General Information
So, the crazy car market moved us to trade in my wife's 2019 Beetle convertible with 24k miles. We bought her Beetle new for $22.5k exactly 2 years ago. We were given $30k in trade value by VW Autobarn who really wanted it, even with damage showing on Carfax. Hard to pass that offer up...
That led us to test drive a couple VW ID.4s, and we found one she liked. Basically, it's a RWD electric with around 250 to 260 miles of range and comes with 3 years of free charging at Electrify America stations, one of which is near where the wife works. It can go from 5% to 80% range in 38 minutes at any of those stations. We'll be adding in a Level 2 Charger at our home soon enough, but can manage with Level 1 slow charging on a regular outlet until then along with the free public charging. My neighbor and her brother are both electricians and can literally hook us up.
If it were me, I would have perhaps ordered the dual motor version for better performance, but that's about 6 to 8 months out if we ordered today, apparently. Not sure we'd get a similar crazy offer for her Beetle next May either. So that was a factor in buying right now.
The Pro S is RWD and has a reasonable-for-the-wife 0 to 60 of about 7.5 seconds. Not a rocket ship, of course. Low center of gravity and weight bias in the rear make it handle well for a crossover, and it should be acceptable in the winter. The Mach E was appealing to me also, but she liked the ID.4 best. We leased, and VW applies the $7500 federal tax credit to the deal. Ford pockets that tax credit if leased. That sways the money numbers heavily in favor of the VW.
The touchscreen controls for most everything get mostly negative feedback in all the reviews. But they are becoming easier to use after a few hours with it. My wife is absolutely smitten with how upscale the interior and exterior is, along with the way it drives and the enormous skylight. I better get rewarded often for this...
Enthusiasts should look elsewhere, or at least wait for the AWD Dual Motor version. But I'm looking forward to seeing how it goes living with an all electric with acceptable range and comfortable driving dynamics and how it works out for an alternative family vehicle. At least I've got the Stinger, Svartpilen and Firehawk to have some fun with if this thing ends up being far too bland. But that'll still probably suit the wife just fine since she cares more about the styling and non-performance aspects of a vehicle.
I'll be learning more about it over the next few days and get some daytime pics soon.
That led us to test drive a couple VW ID.4s, and we found one she liked. Basically, it's a RWD electric with around 250 to 260 miles of range and comes with 3 years of free charging at Electrify America stations, one of which is near where the wife works. It can go from 5% to 80% range in 38 minutes at any of those stations. We'll be adding in a Level 2 Charger at our home soon enough, but can manage with Level 1 slow charging on a regular outlet until then along with the free public charging. My neighbor and her brother are both electricians and can literally hook us up.
If it were me, I would have perhaps ordered the dual motor version for better performance, but that's about 6 to 8 months out if we ordered today, apparently. Not sure we'd get a similar crazy offer for her Beetle next May either. So that was a factor in buying right now.
The Pro S is RWD and has a reasonable-for-the-wife 0 to 60 of about 7.5 seconds. Not a rocket ship, of course. Low center of gravity and weight bias in the rear make it handle well for a crossover, and it should be acceptable in the winter. The Mach E was appealing to me also, but she liked the ID.4 best. We leased, and VW applies the $7500 federal tax credit to the deal. Ford pockets that tax credit if leased. That sways the money numbers heavily in favor of the VW.
The touchscreen controls for most everything get mostly negative feedback in all the reviews. But they are becoming easier to use after a few hours with it. My wife is absolutely smitten with how upscale the interior and exterior is, along with the way it drives and the enormous skylight. I better get rewarded often for this...
Enthusiasts should look elsewhere, or at least wait for the AWD Dual Motor version. But I'm looking forward to seeing how it goes living with an all electric with acceptable range and comfortable driving dynamics and how it works out for an alternative family vehicle. At least I've got the Stinger, Svartpilen and Firehawk to have some fun with if this thing ends up being far too bland. But that'll still probably suit the wife just fine since she cares more about the styling and non-performance aspects of a vehicle.
I'll be learning more about it over the next few days and get some daytime pics soon.
