Hi, I've been lurking for a couple weeks now to gather information in anticipation of my ID.4 FE showing up by end of March. Well the dealership had their demo arrive and so I scheduled a time to inspect and drive it today. I decided to go ahead and join to post my perspective as a Tesla Model 3 owner for two years now.
I reserved the first day it was available after the website reopened from the crash. I did it because it was only $100 and I really want to take advantage of the federal tax credit as I don't really need a new car. I'd rather spend that $7500 on a tangible item for my own use than give it to the fed! I reserved the Dusk Blue.
The Dusk Blue hue shifts around a lot as can be witnessed by the various photographs. Sometimes it looks like what you think dusk blue would look like and sometimes it looks like it has a purple element to it. When I saw it today I could definitely see the purple...but not all the time! It's a good color but not sure yet if it's meant for me due to that purple aspect.
The vehicle styling is very attractive in a contemporary VW sense. It will age well. The build quality is first rate as can be expected of VW. The doors open and close with a convincing vault-like thud. The electronic release exterior door handles are nice, much nicer than the awkward arrangement of the Model 3.
The interior styling is also attractive and contemporary. The materials are on par with the Model 3, maybe a touch lower on the plastics appearance. The seats are very comfortable (I am 6'-1"ish and built like a fullback) but I can see where some say there isn't enough bolstering. The Tesla seats are comfortable but the bolstering is a touch restrictive for me and the seats are quite firm whereas the ID.4 is softer. The massage function is pretty neat. Interior space is great with plenty of legroom and headroom for me in front. There was plenty of legroom in back for me but the top of my head was getting very close to the sunshade. Overall the size of the vehicle both exterior and interior hit the sweet spot. The glass roof is nice but a step down from Tesla as it is inset like a traditional pano sunroof rather than the complete glass roof panel. I am used to the Tesla and it is truly one of its best features IMO.
The infotainment had the newer version 0792 I think it is. I played around with it enough to see that it's not really a negative. Responsiveness was fine with minimal lag, maybe a touch slower than the Tesla UI. Graphics quality and resolution was fine except I found it odd that the car on-screen is gray when the actual car is blue! Tesla matches the car colors. Screen navigation to find stuff wasn't troublesome - it just takes some playing around with it to become familiar with the menu structures. I connected my phone with Carplay without any issue. The smaller instrument cluster screen is also nice although I couldn't get the view to change as I've seen on some reviews nor did I use the navigation to be able to get prompts on that screen. It had the driving visualization and speedometer on it the whole time. I wouldn't say it's better to have that second smaller screen versus one big center screen, just two different philosophies.
I now can concur with all the reviews to date about the driving experience. It really mimics the behavior of an ICE to a fault and I really think VW needs to offer sufficient customization to cater to the whims of multiple driver types. My main issue is the creep and lack of auto-hold. I've seen other people post that they though they saw the option to enable it but I didn't see it. What I saw was a function in the 'Brakes' sub-menu which is grayed out (can't remember how it was labeled) and then there is a 'Disable Now' button which requires you to have the car in neutral and your foot on the brake. But the function seems to relate to being able to roll the car while in neutral. At any rate, as other reviewers also noted, the power is above average when comparing to an ICE equivalent like a RAV4 or Rogue but not close to a Tesla and I have a "weak" model! It's a downgrade for me but should be great for anyone converting from a 4-cylinder ICE especially the torque. I will say that acceleration is a bit deceiving in that you get to speed faster than you think due to the effortless and quiet nature of an electric motor and to the isolation of the ID.4! ICE converts will like it. So coming from a Tesla, I am unsure if I can accept a power downgrade. The regen in 'B' mode is pretty strong but not as strong as the Model 3. I just wish it would continue decelerating the car until an auto hold could engage. There is some component of regen happening in 'D' as well as the car definitely slows by more than just coasting. I just don't really get the coasting importance. Urban driving is all about accelerating and decelerating. There are few opportunities to really coast and utilize momentum. Highway driving is all about cruise control so there is no coasting except for downhill but there I'd want regen to keep speed under control and gain back battery charge. VW just needs to implement driver selectable creep and auto hold like Tesla offers.
I was able to use Travel Assist for a few interstate miles. It seemed to work pretty well but I don't know enough about what it can and can't do to really judge. After making a lane change it didn't seem to want to re-engage but again I'm not familiar with it's capabilities nor how to properly control it from the steering buttons. Speaking of, the steering buttons work well enough with the haptic touch and feedback. It wasn't a negative experience by any means. The lack of rear window switches on the driver's armrest is odd and obviously requires another step but it doesn't really bother me.
Ok I think I need to wrap this up as it's getting long. In summary, solid vehicle and beats an ICE every day and twice on Sunday. I've got about a week to think before my FE shows up and may have to base my choice on faith that VW implements driver selectable creep and auto hold. I'm also wanting to test drive a Mach-E and a Model Y before making a final decision.
I reserved the first day it was available after the website reopened from the crash. I did it because it was only $100 and I really want to take advantage of the federal tax credit as I don't really need a new car. I'd rather spend that $7500 on a tangible item for my own use than give it to the fed! I reserved the Dusk Blue.
The Dusk Blue hue shifts around a lot as can be witnessed by the various photographs. Sometimes it looks like what you think dusk blue would look like and sometimes it looks like it has a purple element to it. When I saw it today I could definitely see the purple...but not all the time! It's a good color but not sure yet if it's meant for me due to that purple aspect.
The vehicle styling is very attractive in a contemporary VW sense. It will age well. The build quality is first rate as can be expected of VW. The doors open and close with a convincing vault-like thud. The electronic release exterior door handles are nice, much nicer than the awkward arrangement of the Model 3.
The interior styling is also attractive and contemporary. The materials are on par with the Model 3, maybe a touch lower on the plastics appearance. The seats are very comfortable (I am 6'-1"ish and built like a fullback) but I can see where some say there isn't enough bolstering. The Tesla seats are comfortable but the bolstering is a touch restrictive for me and the seats are quite firm whereas the ID.4 is softer. The massage function is pretty neat. Interior space is great with plenty of legroom and headroom for me in front. There was plenty of legroom in back for me but the top of my head was getting very close to the sunshade. Overall the size of the vehicle both exterior and interior hit the sweet spot. The glass roof is nice but a step down from Tesla as it is inset like a traditional pano sunroof rather than the complete glass roof panel. I am used to the Tesla and it is truly one of its best features IMO.
The infotainment had the newer version 0792 I think it is. I played around with it enough to see that it's not really a negative. Responsiveness was fine with minimal lag, maybe a touch slower than the Tesla UI. Graphics quality and resolution was fine except I found it odd that the car on-screen is gray when the actual car is blue! Tesla matches the car colors. Screen navigation to find stuff wasn't troublesome - it just takes some playing around with it to become familiar with the menu structures. I connected my phone with Carplay without any issue. The smaller instrument cluster screen is also nice although I couldn't get the view to change as I've seen on some reviews nor did I use the navigation to be able to get prompts on that screen. It had the driving visualization and speedometer on it the whole time. I wouldn't say it's better to have that second smaller screen versus one big center screen, just two different philosophies.
I now can concur with all the reviews to date about the driving experience. It really mimics the behavior of an ICE to a fault and I really think VW needs to offer sufficient customization to cater to the whims of multiple driver types. My main issue is the creep and lack of auto-hold. I've seen other people post that they though they saw the option to enable it but I didn't see it. What I saw was a function in the 'Brakes' sub-menu which is grayed out (can't remember how it was labeled) and then there is a 'Disable Now' button which requires you to have the car in neutral and your foot on the brake. But the function seems to relate to being able to roll the car while in neutral. At any rate, as other reviewers also noted, the power is above average when comparing to an ICE equivalent like a RAV4 or Rogue but not close to a Tesla and I have a "weak" model! It's a downgrade for me but should be great for anyone converting from a 4-cylinder ICE especially the torque. I will say that acceleration is a bit deceiving in that you get to speed faster than you think due to the effortless and quiet nature of an electric motor and to the isolation of the ID.4! ICE converts will like it. So coming from a Tesla, I am unsure if I can accept a power downgrade. The regen in 'B' mode is pretty strong but not as strong as the Model 3. I just wish it would continue decelerating the car until an auto hold could engage. There is some component of regen happening in 'D' as well as the car definitely slows by more than just coasting. I just don't really get the coasting importance. Urban driving is all about accelerating and decelerating. There are few opportunities to really coast and utilize momentum. Highway driving is all about cruise control so there is no coasting except for downhill but there I'd want regen to keep speed under control and gain back battery charge. VW just needs to implement driver selectable creep and auto hold like Tesla offers.
I was able to use Travel Assist for a few interstate miles. It seemed to work pretty well but I don't know enough about what it can and can't do to really judge. After making a lane change it didn't seem to want to re-engage but again I'm not familiar with it's capabilities nor how to properly control it from the steering buttons. Speaking of, the steering buttons work well enough with the haptic touch and feedback. It wasn't a negative experience by any means. The lack of rear window switches on the driver's armrest is odd and obviously requires another step but it doesn't really bother me.
Ok I think I need to wrap this up as it's getting long. In summary, solid vehicle and beats an ICE every day and twice on Sunday. I've got about a week to think before my FE shows up and may have to base my choice on faith that VW implements driver selectable creep and auto hold. I'm also wanting to test drive a Mach-E and a Model Y before making a final decision.
