Volkswagen Ireland has set out its ID.4 electric SUV stall as the long-range versions of Volkswagen's new battery crossover arrive in Ireland this week.
For the moment, the first ID.4 models coming into the country will be the relatively ritzy 1st Edition versions, which come with the biggest 77kWh battery pack, special badging, luxurious upholstery, and 20-inch alloys. The 1st Edition models are on sale with a starting price of €42,423 including SEAI grant and VRT rebate.
Augmented reality
Or, you could upgrade to a 1st Edition Max, which comes with the advanced 'augmented reality' head-up display, a panoramic roof, 21-inch alloys, and a bigger touchscreen. That version is significantly more expensive, though; €55,565, partly because its price tag pushes it above the VRT rebate cutoff. Both models have a WLTP one-charge range of more than 500km and use a single 204hp electric motor.
Beyond these two specced-up launch models, there are going to be some more affordable ID.4s hitting the market through 2021, and here's where it gets interesting. Volkswagen Ireland says it will offer a basic ID.4 City model, with a 148hp electric motos, 52kWh battery and a WLTP range of 343km, for a price tag - rebates and grants inclusive - of €34,436. That price is around €1,000 more than rival models such as Opel's Mokka-e and Peugeot's e-2008, both of which offer slightly less range, but both of which are far smaller cars. The ID.4 City will come with 18-inch alloys, sat-nav, wireless phone charging, and a 'Winter Pack.'
Keeping the same 52kWh battery and the 148hp motor is the ID.4 Style, which adds 19-inch alloys, Matrix LED headlights, a rear-view camera, and three-zone climate control, for €38,548.
Then, the range takes a jump in both price and battery size, with the €44,001 ID.4 Life, which gets the big 77kWh battery, the 204hp motor, and a 519km WLTP range. It will also charge faster, with 125kW DC rapid charging, and 11kW AC 'slow' charging (the lesser ID.4s get a 7.4kW AC system).
Business users
Further up the range there's an ID.4 Business, which gets the big battery and the long-range, and adds interior ambient lighting, tinted rear windows, 19-inch alloys, and costs €48,887. Actually, this seems like a good time to mention business users, who have to pay more up front for their ID.4s, because they don't qualify for the same €5,000 SEAI grant that private buyers get.
Set against that is Volkwagen's calculation that, against a similarly-priced SUV with a petrol or diesel engine, you're going to save more than €340 per month in Benefit In Kind (BIK) if you're a business user-chooser, so over a year you'll be saving almost the extra €5,000 you've spent up front.
At the top of the ID.4 range are the Family, Tech and Max models, which all get high-end options such as the panoramic roof, the augmented reality HUD (on the Tech), three-zone climate, sports seats etc. These versions start at €50,365 for the Family; €53,995 for the Tech; and €57,810 for the Max.
PCP repayments, depending on your deal, start from €349 for a 1st Edition, or €379 for the most basic ID.4 City. It looks as if VW's Irish ID.4 customers are skewing towards the higher-end models, though. Out of the initial delivery of 1st Edition models, some 25 per cent of buyers here have gone for the pricier 1st Edition Max.
Alongside the roll-out of the ID.4, the ID.3 range is now expanding, starting with the most affordable model, the Life, which comes with a 58kWh battery, a 425km range, and a €32,770 price tag. You can upgrade to an ID.3 Business for €36,443; an ID.3 Style for €36,798; an ID.3 Family for €38,125; an ID.3 Tech for €40,197; or an ID.3 Max for €43,934.
Cheaper ID.3 coming
There are also two new ID.3 models, which will top and tail the range. At the top is the new ID.3 Tour, which gets the same 77kWh battery as the pricier ID.4 and has a WLTP range of 542km. That's Tesla-like range, but not for Tesla-like money - the ID.3 Tour costs €42,343. Cheaper than the cheapest (and shorter-ranged) Model 3, and cheaper than the cheapest ID.4 with the same battery, which could be an interesting comparison. The Tour model will also, shortly, get a third rear seatbelt - initially, the Tour was offered in Europe as a strict four-seater, because of the weight of the battery, but Volkswagen seems now to have allayed any concerns over that.
Perhaps more intriguingly, at the bottom end of the ID.3 price range, there will shortly be a new model - the ID.3 Pure. This will have a smaller battery, and the 148hp motor, and a range of around 330km. Volkswagen Ireland says that it will cost less than €30,000, putting it up against the basic versions of the Nissan Leaf (which has only a 275km range) and smaller cars, such as the Opel Corsa-e, which has in and around the same range, at a similar price, but which is a much smaller car.
The arrival of the ID.4 and the expansion of the ID.3 is part of a big electric car push by Volkswagen this year. The two ID models, say VW, arrive in dealers 'carbon neutral' thanks to the use of renewable energy in VW's factories, plus carbon-offsetting for the emissions that are generated. Even the ro-ro container ship that delivers them to Dublin Port runs on waste cooking oil, we're told.
Aside from fully-electric models, Volkswagen Ireland will also be launching a bevvy of plug-in hybrid models this year, including the Golf eHybrid and GTE, the Touareg eHybrid and R PHEV, the eHybrid versions of the Arteon, and the eHybrid Tiguan too.