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Volkswagen’s battery-powered lineup in the United States currently features the utilitarian ID.4 crossover, and soon, the retro-inspired ID Buzz will join in on the fun. That’s the most exciting of the bunch, especially for car enthusiasts who remember the classic Microbus, but for buyers who want an honest-to-goodness sedan, there’s this: the VW ID.7. It’s debuting—kind of—at the 2023 Consumer Electronic Show right now.
I hesitate to call this a full reveal because we’re still missing a few key details, like how it looks under VW’s so-called digital camo. It’s an interactive display that apparently makes use of 40 layers of paint and electroluminescence to light up. It won’t be available on the production car, so it’s more or less masking the ID.7’s true design until it launches later in 2023. We got a glimpse of what’s believed to be the true styling last year when VW showed off the ID.Aero Concept.
VW is at least spilling the beans on some of the production-bound interior features. These include a 15-inch infotainment screen that’s located front and center, and it takes up a lot of real estate, even in a car that’s billed as a full-size sedan with a 116.9-inch wheelbase. Larger displays are all the rage in premium models, at least for the moment, and VW leans hard into it here. Handily, not everything is buried under options menus as the ID.7’s HVAC controls are visible at all times on said screen. If we can’t get physical buttons and knobs, I’d say this is the next best thing.
That’s not even all there is to say about the HVAC system, either. VW claims the ID.7 will detect the key fob when you approach the car and automatically fire up the heater on a cold day—or start the air conditioner on a hot one. It’s also trained to respond to voice commands like “Hello, Volkswagen! My hands are cold!” Say that out loud and you’ll find the heated steering wheel has kicked on while the Smart Air Vents direct sweet warmth to your 10 digits.
The ID.7 is being built on VW’s MEB platform, which already underpins the ID.4 and other electric models in international markets, like the ID.3. No battery capacity figures have been released yet, but VW claims the car nets up to 435 miles of range on Europe’s WLTP test cycle. It’ll likely be a good deal lower when the EPA gets its hands on one, though it ought to be more than enough for the average American commuter. This is thanks in no small part to its slippery design, which VW really harps on. Front air inlets direct flow down the sides of the car, creating an air curtain that reduces resistance and has the ID.7 making the most of however much juice it ends up boasting in production form. It’s no Lucid Air, but then again, not everything has to be.
We’ll finally see the VW ID.7 without any visual illusions later this year, just before it launches in North America, Europe, and China. There’s no word on how much it’ll cost, but expect it to surpass the ID.4 given that this is a more upscale offering, all things considered.
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