What a week, it had been driving the 2021 VW ID First Edition. Volkswagen has done a superb job with this dedicated electrified effort. I’ve driven the e-golf and the experience with the e-golf is vastly different. The ID4 is a premium crossover SUV. If I was in the market for buying one The ID4, the upcoming Audi Q4 e Tron, and the Tesla Model Y will be the three vehicles on my list.
The design is very clean with sharp lines and smooth curves. I love the interior, it’s a mix of black touches with white accents. It also features a panoramic roof which is a great feature. I’ve had a chance to speak with a software engineer, all the way in Munich who is involved in Volkswagen’s strategy of building their own software from the ground up. They’ve done a great job. Voice commands are going to grow as they build out their AI. We talked about that during my interview. What you see here is Volkswagen’s serious effort to be a leader in electric mobility. There are more kinks to be worked out but the system inside the ID 4 is intuitive. You could adjust the ambient lighting and create different moods. It has App-Connect so you have Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
I was also able to play my son Paradise using Android auto. You also have great driver-assist systems. I like the different features of the climate zone. It is a vastly superior effort. The ID4 first edition is on a rear-wheel-drive platform. The all-wheel-drive models with an additional motor come with 300 horsepower. The ID First Edition has an 82-kilowatt battery. I’ve been able to charge and gain beyond the EPA-rated 250-mile range.
I was able to charge up to 300 miles using Volkswagen’s dedicated Electrify America’s fast-charging network. A little bit about the Electrifying America fast-charging network.
I was able to use it in two locations, the Columbia Maryland location, and the Washington DC location.
For these locations, they had partnered with Walmart. It was pretty seamless using the account that I was given by Volkswagen media. Both locations have a lot of things going on so you could charge and go shopping, or get something to eat. They’re pretty dense areas with a lot of activity. There’s a lot of other things you could do to kill your time. I also had a chance to drive my family in the ID4 to the wedding of my cousin who married her partner in an exceptional ceremony.
It was a melding of cultures, it was love, it was acceptance and my son was literally the life of the party. Charging the ID 4 in Chesapeake Beach proved slightly difficult.
This brings to mind the issues of charging infrastructure. Ultimately it wasn’t really an issue. There was enough range in the ID for the first edition to be able to travel to more urban areas. I can’t rave enough about this. I look forward to seeing other models like the ID3 which we don’t get here in America. There’s a rumor of an ID 5 which should be a Sportback version. The first edition ID4 is assembled in Mosel, Germany.
Future models for America will be made in Tennessee. The base price on the ID 4 first edition is $43,995 with the destination it comes out to $45,190. You’ll be lucky to find the First Edition but there are many Pro’s and Pro S’s that are available on the market with similar features. For more information visit vw.com.