Hands-on with the VW ID.4: The every-person’s electric SUV

Published

4 years ago

October 9, 2021

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As someone who’s owned and operated their fair share of EVs, I was looking forward to experiencing Volkswagen’s first truly mainstream electric vehicle, the VW ID.4 SUV. As a part of a #vwpartner collaboration with Volkswagen, I got the opportunity to drive the VW ID.4 for a few days. What I found was an SUV for the masses that is easy to adapt to if you’re coming from a traditional gas-powered vehicle.

The VW ID.4 also features plenty of tech, including wireless CarPlay on a large available 12-inch display, and available wireless charging. Watch our hands-on video for the details.

Wake up and go

One of the best benefits of owning an electric vehicle is waking up with a full charge each morning. That means no wondering about how much gas is left in the tank, and no annoying detours to the gas station. You simply wake up, unplug, and get going to your destination. Once you get used to this aspect of owning an electric vehicle, it’s hard to go back.

Driving and performance

One of the things that surprised me about the VW ID.4 is how easy it makes it to move from a gas-powered vehicle to an electric SUV. VW has resisted the temptation to make the ID.4 weird or overly quirky just because it’s electric. This is an SUV first and foremost, and it drives similarly to gas-powered vehicles.

Hands-on with the Volkswagen ID.4 electric SUV

Although it’s not a performance vehicle, the VW ID.4 has enough power for everyday tasks like merging on the highway and passing in traffic. Volkswagen will have other offerings, including the AWD version of the ID.4, if you’re looking for additional power.

What stood out most for me was how responsive the vehicle was, especially when turning. The turning radius is very good for an SUV of this size, making it easy to do u-turns. This was a huge departure from my daily driver, which feels like driving a small boat in comparison.

Another mainstay of electric vehicles is regenerative braking, which will slow acceleration while simultaneously recharging the battery. While the ID.4 doesn’t feature so-called “one-pedal driving,” you can easily enable stronger regenerative braking, which means using the actual brakes a lot less.

Storage

The VW ID.4 is a real SUV and can accommodate five individuals comfortably. VW notes that it provides more passenger volume than the 2021 Toyota RAV 4.

There is plenty of storage in the rear of the vehicle, thanks to the split rear folding seats. Accessing that rear storage is easy with the powered liftgate. You’ll also find two hidden storage compartments in the back, which are great for hiding valuables or less-often-used items.

CarPlay

CarPlay brings a seamless iPhone experience to your vehicle’s primary display, providing safer interaction with your phone while bringing Siri voice control and text-to-speech to your vehicle. CarPlay brings Apple Maps, Apple Music, Podcasts, and even third-party apps to the VW ID.4 in a simple and safe manner. Of course, you can also make phone calls or listen and respond to text messages using your voice.

As someone who drives an electric vehicle that will probably never have CarPlay, I didn’t realize how much I missed the feature until driving the ID.4. For an iPhone user (the vehicle also supports Android Auto), the convenience of CarPlay can’t be overstated, and the VW ID.4’s available 12-inch screen makes the CarPlay experience stand out.

Hands-on with the VW ID.4: The every-person's electric SUV

As an Apple Music subscriber, one of my favorite things about CarPlay, and one of the features that I miss the most on my daily driver, is Apple Music. CarPlay provides access to the entire library of over 75 million songs and allows you to request any of them on-demand with a simple voice command. Even better is the fact that your entire curated music library, including all of your playlist and albums, is easily accessible.

CarPlay is a feature that I’ve enjoyed in other vehicles, but to have it presented on the VW ID.4’s massive 12-inch display makes apps like Apple Maps even easier to use. CarPlay also works with third-party mapping applications like Google Maps and Waze.

The VW ID.4 includes a couple of additional available tech options that make CarPlay even better. For starters, there’s wireless CarPlay connectivity, which means you don’t have to plug in any cables to get connected – simply get in the vehicle, and it automatically connects to your iPhone. Secondly, the VW ID.4 features a wireless charger, which means your phone can stay charged even though it’s not connected to a physical cable.

Additional standout features

In additional to CarPlay, there are other standout features offered that I enjoyed:

A panoramic roof, but also a retractable sunshade to keep the cabin from getting too hot.
Massaging driver and passenger seats.
Customizable RGB ambient lighting for the footwell, doors, and dash.

Electrify America

I stopped at my local Electrify America charging station, which is one of over 600 such charging stations around the country (with another 100+ coming soon).

Charging is easy, and you can monitor the charging status on the 12-inch display. In addition, Plug and Charge is coming, which will make charging even easier than pumping gas. Compared to the average gas vehicle, the VW ID.4 electric SUV can provide as much as $4000 in estimated fuel cost savings over five years.

Conclusion

Driving the all-electric Volkswagen ID.4 means zero direct emissions, which is great for the environment. While that might make you feel good, the car also has to be practical and work for you to be truly tenable. That’s why I think the VW ID.4, and vehicles like it, will play a big role in the advancement of electrification here locally, and in other areas around the world.

The Volkswagen ID.4 is practical, it also has the tech, the storage, and the down-to-earth design language. Combined with the familiar functionality, and it’s easy to see why this electric SUV will make it easy to transition from a gas-powered vehicle.

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Entertainment

Tomorrowland: ‘Devastating’ blaze destroys main stage at major festival – two days before it was due to begin

Published

4 hours ago

July 17, 2025

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Tomorrowland: 'Devastating' blaze destroys main stage at major festival - two days before it was due to begin

A huge fire has destroyed the main stage of a major festival in Belgium – two days before it was due to begin.

Tomorrowland is a dance music event as big as Glastonbury – and David Guetta was due to perform.

Footage showed flames and thick plumes of black smoke engulfing the stage and spreading to nearby woodland on Wednesday.

The annual festival in the town of Boom, north of Brussels, is one of the biggest in Europe and attracts about 400,000 people over two consecutive weekends.

It is famous for its immersive and elaborate designs and attracts big names within dance music – including Guetta, best known for tracks When Love Takes Over and Titanium.

Dutch DJs Martin Garrix and Charlotte de Witte were also due to perform, along with the likes of Swedish House Mafia, Eric Prydz and Alok.

The festival’s website described the creative elements which went into the elaborate main stage.

The theme, described as Orbyz, was “set in a magical universe made entirely out of ice” and “full of mythical creatures”.

Organisers said no one was injured in the blaze but confirmed “our beloved main stage has been severely damaged”, adding they were “devastated”.

Spokesperson Debby Wilmsen added: “We received some truly terrible news today. A fire broke out on the Tomorrowland site … and our main stage was essentially destroyed there, which is truly awful.

“That’s a stage that took years to build, with so much love and passion. So I think a lot of people are devastated.”

Despite the fire, Tomorrowland organisers said they were still expecting 38,000 festivalgoers at DreamVille, the event’s campsite.

Entertainment

Robin Kaye: American Idol TV executive and her husband shot dead inside their Los Angeles home

Published

1 day ago

July 16, 2025

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Robin Kaye: American Idol TV executive and her husband shot dead inside their Los Angeles home

An American Idol TV executive and her husband have been found dead in their LA home.

Robin Kaye was a music supervisor on the long-running reality TV series.

The bodies of the 70-year-old and her husband Thomas were discovered after officers conducted a welfare check at their home.

Both had died from gunshot wounds.

Detectives say Raymond Boodarian has been arrested in connection with their deaths.

It is alleged the 22-year-old had burgled their property while they were away on 10 July – killing the couple upon their return.

According to Los Angeles Police, there were “no signs of forced entry or trouble” at the property.

Ms Kaye was an industry veteran – and had previously worked on shows including Lip Sync Battle and The Singing Bee, as well as several Miss USA and Miss Universe pageants.

In a statement, an American Idol spokesperson said: “Robin has been a cornerstone of the Idol family since 2009 and was truly loved and respected by all who came in contact with her.

“Robin will remain in our hearts forever and we share our deepest sympathy with her family and friends during this difficult time.”

Entertainment

Action taken to stop ticketless Oasis fans from watching this week’s shows in Manchester

Published

1 day ago

July 16, 2025

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Action taken to stop ticketless Oasis fans from watching this week's shows in Manchester

Huge steel fences have been erected to prevent ticketless fans from watching the Oasis reunion tour in Manchester.

Liam and Noel Gallagher will resume their sold-out run of shows – their first since 2009 – with a performance at Heaton Park tonight, and two more on Saturday and Sunday.

While tens of thousands bought tickets for Oasis’s first two shows last weekend, crowds gathered to glimpse the large screens above the stage in the distance – in an area dubbed “Gallagher Hill” by some on social media.

Manchester City Council has now said more steel fences have been erected around parts of the park to prevent ticketless fans from watching the gigs, and to protect nature in the park.

“After taking stock of how the first two nights went, additional measures have now been deemed necessary and will be in place for the next three concerts,” it said.

“The erection of the fencing has a dual purpose – both to protect the environment from further damage and to dissuade people from gathering there.

“The necessary measure means the concert will no longer be visible from this area.”

The fences will cover a large area of the hill within the park’s cattle field, which is being developed as a new woodland area with around 300 young trees planted.

The council added that there would be no facilities for people without a ticket, and said the event area is “double-walled with solid high security fencing all the way round”.

More than 2,000 event security staff and police officers will also be on duty around the site “to ensure both the safety and wellbeing of ticket-holders and that only those who have tickets access the concert”, it said.

John Hacking, the council’s executive member for employment, skills and leisure, also said in a statement that “unfortunately our hand has been forced in having to put these additional measures in place”.

He added: “Our advice to music fans who don’t have tickets for the concerts is to head into the city centre instead.

“The whole city is going all out to celebrate and help everyone have a good time.

“We’ve got some fantastic things going on with a real party atmosphere for everyone to enjoy, whether they’ve got tickets for the Oasis gigs or not.”