a trip, you can get a quick boost at a rapid charger. These vary in terms of charging speed and you are also limited by the Volkswagen ID.4’s maximum charging rate. Take the 10-80% charging times with a pinch of salt – the charging rate will gradually decrease and times are often longer.

Charging in Public at a 50 kW Rapid Charger at a rate of 50p per kWh

Trim / Variant	Max DC charge	Charge Time 10-80%	Cost per mile
Match Pure	110 kW	44 minutes	14.2p
Match Pro	135 kW	1 hour 5 minutes	13.5p
4MOTION Match Pro	175 kW	1 hour 5 minutes	14.4p
4MOTION GTX	175 kW	1 hour 5 minutes	14.6p

Charging in Public at a 150 kW Rapid Charger at a rate of 60p per kWh

Trim / Variant	Max DC charge	Charge Time 10-80%	Cost per mile
Match Pure	110 kW	20 minutes	17.0p
Match Pro	135 kW	24 minutes	16.1p
4MOTION Match Pro	175 kW	22 minutes	17.3p
4MOTION GTX	175 kW	22 minutes	17.5p

Charging in Public at a 350 kW Rapid Charger at a rate of 70p per kWh

Trim / Variant	Max DC charge	Charge Time 10-80%	Cost per mile
Match Pure	110 kW	20 minutes	19.8p
Match Pro	135 kW	24 minutes	18.8p
4MOTION Match Pro	175 kW	19 minutes	20.2p
4MOTION GTX	175 kW	19 minutes	20.4p

Performance

The Volkswagen ID.4, like all pure electric cars, has its wheels turned by one or more electric motors. The motors themselves are powered by a lithium-ion battery. Battery + electric motor is a great combination, giving you instant torque with no gears to change.

You’ll find the Volkswagen ID.4 eerily quiet after an internal combustion engine. Here are the performance stats:

Trim / Variant	Top Speed	0-62 mph
Match Pure	99 mph	9 seconds
Match Pro	112 mph	6.7 seconds
4MOTION Match Pro	112 mph	6.6 seconds
4MOTION GTX	112 mph	5.4 seconds

Boot Space & Dimensions

The Volkswagen ID.4 is an SUV, and its boot space can be further increased by folding the rear seats down. Here are all the boot and dimensions measurements:

Boot Space & Cargo Volume

Trim / Variant	Boot Space	Cargo Volume (seats down)
Match Pure	543 litres	1,734 litres
Match Pro	543 litres	1,734 litres
4MOTION Match Pro	543 litres	1,734 litres
4MOTION GTX	543 litres	1,734 litres

Dimensions

Trim / Variant	Length	Width	Height
Match Pure	4584 mm	1852 mm	1634 mm
Match Pro	4584 mm	1852 mm	1634 mm
4MOTION Match Pro	4582 mm	1852 mm	1632 mm
4MOTION GTX	4582 mm	1852 mm	1632 mm

Next Steps

We hope you’ve enjoyed this brief analysis of the Volkswagen ID.4. We’ve tried to focus mainly on potentially unfamiliar electric car related items – such as batteries, range and charging – rather than trot out the usual “The car’s B-pillar is 3mm wider than the previous model.”

Where to next?

1. Narrow down your EV search in a systematic way using our Car Selector tool
2. Read more about the ID.4 at Volkswagen’s UK website
3. If you’re ready to go, consider leasing the Volkswagen ID.4 from a low-cost broker