I have been interested to see how Volkswagen is marketing the ID.4 in the U.S., since it doesn’t seem to have much discernible edge on its competition, despite being pretty good. On Thursday, in announcing the ID.4 AWD, it opted to go the “most affordable” route.
Now, this is a car that still starts at $43,657, so Volkswagen’s definition of “affordable” here may not agree with yours, and Volkswagen also defines it pretty narrowly, saying that the ID.4 AWD is the “most affordable all-wheel-drive electric vehicle on sale in the U.S.”
That category would include the Jaguar I-Pace, the Audi E-Tron, the Porsche Taycan, the Volvo CX40 Recharge, Tesla Model X, Tesla Model S, some trims of the Tesla Model Y, and some trims of the Tesla Model 3, all of which are more expensive than the ID.4 AWD but that is really just to say that all-electric cars are still pretty expensive, period.
The ID.4 AWD, anyway, is the all-wheel-drive variant of the ID.4 that costs $3,680 more. Volkswagen said Thursday that it has an EPA-estimated range of 249 miles, it makes up to 295 horsepower, and it goes from 0 to 60 in 5.7 seconds. It will be biased toward the rear motor, with the front motor only engaging as needed, to correct wheelspin, for example.
There will be five different driving modes: Eco, Sport, Comfort, Custom, and Traction, all of which are pretty self-explanatory. Volkswagen also says that towing capacity is 2,700 pounds if you use a trailer with brakes and that most other features of the ID.4 AWD are essentially the same as the ID.4.
There are two trims, the ID.4 AWD Pro and the ID.4 AWD Pro S, with the S coming with 20-inch wheels and not standing for “Sport” as you might guess, but instead “Statement.” Getting any type of ID.4 certainly is a statement, and so far I’ve concluded that ID.4’s core demographic is someone who wants to go electric but wants a European car and hates Elon Musk. Which, fair enough.
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