Volkswagen ID 7 review

From Alien: Romulus to Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, people love a reboot. And that's good news for the Volkswagen ID 7 – because this electric car is a reboot of sorts.

You see, the all-electric ID 7 has become VW’s new flagship executive car, as a kind of electrified remake of the VW Passat – Volkswagen’s executive car offering for half a century – which is now available only as an estate car.

The executive car class is one VW takes seriously, and it's given the ID 7 loads of tech, a spacious interior and two battery options offering predicted ranges to rival those of the BMW i4 and Tesla Model 3. Indeed, the bigger of the two batteries gives an official range that would, in theory, make a non-stop journey from London to Edinburgh possible.

On the face of it, then, VW might have hit it out of the park with its executive electric car – but is that really the case? In other words, can the VW ID 7 take down the i4 and Model 3 while also proving a better long-distance cruiser than the Mercedes EQE? Read on to find out...

Or, if an electric estate car would suit you better, read all about the VW ID 7 Tourer here.

The entry-level VW ID 7, called the Pro, has an official range of 384 miles, while the Pro S can officially go 436 miles on a full charge. Meanwhile, the ID 7 GTX gets the same battery as the Pro S but has an extra motor and four-wheel drive, which makes it quicker but cuts the range to 365 miles.

Those are all impressive figures, so it makes sense that the ID 7 is designed to be a polished long-distance cruiser. And polished it is too. There's virtually no motor whine when you're accelerating up to motorway speeds and at 70mph there’s less wind and road noise than in a BMW i4 or Tesla Model 3.

While the ID 7’s brakes are not the most progressive, we do like the adaptive regenerative braking. It automatically brakes if the car in front slows down, and does so in a gentle and progressive manner, while also topping up the battery.

The ID 7 doesn't have a one-pedal driving function like the Model 3 (in which you rarely need to touch the brake pedal during stop-start town driving) but on motorways the system is brilliant.

The standard passive suspension on the ID 7 Pro and Pro S Match delivers a ride that's comparable with a Model 3 or BYD Seal – which is to say it has quite a firm edge and occasionally trips up over sharp-edged abrasions.

That’s why we recommend adding the adaptive suspension system, called Dynamic Chassis Control (DCC), which is available as part of the optional Exterior Pack Plus on Pro and Pro S versions and is standard on the GTX. It does a much better job of ironing out crumbly roads to deliver a level of plushness comparable with the significantly more expensive Mercedes EQE.

As well as getting standard-fit DCC, the ID 7 GTX has a slightly firmer set-up than the Pro and Pro S versions. It retains most of the ride comfort but can jostle occupants around in their seats more over larger bumps, especially on optional 21in wheels (for the best comfort, stick with standard 20in ones).

Dynamically, the ID 7 steers accurately and grips hard enough to feel fairly agile, but if you push harder you’ll find its limits sooner than you would in a BMW i4 or Tesla Model 3. A Progressive Steering system that quickens the steering response at low speeds is standard on GTX and available as an option in Pro versions, but adds little to sharpen up the experience.

Blitzing along a country road isn’t really what the ID 7 was made for, but the optional DCC suspension does a decent enough job of reducing body lean through quick changes of direction in its firmer settings. The ID 7 GTX leans less during quick cornering but it's not what you'd call engaging to drive.

So how about performance? Well, entry-level ID 7 Pro versions come with a single 282bhp electric motor driving the rear wheels, and will officially sprint from 0-62mph in 6.5 seconds. The Pro S, with its heavier battery, takes 6.6 seconds, while the GTX's two motors produce 335bhp, cutting the time to 5.4 seconds.

Regardless of which version you go for, the ID 7 gains pace without hesitation as you squeeze the accelerator pedal. Indeed, pulling away from junctions and overtaking slow-moving traffic is a doddle.

"The adaptive suspension that comes as part of the Exterior Pack Plus isn’t exactly cheap, but it’s a relatively small price at this level and I reckon it’s worth it for the polished ride and handling balance it brings." – Neil Winn, Deputy Reviews Editor

It’s really easy to get comfortable at the wheel of the VW ID 7. Its driving position is fundamentally sound, lining you up with the pedals and steering wheel. The standard seats get plenty of electric adjustment and adjustable lumbar support, plus a memory function and massage feature.

Despite having a sweeping silhouette, which would usually come at the expense of visibility, the ID 7 is a very easy car to see out of. Indeed, the slim front window pillars mean it’s easy to see out at junctions, while big rear windows and cut-outs in the wide rear pillars give you a great view over your shoulder.

Better still, to help you park this five-metre-long executive car, the ID 7 is fitted with front and rear parking sensors, and a 360-degree view camera as standard. It also has VW’s Park Assist Plus system, which allows the car to park itself in certain spaces. Standard-fit matrix LED lights also make driving at night a doddle – you can leave them on high beam without dazzling oncoming drivers.

The digital driver’s display is on the slim side and isn’t configurable, but most of the information appears on the head-up display, where you can see it without taking your eyes off the road.

The ID 7’s interior quality is significantly better than that of any other VW electric car. There’s a pleasing variety of materials, ranging from perforated vegan leather on the seats to suede inserts on the doors and soft-touch plastic on the dashboard.

The glossy black trim and the touch-sensitive climate control sliders are backlit, which adds some welcome visual glamour – as does the 15in infotainment screen, which dominates the interior.

That, too, is a great step forward. The screen’s responses are snappier than on previous ID cars and its huge size allows you to see lots of information in one go. There are far fewer glitches than with previous systems, and an impressive level of customisation, allowing you to create five bespoke shortcuts at the top of the screen and change the features you see on each menu screen.

The voice-control assistant has been upgraded with AI technology to recognise a wider range of phrases and has access to pretty much every system in the car. However, we found it inconsistent at best, which is frustrating when your hands are cold and you want the smart air-con vents to point at your hands.

You see, like the Tesla Model 3 the ID 7 doesn’t have physical air-vent controls. Instead you have to manipulate them through the climate-control screen of the infotainment system or via voice control. You can set two custom settings (at your face and at the wheel for example) but it’s still a step back from manual vents.

“I like the ID 7's touchscreen until I have to delve into a sub-menu to change the direction of the air vents and end up leaving my fingerprints smeared all over it.” – Lawrence Cheung, New Cars Editor

One aspect of the VW ID 7 that doesn’t come across until you see it in the metal is just how big it is. With a 2,966mm wheelbase (the gap between the front and rear wheels) and a length of 4,961mm, it’s even larger than the Mercedes EQE, let alone a BMW i4, a BYD Seal or a Tesla Model 3.

That leads to a spacious interior that feels airy up front and positively limo-like in the rear. A six-footer will easily fit behind a driver of the same height, and three adults can sit comfortably in the back, thanks to the flat floor.

In fact, the only demerit is that the middle seat is raised slightly, making head room tight for a six-footer sitting in the middle. 

On top of the space for people, you get a good amount of interior storage, with large door bins in the front, a deep cubby within the armrest, a generous space below the centre console, a couple of cupholders within the centre console and a place to wirelessly charge your phone.

In the rear, you’ll find door bins large enough for a bottle of water, plus two cupholders in the fold-down middle-seat armrest.

The rear seats in the ID 7 don’t do anything particularly fancy, but they split 60/40 and fold flat. You do, however, get a ski hatch, helping to get around the lack of more versatile 40/20/40 split-folding rear seats (which you get in the i4).

The boot itself is big with good access through a broad hatchback opening (although VW calls the ID 7 an electric fastback). It has a height-adjustable floor so you can eliminate the loading lip at the boot entrance.

The ID 7 has 532 litres of boot space, which is more than the i4, the EQE and the Model 3, but the Model 3 has extra space in its front boot. We managed to fit eight carry-on suitcases in the boot of the ID 7, against nine in the Model 3's two boots.

For even more boot space, there's an estate car version, the VW ID 7 Tourer.

“I much prefer the ID 7’s hatchback boot opening, which is much larger than the small saloon openings you get in the BYD Seal and Tesla Model 3 .” – Dan Jones, Senior Reviewer

As a cash purchase, the VW ID 7 will cost you more than the equivalent BMW i4, BYD Seal or Tesla Model 3. As ever, it's worth checking for discounts using our New Car Deals pages. The ID 7 is expected to depreciate a little more slowly than those rivals, but not by a significant amount.

The two single-motor versions – the Pro and Pro S – come in Match trim, which includes plenty of standard kit, including 19in alloy wheels, three-zone air conditioning, rain-sensing windscreen wipers, a head-up display, heated front seats with massage, rear privacy glass and a heated steering wheel.

The Exterior Plus Pack adds DCC (adaptive suspension, progressive steering and laminated rear side windows (the front windows are laminated on all versions).

The dual-motor GTX model has its own trim and comes with sportier styling, 20in alloy wheels and a black roof. It’s also the only ID 7 available in a red exterior paint finish. Inside, there are ventilated front seats, heated rear seats, laminated rear windows and a 12-speaker Harman Kardon sound system.

The ID 7 Pro’s maximum charging rate of 175kW should allow you to charge it from 10-80% in around 28 minutes at a suitably powerful public charger.

That’s a slower rate than the i4 and Model 3, which can accept 200kW and 250kW respectively, but due to the average speed they each hold across the charge, the ID 7 still takes about the same time. Using an 11kW home charger, the ID 7’s 77kWh battery will take around eight hours to fully charge.

Meanwhile, the bigger 86kWh battery in the Pro S and GTX is capable of charging at a slightly faster rate of 200k, resulting in a 10-80% charge taking 26 minutes.

The ID 7 is too new to have been included in the 2023 What Car? Reliability Survey but VW as a brand didn’t fare particularly well. It managed to claim 22nd place out of the 32 car makers listed, placing it above Mercedes and Audi but below Tesla, BMW and Porsche. 

For some peace of mind, you get a three-year/60,000-mile standard warranty, which is nothing special. BMW and Mercedes offer three years too, but with unlimited mileage.

Safety is a strong point for the ID 7 – which won a Best For Safety award at our 2024 Car of the Year Awards. The experts at Euro NCAP gave it the full five stars when they tested it in 2023, with the highest scores of any car that year in three of the four categories.

What’s more, the ID 7 comes with lots of standard safety equipment, including lane assistance and automatic emergency braking (AEB) that can detect cars, pedestrians, cyclists and motorcycles.

“Unless you really need the long battery range of the Pro S, I’d stick with the entry-level Pro and spend the savings on the optional DCC adaptive suspension.” – Will Nightingale, Reviews Editor

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