2022 Volkswagen ID. Life first drive review
Drive gets some track time behind the wheel of Volkswagen's ID. Life concept, with our European correspondent Greg Kable sampling the new electric crossover shortly after its show reveal.
- Compact dimensions but practical versatility
- Claimed 400km range useful for more buyers
- Promises to deliver affordable electric ownership
- No infotainment means smartphone or nothing
- Production car will need steering tuning
- Production version won't be as powerful as concept car
It wasn’t an extensive drive. Time spent in multi-million-dollar concept cars is rarely anything but a fleeting experience at the best of times.
But a handful of laps around Volkswagen’s Wolfsburg test track were much more than we expected. We were invited to drive the ID. Life shortly after its world premiere at the recent 2021 Munich motor show in Germany.
The new electric-powered crossover points towards a future of modestly priced zero-emissions personal mobility, in much the same way the original Beetle promised the world access to affordable combustion-engine motoring over eight decades ago now.
If Volkswagen’s plans for the ID. Life come to fruition, the new model, or something very much like it, will go on sale in 2025 wearing a price tag of not much more than €20,000, or around AUD$32,000 in today’s money.
As with Volkswagen’s other recent new ID. models, there will be Cupra and Skoda sister models. In fact, moves are already underway to produce the new Volkswagen model at Seat’s Martorell factory in Spain, which is being geared up for annual volumes of up to 500,000 electric cars on the back of generous European Union subsidies.
Key details | Volkswagen ID. Life |
Price (MSRP) | $32,000 (indicative approximate pricing) |
Colour of test car | White |
Options | N/A |
Price as tested | N/A |
Rivals | Hyundai Kona/MG ZS EV/Kia Nero |
An original strategy called for the introduction of the new price-leading Volkswagen electric model in 2027. But after a faster than expected acceptance of electric cars among private buyers, Volkswagen CEO Ralf Brandstätter moved the launch forward by two years.
It is not the only affordable mass-market electric car that Volkswagen is working on right now, though. Word is the production version of the ID. Life will wear the name ID.2, positioning it below the ID.3 as an alternative to the combustion-engine T-Cross. An even smaller and lower-riding hatchback model with the ID.1 name is expected to follow it into showrooms as a successor to the e-Up.
The aim with the styling of the ID. Life was not simply to create a smaller ID.3 with some SUV-like touches. Rather, Volkswagen says it wanted to establish a more timeless lineage that could be progressed through to the future production version without radical changes.
As such, its design shares little with its other electric-powered models, taking on a more boxy profile meant to provide it with maximum versatility within relatively compact dimensions. Visual drama is created by flush LED headlights and tail-lights, together with illuminated Volkswagen logos front and rear.
Volkswagen ID. Life | |
Seats | Four |
Length | 4091mm |
Width | 1845mm |
Height | 1599mm |
Wheelbase | 2650mm |
At 4091mm in length, 1845mm in width and 1599mm in height, the concept is a good 144mm shorter but 46mm wider and 15mm taller than Volkswagen’s smallest European-market SUV model today, the T-Cross.
Previewing the engineering of the planned production version, the new concept is based on a modified version of Volkswagen’s MEB platform boasting a 100mm shorter wheelbase than that used by the ID.3 hatchback at 2650mm. It’s dubbed the MEB-ECO.
A 57kWh battery, one of a number of different-capacity units planned to be offered by the production version of the entry-level ID. model, is mounted within the floorpan, providing the interior with a flat floor. It uses a different chemical process than that of the ID.3 with lithium-ion phosphate (LFP) cells replacing the more cost-intensive lithium-ion nickel manganese cobalt (NCM) cells in use at Volkswagen today.
LFP cells do without expensive cathode metals such as nickel, manganese and cobalt, making them cheaper to produce. But up until now, they have lacked the overall energy density provided by NCM cells, and they tend to be more prone to performance loss at low ambient temperatures.
In a further departure from the ID.3, the new crossover’s electric motor is mounted down low within the front axle, and drives the front wheels via a fixed single-speed reduction gearbox instead of being sited on the rear axle and driving the rear wheels.
In the concept, the synchronous unit is claimed to develop 172kW of power and 290Nm of torque. The production version is unlikely to offer such strong reserves, though Volkswagen is keen to display the potential of its latest electric model, suggesting a GTX performance model could be on the cards if a market for such a car develops. A four-wheel-drive option is not envisaged.
Volkswagen puts the 0-100km/h time at 6.9sec, top speed at 180km/h, and the range at over 400km.
The decision to mount the motor within the front axle was primarily made on cost grounds. Additionally, there are packaging benefits, with the space at the rear set to be dedicated entirely to trunk space. There’s also a small frunk up front designed to stow the charging cable.
The design of the interior mirrors the minimal look evident in the exterior. A digital instrument display is mounted within a yoke steering wheel, while the wooden dashboard is upholstered in a recycled polyester material and trimmed with brushed aluminium.
There is no dedicated infotainment display. Volkswagen proposes you use a smartphone instead. It can be attached to the fascia via a magnet providing navigation, radio and other functions via near-field communication.
There’s also a built-in projector with a screen that extends from the roof, allowing you to view video when the new Volkswagen is stationary. The lounge room effect is further enhanced by bench seats both front and rear. This enables a range of different possibilities, from cinema seating to a bed measuring around two metres in length.
A starter button is etched into the wood of the dashboard, while the gear selector is incorporated as a permanent readout within the steering-wheel-mounted display along with the indicators, doing away with the need for steering-wheel-mounted column stalks.
At a glance | Volkswagen ID. Life |
Power | 172kW |
Torque | 290Nm |
Battery Pack | 57kW/h |
Range (claimed) | 400km+ (WLTP) |
0-100km/h | 6.9 seconds |
Drive Type | Front-wheel drive |
After getting comfortable, we press 'D' to get underway.
The raised seating gives you a pretty good idea of how the production version of the ID. Life might feel from the driver’s seat, and it provides good visibility to each corner. However, there’s predictably little about the driving experience to tell you what it will be like on the road.
The new one-off crossover has been constructed as a proof of concept. It is meant to demonstrate what is feasible in terms of design and packaging. Right now it lacks the engineering integrity to tackle the more demanding sections of Volkswagen’s test track with any great vigour.
That said, the junior ID. model is much better to drive than many concept cars we’ve come across over the years. This can partly be attributed to the fact that it is already based on an early version of the production car’s platform, rather than one cobbled together from an existing combustion-engine Volkswagen structure, giving it a good degree of structural rigidity and overall stiffness.
The shortened MEB structure supports a MacPherson strut front and torsion beam rear suspension. As with the electro-mechanical steering system, it is sourced from the ID.3 hatchback. The wheels, meanwhile, are 20 inches in diameter and wear 235/45 Continental Eco Contact tyres all around.
It is quite responsive off the line. However, the subsequent acceleration reveals little of the potential promised by the official performance claims. That is because Volkswagen has limited the top speed to just 30km/h. When we reach it, there is a strong whine from the front-mounted electric motor and a noticeable amount of wind buffetting where the windscreen meets the fabric roof.
The steering is light and very direct, though the yoke-style steering wheel makes manoeuvring in tight spaces a rather unpleasant task without any meaningful weighting or self-centring. Still, when we get it tracking straight ahead, it proves more agreeable and amenable to smaller inputs.
There is clearly a lot of work to be done before the ID. Life can be evolved to a proper prototype stage of development. Still, the basics appear quite sound even at this early stage.
We’ll have to wait until 2025 to see how much of the concept makes it into production. As a rolling show of intent, though, it already demands to be taken seriously.