I have had the opportunity to drive 3 ID.4s now. One at the roadshow, the other two are the demo units delivered to local dealers in the DFW area within the last week or so. I thought people might be interested in my impressions. I'll try to keep it brief.
The dealers could not have been nicer. Both places (Autobahn in Fort Worth and Hendricks in Frisco) had people who were helpful and accommodating. Neither had 100% knowledge, but in fairness I was the first person to show up for a test drive in both places. We all learned a lot. We never did get wireless Android Auto to work though, the car is very Iphone-centric.
The roadshow was, however, a fiasco. Utterly disorganized, it was like a trade show where they hire local temps to work the booth.
The car itself is solid. Chassis, electric drive, fit and finish are all excellent, no worries there.
The interior leaves a lot to be desired. They are trying to be environmentally correct and have gone overboard with the recycled materials. The seats and carpets feel cheap and do not look like a $40,000+ vehicle. I drove a Mustang Mach-E and its interior was in a whole different class. I have a Jeep Grand Charokee and a Subaru Outback, both of which are dramatically better interiors and neither of which costs as much as the ID.4. And both have technology setups that are much easier to use while driving.
The interior design (dash, controls, infotainment, etc.) are just a step too "Jetson-ish". It seems they're trying to be futuristic at the cost of usability. One reviewer described it as being "weird just for the sake of being weird". I don't want to have to take my eyes off the road every time I want to adjust something, having to go through touch-screen menus is asking for trouble. And would it be too much trouble and expense to have 4 window buttons for the 4 windows instead of having to select a mode (front or rear) for the two buttons?
So my score is as follows.
Dealers: 10
Basic vehicle: 9.5
Interior quality: 3.5
Technology and controls: 4-5
It's a good solid vehicle with disappointing interior quality and many questionable design choices. I'm still deciding whether to purchase the one I have on order. I'll probably make up my mind when it gets here in early April.
The dealers could not have been nicer. Both places (Autobahn in Fort Worth and Hendricks in Frisco) had people who were helpful and accommodating. Neither had 100% knowledge, but in fairness I was the first person to show up for a test drive in both places. We all learned a lot. We never did get wireless Android Auto to work though, the car is very Iphone-centric.
The roadshow was, however, a fiasco. Utterly disorganized, it was like a trade show where they hire local temps to work the booth.
The car itself is solid. Chassis, electric drive, fit and finish are all excellent, no worries there.
The interior leaves a lot to be desired. They are trying to be environmentally correct and have gone overboard with the recycled materials. The seats and carpets feel cheap and do not look like a $40,000+ vehicle. I drove a Mustang Mach-E and its interior was in a whole different class. I have a Jeep Grand Charokee and a Subaru Outback, both of which are dramatically better interiors and neither of which costs as much as the ID.4. And both have technology setups that are much easier to use while driving.
The interior design (dash, controls, infotainment, etc.) are just a step too "Jetson-ish". It seems they're trying to be futuristic at the cost of usability. One reviewer described it as being "weird just for the sake of being weird". I don't want to have to take my eyes off the road every time I want to adjust something, having to go through touch-screen menus is asking for trouble. And would it be too much trouble and expense to have 4 window buttons for the 4 windows instead of having to select a mode (front or rear) for the two buttons?
So my score is as follows.
Dealers: 10
Basic vehicle: 9.5
Interior quality: 3.5
Technology and controls: 4-5
It's a good solid vehicle with disappointing interior quality and many questionable design choices. I'm still deciding whether to purchase the one I have on order. I'll probably make up my mind when it gets here in early April.