Give me a five: Volkswagen ID.5
The Volkswagen brand initially dipped its toes into electric car production with some traditional models retrofitted with batteries (such as the e-Golf and e-Up). However, in recent years, they’ve introduced purpose-built electric models that were designed from the ground up.
One such model is the Volkswagen ID.5, which shares its design with the ID.4, but it has a more dynamic and athletic appearance - as much as we can talk about athleticism in the case of an SUV weighing more than two tons.
The ID.5 is built on the MBE platform, which is part of the Volkswagen Group’s modular electric vehicle architecture. Depending on the market, the ID.5 is available in several variants, the ID.5 GTX stands out as the most powerful and sporty version.
The GTX branding has a rich history, Volkswagen already used it in the 1980s, and it’s interesting to see it making a comeback in Volkswagen’s electric vehicle lineup. The designation GTX was meant to better differentiate the most powerful, sporty models from the others, and this abbreviation emphasized the relationship to the GTI models. GTX models were equipped with lowered body, sports seats, multifunction display, red decorative stripes on the bumpers and side moldings, large front spoilers, and rear spoilers. All GTX models had fender flares made of black plastic on the wheel arches and black decorative foils on the sills.
The ID.5 as a car is very good. The interior design is really high-quality, the dashboard and seat sewn with red thread add a lot to the atmosphere, perhaps the designers could have used less piano black. There's just enough space in the car, cabin and luggage compartment. One of my favorite topics is starting the car; with Volkswagen, there’s no need to use a separate "ignition" button, just put it in gear and go – that’s how it works. The chassis is great, the steering is good, so everything is as expected until you start using the infotainment system.
The much-criticized system initially seemed promising: smartphone mirroring worked smoothly, and Apple CarPlay was instantly usable. However, from then on, I can’t say much good about the system: it stutters, is slow, and feels like a struggle to use, which is unworthy of Volkswagen. After starting the car, it takes a long time for the system to fully initialize, and even when it’s operational, it still stutters and freezes. I checked, and the system was running the latest software, but unfortunately, it’s still not up to par. In this regard, the car needs significant improvement because most competitors are far ahead.
As for the car’s consumption, it’s roughly what I expected: 16 kWh/100 km in the city, 18 kWh/100 km on highways, and 22 kWh/100 km on the motorway. To its credit, the car doesn’t try to deceive with the WLTP-rated 533 km range. With a full charge, it confidently predicts a 360 km range, which it can achieve.
Charging is interesting for Volkswagen Group’s MEB platform-based cars: there’s no need (nor is it possible) to fuss with preheating the battery. The 77 kWh (net) battery pack can be charged at a maximum of 135 kW. Charging speed drops below 100 kW at around 70% charge and further decreases to about 60 kW at 80% charge - not bad, especially considering that the ID.5 (ID.4) isn’t a brand-new model, and today’s cars can do even better.
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I recommend this car to those who want a straightforward, quality interior, normal-sized “sporty” SUV and can live with the limitations of the infotainment system and average charging speed. In these areas, the car will likely improve through software updates, and then the ID.5 will truly become a great electric car.
Next up for testing is a true all-rounder, the KIA Nero EV.
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Sources of images, graphs and charts: [1] Volkswagen AG
Disclaimer: opinions expressed are solely my own and do not express the views or opinions of my employer and are not supported by any OEMs.