Review and Test Drive: The 2021 Volkswagen ID.4 Electric Vehicle Offers Fahrvergnügen for the EV Era
While I’ve driven countless electric vehicles, from the e-Golf to the Jaguar I-Pace to the Nissan Leaf to the Tesla S, I never planned a road trip around one. This time I would take the ID.4 to the City of Brotherly Love and back and see how well I would do with any range anxiety and with finding charging stations along the way.
INSIDE THE 2021 VOLKSWAGEN ID.4
Open the door and you will be welcomed by a sea of white. It’s not just the warm and inviting, it’s the anti-Tesla. While the Tesla interior is cold and lacking in personality, the ID.4 is has a vibe of its own. It’s not cute like a Beetle, but it’s far more personal and very Jetsons chic.
Starting with the 5.3” display that serves as an instrument cluster immediately behind the steering wheel and continuing on to the white interior accents and the 12” central information display, the ID.4 immediately becomes YOUR car, even when you have yet to set your moods, such as red for “euphoria” or teal for “eternity,” which is not a reference to your driving range, however. If the presets don’t match how you roll, you can blend your own colors to create your own mood.
The heated white leather-wrapped steering wheel has a great feel in the hands and the touch controls are well positioned. The gear shift is mounted on the steering column in a manner similar to the one on the BMW i3 and is very easy to get accustomed to.
Meanwhile, the mini-display behind the wheel provides all pertinent driving-related information including turn-by-turn directions (also known as a maneuver instruction card or navigation arrows) from Apple CarPlay.
On the more tech side of things, support for wireless CarPlay means my iPhone 12 Pro Max automatically connected to the central information display and was ready to guide me with Apple Maps across the George Washington Bridge and down the New Jersey Turnpike.