Add Yours: VW ID. Buzz Owner's Registry

First impressions

1828 Views 9 Replies 5 Participants Last post by Huey52, Apr 11, 2021

NBCGLX

Discussion Starter · Apr 11, 2021

Had the opportunity to partake in the ID.4 Roadshow today. We got additional time in the car because both my husband and I got to do the test drive.

I’m quite impressed with the ID.4, more than I thought I would be. Drives smaller than it is, has bigger space than its exterior leads you to think. More than adequate acceleration from the RWD model (and the instant torque is way more usable and fun than any ICE SUV’s in this segment). Infotainment wasn’t laggy at all. Fit and finish were exactly as I expected of a modern VW. The haptic buttons for HVAC temp, volume, power/mute, and on the steering wheel were not an issue at all. Travel Assist worked quite well. The glass roof is enormous, and the retractable shade is fantastic. The base stereo (only option in the U.S.), while not something like those found in many luxury vehicles, is more than OK. ‘D’ mode was better than I expected. I didn’t mind the “coasting” and actually found the intelligent regen quite interesting. ‘B’ mode had more regen braking than I anticipated it would. Ride quality was quite good, and the suspension felt more controlled and nimble than our Jetta.

The whole experience made me nostalgic for my 2015 i3, in a good way. Overall, really looking forward to my Pros S AWD arriving late this year!

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Huey52

· #2 · Apr 11, 2021

I swapped a friend's 2018 Tiguan [non-turbo] for my ID.4 yesterday just for a comparison run. Merging onto the highway it was an absolute dog. Reminded me of the anticipatory driving style I had to employ many years ago with a non-turbo diesel Peugeot. I was so happy to get back to the peppy high torque acceleration of my ID.4!
And yes, the ID.4 drives smaller than its size, and the Tiguan.
The few times I've inadvertently missed setting 'B' mode I already don't like the extra deceleration speed and thereby required foot braking of 'D' mode. I guess I've quickly become an EV'er.

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NBCGLX

Discussion Starter · #3 · Apr 11, 2021

To add insult to injury, all U.S. Tiguans are turbocharged 😉 Actually, I’m pretty sure VW has an all-turbocharged ICE lineup worldwide except for the VR6.

I quite liked my i3’s one-pedal driving, but the intelligent regen, or whatever VW calls it, in ‘D’ mode was quite interesting. It regen’d when needed and otherwise basically coasted. I think I’ll give it a fair shot when my AWD arrives. ‘B’ mode did have more regen braking than I anticipated it would, but I found it a bit unpredictable for some reason. Maybe because you still need to reach for the brake pedal as the vehicle slows. I’m not in the must-have-one-pedal camp, so maybe I’m just more open to ‘D’ mode. I also was impressed with VW’s blended braking. Except for maybe the first time I came to a complete stop from a normal driving speed, I don’t think I could tell when regen dropped off and the friction brakes took over.

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Huey52

· #4 · Apr 11, 2021

That's interesting. After my strained to be positive remarks he told me it was non-turbo Tiguan, but then not a car guy so he may not have known any better and I didn't pop the hood in our quick exchange. And I believe he only uses 87 octane as it appears his salesman was of course less than fully truthful.

Anyway, was very glad to be back in my ID.4 and I expect you'll be even more impressed with your AWD!!!

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gcrone-wayback

· #5 · Apr 11, 2021

While I’m still waiting for my ID4, I’ve done a couple of test drives. Both times I really like the ‘D’ mode much more than ‘B’ mode.
I much prefer the coasting of ‘D’ mode, and get very worried about the cars behind me when it starts braking in ‘B’ mode. I might get used to it one day, but right now I think VW is correct in the coasting capability.

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dfox

· #6 · Apr 11, 2021

gcrone-wayback said:
While I’m still waiting for my ID4, I’ve done a couple of test drives. Both times I really like the ‘D’ mode much more than ‘B’ mode.
I much prefer the coasting of ‘D’ mode, and get very worried about the cars behind me when it starts breaking in ‘B’ mode. I might get used to it one day, but right now I think VW is correct in the coasting capability.

To each their own, but I want to inform you that you don't have to worry about the cars following you. When you are slowing by regeneration, the brake lights will come on.

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Nai3t

· #7 · Apr 11, 2021

The selectable coast mode does have advantages.

If I want to stretch or rotate my ankle, in coast mode I can do it without the car dropping anchor on the highway.

I can also avoid the inefficiency of regeneration if I'm just making minor speed adjustments with the flow of traffic. Regen is great for slowing down intentionally but it's less efficient if it's used for small variances that are coupled with small amounts of acceleration.

But also this is what ACC is for and throttle management becomes more important in EVs, so while I'm glad D mode is there as an option, I wish B more offered more aggressive regen all the way down to a stop.

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gcrone-wayback

· #8 · Apr 11, 2021

dfox said:
To each his own, but I want to inform you that you don't have to worry about the cars following you. When you are slowing by regeneration, the brake lights will come on.

I figured as much, but since I couldn’t see it happening, it just started to bother me. As I said, I might get used to it one day, but starting off the coasting will be more familiar to how I have driven the past 30 years.

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Nai3t

· #9 · Apr 11, 2021

Nobody likes brake tappers in front of them on the freeway. Somebody careless with their speed control in one pedal EV driving takes on a similar characteristic. Maybe from that perspective, that's another D mode advantage.

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Huey52

· #10 · Apr 11, 2021

Which is one of the reasons VW included ‘D’ mode, so those new to EV could break in gently wrt brakes. 😉

’B’ mode has quickly become my preferred but I can see that on the highway there are times when ‘D’ would be advantageous. Nice to have both.

gcrone-wayback said:
I figured as much, but since I couldn’t see it happening, it just started to bother me. As I said, I might get used to it one day, but starting off the coasting will be more familiar to how I have driven the past 30 years.

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