We took the wheel of Volkswagen’s ID.5 GTX, the German brand’s new 100% electric SUV. Displayed at a price of more than 59,000 euros, is this model really worth it or should we prefer the ID.4, even if it means putting a cross on the “coupé” side of the vehicle, or going to see the side competition ? Answer in our full essay.
With ID.5Volkswagen is launching its third ID-badged vehicle, but also and above all its first 100% electric “coupe” SUV. A logical choice at first, since this type of silhouette is on the rise. A rational choice, then, since the whole is based on the same MEB platform as that of the ID.4 (or even the Skoda Enyaq and the Audi Q4 Sportback), but with important technology updates. This GTX version is the high-end product offering. Presented as “sporty” by marketing, what can be the real claims of this SUV? We took the wheel on the roads of Provence.
Everything in the look
Built from the base of the ID.4, it is quite logical that the ID.5 is very close to it in terms of dimensions. With 4.60 meters in length, he is only two centimeters taller than his eldest. Even if the assembly has been reworked, the family resemblance is there and the large 20-inch wheels of our test model contribute to this mass effect that dominates when approaching the ID.5. The few flourishes specific to the GTX version – in particular the black roof or the specific shields – are not there either to lighten the style. The real difference with the ID.4 is of course this line of the roof which is refined, so “cut” way, instead of stretching horizontally, but not only. You also have to rely on a total height less than 3 centimeters (1.61 m) and, above all, a ground clearance lowered by 5 centimeters. It’s good for the Cx, and therefore for consumption and autonomy. That of the ID.5 is indeed slightly higher than that of the ID.4.
On the little more aesthetic side, we will notice the 3D effect LED rear lights which are standard on this GTX versionwhile they are charged by less than 2100 € in the design pack on the less expensive versions.
Habitability preserved
With such a silhouette, one could legitimately consider the interior as more cramped than that of the Volkswagen ID.4. It is not so. The space on board suffers nothing from the receding roofline. The volumes are still as pleasant, it is even in our opinion one of the strengths of the car. The generous wheelbase (2.77 metres) still offers plenty of legroom for rear passengers. Better, the trunk has a slightly larger volume, with 549 liters against 543 liters for the classic SUV, as long as you stay under the luggage cover. Because beyond that, it’s obviously the opposite: with its higher roof, the maximum total loading volume is more than 200 liters higher on the ID.4 (1,775 l. against 1,561 l.).
On the presentation side, regulars of ID models will immediately find their marks, since Volkswagen is renewing its dashboard structured arounda central 12-inch screen installed in landscape mode. Behind the steering wheel and attached to the steering column, the minimalist instrumentation on a 5.3-inch screen is also carried over, even if it incorporates new information when the Travel Assist functions are activated, we will come back to this. And so as not to have to look too often at its “counter”, the head-up display with augmented reality is still available in the Infotainment Plus package (€1,450)which also includes a better-priced audio system and Qi induction phone charging.
For comfort, the Top Sport option (€3,150) In particular, the upholstery is replaced by seats with integrated head restraints, pneumatically adjustable lumbar support and a massage function for the front row. After several hundred kilometers chained at the wheel or in the passenger seat, there is little to complain about the comfort of the seats.
For the rest, the materials chosen smack of the search for weight gain. As in most electric vehicles on the market, it is not the nobility of the leathers and woods that will make you lose your head (since there is none, you will understand). Here, everything is plastic, more or less hard depending on the area. Considering the prices, it’s a bit steep.
Ergonomics at half mast
As for life on board, the feeling is mixed. If the storage spaces are practical and numerous and the habitability generous, the ergonomics of the controls really leaves something to be desired. Despite the shortcuts, the air conditioning-heating controls remain abstruse and painful to handle, while the touch controls for the openings are a real false good idea. It is common to order the rear windows instead of the front ones, it is impossible to adjust the mirrors without looking at the rotary control, for example. On the wheel, same fight: the touchpads are unintuitive and the simulated force feedback is a joke. Again, it is common to “press” on it by mistake, while the hand is just trying to reposition itself on the steering wheel.
In contrast, the gear selector moved next to the instrument panel frees up space on the center console, while being pleasant to handle. We just regret that the switch between D (drive) and B (brake) modes is not accessible via a steering wheel control which would have been more playful.
Driving: ID.4+1
With running gear and ground connections entirely taken over from the ID.4, you should not expect a fundamentally different road behavior. The car is sound in all situationseven if the very firm damping will probably make you prefer long freeway breakaways rather than dynamic driving on roads where the surface is not always very smooth.
However, the center of gravity being slightly lower than on the ID.4 GTX, the feeling of “sportiness” (the quotes are voluntary) is a little more present, well helped also by the second engine which brings two additional drive wheels to the front compared to the classic ID.5. But hey, we do not erase like that the 2.2 tons that the ID.5 GTX weighs on the scale. Despite this imposing mass, the cavalry’s 300 horsepower and 460 Nm of torque propel the ID.5 GTX from 0 to 100 km/h in 6.3 seconds… provided you have at least 88% battery. Below this threshold, power and torque are lowered, even if we will keep good pick-ups in all circumstances.
As for consumption, we have reached an average ofjust over 18 kWh per hundred kilometers by chaining different types of road and with the air conditioning on (a heat pump is available as an option). With the 77 kWh of the battery, this therefore offers a theoretical autonomy of approximately 420 km. For recharging, the ID.5 GTX has an on-board 11 kW AC charger and can refuel at 150 kW from DC. At this rate, we can recover 100 km of autonomy in 6 big minutes.
3.0: the real novelty
We will have to get used to it, the new features offered by electric vehicles correspond more and more often to software improvements. In the ID.5, version 3.0 of the software is required (ID.4s will be able to benefit from it after an update) and it brings real improvements.
First of all – and in no order of preference – the driving aids are enriched withlane change assistance. When conditions permit and from 90 km/h (at least on a fast lane, therefore), it is possible to benefit from an automatic lane change. The car reads its surroundings and detects when the left road is clear. All you need to do is press the turn signal control for the car to change lanes to overtake, provided you keep one hand in contact with the steering wheel. In fact, it works, but we found that the cruise control lacked a little anticipation and therefore fluidity, with a tendency to get too close to the vehicle in front and therefore to slow down, before initiating the maneuver and accelerating. There is no doubt that small adjustments could be the subject of an update.
Software 3.0 also improves the route planner, with better support for terminals located on the route, as well as augmented reality and information offered in the head-up display. It also contains an automatic parking function that can save up to 5 maneuvers. For example, you can save one for parking at your property, one at your place of work, at your in-laws, etc. Once activated, the parking maneuvers are fully automated, but it is advisable to remain on board until the end of their progress. It’s handy in tight places, but a bit slow. If you can park easily, you will prefer to do the maneuver yourself!
Software 3.0 also integrates communications Car2X (which makes it possible to exchange information with other vehicles in an anonymous way, for example on the state of the road at a given place), but also to help driving assistance systems – concretely the Lane Assist which helps prevent off-track drifts – to better understand the roadway. This is obvious on departmental roads where the markings on the ground are sometimes reduced.
Finally, speech recognition is supposed to have been optimized, but in our opinion she continues to be a dispensable gadget, in particular because she tends to believe that she is being called out to when we are simply chatting with her passengers and without any real apparent logic in the phonemes that triggered her ( the official command being “Hello ID”). Otherwise, the voice used by the synthesiswith its hesitant phrasing and rough articulation and pronunciation, seriously starting to stain, especially during GPS guidance. Volkswagen has been using it for many years, it is time to improve it because the user knows how to measure the progress made each year thanks to his smartphone, via Siri or Google Assistant in particular.
Read also: electric car – the ecological bonus of €6,000 is maintained until the end of 2022
The ID.4 for people in a hurry
In the end, between ID.4 and ID.5 it could be complicated to decide. The first is totally SUV typed, with what this may imply a priori but also practicality when it comes to filling the hold. The second looks better without compromising the habitability for passengers and is a little less telling in terms of consumption. It also has the appeal of novelty and the benefit of a silhouette that is currently on the rise.
But he charges a high price for his novelty, since at the list price the ID.5 GTX is billed at a minimum of 59,250 euros, when the ID.4 claims 55,700 euros. On the basic models, the difference is even greater since the basic ID.4 is accessible from 42,400 euros, against 52,550 euros for the ID.5, but with a totally different range structure it is true, since for the moment only the 77 kWh battery is offered in the coupe SUV, when the “classic” SUV allows you to opt for a smaller battery of 52 kWh capacity.
