The Volkswagen ID.4 and ID.5 receive welcome updates

Faced with disappointing sales, Volkswagen reacts by equipping its two SUVs with a new, much more powerful engine.

No time to lose: effective immediately, Volkswagen introduces and opens for order the updates of its SUV ID.4 and ID.5. The commercial arguments are quite compelling, notably highlighting prices kept level (to be confirmed in practice…) and a significantly increased power.

Indeed, the rear-wheel-drive versions gain a 60 kW more powerful motor, that is 80 horsepower. In reality, it’s the same 210 kW (286 hp) unit recently introduced on the Audi Q4 e-tron. But the real interest probably lies elsewhere: the torque value jumps by 75% to go from 310 to 545 Nm! An incredible leap in such a short period.

At the same time, range increases by about 17 kilometers (up to 550 km) thanks to better battery energy management, which remains unchanged at 77 kWh net capacity compared to the previous version. No updates for the 52 kWh small battery versions… For the ID.5 (Coupé version), the range gain is 11 km. Charging finally increases from 110 to 115 kW for the “small batteries,” to 135 kW (so so) for the 77 kWh version, while all-wheel-drive versions benefit from 175 kW.

Inside, the human-machine interface now features a new central screen of 32.8 cm diagonal with updated and faster software. One of the major complaints expressed so far about Volkswagen’s electric models compared to the benchmark Tesla.

The 4MOTION all-wheel-drive version now delivers the same power as the so-called “rear-wheel drive” version, despite a smaller gain of only 15 kW (21 hp) compared to the original version.

In France, the ID.4 starts at 44,000 euros before a 5,000 euro eco-bonus with the small 52 kWh battery, then 51,900 euros (not eligible for the bonus) with the larger battery.

In short, these updates are always welcomed since the promise is to keep prices unchanged, but the Tesla Model Y still holds a significant lead.

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