Car and Driver Senior Editor Impressed With 2024 ID.4 Upgrades

The Volkswagen ID.4 was one of the first production electric SUVs from a mainstream brand. Because of this, the ID.4 has undergone some updates and upgrades to keep it both competitive and attractive to prospective buyers. Volkswagen has worked to perfect the things that make a car one to own for years to come. 

Uniquely Qualified Review

For the 2024 model year, customers will notice horsepower, torque, functionality, and range upgrades that make the ID.4 even more compelling. The former Editor-in-Chief and current contributing editor for Car and Driver magazine, Csaba Csere (pronounced Chubba Chudda), who owns a 2023 ID. 4, is uniquely qualified to evaluate the latest upgrades for buyers. 

Better Power, More Range, and Faster, OH MY!

The rear-wheel drive ID.4 with a 77-kWh battery system gets major power updates, taking it from 201 horsepower and 229 lb-ft of torque to 282 horsepower and 402 lb-ft of torque. The all-wheel drive version also gets performance upgrades from 295 horsepower to 335 and 339 lb-ft of torque to somewhere in the 500 torque range. Volkswagen hasn’t yet specified what the new figure is. In their test of a 2021 ID.4 with the previous power ratings, Car and Driver were able to get a 5.4-second 0-60 mph time out of it, while the 2024 model did the same test in 4.8 seconds. This is all thanks to a new rear-mounted motor called the APP550. The RWD ID.4 now has an EPA-estimated range of 291 miles, and AWD models have a range of up to 263 miles, an increase of 15 and 8 miles, respectively. 

Smooth As Silk

One of the marks of a truly good car is how well the chassis and suspension take on bumps, potholes, and especially corners, along with how much of that outside noise and annoyance is relayed into the cabin. The VW electric SUV has always been given high ratings for how good it is as a car that can be comfortable in all types of driving. Csaba said, “The ride and handling remain very good in city and suburban driving. Combined with the quiet and buttery smooth powertrain, the ID.4 feels very refined—we measured 67 decibels at 70 mph.”

All-New Infotainment

One area where owners were hoping for a little more was the infotainment system, as it was good but sometimes could be clumsy, making owners happier to use Apple CarPlay® or Android Auto™. As a result, in the 2024 model, the ID.4 now has a leading system that gives owners more control and even better options, and it is now 12.9 inches versus 12 inches of the previous model year: “But the new infotainment system is a joyous breakthrough. While it still has wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, you no longer feel compelled to use these systems in self-defense against the car’s irritating native applications. In fact, the ID.4’s navigation system has some features that the phone apps can’t match, such as allowing you to program it to look for charging stations at a specified level of charge, for those who have greater or lesser range anxiety. And you can program up to 10 charging waypoints on your route, and the system will tell you how many charging stations are open …”

What Was Great is Better, And Free Charging

In the end, Mr. Csere continued to speak highly and said he wished he could transplant some features into his 2023 ID.4, such as the steering wheel and new infotainment system. All new ID.4 owners will get 500 kilowatt-hours of free charging on Electrify America chargers, which is good for roughly ten charges from 20%-80%, and then a discount of about 25% after that.

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