[KatEV]

Took a test drive of an ID4 (about 45 minutes drive time) at a local dealership where I have a ID4 Pro RWD on order. Providing a different perspective for those on this forum who may be like me who has been reading and enjoying the posts for the past several months. I’m a 50-yr-old mom of older teenagers coming from two ICE cars: a Toyota minivan and Corolla. I am the opposite of a car enthusiast—I just want a car to be safe, comfortable, and take me from point A to B. But I have become quite obsessed with EVs now that we have solar panels. And I am particular about things, so these are my priorities:

• Ability to haul stuff back and forth to college (ID4 not as much room as our minivan, but still plenty of cargo area)
• Power in the car has to be enough to quickly get up to speed on the highway, overtake when passing, and use for an emergency situation (PLENTY of power in the ID4 for these needs)
• Comfortable seats (and decent range) for long drives to visit family (ID4 seats are VERY comfortable and supportive—I think range will be sufficient once charging gets more widespread)

General Things I Noticed:

• I played a lot with Hello ID voice control and was pleasantly surprised at how well it worked after seeing a lot of failures on earlier videos. I told it I was too warm and it lowered the temperature on the driver’s side. My 17-year-old in the passenger seat said, “Hello ID, my butt’s hot” and oddly it not only understood that he wanted his seat warmer turned down/off, but it knew it was the passenger side. That was kind of impressive. Although we tried to use the navigation to get us back to the dealership, it took us to an open field, so there’s that. May have been user error…
• I fiddle with temperature and fan speed all the time in cars. The temperature slider is super easy to use, but to control the fan speed you have to go into the infotainment screen to adjust it, which isn't great. However, I was happy to discover that Hello ID voice control works to control the fan speed.
• No lagging in infotainment system—car had the new update.
• Nice to have the shortcut buttons below the infotainment screen for climate, etc.
• Brakes take a little getting used to because of the regen with softer touch and pushing harder to actually engage brakes. They definitely feel a little squishy because of the design.
• Liked the flashing yellow light in the side mirrors that warned of nearby cars/blindspot.

Things I Was Worried About:

• Not being able to see the screen on a sunny day. It wasn’t a problem except for when too many fingerprints showed up when the sun angle was just right. You could still read the screen even then.
• Being annoyed by the doors opening with just a sensor instead of having a handle that moves. But it was perfectly fine.

Not a Fan of:

• Haptic steering wheel buttons. Felt like I had to push harder than I do for Toyota steering wheel buttons. But I’d get used to it I guess.
• Biggest complaint: The poor design idea of only having two driver side toggles for controlling the windows. Annoying to have to press a smooth surface that lights up rather than an actual button to control the rear windows because it forces you to take your eyes off the road to see if you found the right spot to press and made it light up. And strangely I found the window toggle a little uncomfortable to put the window back up because it has a sharper edge. And you can’t control windows through Hello ID—maybe for safety reasons?

My dealer said dealerships that have at least a minimum of 10 ID4s on order got to take the extensive multihour training to become VW EV specialist, so not all dealerships have an EV specialist yet because they may have few or no preorders yet. Maybe that is why some sales people aren’t as informed yet. Ours were great. The EV specialist was very excited about the ID4. He was also younger.

 

[FredT]

Took a test drive of an ID4 (about 45 minutes drive time) at a local dealership where I have a ID4 Pro RWD on order. Providing a different perspective for those on this forum who may be like me who has been reading and enjoying the posts for the past several months. I’m a 50-yr-old mom of older teenagers coming from two ICE cars: a Toyota minivan and Corolla. I am the opposite of a car enthusiast—I just want a car to be safe, comfortable, and take me from point A to B. But I have become quite obsessed with EVs now that we have solar panels. And I am particular about things, so these are my priorities:

• Ability to haul stuff back and forth to college (ID4 not as much room as our minivan, but still plenty of cargo area)
• Power in the car has to be enough to quickly get up to speed on the highway, overtake when passing, and use for an emergency situation (PLENTY of power in the ID4 for these needs)
• Comfortable seats (and decent range) for long drives to visit family (ID4 seats are VERY comfortable and supportive—I think range will be sufficient once charging gets more widespread)

General Things I Noticed:

• I played a lot with Hello ID voice control and was pleasantly surprised at how well it worked after seeing a lot of failures on earlier videos. I told it I was too warm and it lowered the temperature on the driver’s side. My 17-year-old in the passenger seat said, “Hello ID, my butt’s hot” and oddly it not only understood that he wanted his seat warmer turned down/off, but it knew it was the passenger side. That was kind of impressive. Although we tried to use the navigation to get us back to the dealership, it took us to an open field, so there’s that. May have been user error…
• I fiddle with temperature and fan speed all the time in cars. The temperature slider is super easy to use, but to control the fan speed you have to go into the infotainment screen to adjust it, which isn't great. However, I was happy to discover that Hello ID voice control works to control the fan speed.
• No lagging in infotainment system—car had the new update.
• Nice to have the shortcut buttons below the infotainment screen for climate, etc.
• Brakes take a little getting used to because of the regen with softer touch and pushing harder to actually engage brakes. They definitely feel a little squishy because of the design.
• Liked the flashing yellow light in the side mirrors that warned of nearby cars/blindspot.

Things I Was Worried About:

• Not being able to see the screen on a sunny day. It wasn’t a problem except for when too many fingerprints showed up when the sun angle was just right. You could still read the screen even then.
• Being annoyed by the doors opening with just a sensor instead of having a handle that moves. But it was perfectly fine.

Not a Fan of:

• Haptic steering wheel buttons. Felt like I had to push harder than I do for Toyota steering wheel buttons. But I’d get used to it I guess.
• Biggest complaint: The poor design idea of only having two driver side toggles for controlling the windows. Annoying to have to press a smooth surface that lights up rather than an actual button to control the rear windows because it forces you to take your eyes off the road to see if you found the right spot to press and made it light up. And strangely I found the window toggle a little uncomfortable to put the window back up because it has a sharper edge. And you can’t control windows through Hello ID—maybe for safety reasons?

My dealer said dealerships that have at least a minimum of 10 ID4s on order got to take the extensive multihour training to become VW EV specialist, so not all dealerships have an EV specialist yet because they may have few or no preorders yet. Maybe that is why some sales people aren’t as informed yet. Ours were great. The EV specialist was very excited about the ID4. He was also younger.

Very nice review. Thank you for giving us a different perspective.

 

[egsell]

• Brakes take a little getting used to because of the regen with softer touch and pushing harder to actually engage brakes. They definitely feel a little squishy because of the design.

Thank you for your great review and observations. I feel that even though we all are coming from different perspectives but arriving at common observations is great data. On your observation about braking and squish, I didn't feel that on my drive, but I currently drive a Camry hybrid and wonder if I have adapted to "Regen Squish" (trademark @egsell). Incidentally my wife feels that Toyota in general has squishy brakes.

 

[KatEV]

On your observation about braking and squish, I didn't feel that on my drive, but I currently drive a Camry hybrid and wonder if I have adapted to "Regen Squish" (trademark @egsell). Incidentally my wife feels that Toyota in general has squishy brakes.

I think you may be right that maybe you've adapted to "Regen Squish." Although, honestly, I might not have even noticed the feel of the brakes if I hadn't read so many comments about the brake design/feel in my obsessive reading about the ID4!

 

[KlausK]

Took a test drive of an ID4 (about 45 minutes drive time) at a local dealership where I have a ID4 Pro RWD on order. Providing a different perspective for those on this forum who may be like me who has been reading and enjoying the posts for the past several months. I’m a 50-yr-old mom of older teenagers coming from two ICE cars: a Toyota minivan and Corolla. I am the opposite of a car enthusiast—I just want a car to be safe, comfortable, and take me from point A to B. But I have become quite obsessed with EVs now that we have solar panels. And I am particular about things, so these are my priorities:

• Ability to haul stuff back and forth to college (ID4 not as much room as our minivan, but still plenty of cargo area)
• Power in the car has to be enough to quickly get up to speed on the highway, overtake when passing, and use for an emergency situation (PLENTY of power in the ID4 for these needs)
• Comfortable seats (and decent range) for long drives to visit family (ID4 seats are VERY comfortable and supportive—I think range will be sufficient once charging gets more widespread)

General Things I Noticed:

• I played a lot with Hello ID voice control and was pleasantly surprised at how well it worked after seeing a lot of failures on earlier videos. I told it I was too warm and it lowered the temperature on the driver’s side. My 17-year-old in the passenger seat said, “Hello ID, my butt’s hot” and oddly it not only understood that he wanted his seat warmer turned down/off, but it knew it was the passenger side. That was kind of impressive. Although we tried to use the navigation to get us back to the dealership, it took us to an open field, so there’s that. May have been user error…
• I fiddle with temperature and fan speed all the time in cars. The temperature slider is super easy to use, but to control the fan speed you have to go into the infotainment screen to adjust it, which isn't great. However, I was happy to discover that Hello ID voice control works to control the fan speed.
• No lagging in infotainment system—car had the new update.
• Nice to have the shortcut buttons below the infotainment screen for climate, etc.
• Brakes take a little getting used to because of the regen with softer touch and pushing harder to actually engage brakes. They definitely feel a little squishy because of the design.
• Liked the flashing yellow light in the side mirrors that warned of nearby cars/blindspot.

Things I Was Worried About:

• Not being able to see the screen on a sunny day. It wasn’t a problem except for when too many fingerprints showed up when the sun angle was just right. You could still read the screen even then.
• Being annoyed by the doors opening with just a sensor instead of having a handle that moves. But it was perfectly fine.

Not a Fan of:

• Haptic steering wheel buttons. Felt like I had to push harder than I do for Toyota steering wheel buttons. But I’d get used to it I guess.
• Biggest complaint: The poor design idea of only having two driver side toggles for controlling the windows. Annoying to have to press a smooth surface that lights up rather than an actual button to control the rear windows because it forces you to take your eyes off the road to see if you found the right spot to press and made it light up. And strangely I found the window toggle a little uncomfortable to put the window back up because it has a sharper edge. And you can’t control windows through Hello ID—maybe for safety reasons?

My dealer said dealerships that have at least a minimum of 10 ID4s on order got to take the extensive multihour training to become VW EV specialist, so not all dealerships have an EV specialist yet because they may have few or no preorders yet. Maybe that is why some sales people aren’t as informed yet. Ours were great. The EV specialist was very excited about the ID4. He was also younger.

thank you for the great review - I am wondering, do you think you will buy it? Best, Klaus

 

[GrandpaJim]

We drove the demo First Edition at our local VW dealer yesterday. I agree with KatEV, that driving in B mode slows you down as soon as you take your foot of the throttle. Kind of like driving in second or third gear. If you plan wisely, you'll seldom use the brakes at all. And when we drove down a two-mile long hill at 65 mph, we gained three miles of recharge.

Very comfortable and predictable all around, but not as quiet as I expected on the highway - we registered about 90 db at 65 mph, about the same noise level as our big Ford Flex.

Then there's the spaceship sound....

 

[egsell]

We drove the demo First Edition at our local VW dealer yesterday. I agree with KatEV, that driving in B mode slows you down as soon as you take your foot of the throttle. Kind of like driving in second or third gear. If you plan wisely, you'll seldom use the brakes at all. And when we drove down a two-mile long hill at 65 mph, we gained three miles of recharge.

Very comfortable and predictable all around, but not as quiet as I expected on the highway - we registered about 90 db at 65 mph, about the same noise level as our big Ford Flex.

Then there's the spaceship sound....

On the topic of break wear with Regen. I have found with my hybrid in ~11 years of ownership that I have had to replace my brake pads once and that was in the past year and only 2 at that ATM. Now YMMV, but I do drive fairly normally and am not a brake stomper, unless necessary.

 

[KatEV]

thank you for the great review - I am wondering, do you think you will buy it? Best, Klaus

I am 95% sure we will lease or buy when it gets delivered in a couple months. Looking to replace our minivan and I have been waiting patiently for a larger EV to become available for college hauling and to also fit a bike in it or on it. This meets almost all of our needs.

 

[KatEV]

Then there's the spaceship sound....

Yes!! That is a bit odd, but I was happy that it wasn't as loud as I was expecting. Heard it most when I was backing out of the dealership with the windows open and parked cars next to me reflecting the sound back. But once I was driving at lower speeds, I didn't think it was too noticeable for the driver. As long as the pedestrians hear it, that's all that matters.

 

[Craig063]

Thanks for the review! It's always nice to get real world, practical perspectives. I have an appointment to test drive one tomorrow, so I'm excited!

 

[M.B]

There us a lot of complaining about the two window buttons. It actually happens to me a lot in my Subaru that I want to lower the front window but use the back window button instead. At least that couldn’t happen here (and probably was VW’s rationale).

 

[sparkyr]

There us a lot of complaining about the two window buttons. It actually happens to me a lot in my Subaru that I want to lower the front window but use the back window button instead. At least that couldn’t happen here (and probably was VW’s rationale).

I had that same thought. I often hit a rear button by accident in my GTI, then have to pull that button to close it before opening the front one I wanted. Fun in drive throughs.

 

[egsell]

I had that same thought. I often hit a rear button by accident in my GTI, then have to pull that button to close it before opening the front one I wanted. Fun in drive throughs.

To be the devils advocate. How often do you experience the suction effect when a window is open and need to open the opposite window to correct it? That would be a pain to fiddle through.

 

[BlueDH]

My Jetta hybrid has a different feel. In most cars you feel the stopping through the pressure on the brake pedal.
In my hybrid and my test drives, you feel the stopping through your body not the pedal. You will quickly adapt to the different feel. BUT, if you drive different cars frequently, then you'll have slight problem, that you might not apply enough brake pressure in the old car.
My Jetta hybrid is biased to coast when you take your foot off the gas, no braking no regeneration. Once you do apply the brakes the car starts regeneration then more braking as you apply more push on the pedal.
In my experience, you'll adapt to one pedal driving in ID4.
Your test drive experience, opinion and point of view is really welcome.
For college travel you could easily rent a small uHaul trailer (at least in a FE). Later models a trailer hitch might be a dealer added option.

 

[PerryC]

Do note, the ID.4 does NOT have one pedal braking. You have to hit the brake pedal at every stop. I've been using 1 pedal for years in my Chevy Bolt. With clever timing and/or throttle modulation, I come to a complete stop without hitting the brake. Ever. That is 1 pedal driving and I'm going to miss it in the ID.4.

However, there may be another reason to not have 1 pedal breaking: Brake pad rust. It is a known problem on Tesla vehicles that brake pads rust and bond to the calipers, necessitating complete brake replacement. In my Bolt, I never 1 pedal brake in the rain to dry out the pads. So, I think that is a worthy reason for the ID.4 braking/driving modes. So, while I'll miss 1 pedal breaking, I'll embrace it too.

 

[dfox]

Do note, the ID.4 does NOT have one pedal braking. You have to hit the brake pedal at every stop. I've been using 1 pedal for years in my Chevy Bolt. With clever timing and/or throttle modulation, I come to a complete stop without hitting the brake. Ever. That is 1 pedal driving and I'm going to miss it in the ID.4.

However, there may be another reason to not have 1 pedal breaking: Brake pad rust. It is a known problem on Tesla vehicles that brake pads rust and bond to the calipers, necessitating complete brake replacement. In my Bolt, I never 1 pedal brake in the rain to dry out the pads. So, I think that is a worthy reason for the ID.4 braking/driving modes. So, while I'll miss 1 pedal breaking, I'll embrace it too.

At least with the VW as I understand it, even using "D", you will have to stand on the brakes pretty hard to even use the friction brakes. Regen is used with the brake pedal until you brake hard. So that has nothing to do with brake rusting. You probably will want to do a hard stop now and then just to scrape the rust off the rotors.

 

[PerryC]

At least with the VW as I understand it, even using "D", you will have to stand on the brakes pretty hard to even use the friction brakes. Regen is used with the brake pedal until you brake hard. So that has nothing to do with brake rusting. You probably will want to do a hard stop now and then just to scrape the rust off the rotors.

🙄 Oops! I failed to mention that I drop into neutral for zero regen and stop.

 

[theboomr]

We drove the demo First Edition at our local VW dealer yesterday. I agree with KatEV, that driving in B mode slows you down as soon as you take your foot of the throttle. Kind of like driving in second or third gear. If you plan wisely, you'll seldom use the brakes at all. And when we drove down a two-mile long hill at 65 mph, we gained three miles of recharge.

Very comfortable and predictable all around, but not as quiet as I expected on the highway - we registered about 90 db at 65 mph, about the same noise level as our big Ford Flex.

Then there's the spaceship sound....

90 decibels seems extraordinarily loud compared to any other cars I've seen sound measurements from, and does not track at all with so many reviewers mentioning how quiet the ID.4 is. Like, just look at this chart from Bjørn.

 

[KatEV]

In my experience, you'll adapt to one pedal driving in ID4.
Your test drive experience, opinion and point of view is really welcome.
For college travel you could easily rent a small uHaul trailer (at least in a FE). Later models a trailer hitch might be a dealer added option.

There are a lot of things that I've decided I'll just have to get used to something new. It will be worth it. And yes, I have thought of actually just renting a car if needed for the two times a year I may need it for college hauling!

 

[Ma973]

I think you may be right that maybe you've adapted to "Regen Squish." Although, honestly, I might not have even noticed the feel of the brakes if I hadn't read so many comments about the brake design/feel in my obsessive reading about the ID4!

With "Regen Squish" being a relatively newly coined phrase 😁, I'm not sure if this is exactly what you're referring to, but in my Mach E I've noticed that I have to push the brakes a lot harder for a full stop then in my former Fusion Energi PHEV. I've only had the Mach E for 4 days, but I've already started accounting for it, so I'm sure it would be something you get used to.

I had to cancel my wife's ID4 reservation since some "life issues" came up, but we're still planning on getting one... Just about 8 months later then originally planned. I'm already having her drive the Mach E in whisper mode to get used to the different breaking in EVs so that she'll be good to go later this year when we (hopefully) get our ID4.