VW ID 7 initial pre-production reviews
Discussion
Sounds interesting - I'm watching the estate version as if my Q4 still hasn't turned up by the end of the year (ordered Jan 2022 currently expected Oct this year), then I might look into swapping.
It's bloomin big by the sounds of it same size as E-Class estate that I have now give or take a few mm but with way more interior space I suspect.
https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-review/volkswagen/id...
https://www.carmagazine.co.uk/car-reviews/volkswag...
https://insideevs.com/reviews/660753/2025-volkswag...
The new motor sounds intriguing with a useful power jump, I wonder if this will make its way into other MEB cars too. Could well be looking at 500+ hp ID7 GTX / R with 4WD - hmmm.
It's bloomin big by the sounds of it same size as E-Class estate that I have now give or take a few mm but with way more interior space I suspect.
https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-review/volkswagen/id...
https://www.carmagazine.co.uk/car-reviews/volkswag...
https://insideevs.com/reviews/660753/2025-volkswag...
The new motor sounds intriguing with a useful power jump, I wonder if this will make its way into other MEB cars too. Could well be looking at 500+ hp ID7 GTX / R with 4WD - hmmm.
Edited by plfrench on Wednesday 5th April 12:36
CheesecakeRunner said:
DonkeyApple said:
It's interesting that VW see a market for this type of car in the U.K. with a VW badge on it opposed to Audi or Porsche?
Company car/salary sacrifice replacement for the Passat. Especially if it returns the kind of range they’re suggesting it will.
Surely that's too large a price to sell many in the U.K.? I assume the Passat will remain on sale alongside though?
DonkeyApple said:
CheesecakeRunner said:
DonkeyApple said:
It's interesting that VW see a market for this type of car in the U.K. with a VW badge on it opposed to Audi or Porsche?
Company car/salary sacrifice replacement for the Passat. Especially if it returns the kind of range they’re suggesting it will.
Surely that's too large a price to sell many in the U.K.? I assume the Passat will remain on sale alongside though?
DonkeyApple said:
That's what confuses me. The Passat starts at £20k which seems about right for the badge. You can obviously ratchet that price up swiftly but the ID7 according to the first link above starts at £50k for the one with the bigger battery?
Surely that's too large a price to sell many in the U.K.? I assume the Passat will remain on sale alongside though?
But as a Co-car or sacrifice car the list piece has less bearing. Especially when BIK on a diesel one adds a substantial amount to the monthly cost. Surely that's too large a price to sell many in the U.K.? I assume the Passat will remain on sale alongside though?
Also factor in company fleets being forced to move to EV to lower an organisation’s CO2 level. A VW badge looks much more palatable at most levels of an organisation than an Audi or Porsche one.
DonkeyApple said:
That's what confuses me. The Passat starts at £20k which seems about right for the badge. You can obviously ratchet that price up swiftly but the ID7 according to the first link above starts at £50k for the one with the bigger battery?
Surely that's too large a price to sell many in the U.K.? I assume the Passat will remain on sale alongside though?
I thought it was quite cheap considering the rest of the market. Obviously you would have to be certifiably insane to buy one at that price, but that applies to pretty much every car on sale today and people do seem to be buying them.Surely that's too large a price to sell many in the U.K.? I assume the Passat will remain on sale alongside though?
paulrockliffe said:
I thought it was quite cheap considering the rest of the market. Obviously you would have to be certifiably insane to buy one at that price, but that applies to pretty much every car on sale today and people do seem to be buying them.
I think it's fair to say people are leasing them but that when it comes to buying them the public are setting much lower prices? But either way, it'll be interesting to see if the VW badge can command those prices in a market where at that level the VW brand is clearly starting to be shunned for others?DonkeyApple said:
That's what confuses me. The Passat starts at £20k which seems about right for the badge. You can obviously ratchet that price up swiftly but the ID7 according to the first link above starts at £50k for the one with the bigger battery?
Surely that's too large a price to sell many in the U.K.? I assume the Passat will remain on sale alongside though?
Was that a typo DA? £20k for a Passat! Flip it round and £50k for an ID7 compares favourably to an E220d or E200 estate. Very similar external size, probably far more roomy inside and certainly way, way better performance and refinement plus better handling too.Surely that's too large a price to sell many in the U.K.? I assume the Passat will remain on sale alongside though?
To get closer to the base ID7 in terms of real world performance, you'd need to be a E400d level and they're starting at £68k and even then you're still stuck with the compromise of a multi-ratio gearbox and an ICE engine with limited powerband.
In that context, the ID7 would be a bit of a steal if it's £50k ball park - I know what I'd rather have
plfrench said:
Was that a typo DA? £20k for a Passat! Flip it round and £50k for an ID7 compares favourably to an E220d or E200 estate. Very similar external size, probably far more roomy inside and certainly way, way better performance and refinement plus better handling too.
To get closer to the base ID7 in terms of real world performance, you'd need to be a E400d level and they're starting at £68k and even then you're still stuck with the compromise of a multi-ratio gearbox and an ICE engine with limited powerband.
In that context, the ID7 would be a bit of a steal if it's £50k ball park - I know what I'd rather have
I googled where the Passat started and it gave me the £20s. However, the gist of my point is that in the U.K. people generally stopping wanting a vw badge below £50k and start favouring more prestigious branding. Especially when it comes to barge sized objects. To get closer to the base ID7 in terms of real world performance, you'd need to be a E400d level and they're starting at £68k and even then you're still stuck with the compromise of a multi-ratio gearbox and an ICE engine with limited powerband.
In that context, the ID7 would be a bit of a steal if it's £50k ball park - I know what I'd rather have
Probably the last time the Passat sold in any numbers worth talking about, it cost about £20k. I can’t even picture what the latest one looks like if it’s even still for sale. It’s a strange car to take to the land of EVs, if that’s the idea. If the idea is to create a cheap-ish S class, I think they tried that before also with very moderate success.
DMZ said:
Probably the last time the Passat sold in any numbers worth talking about, it cost about £20k. I can’t even picture what the latest one looks like if it’s even still for sale. It’s a strange car to take to the land of EVs, if that’s the idea. If the idea is to create a cheap-ish S class, I think they tried that before also with very moderate success.
I think the Arteon is the glamorous big car from VW? It's quite a nice looking thing but I've only ever seen a couple and certainly in my experience people in the U.K. just buy BMW, Merc or Audi if they want a reasonable expensive car. To sell big or expensive cars VW traditionally change the badge on the front of the product to one of their other brands.
I think the last time they tried to sell a big car to compete against the established, perceived superior brands it was the Phaeton? And that appeared to fail specifically because it had the wrong badge on it as much as anything.
DonkeyApple said:
I think the Arteon is the glamorous big car from VW? It's quite a nice looking thing but I've only ever seen a couple and certainly in my experience people in the U.K. just buy BMW, Merc or Audi if they want a reasonable expensive car.
To sell big or expensive cars VW traditionally change the badge on the front of the product to one of their other brands.
I think the last time they tried to sell a big car to compete against the established, perceived superior brands it was the Phaeton? And that appeared to fail specifically because it had the wrong badge on it as much as anything.
EV has changed things though? Kia/Hyundai are now selling a decent amount of cars in the £50k bracket, which would have been unheard of a couple of years ago.To sell big or expensive cars VW traditionally change the badge on the front of the product to one of their other brands.
I think the last time they tried to sell a big car to compete against the established, perceived superior brands it was the Phaeton? And that appeared to fail specifically because it had the wrong badge on it as much as anything.
The ID7 is the size of an EQE, and the spec (battery, range, performance) is a close match. The EQE 300 starts at £75k, and the likelihood is that the BMW i5 will be similarly expensive.
The Phaeton was pitched aganist the the A8, 7 series and S Class and was ludicrously expensive for a VW product at the time, a far more considerable leap than the ID7.
Yes, EV drivetrains enable somewhat of a reset. The ID7 estate will join a very small range of EV estates on the market and will look like fair value when compared to old school ICE options of equivalence in every way apart from badge.
I think with people being so concerned about range with EVs the aerodynamic benefits of an estate over a SUV will mean this is quite an appealing package.
It's occupying Insignia / Mondeo /Passat estate space in a market undergoing a reset - could do pretty well in my opinion.
I think with people being so concerned about range with EVs the aerodynamic benefits of an estate over a SUV will mean this is quite an appealing package.
It's occupying Insignia / Mondeo /Passat estate space in a market undergoing a reset - could do pretty well in my opinion.
SWoll said:
EV has changed things though? Kia/Hyundai are now selling a decent amount of cars in the £50k bracket, which would have been unheard of a couple of years ago.
The ID7 is the size of an EQE, and the spec (battery, range, performance) is a close match. The EQE 300 starts at £75k, and the likelihood is that the BMW i5 will be similarly expensive.
The Phaeton was pitched aganist the the A8, 7 series and S Class and was ludicrously expensive for a VW product at the time, a far more considerable leap than the ID7.
True but the Korean stuff is all crossover stuff, it's middle class/income school and shopping run market with a topping of final salary pension action. The ID7 is the size of an EQE, and the spec (battery, range, performance) is a close match. The EQE 300 starts at £75k, and the likelihood is that the BMW i5 will be similarly expensive.
The Phaeton was pitched aganist the the A8, 7 series and S Class and was ludicrously expensive for a VW product at the time, a far more considerable leap than the ID7.
The ID7 is a big saloon type object for thrusting, male identifying, titans of industry. It's the macho wagon for smashing down the highway and closing that big deal before heading to the airport and taking the charter to some imaginary destination before waking up to find oneself yet again on the driveway of a new build with next to no garden. You can't be a thrusting champion and wooer of femmes in a VW or a saloon shaped thing really. You have to step up and get a Merc but then you look like a minicab driver so after looking at old Range Rovers or Porsches one settle on a big Audi.
The U.K. is unbelievably brand conscious and when it comes to the big, executive saloon does the VW badge cut it? The Korean companies all make big executive saloons that sell very well in key markets but in the U.K. they just sell stuff to peoples' mothers via really good warranties and in sizes easy to park at the shops and just looks nice enough. They also make some big SUVs but they don't tend to bother with either for the U.K. market.
Even if the look at the most successful Western EV brand it's not like they've set the U.K. market alight with their big saloon or big SUV despite smashing it with their mid sized car.
I just think big saloons are very niche in the U.K. and with a particular clientele that almost certainly doesn't want to be associated with a VW badge as their choice of road chariot.
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