New Volkswagen ID.4 Pro – Motor, Battery Pack, Potential Problems

We know that electric cars are taking their huge share of the market and just pushing away our favorite big-displacement gasoline engine. We can't talk about this without a tear appearing in the corner of our eyes. Yes, we understand that transport should be sustainable and we support the EV revolution. But with a heavy heart, we should fairly say.

Today, we'll tell you whether it's a good idea to pay your money for the Volkswagen ID.4 Pro. This is the base and the cheapest trim of this model offered in the American market. What kind of equipment does it offer? Is it better than other electric cars you may choose? And what kinds of problems you may expect to encounter with this EV?

Key features and my opinion about the powertrain

• Production years:2020-now
• Average lifespan of ID.4 powertrain:200,000-220,000 miles
• Fuel type:electricity
• Power range:146-302 hp
• Energy efficiency:average
• Electric motor type:permanent magnet brushless motor
• Powertrain reliability score:medium
• The most common problems:software problems, wiring issues, high energy consumption.

What should you know about the Volkswagen ID.4 Pro?

This is a relatively new vehicle. First buyers got their hands on some of these electric SUVs only in 2021. So, we definitely don't know about them as much as we would want to know. But this problem is common for all new electric vehicles. Even Tesla makes hundreds of changes and improvements in their vehicles and you can never say anything about their quality and longevity.

So, the VW ID.4 comes in several trims with the cheapest one called Pro. It costs about $42,500 and it offers basically the same performance that you can get from any other trim of the ID.4. So, we can say even now, we wouldn't invest in any other trim but Pro.

Here are some key points for your consideration:

• the vehicle comes with rear-wheel drive, but the AWD is also available in a special extended trim called AWD Pro (almost $4K more expensive, and that's ridiculous);
• the Pro trim offers one electric motor and the power of 201 hp - that's not a lot if you compare it with other EVs, but it's enough for good driving;
• the battery pack is standard for all trims - it's 82 kWh which is not much better or worse than any electric SUV in this price range;
• the consumption is frustrating, probably because of the weight and size of the vehicle, it takes about 30 kWh to drive 100 miles;
• the range is considered to be 280 miles if you believe Volkswagen, but we actually checked it and the ID.4 appeared to be the first vehicle on our memory to actually correspond to these claimed numbers;
• the vehicle is huge and it offers wonderful space, but this is the only good thing we can say about its interior, it's just cheap and doesn't give you any pleasant experience when you drive.

When we first saw the ID.4, all our writers and editors were just amazed by the vehicle. It looked beautiful and unusual, it made a wonderful first impression and we were surprised. But after driving the EV, you won't feel this anymore. It's clear that Volkswagen saved up money wherever they could and this made the vehicle a little poor.

By the way, it's not only about the Pro trim. Almost nothing will change in the AWD Pro S which is the most expensive version that costs $8K more than the base Pro trim. Eight thousand and barely something valuable was included in the Pro S.

By the way, in 2023, Volkswagen will offer a smaller battery version and a cheaper trim. If the price goes down to $38,000, this will probably be the best offer on the market.

What's the longevity of the VW ID.4?

You may want to know how many miles the Volkswagen ID.4 will go before you buy the vehicle. And unfortunately, no one will tell you. The vehicle is too fresh and no one understands exactly how long it can last.

We will make our predictions. Volkswagen is not new to electric vehicles. They have been working with them for more than a decade now and they perfectly know how to make a good electric vehicle. But still, they have some issues with durability.

We believe, electric motors, wiring, bodies, and controllers will go more than 400,000 miles while the battery pack will have to be replaced at about 200,000 miles or after 7 years. Also, we think that your interior will need some minor repairs and new parts after 100K miles. We just hate those hard and cheap plastic parts and unreliable materials used in this Volkswagen.

Let's sum up. If you are ready to pay about $8,000 for the new battery after you've already driven 200,000 miles in your Volkswagen, you can drive it for another 200K miles and then just sell the vehicle to a scrapyard when it has 400,000 miles on it. We believe it's possible with the ID.4.

Battery degradation - how much range will you be losing?

We believe, the battery degradation will not be as bad as in some other EVs. We expect it to be about 2.5% per year if you use the vehicle in "family" mode. But intensive use (over 20K miles yearly) will kill the battery for 7 to 10 years.

If you charge your VW ID.4 only at Superchargers, you will probably lose the battery sooner than in 4 or 5 years.

So, we can say that the VW ID.4 battery degradation will be the first important reason for an expensive repair. The replacement of your battery will cost a huge amount of money and you will probably think of changing your vehicle once you see any signs of bad battery degradation.

What are some of the potential common problems with the ID.4?

We know that a lot of Americans don't like Volkswagen cars after all those problems with their diesel engines and ecology rules. But we should have a fresh look at these vehicles because they offer quite a lot and they are really good counterparts for all other EVs available on the market.

For your consideration, we've found out which common problems you may potentially encounter if you buy the new Volkswagen ID.4 Pro. And we are not really scared of any of these problems.

• Low-quality interior materials. This means that in 5 years your car interior will look shabby. Also, it's not very convenient to be in the vehicle and to use all features it offers. Unfortunately, there is no proper solution to this problem.
• Battery controller problems. You may not know this but Volkswagen has already issued a recall for almost half a million ID.4 vehicles to repair the faulty controller. And this shows that the controller will not be the most reliable part of all ID.4 EVs.
• Electrical issues. It wouldn't be a Volkswagen if it didn't throw some electrical problems at you all the time. You will see those pretty strange error messages every month or two and will have to contact your dealer to have the vehicle diagnosed and updated to avoid problems.
• Charging problems. We've heard that even now some owners have reported charging issues. Again, we remember the eGolf charging problems that were very common and we believe Volkswagen is going to make it a sad tradition. Once your EV SUV may just refuse to charge and you will have to do some magic to avoid towing it to your dealer.

So, what else can you buy with this money?

We've analyzed the market and have found some other vehicles that you may want to buy instead of your Volkswagen ID.4. We've looked at the class (EV SUV) and also at price to provide you with the list of competitors.

And here is our list:

• Ford Mustang MACH-E Select. The same price, much better interior, much better overall experience but worse range and performance. This is what the Mach-E may offer. If you like American vehicles more than European, the Ford will be a better option for you.
• Hyundai IONIQ 5. This is actually the vehicle we would buy instead of the Volkswagen. It's cool in terms of design, technologies, and interior features. It looks good, goes well, and feels like a solid vehicle. One problem - saying that it's an SUV will not be completely correct.
• Tesla Model Y. If you have $20K more than an average Volkswagen ID.4 buyer, you should better look at the Tesla. It's a more predictable vehicle with wonderful features on offer. The only problem is the price.
• KIA Niro EV. A wonderful alternative that even costs $4K cheaper. Yes, it feels a little worse than the Volkswagen, and it goes fewer miles per single charge. But it's still a wonderful and reliable EV SUV with a proper warranty.
• Volvo XC40 Recharge. Again, this is the Tesla Model Y competitor with a much higher price than the Volkswagen. But should it be overlooked? Of course, no! If you want a wonderful interior and premium handling, then consider this vehicle.

Final words

To sum up, we know that the Volkswagen ID.4 has some wonderful advantages like great performance and the best range in its price niche. It's a relatively big car that may be comfortable for you if you are ready to put up with cheap interior materials and strange handling. But if you are going to buy the ID.4, we wouldn't recommend you go up from the Pro version. Any other version will be just a waste of your money.