VW unveils ID.7 with a range of 700 kilometers and the electric Passat also comes as a station wagon

VW provides a new flagship and crowns its electric model range with the ID.7. It is almost five meters long and the basic version will be available from autumn 2023 for “well under 60,000 euros”.

This means that the sedan with the streamlined hatchback is not only a cheap competitor for cars such as the Mercedes EQE, BMW i4 or the Nio ET7. With a long range, extensive equipment and plenty of space, the ID.7 could also make life difficult for its sibling, the VW Passat – even if the previous bestseller in the mid-sized segment is being completely renewed this year.

Before the rise of the upper middle class, VW not only expanded its MEB modular electrical system into a new format. On the contrary, VW has thoroughly modernized and thus significantly improved most of the building blocks in this parts set.

More power, more range

It starts with the drive: The electric motor from Wolfsburg, previously a maximum of 150 kW/204 hp, has increased by almost 50 percent. As a rear-wheel drive, the ID.7 now achieves 210 kW/286 hp and 545 Nm with just one motor. While most other MEB models are limited to 100 mph, it can still go 110 mph.

And the battery continues: because the space between the axles increases with the wheelbase, which has been stretched to almost three meters, VW is now installing an XL version with 85 kWh in addition to the standard battery with a net 77 kWh.

Together with a streamlined design and a low drag coefficient of 0.23, it should allow a maximum range of more than 700 kilometers according to WLTP. With the smaller battery variant, the maximum range should be a good 600 kilometers. And so you don’t have to charge anymore, the DC power during the pit stop now flows at a maximum of 200 kW instead of the previous 170 kW.

Thanks to new thermal management on the fast charger, the ID.7 should also charge faster in winter: “A new thermal management system ensures that the battery is preconditioned before charging is stopped. This preconditioning starts automatically when route guidance is active on the way to each charging station.

Built for the long haul

On the first test drive, the ID.7 also lives up to its leading role in the family as a prototype: Like all electric cars, it is very fast and pleasantly quiet – but has more to offer in both disciplines than the previous ID models.

The high torque pushes the sprint value below six seconds and due to the lower air resistance, the ID.7 generates much less wind noise. It also has an adaptive chassis with deliberately flexible dampers in comfort mode and steering behavior without excessive sharpness.

This makes it a superior and relaxed long-distance vehicle. However, if you want to drive even more dedicated, you have to wait for a possible sports version. The ID.7 would in any case have the necessary potential for this.

VW irons out mistakes

What is also striking, even before the first kilometer, is the new cockpit, with which VW wants to correct many mistakes of ID.3 and Co. Next to the steering wheel is now a 15-inch screen the size of a laptop screen. It is as standard as the head-up display, which places information graphics that are accurate to the situation and position in the field of view.

And below the large touchscreen, the tiresome sliders for radio and air conditioning are now at least illuminated and therefore easier to use in the dark. However, Lower Saxony does not yet have everything under control: the buttons on the steering wheel, for example, are still difficult to press and provide hardly any tactile feedback.

A lot has happened, not only in terms of digital equipment, but also in terms of comfort. There are more comfortable seats in the front with improved climate and massage functions and in the rear – thanks to the skateboard architecture – almost as much legroom as in the Phaeton, which VW tried years ago in the upper class.

ID.7 also comes as a station wagon

And there is also more space in the trunk. 532 liters of luggage can be stored here. Still not enough? Even that is no reason to ignore the mobility revolution and perhaps still purchase a Passat Variant. Because as the first ID model, VW also builds the seven as a station wagon.

With the ID.7, VW is building an attractive alternative to overpriced upper-class models and, in the medium term, will pull the entire model family along with the overdue improvements. With one exception: if the Lower Saxony bring a new Passat this fall, it could look quite old compared to the ID.7. Because it won’t offer more space and won’t drive electrically either.

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© KEYSTONE/LAURENT GILLIERON

(t online)