VW ID Life already feels like a serious city EV – Report

The Volkswagen ID Life is more than just a finger exercise by the design team around VW chief designer Jozef Kabaň, that is clear. The manufacturer has no time at all for funny experiments, time is running out. The combustion engine is getting more and more difficult. Especially in the compact segment, where the financial aspect plays a major role. The bottom line is that the Volkswagen Polo and the T-Cross will have an electric successor, at the latest when the Euro 7 emission standard is introduced in 2025. The complex exhaust gas cleaning that would be necessary to meet that emission standard would make these models extremely expensive. And that while the growing production numbers of electric cars mean that prices are falling and batteries are becoming more affordable. Volkswagen’s platform strategy also makes an important contribution to reducing costs. Thus, the brand dares to state that in 2025 there will be a small city EV in the showroom for an amount of around €20,000.

If it were up to us, that model should be allowed to look and drive like the ID Life. The multimillion-dollar study model not only looks production-ready, it also drives surprisingly well for a car that is largely hand-assembled. It is true that he has to throw in the towel at a speed slightly above 30 km/h, but that is only a safety measure. He could drive faster without any problem.

Surprises

Under the skin hides technology that is already reasonably in line with that of the final production model. It is, as it were, the basic variant of what they call ‘Modularer Elektrobaukasten’ at Volkswagen, in this case, however, with front-wheel drive and a power of 234 hp.

The first surprise: the fact that the steering wheel seems to come from an airplane rather than a car is not noticeable at all when driving. You can control the Life with it without any problems. The second surprise: an instrument panel, a central display, levers on the steering column and mirrors conspicuously absent. Strangely enough, you don’t miss those attributes at all. The role of the instruments is taken over by the head-up display, cameras replace the mirrors, the steering wheel has a few touch buttons (including for the turn signals) and your smartphone serves as an infotainment system, with your phone magnetically attached to the center console. stuck. An app recognizes the engine starting and then switches to a driving menu.

Everything is thought out and works intuitively. This car is more than a means of transport. With the push of a button in the app, the ID Life turns into a real cinema. The ‘white cloth’ slides up in front of the windscreen, you can lay the front seats flat and the backrest of the rear seat can also be made flatter. That is another good way to make waiting at the charging station more pleasant. Perhaps this car cinema can convince even budding youngsters who now drive a dressy Golf or 3 series to switch to an EV. The ID Life is cool enough for it. In addition, they can connect their PlayStation in the VW without any problems.

Not flawless

The roof is not yet completely flawless. Just like the hood, air chamber foil (made from recycled PET bottles) is used here, which is provided with zippers. That sounds simple, but opening the prototype is not very smooth. However, if that’s the only part that still needs work, then we’re confident that this car can grow into a rock-solid production model. It is compact yet spacious. Add to that an acceptable range, the use of sustainable materials and the sympathetic design, and we can say that this Volkswagen could do well if the competitive pricing is actually achieved. Not all smart and funny features will make it to the production stage, but the basics are good.