Volkswagen has big aspirations with this all-electric luxury ID.7. Jonathan Crouch drives it.

Background

In the combustion era, Volkswagen's brand equity couldn't quite be stretched far enough to sell large luxury saloons. As a company found with the ill-fated Phaeton, produced between 2003 and 2014. But might this new EV era be different? A time when customers are supposed to be more interested in battery technology than badge work. We're going to find out because here in the ID.7, we have one of the most upwardly premium-orientated Volkswagen models to be launched in a decade. And a flagship for the company's fast-growing ID all-electric range. This, if you like, is beginning of a second wave of ID models, learning from the design lessons of the ID.3, the ID.4 and the ID.5 and incorporating more of the cabin sustainability from the ID.Buzz. Not all of these are sold worldwide, but the ID.7 will be, sized and shaped similarly to the combustion Arteon Fastback five-door model, which aimed to be the next step up for Passat people, but never quite was. Volkswagen is confident that the ID.7 will be and to that end has gone to town on technology here. Not least with the brand's biggest, fastest-charging, longest-range battery to date. Sounds promising. Let's take a closer look.

Driving Experience

Predictably, this ID.7 delivers a very tranquil driving experience. Not really because of the subdued levels of wind and road noise, though they're very well suppressed. More because there's such a measured, predictable feel to everything this Volkswagen does. A sports saloon it isn't, but what two-tonne EV of this kind can never really be that? There's lots of fresh drive technology here, principally with the new 210kW e-motor known in VW circles as the APP550. This differs from previous VW Group EV motors, with stronger magnets, a higher wire cross-section, more windings and improved cooling, all of which ought to improve efficiency and power (rated at 286PS). This ID 7 was launched in single motor rear-driven form - that's what we tried. A dual motor AWD GTX performance version is also available, which offers a combined output of 340PS, allowing 62mph in 5.4s. You'll want to know about drive range on the mainstream models. The familiar 77kWh 'Pro' battery will take the car up to 381 miles. A larger 'Pro S' battery (at 86kWh the VW Group's biggest to date) improves that to 437 miles in the Fastback or 425 miles for the Tourer. The GTX manages up to 366 miles in Fastback form (359 miles as a Tourer). To get anywhere near these figures, you'll need to almost permanently progress in the most frugal of the available drive modes - 'Eco'. The others are 'Comfort' and 'Sport', the latter needed to release the powertrain's full 545Nm of torque and replicate the claimed 6.5s sprint time to 62mph, en route to the usual ID limited top speed of 112mph. Thanks to the standard fitment of the latest version of Volkswagen's DCC adaptive damping system, these settings are able to influence ride quality as well as throttle response and steering feel. The brand doesn't though, offer the driver any opportunity to alter brake regeneratiion; there's just the 'B' setting on the drive selector if you want to more greatly energise the battery off-throttle.

Design and Build

After its experience with the Phaeton, Volkswagen seems reluctant to create another super-sized saloon, so like its combustion counterpart the Arteon, this ID.7 adopts two five-door body shapes, the Fastback five-door hatch and an alternative 'Tourer' estate. Both are slippery, particularly the Fastback with its sloping black roof, raked windscreen, floating flush pillars and short overhangs delivering a super-sleek 0.23Cd drag coefficient. There's 4,961mm of length, with 1,538mm of roof height which, to give you some perspective, makes it 44mm longer than a Passat. The front continues with the familiar ID series look, a stubby bonnet flowing into flush headlamps fitted out with IQ.Light tech. The rear is more of an ID styling departure, with a full-width light bar that appears white until illuminated. Much has been learnt by the VW designers in creating the cabin. For a start, it feels of much higher quality than any ID model to date, with plush materials and plenty of soft-touch surfaces. The other thing you'll notice is that there's no big instrument screen (or smaller instrument screen pod as in other ID models). Instead, most of what you need to know is projected via the standard Head-up display, incorporating augmented reality tech. A small, minimalist instrument screen is retained in the line of the cabin's innovative 'Smart Air Vents' which (annoyingly) can only be angled via the central touchscreen, or by the now improved 'IDA' voice control system. On that subject, media tech is much improved over earlier ID models, with a completely re-designed 15-inch central infotainment touchscreen featuring permanently-displaying climate controls. There's a new direct access bar at the top of the touchscreen for quick access to frequently used functions; and the home screen can be customised with icons for commonly used apps. Plus the lower slide bar for volume and temperature has (at last) been back-lit so you can use it properly at night. Out back, thanks to the lengthy 2,966mm wheelbase (125mm longer than a Passat), there's generous space for two adults. And you get an enormous 532-litre boot.

Market and Model

Price-wise, the ID.7 slots in just above the ID.5, which means a price span of between £55,000 and £70,000. The initial version, the ID.7 Pro Match model we tried, cost around £53,000 at the time of this test in early 2024. That entry-level variant is a 77kWh rear-driven Pro model; the brand has also engineered a bigger-battery 86kWh Long Range Pro S AWD version. And Volkswagen will be offering an AWD GTX performance variant too, with a combined output of around 395PS. If you don't want this Fastback body shape, there's an alternative Tourer estate body style. If you're prepared to find just over £1,000 more, you can specify an energy-efficient heat pump, which should add a few miles to your driving range in the winter months. Plus your dealer is going to want you to look at adding in larger 20-inch wheels, a temptation you should resist because it'll sap your EV range. And they'll ask you to consider the optional 'Interior Pack', which for £2,000 more gives you ventilated front seats, heated rear seats and a 12-speaker 700-watt Harmon Kardon sound system with a digital 16-channel amplifier. For another £1,000, an 'Exterior Pack Plus' package adds a power-operated tailgate and Progressive steering, which uses pinion gearing to give more direct responses to larger steering angles and allows for more dynamic reactions. For an extra £1,110, you can embellish the 'Exterior Pack Plus' package with possibly the key extra you might want on this car, the Smart Glass panoramic sunroof, which can become opaque, or made transparent again, from one moment to the next via a polymer-dispersed liquid crystal layer integrated in the glass.

Cost of Ownership

You might hope that the ID.7 would use the advanced 800V electrical infrastructure that allows another only slightly larger VW Group model, the Audi e-tron GT quattro, to use the new generation of ultra-fast public chargers. Because the ID.7 uses a different platform to that Audi - merely a stretched version of the MEB chassis primarily developed for much smaller, more affordable EVs, only a 400V system is in play here. But Volkswagen has done its best to maximise possible charging speeds from it: the ID.7 can charge at up to 175kW in 77kWh 'Pro' form (with a 381 mile range); and up to 200kW in 86kWh 'Pro S' guise (with a 437 mile range for the Fastback and 425 miles for the Tourer). The more powerful GTX manages 366 miles in Fastback form or 359 miles as a Tourer. The ID.7 was the first Volkswagen model to get battery pre-conditioning, which, once a charger destination is programmed into the navigation, readies the battery for maximum top speed charging capability on arrival. You can trigger that feature manually too. Volkswagen has done its best to help by providing its EV owners with a 'We Charge' app that helps you find and use over 150,000 public charge points. Expect a 10-80% top-up in the 77kWh model to take under half an hour from a public rapid charger. On the move, a standard 'Eco Assistance' feature draws on navigation data and road signs detected by the car's forward-facing camera so that if your ID.7 is approaching a bend or a town boundary, the system can visually indicate that you should lift off the accelerator. This apparently simple, yet complex calculation allows the car's drive system to perform optimum energy recuperation, thereby supporting optimum range performance. An ID.7 driver will enjoy lower maintenance costs than would be needed for a combustion model - obviously no oil changes are required and regenerative braking means that the brake pads are designed to last the life of the car. There's a fixed servicing schedule, with a basic inspection after two years (unlimited mileage) and subsequent services every year or 20,000 miles. There's the usual unremarkable three year / 60,000 mile Volkswagen warranty (the third year operated by the retailer).

Summary

The VW Group's all-electric MEB platform wasn't really developed for luxury cars. But on this evidence, it does a pretty good job in underpinning one. Basically, what's on offer here is just about everything you get from a Mercedes EQE for an awful lot less. The ID.7 will significantly under-cut closer market players like the BMW i5 and the Audi A6 e-tron too. But then, the combustion-powered Volkswagen Arteon significantly under-cuts similarly sized rivals from Mercedes, BMW and Audi on price too, yet that's a rare sight, even in its home market. Will the ID.7 fare better? We think so. It's a more polished, premium-feeling package being sold to an EV segment that's become far less badge-conscious. You might not be blown away by the looks and we're unconvinced about the cabin's trumpeted 'Smart Air Vent' tech, but overall, this is a big step forward from the engineering seen in Volkswagen's first EV global player, the ID.4. The '7' is a fitting ID flagship. And a sign to rivals that the VW Group's EV technology is really getting into its stride.