[VADriver]

I was one of those "on the fence and upset about the price increase" reservation holders until last weekend, when we happened by the lot right as someone backed out of their '22 Blue Pro S (exact order we'd made originally back last March), and they cut the lease cost by $7500. So we signed and drove home, one week ago today.

Here are my impressions, lessons learned and fun tips after a week. A little background, I'm coming from a '13 Subaru Outback, and we test drove the Model Y, Kia EV6, and Polestar 3.

1. I love this car. I was upset 8 days ago and almost let my reservation go to opt for a Model Y (before test driving one, which we did just before happening back by the VW lot). Man, am I glad I didn't make that impulse decision out of anger. Yes, VW corporate still sucks for raising the price on reservation holders, but the universe smiled on us to get this specific car so, well, yeah.
2. Acceleration and handling are fantastic coming from my Outback. Yes, this is probably just an EV thing but this car has not let me down and I love driving it. Have driven it in the rain, highway, and city/town. I have the RWD and it is plenty of power for me. I live in the mid-Atlantic area in the US, so we get almost no snow anymore. Haven't tried those conditions yet so cannot comment on them. Suspension is a little tight but totally smooth and comfortable to me.
3. I love the styling and touches in the cabin. The lighting, the stitching, the materials, all seem superior to the other cars we drove. The trunk area is fine and fits my hockey goalie bag just fine (in case there are any other goalies out there considering this car, lol). I personally don't really care that it doesn't have a frunk, there's plenty of room in the rest of the vehicle.
4. I love the headlights and that they move with the steering wheel. I know this is one more thing to go wrong somewhere down the line, but it is super cool now!
5. My family loves it, especially our kids (7 and 10). Seriously, they can't get enough of driving around in this car. Plenty of room in the back, love the reading lights and the glass roof, etc.
6. I have no problems with the infotainment system. The menu seems fine, I'm coming from using Android Auto and it is laid out pretty simply. No glitches, got my wife and I set up as separate users and have our seat/mirror adjustments saved and such. Honestly I like it WAY better than the Tesla. We got lost in the Tesla menu system just trying to find the climate controls and window controls. Both are super easy with the ID.4 (and thankfully the mirrors are controlled by a physical knob).
7. Strange things
   1. The lack of backlighting for the panel ac/heat controls is definitely a strange oversight, but at least it HAS these quick access buttons (Model Y doesn't), and you can just quick access the full menu via the screen, so whatever. Not a big deal at all to me. The % of time that I'll be trying to use those to change the heat/ac while driving in the dark is so minimal, I really don't care.
   2. It doesn't show your tire PSI, it just says if your tire pressure is okay or not. That's weird, right? Not exactly new tech. Unless I'm missing a setting somewhere (totally possible). Doesn't really matter I guess, but just seems like a strange thing to exclude.
8. Lessons learned / tips
   1. This is dorky, but Rain-X the roof glass - it is really fun to watch rain bead and run.
   2. The steering wheel controls are both hard press and swipe controlled. I love swiping to change volume/cruise/display settings. Took me like 5 days to realize that, lol.
   3. The level 1 charger that came with it (remember, I got a '22), has served me fine. I've got an EA station about 7 miles from my house, so I'm trying to find a balance. I know using CSS/DC fast charging isn't great for the battery long-run, so maybe one partial charge a week to supplement. I was freaking out at first not having a level 2 installed in our home yet, but I'm getting more relaxed with this now. Still may get one, but if we can save the $1300 cost, hey...
   4. Make space in your garage for the car. I was charging it outside the garage for a few days but it was stressing me out leaving the cord/charger outside overnight. We live in a nice neighborhood but there are dumb a-holes everywhere in the world, and I don't want one messing up my charger handle.
   5. Don't freak out if you charge overnight and then can't get the charger to release after stopping the charge on the dash (or it finishing on its own). Using the remote, lock then unlock your car, and it should release. I almost panicked when I couldn't get it to release the first time!
   6. The built-in navigation sorta sucks, has old restaurants on it, and is super bright at night (doesn't have a dark mode that I can find). BUT, it does have a super cool Knight Rider-esque dash function to tell you to turn, so I'll use it during the day just for fun. Otherwise I just use Waze through Android Auto, which by the way does integrate visually into the small dash display.

We're using it for a short-ish road trip next weekend (~200 miles each way), so I'm looking forward to that and using all the tips I've learned on this forum to date.

So, my 2 cents is that if you're still on the fence, this is a great car and especially with the lease discount, the best EV value on the road for quality vs price.

 

[Dougie01]

I would break the 200 mile trip into two 100 mile legs.

 

[Manybees]

It doesn't show your tire PSI, it just says if your tire pressure is okay or not. That's weird, right? Not exactly new tech. Unless I'm missing a setting somewhere (totally possible). Doesn't really matter I guess, but just seems like a strange thing to exclude.

Thanks for writing this. Great points! The TPMS is a different design that uses the ABS and won't report PSI, so you're not missing anything. It works fine and will report when a tire falls a certain percentage below the baseline threshold you set when pressing the Reset button on the tire pressure screen.

I am about a year into owning a 2021 with the older software, and I pretty much agree with you on every point. I still enjoy driving the car every day and am amazed how fun driving it is--even with the older 2021 sofware version that's less functional (I haven't experienced any of the glitchiness in 2.1 that others have reported, by the way.) I'll have to try your Rain-X tip on the glass roof!

It's a very drivable and comfortable car overall, especially for someone coming from ICE-land. I think sometimes that VW somehow doesn't realize what they have on their hands, and how close to true greatness they really are. The sad thing is that nearly all of the mistakes they're making are from a customer experience perspective. For the buying and servicing experience, they seem intent on just going about "business as usual" from pre-EV days. And they're still suffering from supply-chain issues for parts, which doesn't help matters on the servicing side.

Imo, they are definitely being weighed down by the legacy ICE dealership sales and service model, which needs to be revamped and rebuilt from the ground up if they have any hope to succeed on the scale they want to. But that doesn't take away from the fact that the car itself is fabulous as a car.

 

[Atlant]

It doesn't show your tire PSI, it just says if your tire pressure is okay or not. That's weird, right? Not exactly new tech. Unless I'm missing a setting somewhere (totally possible). Doesn't really matter I guess, but just seems like a strange thing to exclude.

The car doesn't have Tire Pressure Monitoring Sensors. Instead, it compares the wheel rotation rates among the four tires and if one tire is markedly different, it infers that that tire is over- or under-inflated.

But it can't tell the actual pressure in any of your tires.

Some people like this system (because there are no TPMS modules to wear out) and other people dislike this system (because, for example, if it gets cold and all four tires need air, the system won't tell you this).

 

[PANZERidIV]

I would break the 200 mile trip into two 100 mile legs.

I think that is just range anxiety creeping in. Depending on the conditions making 300 miles is much more likely than not making 200 miles on a single charge. Speed kills! Remember that and know you are driving a very large “lead” weight. Someone hitting you from behind is likely going to spin at a 45 degree angle and go airborne in the opposite direction. 😇

 

[Forestlight]

I was one of those "on the fence and upset about the price increase" reservation holders until last weekend, when we happened by the lot right as someone backed out of their '22 Blue Pro S (exact order we'd made originally back last March), and they cut the lease cost by $7500. So we signed and drove home, one week ago today.

Here are my impressions, lessons learned and fun tips after a week. A little background, I'm coming from a '13 Subaru Outback, and we test drove the Model Y, Kia EV6, and Polestar 3.

1. I love this car. I was upset 8 days ago and almost let my reservation go to opt for a Model Y (before test driving one, which we did just before happening back by the VW lot). Man, am I glad I didn't make that impulse decision out of anger. Yes, VW corporate still sucks for raising the price on reservation holders, but the universe smiled on us to get this specific car so, well, yeah.
2. Acceleration and handling are fantastic coming from my Outback. Yes, this is probably just an EV thing but this car has not let me down and I love driving it. Have driven it in the rain, highway, and city/town. I have the RWD and it is plenty of power for me. I live in the mid-Atlantic area in the US, so we get almost no snow anymore. Haven't tried those conditions yet so cannot comment on them. Suspension is a little tight but totally smooth and comfortable to me.
3. I love the styling and touches in the cabin. The lighting, the stitching, the materials, all seem superior to the other cars we drove. The trunk area is fine and fits my hockey goalie bag just fine (in case there are any other goalies out there considering this car, lol). I personally don't really care that it doesn't have a frunk, there's plenty of room in the rest of the vehicle.
4. I love the headlights and that they move with the steering wheel. I know this is one more thing to go wrong somewhere down the line, but it is super cool now!
5. My family loves it, especially our kids (7 and 10). Seriously, they can't get enough of driving around in this car. Plenty of room in the back, love the reading lights and the glass roof, etc.
6. I have no problems with the infotainment system. The menu seems fine, I'm coming from using Android Auto and it is laid out pretty simply. No glitches, got my wife and I set up as separate users and have our seat/mirror adjustments saved and such. Honestly I like it WAY better than the Tesla. We got lost in the Tesla menu system just trying to find the climate controls and window controls. Both are super easy with the ID.4 (and thankfully the mirrors are controlled by a physical knob).
7. Strange things
   1. The lack of backlighting for the panel ac/heat controls is definitely a strange oversight, but at least it HAS these quick access buttons (Model Y doesn't), and you can just quick access the full menu via the screen, so whatever. Not a big deal at all to me. The % of time that I'll be trying to use those to change the heat/ac while driving in the dark is so minimal, I really don't care.
   2. It doesn't show your tire PSI, it just says if your tire pressure is okay or not. That's weird, right? Not exactly new tech. Unless I'm missing a setting somewhere (totally possible). Doesn't really matter I guess, but just seems like a strange thing to exclude.
8. Lessons learned / tips
   1. This is dorky, but Rain-X the roof glass - it is really fun to watch rain bead and run.
   2. The steering wheel controls are both hard press and swipe controlled. I love swiping to change volume/cruise/display settings. Took me like 5 days to realize that, lol.
   3. The level 1 charger that came with it (remember, I got a '22), has served me fine. I've got an EA station about 7 miles from my house, so I'm trying to find a balance. I know using CSS/DC fast charging isn't great for the battery long-run, so maybe one partial charge a week to supplement. I was freaking out at first not having a level 2 installed in our home yet, but I'm getting more relaxed with this now. Still may get one, but if we can save the $1300 cost, hey...
   4. Make space in your garage for the car. I was charging it outside the garage for a few days but it was stressing me out leaving the cord/charger outside overnight. We live in a nice neighborhood but there are dumb a-holes everywhere in the world, and I don't want one messing up my charger handle.
   5. Don't freak out if you charge overnight and then can't get the charger to release after stopping the charge on the dash (or it finishing on its own). Using the remote, lock then unlock your car, and it should release. I almost panicked when I couldn't get it to release the first time!
   6. The built-in navigation sorta sucks, has old restaurants on it, and is super bright at night (doesn't have a dark mode that I can find). BUT, it does have a super cool Knight Rider-esque dash function to tell you to turn, so I'll use it during the day just for fun. Otherwise I just use Waze through Android Auto, which by the way does integrate visually into the small dash display.

We're using it for a short-ish road trip next weekend (~200 miles each way), so I'm looking forward to that and using all the tips I've learned on this forum to date.

So, my 2 cents is that if you're still on the fence, this is a great car and especially with the lease discount, the best EV value on the road for quality vs price.

Congrats on the new car!!!! I have the same year and trim, and I absolutely agree it is so pleasurable to drive.
And I agree with @Manybees that VW has a gem on their hands but could use some innovative thinking to get it out there.

Enjoy!!!!!!!!

 

[GreyID4]

doesn't have a dark mode that I can find

It does.
It's too cold to go to the car now for me.
I will upload the instruction tomorrow if you don't find it.

 

[AlanF]

Agree with your comments. I’ve had my 2023 ID.4 AWD Pro S for a month now & love it. Completed a 451 mile each way trip last week and it rode beautifully. Also have done several 150+ work round trips. Haven’t encountered any problems with EA stations. Have used 5 different locations in PA & NJ. All connected & worked fine. Just lower than expected charge rates. My son has had a Tesla for 2+ years - nice car, but I think the ID.4 is a better overall vehicle. Plus I get the $7,500 tax credit and he didn’t!

Finally, I recommend a home level 2 charger. I did a diy install of the EA HomeStation 40A unit. Went in smoothly and works well & as advertised. I really like have home & DCFC in the same app. Keeps & displays a nice history of all my charges.
Plus there is a 30% tax credit on the its cost too!

 

[VADriver]

It does.
It's too cold to go to the car now for me.
I will upload the instruction tomorrow if you don't find it.

Thanks! Now that I knew it was an option I was able to find it, it is in the little hamburger menu vs the settings once in the navigation

 

[Manybees]

Thanks! Now that I knew it was an option I was able to find it, it is in the little hamburger menu vs the settings once in the navigation

I think you can also get dark/light mode via the pull-down menu on the main screen: pull down that little white line in the top center of the screen, then swipe left to get to the brightness screen (I think that's right — doing this from memory, so I'm not a hundred percent on that).

 

[LHNinME]

Plus there is a 30% tax credit on the its cost too!

I was going to say this and you beat me to it!

If you can install a Level 2 charge where you live--whether just a plug or a full EVSE setup--I think it is worth every penny. We put in a ChargePoint+ back in March and it is so easy and convenient to have, I wouldn't go another way. I realize that for renters, people living in condos and apartments this may not be feasible but just adding my 2 cents.

 

[Manybees]

And I agree with @Manybees that VW has a gem on their hands but could use some innovative thinking to get it out there.

The customer experience problems are solvable (they've been solved by other companies), but VW is a huge, slow-to-change company that has rarely had to deal directly with customers in the past. Their main customer touchpoints in the past have been via dealerships or via outsourced third-parties like Bosch for things like Car-Net/myVW.

I agree that they desperately need some innovative thinking to change entirely the way they think about how they interact with customers in every step of the process. VW knows how to design and build vehicles, no doubt in my mind, but as it exists today, their whole dealership sales/service model in the U.S. that mixes EVs and ICE vehicles is a real liability, imo.

Maybe they need to go more along the route that Ford is trying to go and split out ICE and EV lines. VW dealerships, being independent businesses with their own set of incentivized behaviors, can't be trusted to do the right thing for customers with EV sales and service because the incentives for doing what needs to be done to do it right don't seem to be there when service centers and service techs are all centered mainly around doing ICE service.

 

[Adrian23]

Well to be honest I think the built in nav if I am not mistaken does have dark mode plus it has the ability to add charging locations which is nice. Honestly I found myself using the built in nav more on my last road trip then actual Apple Maps. It is much more detailed when it comes to traffic and turns atleast that’s the way it work out for me and my wife on our trip. As other have mentioned get a home charger installed here is my setup. Congrats on the car!

 

[VW TECHNICIAN]

The car doesn't have Tire Pressure Monitoring Sensors. Instead, it compares the wheel rotation rates among the four tires and if one tire is markedly different, it infers that that tire is over- or under-inflated.

But it can't tell the actual pressure in any of your tires.

Some people like this system (because there are no TPMS modules to wear out) and other people dislike this system (because, for example, if it gets cold and all four tires need air, the system won't tell you this).

This was Toyota invention but back in Time there was just no electronics fast enough to use tires rotation for alarming driver about possible tire issue.

 

[bovp2000_2213]

Could you share the lease details? I am thinking of doing the same.

 

[GreyID4]

Could you share the lease details? I am thinking of doing the same.

I know you are not asking me, but I was told that interest rate is 8% for lease. It was too high for me.

 

[Geo]

I think that is just range anxiety creeping in. Depending on the conditions making 300 miles is much more likely than not making 200 miles on a single charge.

On a freeway (70mph) road trip, a 2022 will never get 300 miles. Starting at 100% in good conditions, it could get 200 miles with about 10-15% charge left. Personally, I'd identify a charger in the last half of the drive, just to have a backup.

 

[Nocedit]

1. 1. The level 1 charger that came with it (remember, I got a '22), has served me fine. I've got an EA station about 7 miles from my house, so I'm trying to find a balance. I know using CSS/DC fast charging isn't great for the battery long-run, so maybe one partial charge a week to supplement. I was freaking out at first not having a level 2 installed in our home yet, but I'm getting more relaxed with this now. Still may get one, but if we can save the $1300 cost, hey...

Yeah, i originally planned to charge once a week at an Electrify America charging station that I literally drive by 4 weekdays a week at 4:30pm and 8:30pm... and another time i'm right next to it on saturday at 9am and 1pm. Thought... out of those 10 visits a week. surely I'll find 1 time to charge. Literally ALWAYS without fail one is broken and the other 2 are in use.

We can get by charging level 1 at home... but i was trying to save some money and make use of free charging once a week. But it got old fast waiting 20-30 minutes for one to free up and another 30 minutes to charge. Makes the old weekly gas station trips feel convenient by comparison.

We now plan to get a level 2 charger soon... that way we can feel comfortable letting the battery run low-ish and not stressing if the Electrify America station is full. Now I can't risk letting it run low.. if the EV charger stations are full.. I can't charge quick enough with Level 1 unless I charge it daily. Atleast with level 2 if the Electrify station is full and I'm low on battery.. when I get home i can get a full charge in one night. Right now whenever the station is empty I always have like 60-70% charge already so it's kinda a pointless to stop for $5-$10 in savings over charging at home maybe. (My time is worth more than $10 bucks an hour).

The lack of Electrify America stations is truly terrible. And I've already noticed them being WAY busier with more EV buyers this year than last. We don't plan on road tripping in the ID.4, just a daily commuter car, so the EA free charging perk is really not one for us.

Now that I'm done crapping on the EA network. I agree on all our positives on the car. The lack of backlighting on the AC control buttons was annoying for the first week. But once you know where everything is.. and what it does.. it's all muscle memory. Love sliding my finger across the steering wheel volume controls to lower and raise volume. LOVE LOVE LOVE how bright the interior is with the Lunar Grey Seats which goes so well with the Metallic Dusk Blue exterior. I smile everytime the lights pop on as I approach the car at night and the interior glows. I have a dark black leather car and I'm totally converted to the lighter interior look now. Just feels pleasant and less gloomy.

I also am very happy with the captain armrests and love having the power folding mirrors on the Pro S model with the 2022.

My biggest issue is software. The backup camera sometimes doesn't come on or flickers off. The door locks sometimes lock me in briefly. And the dreaded lack of auto-lock when I walk away from the car keyfob in pocket. Add that feature and fix some of the software gremlins and I'll be very happy.

Then give us some goodies that Tesla has... like Pet Mode, Phone key, Netflix streaming, an app store... you know 21st century car stuff.

 

[Nocedit]

On a freeway (70mph) road trip, a 2022 will never get 300 miles. Starting at 100% in good conditions, it could get 200 miles with about 10-15% charge left. Personally, I'd identify a charger in the last half of the drive, just to have a backup.

Depends if you are cruising with stop and go traffic down the 405 South in Los Angeles... you could get over 300 miles one way... it's a lot of downhill though. I find downhill driving really helps with range. Now getting the return trip back up the North 405.. different story. I'm always amazed how little mileage I use on the south 405 stretch from the valley to the LAX airport.

 

[PANZERidIV]

On a freeway (70mph) road trip, a 2022 will never get 300 miles. Starting at 100% in good conditions, it could get 200 miles with about 10-15% charge left. Personally, I'd identify a charger in the last half of the drive, just to have a backup.

So you can only drive 70 mph? Some people on here say you can’t drive less than 85 mph safely. I am not afraid to drive slower so my mileage doesn’t suck. YMMV