I meant to post this when I picked it up: '23 VW ID.4 Pro S. I am coming from the total loss of my 2015 MINI Cooper S 4-door hardtop. I was a bit skeptical stepping into an SUV as I've been partial to small hatches most of my adult life. It's definitely the biggest car I've had and its taken some getting used to. But ultimately my recent accident and practicalities of a growing family are driving me to a bigger vehicle. A month in, it's been a great car so far. Here are some thoughts:
- I'm impressed with the range (275 on a charge) and DC fast charge speeds (80 % in 30 minutes).
- Some of the software tech is undercooked, but integration with Android auto is seamless. The MyVW app for climate, defrost, and charging is less sophisticated than the app from my 2011 LEAF. It gets the job done though.
- There are some nifty automated parking and drive assist features that I'm pretty wowed by. It does a great job getting into spaces that I would probably pass on. We are taking a road trip to Joshua Tree this month and I'm curious to see some of the cruise features that I don't have a need for in my daily commute.
- The Pro S trim is really well appointed. It feels like a luxury car in this trim.
- That the huge VW logo on the front and back light up is a little corny, but I kinda like it.
- It's made in Tennessee where they used to make the Passat.
- I wish we had more color options in the States. Its grey, silver, white, black, blue and red. They didn't have red in the trim I wanted and the blue only comes with a white interior. Ultimately I picked a pearlescent white over the matte gray. The gray looked cool, but screams 2024. White never ages on cars. Of course, if we had the yellow they get in Europe, I would have got that in a heartbeat.
If you're in the market for an SUV, crossover or EV, I recommend putting it on your shopping list. I cross shopped against similar cars from Hyundai, Kia, Subaru, Tesla, Audi (sister car) and Polestar, and the VW came out ahead for my situation.