2023 Dodge Hornet vs 2023 Volkswagen ID.4

The Hornet is introduced as a compact utility vehicle, or CUV. This would seem to suggest that “compact” and “sport” are mutually exclusive (no shade on Dodge; they didn’t coin the term). But the Hornet defies that with its emphasis on power, attitude, and in-crowd fun.

Yes, the Hornet is also notable in that the 2024-model-year hybrid R/T is Dodge’s first electrified performance vehicle. But every automaker has—or will soon have to have—its own first electrified model. That in itself is these days remarkable only internally. However, we would argue that the Hornet represents a gateway with influence far outside the company as well: It creates a previously nonexistent pathway for the type of consumers the Dodge brand targets, who will now be able to take the step toward electrification without sacrificing their street cred.

The Volkswagen ID.4 is still relatively new to the marketplace (it debuted for the 2021 model year) but VW is already making some important updates to keep it competitive and fulfill goals set when this compact electric SUV first launched.

The 2023 Volkswagen ID.4 adds a new base model and a smaller 62-kilowatt-hour battery pack alongside the carryover 82-kWh to increase affordability. VW will also begin sourcing cars for its United States dealerships from the same Chattanooga, Tennessee, factory that builds the gasoline-powered Atlas and Atlas Cross Sport. The automaker has been discussing this since the ID.4 was unveiled, but at first cars for the U.S. came from Zwickau, Germany.

The 2023 ID.4 retains single-motor rear-wheel drive (RWD) and dual-motor all-wheel drive (AWD) powertrain options, but gets revised exterior and interior styling, some software changes, and a few more standard tech features and driver aids.

The new-for-2023 base model is dubbed ID.4 Standard, slotting below the ID.4 S, ID.4 Pro, ID.4 Pro S, and ID.4 Pro S Plus trim levels (the Pro S Plus replaces the Gradient appearance package from previous model years). We recently spent a day driving a Pro S AWD model from Nashville to Chattanooga, along with a shorter drive in an ID.4 Standard model.