Review: Volkswagen ID.7

If there’s anything the Volkswagen ID.7 makes you realize, it’s how impressive the Tesla Model S was when it arrived more than a decade ago. After all, we all know that tech moves fast, and yet somehow, despite multiple recalls, the Model S remains a benchmark for big, sedan-bodied, long-distance electric land yachts.

Volkswagen may finally be about to challenge it, though, with this—the ID.7. It takes on the Model S not just in terms of tech (there’s a lot of it), but also in terms of efficiency and on-road refinement and comfort. More about that in a bit, as it’s the tech and electric powertrain that’s the big news here.

First up, underneath the VW ID.7 is the same MEB platform that underpins all the other ID models, including the ID.Buzz, which amazingly is actually a touch shorter than the 4.96-meter ID.7.

Power comes from a new, 282-brake-horsepower, permanent-magnet synchronous electric motor that drives the rear wheels (for now, at least, as a four-wheel-drive model is likely), while battery options will include the 77-kilowatt-hour (usable) lithium-ion pack already familiar from the ID.3. Using the aerodynamic shape of the ID.7, VW has also supposedly managed a drag coefficient of just 0.23, amounting to 382 miles of range and making this potentially one of the most efficient EVs on sale.

A Pro S version with an 86-kWh battery is the flagship model, which could see the ID.7 reach the magic 700-kilometer (435-mile) milestone for official WLTP range.

WIRED drove a preproduction standard 77-kWh Pro variant of the ID.7 at a press launch hosted by VW in Alicante, Spain, and we averaged 3.4 miles per kilowatt-hour over a variety of faster mountain roads and fiddly town roads, for a real-world range of 262 miles—not amazing, but also not terrible given the twisty route.

Photograph: Volkswagen

Charging is 170 kW, as per the ID.Buzz, so expect a 10 to 80 percent charge in 30 minutes if you get lucky and reach peak charging potential. The Pro S, however, will apparently manage speeds of up to 200 kW. Recharging from a 7-kW home wall box will take around 12 to 15 hours, but it’s odd (and very disappointing) that Volkswagen isn’t offering vehicle-to-device charging on the ID.7, a standout feature on competitors from Kia and Hyundai, for example.

You can tell that aerodynamics have very much led the design of the ID.7, as it looks rather similar to other big aero-focused sedans. VW has gone to great lengths to keep the final design under wraps, but considering that it is almost identical to the ID. Aero1 concept shown off halfway through last year, one wonders why.

Photograph: Volkswagen

Sitting inside the ID.7 is where you start to realize that this is something of a departure from the more templated ID.3, ID.4, et al. The dash is a totally different design, with animal-friendly textiles and leatherette giving a nice tactile finish and properly classy aesthetic. As does the variable ambient lighting and fancy (optional) “ergoPremium” seats that can automatically adjust the seat heating or cooling to keep you at a comfortable temperature.

It's not only the automatic butt-sensors that are working to keep you temperate; the new smart air-conditioning system is too. This system is similar to that in the Porsche Taycan, with electrically controlled vents that you angle via the touchscreen. The ID.7 goes a step further, using sensors in the windshield to gauge the angle of the sun and automatically adjust the three-zone climate control accordingly. Perhaps more useful though are the profile modes, which can save your preferred climate control settings, including temperature and how you like the vents angled.

Photograph: Volkswagen

The voice control system is new for the ID.7, and you can now ask it to change the drive mode, or—praise be—even to mute the nav guidance. It’s surprisingly competent. I rarely managed to catch it out, and it’s also said to be much better at understanding regional accents.

VW likely wants you to use this seemingly reliable voice control to change cabin temperature, but we all know most people will be reaching for physical controls instead. Here the the annoying touch-slider temperature and volume controls are at least now backlit so that you can see them in the dark. This is progress from the widely derided setup in the ID.3, 4, 5 and Buzz (a system that CEO Oliver Blume acknowledged needed attention last year), but it's by no means a finished fix.

Photograph: Volkswagen

Anyway, let’s talk about the 15-inch touchscreen that’s the real focal point in the ID.7. It’s a noticeable improvement on other ID models in that it has a bigger screen, while the response times, crisp graphics, and contrast are all as you’d expect. You can also personalize the homepage layout and content, and wireless CarPlay and Android Auto are a given.

Less impressive is the fact that the shortcut buttons to hop between media, nav, climate, and other core menus have migrated to fiddly, small icons at the edges of the screen. And it’s also annoying that turning lane-keep assist off requires a convoluted three or four prods of the panel. Others, including Hyundai, Kia, and many Stellantis brands, allow you to turn lane-keep assist off or on with a single button, which is far preferable. Not that VW’s lane-keep assist is overly intrusive, but on narrow roads (as with almost every lane-keep system from any manufacturer), it’s still more hinderance than help.

In the meantime, I punched my way through the menus to turn off lane-keep and went on my way over Spanish mountain roads in this preproduction car, which absolutely fits the bill as a long-range, low-stress cruiser.

Refinement is excellent, with barely any motor whine even at low speeds, and only a subtle, momentary thrum of augmented noise if you ask for everything from that electric motor. There’s vigor to that performance from the new motor, too, albeit in a far more moderate way than your average Tesla. It still feels fizzy enough to see off a cheeky overtake or quick-merge into fast-moving traffic, even if the ID.7 never seems like a car that’s trying to entertain the driver.

Rather, the whole car is focused on soothing your brow, and that shows in the assured but disengaged handling, as well as the comfy-if-wallowing ride control. My test car had optional adaptive dynamic chassis control and 20-inch alloy wheels, which sponged up cracked and rutted road surfaces, but you can't help niticing heavy body movement when you corner or brake hard.

Oddly, there are no clever, flexible brake regen modes in the ID.7 either—you can choose a heavier ‘B’ mode by tweaking the drive selector on the steering column, or in standard D mode it’s just a mild, easily ignored adaptive system.

Photograph: Volkswagen

Space is a real selling point of the VW ID.7, which is way roomier than sedan alternatives like the BMW i4 and Tesla Model 3—though a Tesla Model Y or Ford Mustang Mach-E will certainly compete on this front if you’re willing to settle for an SUV rather than a big sedan.

Rear passengers in the ID.7 get vast amounts of space, a couple of USB-C charging points, and climate control as standard for the full limo-like experience. The trunk's big, too, with 532 liters, a sizeable hatchback opening, and some useful underfloor storage where you can chuck your cables. No frunk, though, and that raked roofline means it’s a fairly shallow trunk space. If that sounds like a deal breaker, there’s a fastback version of the ID.7 due within the next year.

But it’s this sedan version that's arriving first, with orders opening in the UK this summer, and in America in 2024. With prices likely to start from around £55,000 ($68,010), it’s also good value for such a big, well-equipped car, and it will no doubt steal sales from the likes of the Kia EV6, BMW i4, Hyundai Ioniq 5 and 6, and of course the Teslas 3, Y, and S—all of which are relevant to the ID.7.

Overall, then, the ID.7 feels like a comprehensive piece of kit, albeit with quite a few bugbears. Standard heat pump and vehicle-to-device charging, anyone? More sensible volume and climate controls? Shallow trunk? Body roll? Yup, all of that.

The most obvious crime committed by the ID.7 is that it feels predictable in its design and execution. It all works well, and it is perfectly nice to drive, and the space, classiness, and practicality are all satisfying. It’s just lacking any wow factor.

With Tesla there’s the performance and interface, with Hyundai's Ioniq 6 it’s striking looks and long warranty, while the BMW i4 is much more fun (if, admittedly, a lot smaller). The Volkswagen ID.7 is … sensible? Yes. Sensible. Really very sensible.