The ID.5 is a coupe version of the ID.4 & is aimed at those who want a family electric car with a bit of extra style. Back in the late Summer we took one out to see if it’s as good as it looks.
What is it ?
A five door family crossover. From the outside it’s certainly more striking to look at than an ID4, with a new rear end design & C-pillars giving, it a more sloping roofline & a boot lid that features a rear wing.
Model choice & battery range
Choose from one 77kWh battery with three power options. ID.5 Pro with 174PS, Pro Performance with 204PS or GTX with 299PS. ID.5 is available in three specs; Style,Tech & Max. The 77kWh battery offers a 324, 322 or 314 mile range, dependant on spec choice.
Equipment & goodies
All ID.5’s offer customers plenty of standard equipment. This includes fast charging 135 kW DC & 11 kW AC, Climatronic air-con, keyless entry & start, 12-way electric seats, a heated steering wheel, Adaptive Cruise Control, Travel Assist, Park Assist Plus, DAB, Apple Car Play, Android Auto & Discover Max Pro Nav with a 12″ colour touchscreen.
Our TECH 204PS Pro Performance also featured Wireless App-Connect, wireless smartphone charging, 19″ alloys, IQ.Light Matrix, 3D LED rear lights, panoramic glass, rear tinted glass & 30 colour interior ambient lighting.
Interior
This mirrors the inside of an ID.4. So factor in a centrally mounted 12″ infotainment touchscreen, a 5.3″ dash panel display, a flat bottomed steering wheel & a gear lever on the right end of the centre console that you twist to select from Drive, Reverse or Neutral.
The colour-way on our test model was different, featuring Soul Black & Florence Brown upholstery & Florence Brown & Soul Black dashboard. Build quality is pretty good, perhaps a step up on ID.4, although there are some cheaper, harder plastics located lower down & the seat fabric looks cheap.
Practicality
The interior offers at least as much room as you’ll find in a Volkswagen Tiguan. Front seat passengers are spoiled for space, with even an armrest each. In the rear, there’s room for three adults to sit comfortably side by side. Cabin storage is generous, so you get four large door pockets, two central cup holders, some clever central storage between the front seats, where the twin USB’s are located.
Rear passengers get plenty of head & legroom. They also get two c USB’s, as well & their own heating vents. And if there’s only two in the back, an armrest folds down, inside of which there are cupholders.
Luggage capacity with the rear seats upright, is a more than generous 549 litres, which increases to 1,561 litres with the rear seats folded. The boot is flat & rectangular, so it’s easy to slide stuff in & out of it. There’s a hidden storage space under the boot floor, where the two charging cables can be stored out of sight. All ID 5’s except those in entry-level Style trim come with an electrically operated tailgate as standard.
Tech & connectivity
Volkswagens Discover Pro Navigation system with 12″ colour touchscreen & touch-sensitive functionality, dominates the centre of the dash. You get preloaded European navigation data, branded points of interest, a 2D or 3D map view, speed limit display & car information display at the touch of a button. It also allows for the simultaneous pairing of two compatible mobile devices & SMS functionality. Radio lovers don’t worry, there’s a DAB digital radio receiver, with six speakers & Bluetooth telephone & audio connections.
App-Connect also features. This combines the functionality of Apple CarPlay, Android Auto & MirrorLink, allowing mirroring of smartphone display on the infotainment touchscreen. This can be connected wirelessly. ID.5 also gets ID.Light & We Connect, which provides continuous interaction between driver & vehicle. For example, this includes ‘eCall’, which allows emergency SOS calls & comes with an automated breakdown notification. It also includes a regular vehicle health report & reminds the driver of the car’s service schedule.
Battery range & performance
Our test car was the ID.5 5 TECH Pro Performance, fitted with the 77 kWh battery with 204 PS of power. Maximum torque is 310Nm, top speed 99mph & 0-62mph takes just 8.4 seconds.
Claimed WLTP range is 315 miles, with consumption at 4.1miles per kWh.
Charging
Using a standard 7.2kW home charger, it will take 11 hours to fully charge the battery from zero. We recommend Rolec; https://www.rolecserv.com/ev-charging All ID’5’s are supplied with a 3 32-amp / 7.2kW charging cable & come with a 3 year mobility guarantee in case of car breakdown
ID.5 can also be fast charged, either via a 125 kW DC (direct current)or 11 kW AC (alternating current). Using the former means charging to 80% capacity in just 25 minutes.
Functionality
Most of the cars functions are touch-sensitive & controlled through the touchscreen. In fact, all of Volkswagens updated models now feature the same system. The system itself is very intuitive & it doesn’t take to long to grasp its finer points.
The screen is easy to reach & the menus are straightforward. The on screen graphics are clear & sharp & the set-up is very responsive.
Something that’s easy to get used to is the keyless-entry-and-go system. As long as you have the key, the ID.5 will unlock itself & when you push the brake pedal the engine will start. Select Drive from the twisty gear lever & away you go. When you come to stop, you just press Park, get out & the car will switch itself off & lock behind you.
Driving
Weighing at 2,117kg the ID.5 is no light weight. However, the location of the battery under the chassis means that it’s surprisingly balanced on the road & corners pretty well. The 201bhp electric motor with 150kW or 204PS & 310Nm of torque, will propel the ID.5 quite quickly in a straight line, but on country roads, it’s a little more cumbersome.
Thanks to it’s single-speed automatic transmission & rear wheel drive set-up, it’s at it’s in urban traffic or taking you along a motorway, with both tasks undertaken in supreme quiet & relaxing comfort.
To enhance battery range, you can select a regenerative brake mode. In Drive, you simply twist & push the gear lever to select the B function, which gives you access to this. Unlike some EV’s, the strength of the regeneration on ID.5 as with ID.4 & ID.3, is not that high. This is a good thing & makes the ID.5 better to drive than some of it’s competitors.
As far as driving modes go, you can select from Eco, the best for saving battery range, limiting you to a top speed of 80mph; Comfort, Sport or Individual.
Pros
For company car drivers, the benefits of running an ID.5 are impossible to ignore. Charging regularly at home & at night on a cheaper tariff will save on your fuel bill & there’s the BIK tax savings too. Furthermore, the 77kWh battery on ID.5 offers customers a real world 250-275 mile driving range. And as a bonus the ID.5 is striking to look at.
Cons
The ID.5 is heavy so it’s not as fun to drive as a petrol Tiguan. For a car that retails at nearly £55,000, some of the fixtures & fittings aren’t as good as you’ll find on a Volkswagen Golf which is disappointing. And talking of cost, this is a car to be leased as a company car option.
Conclusion
The ID.5 we tested with its 77kWh battery & coupe good looks ,is a great addition to the ID family. The driving range it offers is comparable with the electric competition from within, the Skoda Enyaq & abroad, KIA EV6, Nisan Ariya & Hyundai IONIQ 5. It’s also a proper family five-seater, offering buyers loads of practical space. For customer convenience, it comes equipped with the latest tech & safety features. Furthermore, the BIK benefits are immense, so if you’re a company car driver who needs a large family car, it should be on your shopping list.
A Monchengladbach 4/5
