Volkswagen ID.4 review - Range, charging and running costs

The cheapest ID.4 is the 146bhp Life Edition which at the time of writing starts from just under £39,000. Upgrading to Style Edition trim adds roughly £3,400 to the ID.4's price tag, and you'll see similar price increases if you want a more powerful model or a larger battery. The top-of-the-range ID.4 GTX is currently priced at £52,000, so unless you’re prepared to pay handsomely for that 6.2 second 0-62mph time, you'll find more value in the Life Edition or Style Edition variants.

The base ID.4 is fitted with a 52kWh battery that provides enough juice for a range of up to 223 miles, depending on which specification you went for. But if you want to go further between charging sessions, the ID.4 is also offered with a 77kWh that allows rear-drive models to cover up to 328 miles on a single charge. The all-wheel drive, dual-motor 4Motion and GTX versions get the same 77kWh powerpack, but range is reduced to 317 and 308 miles, respectively.

During our group test between the Volkswagen ID.4, Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Ford Mustang Mach-E, the VW managed to return 3.4 miles per kilowatt-hour – the same as the Hyundai. That equates to a real-world range of 262 miles for the 77kWh ID.4 we were testing. We saw the same results when we pitted an ID.4 GTX against the Toyota bZ4X and Hyundai Ioniq 5, although we did that test in the summer. The first time we drove the ID.4 GTX was in colder conditions and it returned 2.7mi/kWh, which demonstrates the effects of cold weather on EV's range. 

The ID.4’s maximum charging speed depends on which version you get. Stick with the 52kWh battery and the ID.4 will reach 110kW if you find a suitably fast rapid charger, so a 5 to 80 per cent top-up will take 36 minutes. If you upgrade to the 77kWh battery, the maximum charging speed jumps to 135kW so a 5 to 80 top-up now requires just 29 minutes. However it's worth noting that the ID.4's rivals like the Ioniq 5 or Kia EV6 that can reach 233kW if you find the right ultra-rapid charger, so the VW is merely adequate in this department.

When it comes to charging at home, fully replenishing an 52kWh model will take roughly eight and a half hours, while 77kWh models will need more than 12 hours plugged into a 7.4kW home wallbox to fill it up completely.

21

It goes without saying that buying a battery-powered car brings lower day-to-day running costs, and the ID.4 is no different. Business users, in particular, will gain from the low Benefit-in-Kind tax rate of 2 per cent for 2023/2023, not to mention the exemption from road tax (VED) and the London Congestion Charge until 2025.

Insurance

The entry-level 146bhp/52kWh ID.4 should be reasonable to insure as it sits in group 20, whether you go for Life Edition or Style Edition trim. The 168bhp/52kWh and the 172bhp/77kWh models in either Life Edition or Style Edition bumps the insurance rating up to group 24, while 201bhp/77kWh versions of both attract a group 27 rating. Opting for the dual-motor 4Motion powertrain (available exclusively in Life Edition spec) bumps the rating up to group 33, but the more powerful ID.4 GTX and GTX Max cars are in group 35 and 36, respectively.

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In comparison, the Ford Mustang Mach-E starts from group 33, rising to group 40 for the Extended Range versions and group 47 for the 480bhp Mach-E GT. 

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Depreciation 

Residual values for the ID.4 are fairly strong, with our expert data suggesting that owners should see an average of 59 per cent of their car's original value retained over a typical three-year/36,000-mile ownership period. The entry-level 146bhp Life Edition and 168bhp Life Edition models achieve the best figures of the entire range, keeping up to 62 per cent of their original price.

To get an accurate valuation on a specific model check out our valuation tool...