The most positive ID4 review I've seen.

Kyle continues to rave about the ID.4:
24:10 "Volkswagen has just totally killed it with this car. It is the perfect car for almost anyone".

FinleyFinn said:

Kyle continues to rave about the ID.4:
24:10 "Volkswagen has just totally killed it with this car. It is the perfect car for almost anyone".

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Kyle certainly knows EVs. He recently did a cross country run in a Porshe Taycan, just bought (or something) a Mach-e and has put something like 60k miles road tripping in a Model 3. He understands the EV fast charging world as well as anyone I've seen.

I've seen pretty much every review on the ID.4 out there. I enjoy the OOS reviews because they so enthusiastically confirm my own biases toward the ID.4. Whether the ID.4 is technically the best option for me or not, it's the car I want so it's nice to feel excited and gungho for such a big purchase. Reviews like this pump me up ☺.

He isn’t an unbiased reviewer.

EVW said:

He isn’t an unbiased reviewer.

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I'm not sure what you mean by that. He is an extremely experienced reviewer having owned a wide range of EVs and driven just about everything else.

There is no such thing as an unbiased reviewer or person. Being a Tesla owner and having driven a number of other EVs, he believes the ID4 is praiseworthy,

I'm almost 100% sure he is not being compensated by VW in any way to review the car, so I am not sure what type of bias you would care about here. Is being enthusiastic about VW's offering to the EV market a bias that disqualifies his opinion when compared to cranky reviewers that just quote 0-60 times?

Most of the reviews I've seen/read have been very enthusiastic. Early reviews complained about the software -which has been fixed. Now all they complain about is the lack of one-pedal driving. Several reviewers are standing up to the acceleration complaints -it's not supposed to be a race car. Everyone has their biases. I'm driving one in 90 min. We'll see which of mine come out.

I test drove ID.4 recently and really liked the comfort and the ride. I don't care about FRUNK (which many raised stink about) - it is odd to open bonnet to put something in. Nor do I care about acceleration. The interior space is good for a compact and seats are comfortable. The only complaint I have is that the interior is a bit plasticky and doesn't look very elegant (other than the immediate space around the white steering wheel which is good). Overall 8/10 and it is a buy.

YowVil said:

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I enjoyed both video's. On the ID.4 vs the E-Mustang by Alex, he did a nice comparison but I think most of the advantages he gave to the E-Mustang can and will be fixed with a simple software upgrade.

OutofSpecKyle said:

Ha! You wouldn't believe the number of people that think I'm compensated for reviewing VW, Tesla, Porsche, Nissan, etc etc. I'd definitely be driving a Taycan if that was the case! Thanks for sharing the review, it's a great car and happy to answer any questions based on my time with the car.

Things I'd like to see:
kW charging rate in HMI
Better route planning through chargers
ESP Off switch
One pedal driving (or at least auto hold)
Better brake pedal feel
Faster mobile app connectivity and response
Plug and Charge that works (coming)

Most everything else is seriously stellar! Our little team here was left super impressed with this car.

Thanks!
Kyle

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Welcome Kyle and thanks for all of the great videos! Very informative and fair I think. No car is perfect and in this class no car is a dog either. And at the price point the ID.4 seems hard to beat. Thanks again!

OutofSpecKyle said:

Ha! You wouldn't believe the number of people that think I'm compensated for reviewing VW, Tesla, Porsche, Nissan, etc etc. I'd definitely be driving a Taycan if that was the case! Thanks for sharing the review, it's a great car and happy to answer any questions based on my time with the car.

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Thank you very much, Kyle. Your reviews always make me feel good, no matter what you are reviewing.

I do have one question about the glass roof. Do you or can you tell if it UV and/or IR coated. It seems to let in a lot of light compared to what I've seen of Tesla, Mach-e, and Polestar.

FredT said:

Thank you very much, Kyle. Your reviews always make me feel good, no matter what you are reviewing.

I do have one question about the glass roof. Do you or can you tell if it UV and/or IR coated. It seems to let in a lot of light compared to what I've seen of Tesla, Mach-e, and Polestar.

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Thanks for watching! Hard to say really - Actually just bought some sensors for this but they didn't arrive in time to test ID.4 - I'd say it's not tinted as much as Model Y but it's also not straight glass either. It's something that I'd probably use the shade from time to time, especially if I'm bringing the dogs in the car on a hot day, but really nice to have that automatic shade option. Mustang Mach-E for example isn't tinted enough, probably same as ID.4, but there's no shade option in that car, which got annoying on a recent road trip.

Kyle

Kyle. Good to see you join the discussion and thank you for the thoughtful reviews.
Can you comment on the "adaptive regen" feature that is mentioned in some of the ID.4 reviews in Europe? The feature apparently uses map data to automatically adjust regen levels in D mode.

FinleyFinn said:

Kyle. Good to see you join the discussion and thank you for the thoughtful reviews.
Can you comment on the "adaptive regen" feature that is mentioned in some of the ID.4 reviews in Europe? The feature apparently uses map data to automatically adjust regen levels in D mode.

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It's also in the US press release - here's the exact text "Each ID.4 features predictive Eco Assistance as standard. It analyzes data from the navigation system and vehicle sensors to provide drivers with effective support in driving efficiently and in a relaxed way. Once the ID.4 approaches a low-speed area, such as towns and cities, junctions and bends, Eco Assistance notifies drivers to take their foot off the accelerator pedal. From this moment on, the system manages optimum coasting and energy recovery without drivers having to intervene. The car responds similarly when it approaches a vehicle ahead that is travelling at a lower speed."

I wanted to try this but honestly couldn't find any option or notice any difference in regen characteristics based off of surrounding vehicles. I will ask some VW engineers I'm seeing in a week or so about it.

Kyle

OutofSpecKyle said:

Ha! You wouldn't believe the number of people that think I'm compensated for reviewing VW, Tesla, Porsche, Nissan, etc etc. I'd definitely be driving a Taycan if that was the case! Thanks for sharing the review, it's a great car and happy to answer any questions based on my time with the car.

Things I'd like to see:
kW charging rate in HMI
Better route planning through chargers
ESP Off switch
One pedal driving (or at least auto hold)
Better brake pedal feel
Faster mobile app connectivity and response
Plug and Charge that works (coming)

Most everything else is seriously stellar! Our little team here was left super impressed with this car.

Thanks!
Kyle

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Hey Kyle, thanks for joining the chat! I really enjoy your videos and they get me excited for when I receive my own.

It looked like you were driving the ID.4 in slick conditions, but did you take it out at all in the heavy snow y'all got recently? I am curious how the RWD handled snow. I have a Pro RWD reserved, but I live in an upper midwest city, so some iffy commute days in the winter will be a given. I figured I would slap some snow tires on for the winter months and call it a day.

Welcome, Kyle. I've enjoyed your reviews as well. Just did my first drive today and I concur with you that the ID.4 is a great car. I didn't notice anything odd about the brake feel. What was it that you didn't like?

OutofSpecKyle said:

Ha! You wouldn't believe the number of people that think I'm compensated for reviewing VW, Tesla, Porsche, Nissan, etc etc. I'd definitely be driving a Taycan if that was the case! Thanks for sharing the review, it's a great car and happy to answer any questions based on my time with the car.

Things I'd like to see:
kW charging rate in HMI
Better route planning through chargers
ESP Off switch
One pedal driving (or at least auto hold)
Better brake pedal feel
Faster mobile app connectivity and response
Plug and Charge that works (coming)

Most everything else is seriously stellar! Our little team here was left super impressed with this car.

Thanks!
Kyle

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Welcome Kyle! I just watched your city/canyon/highway driving video and was quite impressed. That was the best presentation of the "IQ Drive" system that I have seen, and really answered my questions about it. I share your concern about Auto Hold, and hope it's true that VW will add that in an OTA update this summer. At least, that's what a VW rep told me after I Asked on my test drive, and he made a phone call. Perhaps you could bring it up with the VW engineers you talk with?

I also wonder whether switching into 'Sport' mode will do enough to tone down the traction control. When I take our Leaf to our cabin near the coast, I often have to turn traction control off to get out the final steep dirt road, which can get pretty slippery when it's rainy (which is most of the time!). I am looking forward to our car, but if it's likely to get stuck there I shouldn't get it even if everything else is great.

Thank you again for your detailed and thoughtful reviews!