LAS VEGAS – Volkswagen is again preparing to expand its range of ID-branded EVs. The next addition to the family is a battery-powered sedan called ID.7 due to arrive in the United States in 2024, with sales in Europe theoretically starting at the end of this year (although we were told there’s a good chance it’ll get pushed back into early 2024).
While the nameplate is new, the idea of a roughly Passat-sized electric sedan isn’t. Volkswagen gave us an early taste of the ID.7 when it unveiled a sleek design study named ID.Aero in June 2022. Now here at CES in Las Vegas, the production shape can be seen, albeit under some very fancy camouflage. Indeed, rather than the usual vinyl wrap, the car features an electroluminescent, 40-layer paint job. The car’s silhouette is similar to the concept and showcases a car that is about 194 inches long with a very long wheelbase, which should grant it sizeable interior space. It’s quite obviously a hatchback along the lines of the Arteon.
Unlike that car, however, the ID.7 will has rear-wheel drive as standard since it rides on the same modular MEB platform as the ID.4 and the ID.Buzz, among other EVs. Volkswagen says this will be the 6th ID family member globally. Full technical details weren’t shared here in Vegas, but VW did say it’ll have an estimated 700 kilometer (434 mile) range on Europe’s more generous WLTP test cycle. That should still likely put it in the 300-mile range in the United State, which is testament to having a more slippery sedan/hatchback shape than the ID.4. VW says its drag co-efficient will be in the .23 or .24 range.
From the driver’s perspective, the ID.7 stands out from other ID-badged EVs in several key ways. The digital instrument cluster is notably embedded into the dashboard rather than installed on the steering column, and Volkswagen pledged to offer a long list of tech features such as a reworked infotainment system displayed on a 15-inch touchscreen and, crucially, with reworked menu tiles and other updates. The touch-sensitive climate and volume controls will mercifully be illuminated as well, unlike in the ID.4 and GTI, but unfortunately, VW is going with touchscreen-operated air vents. An augmented-reality head-up display joins the in-car tech updates along with the climate control system automatically kicking on when it detects the driver approaching.
After basking under the lights at CES, Volkswagen’s ID.7 will make its debut without the psychedelic camouflage in the second quarter of 2023. It will be sold in the United States, China, and Europe — unverified reports claim that the new sedan will replace the Arteon in Volkswagen’s American range. Pricing hasn’t been announced yet, and there’s no word on where the America-bound model will be built.
James Riswick contributed to this report
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