Volkswagen has shown off its new ID.7 saloon for the first time without its distinctive pixelated camouflaged.
The reveal shows that the ID.7 cleaves fairly close to the original ID. Vizzion concept, with sleek, low-slung lines and exceptional aerodynamics, including a drag coefficient figure of just 0.23.
86kWh battery, charges at 200kW
It is part of a package of efficiency measures that includes a bigger battery to give the top-spec ID.7 a very long one-charge range - up to 700km. That's for the ID.7 Pro S model, which will get the biggest battery pack ever fitted to a Volkswagen ID. product thus far, an 86kWh unit. That will be paired with a new 286hp electric motor driving the rear wheels. That new motor is the same 'APP550' unit that has been announced for the updated ID.3, and which in spite of producing more power than the existing 204hp unit (and more torque at 550Nm) is actually more efficient overall.
Against the ID.7 Pro S's 700km range, there's an equally impressive range of 615km for the regular ID.7 that will be fitted with the same 77kWh battery pack that's familiar from the ID.4, ID.5 and ID. Buzz. The big battery can charge at speeds of up to 200kW if you can find a sufficiently fast DC charging point.
Style wise, the ID.7 also introduces a slightly more chiselled look to the ID range, moving on the soft, rounded look of the ID.3 and ID.4. While it's clearly part of the same family, the styling at the front has sharper, more defined lines and it's much crisper at the rear too. It's a handsome car.
It's big, too at 4,961 millimetres long, with a whopping 2,996mm wheelbase, which should make for excellent legroom for back-seat passengers. Above those passengers is a new 'smart glass' panoramic roof. This uses a PDLC (polymer-dispersed liquid crystal) layer integrated in the glass that can be darkened to fully opaque at the touch of a button, meaning that you don't need a (headroom-robbing) retracting sunblind. The glass also reflects solar heat, so that it's actually cooler overall on a hot day than a car with a normal steel roof, and it works in reverse in the winter, helping to better insulate the cabin.
Improved infotainment
Up front, while there are some familiar ID range touches - the minimalist steering wheel with the touch-sensitive buttons, the 'slider' controls for the cabin temperature - there is much that is new. The driver's display has morphed from a small, upright screen to a more discreet strip on the dashboard, making more of a point of the standard-fit 'augmented reality' head-up display.
The big 15-inch screen in the middle gets much-improved software, which includes more ways of short-cutting your way to the most important and regularly-used functions, as well as keeping heating and air conditioning controls 'always-on' at the base of the screen. The 'slider' buttons have also been given back-lighting for the first time. There's also a more intuitive voice control assistant, which responds to natural speech, and which can also respond to certain special commands - for instance, the request "Hello ID show me the stars" electronically switches on the transparent setting of the panoramic sunroof's smart glass.
For those that like their tunes, an optional 14-speaker, 700-watt Harmon-Kardon sound system will also be available.
VW is ramping up the ID.7's driver assistance systems too. Above 90km/h the car can take over more of the steering and lane guidance work than before, as well as automatically changing lanes for you (while you carefully monitor everything the car is doing, of course - no-one's claiming this is full self-driving or anything...). The system can also draw on 'swarm' data from other Volkswagen Group vehicles in the area to be more aware of its surroundings.
Parking memory system
The ID.7 also has some clever parking aids, including a memory setting that automatically enables repeated manoeuvres (such as backing onto your driveway) when you reach a geotagged point. It automatically memorises the last 50 metres of your most recent journey so that you can save a parking manoeuvre when you want to. The automated parking system works when you're sitting in the car, or you can let the car do it all by itself while you stand outside and control everything with your phone - handy for narrow parking spaces.
Other neat touches include automatic climate control that, optionally, also uses the seat heating and cooling to help adjust everyone's temperature. There are even moisture sensors in the seats that can automatically turn on a drying mode if you've been caught in the rain. Oh, and the seats have a massage function too, and are approved by the German Campaign for Healthier Backs (AGR).
Even the air vents are smart - they have automatic flaps behind them that allow for draft-free air conditioning, and even the directional vanes are motorised, so that warm or cold air can be automatically directed to the part of the cabin where it's most needed, or wafted gently around to produce a more even cabin temperature. All this starts happening as soon as the ID.7 detects that you're walking up to it.
The Volkswagen ID.7 should arrive in Ireland just before the end of the year before the "241" registration plate in January 2024. Irish pricing has yet to be announced.