2025 Volkswagen ID.7 Single-Engine: Powerful

Early predictions that the transition to electric vehicles would be made exclusively by long, lumpy crossovers and SUVs have been quashed – fortunately – by the laws of aerodynamics. EV buyers will still have plenty of longer vehicles to choose from, but the desire to maximize range means there will also be plenty of lower, sleeker models to take us into the new era. Cars like Volkswagen’s new flagship electric car, the ID.7.

The ID.7 isn’t actually a sedan, as its trunk is accessed via a tailgate rather than a trunk lid. But it looks like a low, three-box coupe, in the manner of the Audi A7. It passes through the air more efficiently than the ID.4 crossover. Volkswagen quotes an impressive drag coefficient of 0.23 Cd.

Underneath, the ID.7 uses the same MEB platform that underpins its smaller sibling while getting various technical upgrades, including Volkswagen’s new, more powerful APP550 engine. This is the same unit that will be in the ID.4 range next year. In the rear-drive ID.7 we drove in France, the single motor produces 282 horsepower and 402 pound-feet of torque. This powertrain will be sold alongside an all-wheel-drive, dual-motor version (with a yet-to-be-revealed power output) when the ID.7 goes on sale in the US in the second half of 2024.

The ID.7 is longer and longer than the outgoing Arteon, but we can still see a family resemblance thanks to the new car’s coupe roofline and wide stance. At 195.3 inches long, the ID.7 is 3.8 inches longer than the old sedan, and its exterior dimensions translate into an impressively spacious cabin front and rear. Full-sized adults can sit front and back without having to compromise on knee room. Children may be less happy, as the high belt line prevents younger passengers from seeing out. However, they can look towards the sky thanks to the optional panoramic glass roof, which can be changed electronically from opaque to transparent.

Not that the ID.7’s interior looks luxurious. As with the ID.4, there are plenty of dark plastics and some scratchy hard surfaces underneath, although the materials become denser in areas likely to be touched frequently. Our European market car also had a strange pattern on the plastic door trim that made it look badly scratched, even though it lights up inside in switchable colors when the car is turned on.

The ID.7 takes the same minimalist approach to switchgear as other recent Volkswagens, using a touch-sensitive control ledge below the center screen for HVAC and audio functions instead of physical controls. (At least they’re now illuminated in the dark.) It also continues with the ID.4’s small power-operated window on the driver’s door — there’s only one for each side, which means you have to select the rear windows separately if you want that switch to operate them.

Volkswagen hasn’t completely ignored criticism of its user interface system, with the ID.7 pioneering a new 15.0-inch touchscreen and a revised system to make operation more instinctive. There’s now a row of shortcut icons at the top of the screen to simplify moving between different functions, and the seat heating and ventilation also get permanent dots at the base of the screen, making them almost as easy to operate as they would be with one of those old buttons.

Unfortunately, the ID.7’s travel assistant’s enhanced cruise control was lacking in intelligence. It now includes an active lane change function, allowing the driver to command the car to pass on the motorway by activating the appropriate turn signal. On the French Autobahn, this function was more of a failure than an effect, with the system sometimes working as intended but more often just braking to move behind the slower car with its flashers on, even when the next lane was completely clear.

Some new technology impressed. The ID.7 we drove features an augmented reality system, which is actually a very large display capable of displaying directional arrows at intersections or highway dividers with the ability to give advance warning of speed limit changes. This worked well.

The basics seem to be well sorted, and the ID.7 moves and handles well. The steering has an artificial weight and lack of real feedback in all the different driving modes, but it offers proportionate responses, and the ID.7 feels stable when asked to change direction at highway speeds.

When pushed harder into tight corners, the car’s weight becomes apparent — the single-engine version weighs 4,788 pounds, according to VW — but grip gradually fades, and the cornering line can be tightened with the throttle, although stability control prevents oversteer. Guidance. At low speeds, the ID.7 is impressively maneuverable over long periods of time, with an excellent 35.8-foot turning circle despite the lack of rear-wheel steering.

Comfort is another virtue. Ride quality and body control seem to be in good shape, although the car we drove had adaptive dampers that would be an option in the US. In addition to the normal Comfort and Sport modes, they allow no fewer than 15 stages of stiffness in the Individual setting, which certainly seems like overkill.

Launch refinement is excellent, with the cabin quiet all the way up to the 112 mph speed limiter that we think few buyers will ever hit. As in most electric cars, acceleration is strong on low but fades when the car reaches highway speeds. Volkswagen claims a time of 6.5 seconds at 62 mph, and we expect the dual-motor version to take at least a second of that.

At launch, all versions of the ID.7 will come with a 77.0 kWh battery, which supports DC fast charging at rates up to 175 kW. This gives the rear-drive version a range of 386 miles under Europe’s WLTP testing protocol, meaning it should be around 300 miles via the EPA’s methodology. A larger 86.0 kWh package will be offered later. There’s no official word on pricing in the US yet, but we expect the rear-drive version to start at around $50,000.

The ID.7 is as much a Volkswagen as it is an electric car. This means that it is refined and rational and not full of emotional appeal. Some of the technology may need some fine-tuning, but VW has time to make some tweaks before the ID.7 arrives on our shores next year.

Chief European Correspondent

Our man across the pond, Mike Duff, lives in Britain but reports from all over Europe, and sometimes beyond. He has previously held staff roles on UK titles including car, And evobut his automotive tastes lean toward the Germanic: he owns a troublesome 987-generation Porsche Cayman S and a Mercedes 190E 2.5-16.