Volkswagen was the first modern foreign automaker to build cars in America. Its assembly plant in Westmoreland, Pennsylvania, opened in 1978 and produced the Rabbit, Golf and Jetta models until it closed in 1988 due to increasing competition and a shift toward larger vehicles.
When the Passat sedan was launched in 2011, just as SUVs and trucks were taking over the market, the company again tried to build one of those models at a new plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee. In 2017, the company put things right by switching production to the Atlas SUV, which was designed specifically for the U.S. and is now the company’s best-seller.
However, since the factory’s capacity is far from exhausted, Atlas has invited one of its European cousins to join it.
The ID.4 electric compact SUV launched in 2021 as an import from Germany, before the government’s electric vehicle tax credit program was changed to require North American production. The tempting price of $7,500 per sale was too tempting, so VW began production of the ID.4 here for the 2024 model year to stay competitive with vehicles like the Ford Mustang Mach-E and Tesla Model Y.
It too has received some updates, although the design is not one of them. Its soft, understated lines provide a stark contrast to the bolder designs of its competitors, such as the Hyundai Ioniq 5.
Pricing before credit starts at $41,660 for an entry-level rear-wheel-drive model with 201 horsepower and 206 miles of range. You’ll have to pay $46,300 for the Pro trim, which has 282 horsepower and a larger battery that can go 291 miles between charges. $3,880 gets you an all-wheel-drive system with 335 horsepower and 261 miles of range.
The range of the small battery seems to be exceeded today, but the Pro models are just right in terms of price and performance. I would happily forego the four-wheel drive to get the longer range if snow wasn’t a problem.
The Pro gets some interior updates, including a welcome redesign of the control layout of its touchscreen infotainment system and a new gear knob that moves from the instrument cluster down to the steering wheel column.
One oddity is the window switches in the driver’s door. There are only two that control all four windows. A “rear” button in front of that switches the control from front to back, and holding it down and pressing a window switch opens all four at once. This baffling design decision has been a talking point about the ID.4 since day one. Perhaps VW likes the attention.
The interior remains largely the same, which is a good thing. It’s as spacious as the Passat, with enough legroom for 6-foot-tall passengers in all seats. The cargo area has a handy compartment under the floor where you can store the charging cable. An overnight charge at home from a 240-volt outlet takes about eight hours, while at a fast-charging station you’ll need 30 minutes to charge the battery from 10 percent to 80 percent.
You’ll enjoy the drives between stops. The ride is quiet and smooth, and if it lost quality on the way to America, I didn’t notice it. The car feels the same as the last German version I tested. Performance is more than adequate, but the ID.4 isn’t a sports car, it’s just there. That’s not a bad thing. Cars don’t have to be fun, but this one can be entertaining in a different way.
While driving, many functions can be controlled via voice commands, including the air conditioning and sunshades for the panoramic glass roof, which is available on the high-end S-trim models. An adaptive cruise control with lane centering called Travel Assist helps with driving, but requires a hand on the steering wheel to operate it. That’s not the case with everything the ID.4 does, however.
Like many other vehicles, it has a parking assistant that takes over steering during parallel or perpendicular parking while the driver accelerates and brakes. But the S models go a step further.
They have a memory parking feature that allows you to program a route up to 50 meters long with five turns, which the car will save and then drive off on its own when you arrive at the starting point and activate the feature. Imagine driving up a driveway and around the back of your house into a garage. This time the car controls the accelerator and brakes and drives along at a staggering 3 km/h. It’s fascinating and not particularly useful at the same time.
Fortunately, the rest of the ID.4 is like that.
