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VW ID4

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Volkswagen boss Herbert Diess is adamant that the German car company must develop its electric vehicle software in-house. In a recent meeting with executives, Diess outlined Volkswagen’s core needs in the topic of software, indicating that it must be developed in-house and that sourcing effective and dependable software from a notable tech company simply isn’t an option if the company wants to remain independent.
Volkswagen’s EV project, which has been catalyzed by the introduction of the ID. family of vehicles has been a thorn in the side of the world’s leading car company since its introduction. While Volkswagen has made electric models before, they have not been on the company’s new MEB (Modular electric drive matrix) platform designed for electric cars. The platform requires a robustly accurate and scalable software program, something that Volkswagen has encountered several problems with early on in its electric offensive.


But the roadblocks and bottlenecks in Volkswagen’s software are not issues that Diess is willing to have someone else fix. He expects his competent software engineers and other team members to figure out the shortcomings on their own in an attempt to remain free of dependence on another company, whether it would be a tech company like Apple or a fellow electric automaker like Tesla. “We must not hand over data sovereignty, the customer interface, and ultimately the “brain” of the car to the big tech players.”
Tough position to be in when your CEO says your software sucks and you don’t have the team to make it competitive
 
Definitely test drive both. I drove the ID.4 a few days ago and was impressed. The main drawback with the RWD (if you've driven other electrics) is the power. I think Kyle @ Out of Spec downplayed that just a bit. The RWD is a turtle. Tesla Y AWD wins big points for the fun factor.

The AWD ID.4 should be pretty quick though, and for not much more $$$ than RWD. Deliveries are Q4 though.
Yeah, I would be getting the AWD and not the RWD.

however, I just looked up the dimensions and didn’t realize it was that much smaller than the Y. For some reason I thought they were both about the same size. I don’t want to go any smaller than the Y.
 
It has a good charge curve too, very flat from 125 kw. I’ve had a generally poor experience at Electrify America though. They seem to be headed in the right direction with improvements, but as of now my Tesla road trips were way easier.
 
It has a good charge curve too, very flat from 125 kw. I’ve had a generally poor experience at Electrify America though. They seem to be headed in the right direction with improvements, but as of now my Tesla road trips were way easier.
the EA network has a long ways to go before it can be compared to the tesla supercharger network, but it is improving and EA does offer faster charging speeds, so once it becomes a more reliable source of charging I would call it a wash.
 
So I took a Blue ID.4 1st edition (RWD) out today. First, the fit/finish is very nice, as expected.

The new interior is light, solid and comfortable. I don't know if it was due to the white color but the steering wheel seemed HUGE like on a big boat lol. The haptic buttons on the wheel give a more forceful feedback than an iPhone. No complaints. The touchscreen is a decent size and easy to read (very large fonts).

I did find the software lags. If you swipe screens it slides about 75% of the way, freezes, and then continues to the next screen. Hopefully that can be fixed and isn't a RAM or processor limitation.

In terms of EV driving, you get in, press the brake pedal and the car starts (like a Tesla). Then you twist the shifter forward to engage D, twist forward again for B (Braking mode). **NOTE** Twist forward again to go back to D (this got me confused as I twisted it backwards [D is shown as left of B...D | B], but again, keep going forward). Twist backwards for N or Reverse. Press the "P" button to park (like a Tesla).

D mode drove fine, like any automatic allowing coasting and creeping, and always requiring the brake pedal to induce regen slowing/friction brakes. B mode, my preference, provided some regenerative braking torque by just reducing pressure on the accelerator (but no where near as much regen as Tesla). I would say it is similar to when a Tesla battery is cold, and the car reduces regen, and you get about 30% normal regen braking force and are required to use the friction brakes)...but again, even in B mode, you will get MORE regen when also using the brake pedal. I, prefer all of the torque to be on the accelerator like Tesla, so that I almost never use the brake pedal. That is my biggest negative and why I personally wouldn't buy a VAG EV (until they fix this).

Overall, very nice car, drove very well. 0-60 was fine to feel confident in most situations, obviously this is not a performance car and no where near as quick as our Teslas, but it isn't trying to be.

I think the car will be very successful if marketed properly. Anyone who wants a normal car w/ a battery, should drive the ID.4. I haven't tried the Mustang Mach-E, but the ID.4 was impressive overall and will be liked by ICE owners.

Now, we just need AWD and an R version.

Oh, and I test drove a used 2019 GTI Autobahn 6MT...
 
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for me what he said about the Electrify America network is far more crucial to many potential owners of competitors to tesla.
I took my first roadtrip depending on the EA chargers and it was a complete cluster fugg
I never updated. what appears to have happened was the the porsche app locked up, it never ended the initial charging session that failed and consequently I couldn't start another charge. I figured out the mess while on a greenlots charger that was close by. the lesson learned is to be certain the apps are properly logged into and configured.
 
Bjørn Nyland has made a nummer of tests now. He seems pretty impressed. This one will be a big seller. The Y will probably have a bit more interior space but also less comfort and refinement.
I drove one myself, the ID4 is very comfy and good to drive, the B mode is pretty decent regen. It is roomy and refined with much better seats than Tesla. The AR hud is a nerds dream. It is very slow compared to my Model 3 LR but that is OK for a family car.
 
Bump....

Saw Munro review of the VW electric motor.

Glad VW spent a lot of work to make it better. Funny comments with the many screws. No oil filter that Tesla uses.

What do you guys think?
For the Germans, it appears to be a well integrated design. Compared to the Model 3 drive unit, you can tell that Tesla was over compensating for the problems that they had with the original Model S drive unit. Even Sandy said that Tesla may be overshooting it with 1M mile target lifetime. My RAV4 EV has had its Model S-like drive unit replaced twice, so I'm glad that Tesla went with much larger bearings and active lubricant circulation and filtering in my Model 3.

For reference, this is the Munro ID.4 motor video:
 
In the Norwegian Automobile Association (NAF) range test the ID.3 managed 421 km summer and 340 km winter range with the 60 kWh battery. WLTP is 418 km. https://nye.naf.no/elbil/bruke-elbil/test-rekkevidde-vinter-2021
I think it is a reasonable drop in range in winter, 19% and I do believe the HP has an effect.

The 21 Model 3 LR with heatpump had a much bigger drop in range in winter, but only a few percent more than ID.3 at 21% lost range. 655 km vs 519 km. 15 kWh more definetly increase the range, impressive numbers nonetheless.

The 20 LR 3 sans heatpump fared worse, 612 km vs 404 in the winter, a loss of range of 33%!