Can't argue with that – pretty honest assessment.

VW has benefited from a free hall pass during this past tumultuous year, and due to the combination of high demand and impacted supply (but also helped by VW's relative "affordable" price point), a lot of the shortcomings can be overlooked or forgiven.

But it's Go! time. I'm hopeful VW can get their ship in shape and not impact new sales as their prices creep up and new EV entrants emerge.

 

Tesla was able to keep making cars longer than the others because they did not make the mistake of relying on Intel for CPU chips. Tesla uses AMD CPUs (so do I).

A HUGE percentage of US citizens buy only used cars. A used car with 100,000 miles can be sold at a very high (for that mileage) price right now and this will continue until Intel or someone gets a new chip factory running. Intel has announced that they will. (this is being written on an AMD processor with built in Video).

Besides processors, there is not enough battery supply for anticipated needs also.

 

Nice review, I almost guessed what will you say in your review.

I think it is Time for VW to get their act together and start sending out some updates else more and more people will jump off the ship. I am not sure if FE was ever updated and 2021 has been around for more than a year and not even a single update is a shame. Come on VW even a small start up with 5 employees can do better than this, VW is automobile giant and it's a shame for them

Each and every owners are saying it's fantastic car, build quality is really good, materials hold up very nicely, it's fun to drive and no one except reviewers complain rwd models to be slow. But each and everyone, from short to long time owners complain about software. And current bugs seems like easy fix. I think even to test if they can do a OTA update just send something to update. New EVs are coming and people who already got 7.5k rebate are selling it. Also because of high resale value for every car people are moving away without complaining too much but this will come haunting back to VW once resell market settles down, please VW don't ruin this fantastic car by more than crappy software, do something and do it Quick.

 

I hear other BEV owners complaining about their software acting up too so I see buggieness as pretty much a wash. Though VW definitely did not win any prizes there…until possibly the newly arrived 3.0. Unless you believe the Tesla is great and you can afford a dual motor Model Y at which point you are off into a different kind of quirky experience.

 

Tesla quality strikes again:

 

I am seriously considering an Ioniq 5, but so far the ID4 is the only option I can afford that has the combo of usable cargo space, ground clearance, and comfort that I need. Also, people rail about the software in the ID4 but I must have gotten the car that was assembled on a day when Herbert was touring the plant because I’ve never had a single issue (other than known bugs or oversights such as no scheduled charging).

IMO, the ID4 performs excellently as a family crossover SUV. Just this weekend I took it on a 120 mile round trip trek to Gem Mountain in Phillipsburg Montana. Up and down old logging roads in the Sapphire Range, hunting for gemstones. I was able to load it up with camping gear for the family, a dog, and we even managed to shove a hand-me-down wheel barrel in there that an uncle gave us.

I really don’t understand the hate for this car. I am starting to think either I am an idiot, or a bunch of computer nerds that think they’re car guys now are gaslighting me. Oh well.

If you are go to sell the ID.4 now is the time. You can make a profit. Because so many people like me want a competent crossover SUV that costs $310 to go 11,000 miles.

 

You are certainly not an idiot.

Similarly no issues myself. That was a good build day.

I am seriously considering an Ioniq 5, but so far the ID4 is the only option I can afford that has the combo of usable cargo space, ground clearance, and comfort that I need. Also, people rail about the software in the ID4 but I must have gotten the car that was assembled on a day when Herbert was touring the plant because I’ve never had a single issue (other than known bugs or oversights such as no scheduled charging).

IMO, the ID4 performs excellently as a family crossover SUV. Just this weekend I took it on a 120 mile round trip trek to Gem Mountain in Phillipsburg Montana. Up and down old logging roads in the Sapphire Range, hunting for gemstones. I was able to load it up with camping gear for the family, a dog, and we even managed to shove a hand-me-down wheel barrel in there that an uncle gave us.

I really don’t understand the hate for this car. I am starting to think either I am an idiot, or a bunch of computer nerds that think they’re car guys now are gaslighting me. Oh well.

If you are go to sell the ID.4 now is the time. You can make a profit. Because so many people like me want a competent crossover SUV that costs $310 to go 11,000 miles.

 

No matter how insightful or not insightful this person's video might be, I refuse to click anything that claims to be "the TRUTH about" anything. Talk about click bait... ("gotta get those clicks and shares, gotta get those clicks and shares, gotta get those clicks and shares"... ad infinitum — a bit pathetic, really).

 

No matter how insightful or not insightful this person's video might be, I refuse to click anything that claims to be "the TRUTH about" anything. Talk about click bait... ("gotta get those clicks and shares, gotta get those clicks and shares, gotta get those clicks and shares"... ad infinitum)

Totally agree. Fine that you don't like the car anymore and sell it.
But there is no "THE TRUTH" and there is no need to put it into a YouTube video either.
This is purely for the clicks, and maybe a new sponsor deal with the next EV vendor?

 

The title is dumb but the video very reasonable and the guy is pretty chill and not annoying like most reviewers. Look, the ID4 has a number of shortcomings and how much total annoyance they represent will vary a a lot from person to person. For whatever reason, maybe because I never had a tech-forward car, although I recognize many shortcomings, none of them bother me on a daily basis. this guy's take away was "pretty good car but lots of little things were annoying me so I'm selling"

 

I didn't watch the video, so can't comment about this person's points. However, clicking a 100% click-bait title encourages more click-bait titles, which in my view the world needs a lot less of.

 

It has always amazed me how many people there are who do such expensive things, 'on a whim' - Buying a $50K car and then deciding shortly after that it's not the car for you - I don't think this guy bought it, I think he leased it and maybe leases were meant for these type of people . . . . but still, he must have lost interest before the lease ran out . . . . I didn't watch the video

I'd have to think a bit to list every car I've kept for 10 years or more because there have been quite a few. A couple for 15 years and I had my Miata for 20. I buy only what I like and I usually keep them long term. I guess the 2017 Chevy Volt I sold when I bought the ID.4 would be the singular exception. I've never leased a car . . . . never even thought about it

 

He's certainly given a reasonable review and accurately describes the positives and negatives. Who can argue that the use of piano black surfaces in a car is dumb? That said, he is a lot more annoyed by the infotainment and software aspects of the car than I am. Yes, I'm a bit disappointed that we are still waiting on the first software update after more than a year, but the current version, while I've rebooted the screen a few times, has never left me stranded or in a lurch.

The big point for me is that I really enjoy driving the car, and it has been a solid and reliable vehicle for me and it is fun to drive. While I hope the software update comes soon, frankly that is just a minor annoyance in my book. In thinking back about all of the cars I've owned and driven over the last 55 years since I've gotten my license, I've never had a car that didn't have a couple of minor annoyances. That's just part of life because I didn't get to design the car. And that probably wouldn't work out well either -- I remember that one Simpson's episode where Homer helps design a car and the company goes out of business.

 

His points are pretty fair. A few of the things he mentioned have been fixed with the current 3.1 software. It's really a shame that VW isn't faster with software updates, and first year owners not getting any updates yet is pretty inexcusable. You have to keep in mind as well that Brandan is an EV youtuber that has to make content, and he even admits that he doesn't keep vehicles very long. I will be keeping mine for the long haul. At any rate dude has a Rivian on order as well.

 

I think this review is a pretty fair assessment of the car and mirrors most of my feelings about it.

 

This has nothing to do with Intel vs AMD.

The chips in question that have been in short supply have mostly been older, "low tech" ICs with lower profit margins used for mundane tasks. When orders were dropped early in the pandemic, suppliers shifted production to the newer tech, higher yield silicon that was suddenly in high demand for entertainment and video conferencing and home fitness and new hobbies.

VW isn't the only auto manufacturers saying this supply constraint is on the mend. There's still a shipping problem, but Ford and Tesla are also parroting VWs claim that relief is weeks away.

 

I don't have 16 minutes to waste on some random stranger comment about anything. You could make such a video about virtually EVERY car on the market. Utterly pointless.

 

But you have time to waste on a forum? I think most people spending $50k like to watch or read reviews ahead of time.

 

I’ve watched Brandon’s videos over the last year and have found them very insightful.
If this was Kyle Conner and he had the same title no one would blink an eye. Get over it.
I could care less if people think he’s only doing this for “clicks”. As long as I get something out of watching someone’s video, that’s all that matters to me.

 

I agree with the generally positive reviews of this video. Many of the things that annoy Brandon annoy me too. With a bit of perspective, we can see these annoyances as what comes with buying a version 1.0 product, and living with a supply chain reeling from COVID. Obviously, VW made a mistake in its initial choice of a 12v battery for the ID.4--at least, this seems to be the reason why we're not getting those software updates. We can assume that in a normal economy, we'd all have had our 12v batteries swapped out by now. We also have to factor in how VW has likely needed to divert considerable human resources to managing the various impacts of the pandemic. But it shouldn't fall to low-knowledge people like me to provide excuses for VW--the lack of communication by VW to ID.4 owners (and from my U.S.-based perspective, this poor communication seems to particularly be a problem in the U.S. market) has increased our frustration with the delay in updating the software.

This being said, much of what Brandon complains about WILL be addressed in the upcoming software update. I hope it's addressed to my satisfaction.

Personally, I'm quite happy with my ID.4. Part of the personality of the ID.4 is that it's good-but-not-great at so many things. Yes, I'd like an EV with all of the features of my ID.4 plus a 360 degree camera and battery preconditioning for optimal fast charging, but I'm not seeing that from any of the ID.4's competitors at a comparable price. Sure I'd like better mi/kWh, but I'm not sure I want to forego an SUV body style to bump up my efficiency. Better software, yes, but putting more money into the pockets of Mr. Musk is not an option for me. Yes the ID.4 is quirky, but I've gotten used to most of those quirks and found work-arounds for a lot of them.

Here's the bottom line. I've driven around 15,000 miles in my ID.4 in the 11 months I've owned it, and as a consequence have put something like 10,000 fewer pounds of CO2 equivalent into the atmosphere. I might have done so with any number of EVs, all of which strike me as good choices. The difference between EVs are (I think) miniscule compared to what (I think) was the right choice in buying an EV in the first place.

 

I got the ID4 by chance late last year, my 2017 Lincoln was giving me some mechanical issues at 50k miles (go figure for Ford) and so I figured I might as well get an EV since the shift to EVs really kicked up a gear. My conclusion owning this car close to a year and taking all the negatives about this car (and there's quite a list)...it is still the best value EV out there.
When people ask about my car they are stunned with the low price after federal and local incentives (at least here in CA). It doesn't have the best range, aero, interior, infotainment, etc but everything is acceptable and its a solid B if I had to grade this car. And thats I think ideally what someone driving a CRV or RAV4 or something wants (their intended audience). They mostly just want decently efficient, reliable, practical transport that is, above all, affordable. My only major concern is reliability but a lot of folks here seem to think that this is one place VW invested a lot of thought on and the ID4s are predicted to hold up decently well but only time will tell.
People who own EVs today are early adopters and early adopters change cars often to keep up with the latest and greatest. I don't mean that in a disrespectful way whatsoever. Once ordinary folks, those who buy a car every 5+ years, make the switch after their ICE cars die I think VW has an overall compelling product. Taking everything into account, I would repeat my ID4 purchase even if the updates never come to light. It would be a close call with the Ioniq 5/EV6 but I don't care much for what the Ioniq 5 offers that's better (I understand why one would though).

 

Or we could all be driving Mach E's, which now have a safety recall. You can take your car to the dealer to have it serviced if you can get in, but it's a month from the note back in mid-June to get it pushed OTA.

Ford Mustang Mach E Major Recall Issued Over Battered Battery Issues (motortrend.com)

Or Ford F-150 Lightenings, which arrived at dealerships in most cases with improper settings for tire pressure systems....

It goes on and on...

 

Or we could all be driving Mach E's, which now have a safety recall. You can take your car to the dealer to have it serviced if you can get in, but it's a month from the note back in mid-June to get it pushed OTA.

Ford Mustang Mach E Major Recall Issued Over Battered Battery Issues (motortrend.com)

Or Ford F-150 Lightenings, which arrived at dealerships in most cases with improper settings for tire pressure systems....

It goes on and on...

Making cars is hard, making quality cars is even harder

 

I've had my 2021 ID.4 AWD Pro S since late October last year and its been great (as a car). Zero problems to complain about (again, as a car). I agree the OTA situation is inexcusable but I'm confident VW will get it sorted out (eventually) because, quite simply, they have to. About the only nag Brandon had that can't be fixed via software is the piano black surfaces. The grass is always greener though...

 

Maybe i should do something like Munro with a twist and start YouTube channel. Get some serious news about how EV are made. And after I'm finished and writing off my assets still do good for environment and sell all scrap to the junk yards. But let's move on. If you want to learn about future EV you want to buy watch some videos from Munro channel and research on vehicle you want to buy.
And if you want to watch someone else channel. First research owner background and his knowledge or education in vehicle's. There a lot of people who have no clue about engineering or how some things actually work. But feel of the pants make the judgment. Another great person who knows what he is talking Weber State University.
This how I choose to spend my personal time on someone YouTube videos.
Nothing personal against @branden.
I'm only trying to give my opinion.

 

Munro lost me on his first ID.4 video. I'm not taking anything away from his education and engineering skills but just found him to have an agenda, which I guess do many/most reviewers (Alex on Autos and a few others refreshingly excepted).

I used to enjoy Jason Fenske's Engineering Explained, when he stuck to explaining engineering. But when he moved onto vehicle reviews he too lost me with his on the ID.4.

I don't want to read/view only what i want to read/view, but these journalistic agendas really turn me off.

The debatable "clickbait" title aside (alas YT reasons for) I found @branden 's review to be fair and balanced.

Maybe i should do something like Munro with a twist and start YouTube channel. Get some serious news about how EV are made. And after I'm finished and writing off my assets still do good for environment and sell all scrap to the junk yards. But let's move on. If you want to learn about future EV you want to buy watch some videos from Munro channel and research on vehicle you want to buy.
And if you want to watch someone else channel. First research owner background and his knowledge or education in vehicle's. There a lot of people who have no clue about engineering or how some things actually work. But feel of the pants make the judgment. Another great person who knows what he is talking Weber State University.
This how I choose to spend my personal time on someone YouTube videos.
Nothing personal against @branden.
I'm only trying to give my opinion.

 

I too watch the same ones @VW TECHNICIAN. I skip through a lot of Munro ones where it's Sandy ranting, and thankfully he's done less of that these days and instead focusing more on the engineering and also having other knowledgable people from his staff speak. Those folks have TONS of interesting things to share. I don't always agree with them (especially Sandy's feelings about screws over fasteners for everything!).

That said, if anyone is really wanting to 'nerd out' and you haven't checked out the Weber Auto YT channel, you should. Unfortunately, it looks like he hasn't posted anything new in 7 months, so I hope we haven't seen the end of their posting. But what's out there from them is awesome. No agenda other than produced with a teaching focus.

 

I actually think Branden is a fully committed YouTuber who simply needs new material to keep his audience. It probably has less to do with the car and is more about finding a new vehicle to "fan-out" over. He started with a Tesla, moved on to the ID.4 and is now fawning over Ioniq 5's. All these YouTube wannabe's look for ways to promote themselves. YouTubers all have dreams of million dollar revenue streams from expressing their opinions to their adoring throngs.

 

That's why I prefer the YT content providers who simply want to educate, as they already have very viable day jobs, or well endowed retirements.

There are many of these in the more-niche woodworking community btw, e.g. my Ophthalmologist has an excellent site and videos.

Heartwood » Tools and Shop

 

I enjoy watching the EV videos from @branden and Kaile. I'm sure I'll watch more of them that have trips in whatever replaces the ID.4 (Audi?) and once in awhile in the very cool electric Mini they have.

Different people like different things. I think Branden was accurate in what he said about the car, but many of the things mentioned as negatives are not things that are big deals to me. They would be to others. Some will be fixed by version 3 of the software. Others won't. It will be what it is.

Dave

 

In my opinion, this is a fair review. We purchased our ID.4 over a year ago. We love how smooth the id4 is and will hang onto it a little longer.

However, the bugs from error messages, infotainment reboots, Carnet app failures are a little ridiculous. Moving forward, history of OTAs will be an important part of my decision making process when purchasing an EV.

 

Agree about Munro. Much of what he complained about in ID.4 I appreciated- no frunk, screws not rivets and plastic fasteners, standardization across platform. His gig is narrowly focused on manufacturing cost savings and initial quality. But sometimes that is at odds with repairabililty, parts availablility, and end of life.

Having said that, my “easily repairable” ID.4 full of screws and a non-structural battery has been sitting at two VW dealers for 2.5 months for diagnosis, a battery cell, and someone capable of tearing it down and replacing. So idk.

 

This is not VW issue it is franchise dealers and his way to make sure to have ahead of time trained technician and certified to work on high voltage vehicles. Regarding parts I will agree that we should do better job with parts on hand for North America. And there is great resistance with technicians I'm facing to learn about EV platforms. If this resistance continues there will be a lot of technicians without the job. Dealership's that have under one roof Audi, VW or Porsche and VW have no problem with certified techs that can work on EV. Most of old fashioned technicians are afraid of power packs. Because even when silent they are extremely dangerous if you don't have knowledge and don't know how to work around high voltage systems.

 

So I've come to enjoy not paying for gasoline, so were a 2 EV household now.

1st EV, 2021 ID4 PRO AWD.
2nd EV, 2022 Tesla Model Y perf.
3rd EV Hyundai Ionic5 or Kia EV6 (hopefully 2022, waiting for dealer).

 

For anyone curious what I ended up with (until my Rivian comes in):