2024 Volkswagen ID.4 Reviews, Pricing & Specs

Drama isn’t part of the Volkswagen ID.4’s design recipe, so, like most Volkswagens, it has a conservative but timeless look that is aging well. This year, the all-wheel drive (AWD) versions have standard 20-inch wheels, while the S Plus trim has a 21-inch design.

The lineup requires some explanation. First, there are two models: ID.4 and ID.4 Pro. The ID.4 has a 62-kilowatt-hour (kWh) battery, while the ID.4 Pro gets an 82-kWh battery. Next, there are three trim levels: base, S, and S Plus. In addition, you can equip the Pro models with AWD for added traction and performance. Prices range from a manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) of $39,735 for the entry level trim to $57,055, plus a destination charge of $1,425 to ship it from the Chattanooga, Tennessee, factory to your dealership.

Volkswagen says 2024 ID.4s equipped with a battery sourced from SK On qualify for the full $7,500 federal tax credit paid at the time of purchase. In addition, every 2024 ID.4 comes with 500 kWh of free DC fast charging at Electrify America (EA) stations, plus a complimentary three-year EA Pass+ membership with discounted charging rates. Previously, VW provided unlimited free 30-minute charging sessions for three years.

We drove an ID.4 Pro S, so it had the larger battery pack (Pro), the mid-level trim (S), and rear-wheel drive (RWD). With extra-cost paint and the destination charge, the price came to $51,815 before applying the $7,500 credit.

Inside the S and S Plus trims, Volkswagen has stepped away from last year’s Cosmic interior treatment, with its light gray and blue color scheme. In 2024, you can get Cosmic Black (black and blue) or Galaxy (black and gray) artificial leather upholstery. The standard models continue with your choice between Nutmeg/Brown and Stone/Black fabric with artificial leather bolsters.

Other changes include a new transmission shift stalk on the right of the steering column, revised steering wheel controls, available ventilated front seats, and a Harman Kardon premium sound system option. Every ID.4 Pro also gets a new 12.9-inch touchscreen infotainment system with an improved user experience.

When the ID.4 went on sale in 2020, the interior was radically different from a typical car. Today, and especially to people with experience driving electric vehicles, it is less unusual.

Still, quirks remain. For example, the dual-function power window controls can cause aggravation until you get used to them. Also, the ID.4 turns itself on and off, potentially adding some hassle, though there is a hidden button on the steering column allowing you to manually turn the EV on and off.

The 2024 Volkswagen ID.4 isn’t a compromised EV thanks to the new rear electric drive motor that comes on the single-motor Pro (82 kWh) models. It supplies 282 horsepower and 402 pound-feet of torque and scoots the ID.4 to 60 mph in a claimed 5.9 seconds. That’s 1.3 seconds quicker than the 2023 model. The 62-kWh models continue to use the previous motor, making 201 hp and 229 lb-ft of torque.

Get the 2024 ID.4 Pro with AWD, and it adds an electric motor at the front to assist with traction when necessary. There is no connection between the front and rear motors, and each independently drives the wheels on its respective axle. With the dual-motor AWD powertrain, the ID.4 makes 335 hp with 99 at the front wheels and 402 lb-ft at the rears. According to VW, acceleration to 60 mph takes 4.9 seconds, making the ID.4 Pro all-wheel drive models 0.8 of a second faster to that speed.

In addition, the 2024 ID.4 Pro models offer more driving range on a full charge. Official EPA ratings are 291 miles of range at 30 kWh/100 miles with RWD and 263 miles at 33 kWh/100 miles with AWD. The standard models with the 62-kWh battery can travel an EPA estimated 206 miles.

All ID.4 models are compatible with 11-kW Level 2 home charging stations. The 62-kWh battery fully recharges in 6.25 hours or less, while the 82-kWh battery tops off in eight hours or less. Visit a DC fast charger, and the 62-kWh battery pack can handle up to a 140-kW charging rate, while the 82-kWh battery accepts up to 175 kW. Volkswagen says any ID.4 can DC fast-charge from 10% to 80% in about 30 minutes.

Our testing took place during a media event. We spent less than two hours with the ID.4 Pro S with RWD, driving in and around Pasadena, California. Therefore, we did not experience a charging-station visit. On a drive route including city, freeway, and mountain road driving, the observed efficiency rate was 28.6 kWh/100 miles, scoring a little better than the EPA rating. We drove the SUV in Normal mode with the Brake mode active.

Acceleration is substantially better with the new electric motor, and the ID.4 doesn’t seem breathless as velocity increases. Merging onto freeways is easy, and zipping up Angeles Crest Highway into the local mountains proved effortless. At higher speeds, more road noise filters into the cabin than is preferable.

On its 20-inch wheels and with the slot-car handling common to EVs, the ID.4 handled well on the twisty mountain roads, with steering feel and response aligned with this VW’s mission. In the city, the ID.4 has a firm ride, but it isn’t uncomfortable.

The brake pedal feels natural underfoot, always a challenge with regenerative brakes. With the regen braking mode active, you can feel it more when coasting at highway speeds than in the city. It can bring the ID.4 nearly to a stop, but it isn’t a one-pedal driving system. That’s fine, because after the novelty of one-pedal drive wears off, it’s more a game than a practical tool.

Overall, in this environment, the 2024 ID.4 Pro proved agreeable to drive. Moreover, it performs on par with its rivals, making it seem less like a compromise and more like a competitor.

Depending on the model and trim level, the changes to the 2024 Volkswagen ID.4’s interior make it easier to use and more comfortable to be in.

For starters, the transmission selector moves from a pod to the right of the digital instrumentation to a stalk on the right side of the steering wheel. The wiper controls move to the left stalk in 2024, and the lighting controls are exclusively grouped on a touch-sensing pad on the left side of the dashboard.

In addition, the touch-sensing controls on the steering wheel get minor modifications, but we still accidentally activated the heated steering wheel during our drive. The problem with these, and similar ones in other vehicles, is that it’s too easy to unintentionally turn things on or off, or change data on a screen, or make some other needlessly irritating error.

In the Pro versions of the ID.4, the new 12.9-inch touchscreen infotainment system aims to improve usability in 2024. It makes the climate controls more readily accessible, and the touch-sensing slider controls for volume and temperature are now illuminated at night so that you can see what you’re doing.

Comfort improves, too, with the Pro S and Pro S Plus models adding new ventilated front seats this year. They’ll make it easier to live with the simulated leather upholstery in hot and muggy climates. We didn’t have a need for them on a sunny February day in SoCal, but it doesn’t take much imagination to guess they’ll make ID.4 owners happier in places like Miami or Phoenix.

Both of the ID.4’s front seats are comfortable and provide an excellent view out. Heated front seats, heated side mirrors, and heated washer nozzles are standard, while AWD models add a heated windshield. A heated steering wheel is available and the S Plus versions have heated rear seats and a triple-zone climate control system.

Rear passengers enjoy just enough legroom and footroom, and the seating position is excellent with good thigh support and a comfortable backrest angle. Air conditioning vents, USB-C charging ports, and a small cubby enhance occupant satisfaction, and a center armrest with cupholders folds down when a fifth passenger isn’t along for the ride.

The 60/40-split folding back seat has a center pass-through for carrying longer items while preserving room for passengers. Behind it, the ID.4 holds 30.3 cubic feet of cargo. Fold it down, and the maximum cargo-space volume is 64.2 cubic feet. There isn’t a front trunk (frunk).

In addition to the new rear electric motor, the big news for the 2024 VW ID.4 is the 12.9-inch touchscreen infotainment system that comes standard with the Pro models. In some ways, it isn’t as graphically appealing. But the user experience improves, and that’s what is important.

The new layout includes a home screen with four main data panels, quick access to all primary menu tiles with the ability to arrange them in your order of preference, and a strip of climate controls that lives at the bottom of the screen and is always visible. The volume and temperature touch-sliders are newly illuminated at night, so you can find them and use them after the sun goes down.

A new benefit to the standard navigation system is a battery preconditioning feature. During a longer trip, you can program charging station waypoints and, as you approach them, the battery will start preparing itself for a DC fast-charging session.

A nine-speaker Harman Kardon premium sound system is also available for the first time, but only with S Plus trim.

From the larger display to its simplified user experience, the ID.4’s new infotainment system represents an improvement. We had no trouble quickly pairing an iPhone and wirelessly running Apple CarPlay, and the native environment is reasonably easy to use, especially if you take the time to customize its layout. It also incorporates gesture control, but during the limited time we had with the SUV, we forgot to give it a try.

Volkswagen equips the new infotainment system with three years of complimentary access to Plus Nav (traffic, fuel price, and parking data) and Plus Speech. That latter feature adds a digital voice assistant named Ida who can recognize conversational commands. You can customize the assistant’s name to anything you prefer.

Unfortunately, Ida could not help us find a Starbucks, a Chipotle, a favorite restaurant using only the establishment’s name and street, or reggae music via the SiriusXM 360L satellite radio subscription. However, getting directions to a nearby hospital and to the White House was no problem, and we used voice commands to adjust the climate control system. So, Ida was successful about half the time.

In addition to Plus Nav and Plus Speech, every ID.4 includes a free five-year subscription to two Car-Net connected service plans: Remote Access and Safe & Secure. Remote Access allows remote battery charging, climate control operation, charging station search, and roadside assistance calling from a smartphone app. Safe & Secure includes automatic crash notification and SOS emergency assistance.

You can also turn the ID.4 into a Wi-Fi hotspot with the Car-Net Hotspot service, and through that you can upgrade to a Plus Online Radio Package with access to over 30,000 internet radio and podcast stations.

Every Volkswagen ID.4 has a post-collision braking system that brings the SUV to a stop as soon as possible following an accident in which the airbags deploy. This helps to prevent injury in secondary collisions after the initial impact.

In addition, Volkswagen’s IQ.Drive collection of advanced driver assistance systems is standard. The list of features is long, and includes Travel Assist and Emergency Assist.

Fortunately, we did not require Emergency Assist during our drive. It can recognize when a driver has become unresponsive due to sleep or a medical problem, and can bring the ID.4 to a safe and controlled stop with the hazard lights flashing.

We did use the semi-autonomous Travel Assist feature, but only briefly on a Pasadena-area freeway. It smoothly managed following distance to traffic ahead as well as situations where another vehicle cut into the gap in front of the ID.4. The lane-centering function was accurate, too. However, a more extensive test on a wider variety of roads would be necessary to fully evaluate the technology.

Volkswagen also offers a semi-autonomous parking assist system on the ID.4. In addition to the usual ability to help you park in a parallel or perpendicular space, it includes something called Memory Parking. That allows you to save up to five different parking maneuvers, such as parking in an assigned space in a cramped building garage. Save the maneuver, and the ID.4 can autonomously execute the necessary movements thereafter.

In crash testing, the ID.4 earns favorable ratings from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Evaluations by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) are incomplete, but in the few rated assessments the electric SUV performs well.

With competitive prices, improved performance, enhanced technology, reasonable charging times, and an impressive list of standard and available features, the 2024 Volkswagen ID.4 offers good value.

That’s especially true when you consider it is currently the only EV from an import automaker eligible for the $7,500 federal income tax credit on a purchase. That discount, now paid at the time of sale, drops the price of a base ID.4 into gas-fueled compact crossover SUV territory, where the Honda CR-V and Toyota RAV4 dominate.

In addition, Volkswagen supplies 500 kWh of complimentary charging, two years or 20,000 miles of free scheduled maintenance, and generous Car-Net connected service trial subscriptions. So, in addition to an EV’s inherent lower costs of ownership, VW adds several sweeteners to entice buyers.

Granted, the Volkswagen ID.4 isn’t exciting to look at, thrilling to drive, or a rolling emblem of success. Neither was the original Beetle, but it went on to change mobility for the world. Still, the Bug oozed personality. The ID.4 does not.