ID2all design for everyone
With the ID2all concept, Volkswagen recently introduced a new, calmer drawing style for the electric ID models. The ID7 presented afterwards, however, is still very similar in design to the ID models we already know, such as the ID3 and ID4. That raises questions, but questions are there to be answered.
The Volkswagen ID2all, presented in March, delivered a sigh of relief in the Netherlands that we could almost hear in the editorial office. With this car, Volkswagen not only shows a harbinger of the relatively affordable EV that many people have been waiting for so long, but also immediately shows that it is looking for a different way in terms of ergonomics and design.
That is welcome, because the electric ID models in particular do not get everyone’s hands together in those areas. The cars are perhaps a bit too forced futuristic, which does not suit the once sober Volkswagen. The highly digitized interior of an ID3 or ID4 looks a bit bare and does not come close to the Volkswagens of yesteryear in terms of ease of use. With a quieter, more subdued design, physical control buttons for climate control, four separate window buttons and real buttons on the steering wheel, the ID2 harbinger seems to do a lot of things differently, and therefore better.
Combination after one generation
But then came the ID7. The latest production car in the ID range is an ‘ID model’ in everything, in the style of the ID3, ID4, ID5 and ID Buzz. How about that? Volkswagen’s Head of Product Planning Henrik Muth is not afraid to shine a light on the future of the electric ID models. “If you look at the life course of the soon to be introduced Passat and this ID7, you can imagine that those models have to be replaced at about the same time,” he says somewhat cryptically to AutoWeek. When that time comes, there seems to be one new (electric) model as a replacement. That car then combines traditional Volkswagen properties with some elements of the ID series, because an ID2all-like mix should result. The same logically also applies to other models, such as the ID3/Golf combination and perhaps even the ID4 and Tiguan.
Although we won’t hear it from Muth, it is of course also true that the ID7 was already in development when Volkswagen decided to take a different path in certain areas. Just like the facelifted ID3, the new electric top model therefore still has the (too) touch-sensitive ‘buttons’ on the steering wheel, although the ID7 does have an illuminated ‘slider’ under a renewed and larger infotainment screen.
Always a light bar
Now that it’s about the appearance of the ID7, it might be nice for the enthusiast to mention that the top model of the ID series always has a continuous light bar in the front. That is quite special, because with the rest of the range this is reserved for versions with the optional IQ Light lighting. The lighting also comes in two flavors with the ID7, but they both offer the wide ‘daytime running light stripe’. The rear light also lights up as a continuous unit, interrupted only by the logo. That logo will also light up at some point, but not yet. After expanding the rules in that area, the renewed Touareg will bite the bullet, after which other Volkswagens will undoubtedly also be provided with an illuminated brand logo.
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– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl