Coming soon: Volkswagen ID.7 with Tesla-rivalling 435-mile range

Key details about the Volkswagen ID.7

• Volkswagen’s flagship EV goes on sale later this year
• Designed for long distances with up to 435-mile range
• Four-door saloon shape with hatchback boot
• Overhauled in-car tech and luxury car features

What is it?

The ID.7 is Volkswagen’s fifth ID-branded electric car, and ups the ante in terms of size and range on a charge.

Said to have been built with long distances in mind, the ID.7 is a bit like a Volkswagen Passat reinvented for the electric age. Designed to be ploughed up and down motorways by important businesspeople, the ID.7’s range is claimed to be up to 435 miles – with cheaper, smaller battery models available too.

Its now the big daddy of the Volkswagen ID range, sitting above the smaller ID.3, ID.4 and ID.5 and alongside the lower-range ID. Buzz people carrier.

The ID.7’s chief competitors will be the Tesla Model 3 and Hyundai Ioniq 6. However at nearly five metres long it’s larger than both rivals by a decent margin.

Why should I get excited?

Want the cheapest way to get 400 miles out of a single charge in an EV? We suspect the Volkswagen ID.7 will be that car, and deserves your attention as a result.

Currently the only cars which break that range barrier are the latest Tesla Model S and the Mercedes-Benz EQS. Both of those are full-on luxury cars with a price tag to match, but the Volkswagen ID.7 is expected to start from a more reasonable £50,000 when pricing is confirmed later this year.

That headline range figure comes from a new 82kWh battery pack. It’s a noticeably smaller pack than the 108kWh unit found in the EQS, suggesting the ID.7 is lighter and therefore more efficient. However, the 435-mile figure is Volkswagen’s own estimate rather than the final production figure, so let’s see if that promise rings true.

Another key selling point of the ID.7 is its noticeably faster peak charging speed than any Volkswagen EV we’ve seen so far. Go for the top-spec ID.7 Pro S and you’ll get peak speeds of up to 200kW – on a par with the latest Teslas.

Running an eco-friendly limousine service? Or just have exceptionally tall friends and family? The Volkswagen ID.7 is expected to offer masses of interior space thanks to a wheelbase (the space between the front and rear wheels) of around three metres.

To put that into perspective that’s over 21cm of added legroom compared to the old fossil fuel-burning Passat. It’s also a ‘fastback’, so while it looks like a four-door saloon you still get a hatchback boot lid for easier loading of big items.

That’s all great, but what’s it like inside?

Space aside, Volkswagen has also worked on making the ID.7 feel more luxurious inside than cheaper ID. models. That means posher trims and a host of new technology features.

For example, you can spec a panoramic sunroof that switches from opaque to translucent at the prod of a button. There’s also massaging seats with 10 adjustable air cushions, plus adaptive climate control that can detect where the sun is shining and pump cold air where it’s needed.

Arguably the biggest advance over other VW ID models is the new touchscreen infotainment system. With a 15-inch display it’s bigger than ever, while the software is new and said to have much easier to use menus. The touch sliders below the screen are backlit now, too.  

Want to adjust the air vents? They whir this way and that via a control in the screen, or move automatically in certain models. What’s more, ambient lighting fans will enjoy playing with the new four-layer system with various light patterns and colours.

That’s not all. Volkswagen claims to have improved the voice control system with natural prompts ( for example, just say “my feet are cold” and it will direct warm air down to them). And finally, there’s an ‘augmented reality’ head-up display that projects sat-nav instructions into the driver’s view of the road ahead.

What if I don’t need 435 miles of range?

The largest 82kWh battery pack is only available on the Volkswagen ID.7 Pro S, which won’t arrive right away at launch.  If you need that much range you’ll have to wait a bit, but the other versions aren’t exactly limited.

The lesser 77kWh battery in more affordable versions of the ID.7 will still offer up to 382 miles according to Volkswagen’s figures. Even that’s better than the Tesla Model 3 Long Range, which promises 374 miles on a charge.

The first examples coming out will only offer a single motor and rear-wheel drive, with 282bhp. That’s hardly going to worry Tesla, but an ID.7 GTX is expected later on with dual motors, four-wheel drive and much more power.

When is it available to buy or lease?

The Volkswagen ID.7 will arrive in the UK in the latter part of 2023, with orders expected to open before then in the summer.

We don’t yet have a price or details of any leasing offers, but all hints are that around £50,000 will get you in an entry-level ID.7, with prices rising above that for the top variants.

Can’t wait until the ID. 7 arrives? Why not see what deals are available on the Tesla Model 3 or Hyundai Ioniq 6 on GRIDSERVE Car Leasing?