First ride in an electric VW ID.6
Two sizes bigger
VW ID.6 2022
© press-inform – the press office
The ID family from Volkswagen is growing and thriving. 6, the next electric SUV, celebrated its premiere at Auto China in Shanghai this spring. The electric crossover started in China with a slight delay. We have already done a lap with the big brother of ID.4 and ID.5.
Volkswagen is bringing more and more children from its electric family to the automotive world. After the ID.3 was intended to inspire Europeans, especially as an electric alternative to the Golf, the world citizen followed with the larger ID.4 and its now following coupé variant ID.5. Before using the ID. Buzz, the Americans are to cheer from 2023, the focus is on the Wolfsburg-based company’s largest market: China. Here, even with electric cars, it can and must be one size larger and that is what the new ID.6 should fix. Strictly speaking, the VW ID.6 is available in duplicate, because it is produced in parallel by the two VW cooperation partners FAW and SAIC. The version from the north is called ID.6 Crozz and is manufactured in Anting, while the ID.6 X rolls off the production line in Foshang in the south of the country. Technically, both models on the MEB modular electrical construction kit are largely identical, but there are slight visual differences at the front and rear. The two China brothers offer space for up to seven people over a length of 4.88 meters each, as, in contrast to ID.4 and ID.5, there are three rows of seats thanks to the 30 centimeter increase in length. The space available in the front and in the rear is good – the seats in the third row, which can be folded out in the cargo area, are at best emergency seats for children.
The various versions of the Chinese VW ID.6 are available with either rear-wheel or all-wheel drive. There are 132 kW / 180 PS, 150 kW / 204 PS or a top version with 225 kW / 306 PS and a maximum torque of 220 or 310 Nm. At least on the Chinese market, the top version is regulated at 160 km / h and not at 180 km / h as in Europe. From a standing start, the basic version sprints to 100 km / h in 9.5 seconds, while this time is reduced to 6.6 seconds in the 306 hp top model. The 2.3-ton VW ID.6 is offered from both plants with battery packs of 62 and 82 kWh, respectively. The electrical ranges are between 436 and 588 kilometers according to the Chinese consumption cycle China-NEDC. The latest software update can be used to charge 135 kW.
At the wheel you hardly notice any difference to the smaller VW ID.4. There is almost 150 kilograms more weight, but even the increase in length and the wheelbase extended to 2.97 meters hardly make any significant difference in terms of driving dynamics. The low center of gravity and the direct steering remain pleasant, although the electric steering remains artificial and the feedback is completely different from that of the combustion models. However, you can get used to it quickly and the support is always precise enough. This also applies to the springing of the front axle, which is similar to the VW ID.4 and is completely different from a VW Tiguan Allspace or even a VW Touareg, on whose door the almost 4.90 meter long Chinese-made electric crossover knocks.
The standard equipment of the new VW ID.6 is also very similar to that of the small ID.4 and its coupé brother ID.5. There are animated instruments with a display unit that is too small, along with a lush head-up display with augmented reality function behind the steering wheel. The twelve-inch central display in the middle of the dashboard is large and easy to use. Since the demand for luxury equipment is greater in China than in Europe, the two ID.6 variants, unlike on the European market, are also available with electric leather seats and not just chairs with fabric or plastic. The second row of seats, which can also be heated on request, can be moved in length and the standard panoramic roof with an opening function is also available on request. The VW ID.6 rolls on 19 to 21 inch aluminum wheels.
With its ID family, Volkswagen wants to ensure that at least half of its new vehicles will be electrically powered by 2030. Eight ID families are to be launched in China by 2023. However, there is hardly any doubt that the VW ID.6 will also make the leap to Europe and in particular to the USA in time, because the ID.4 is too small for the Americans and even in Europe you need more models than for your own electrical specifications previously planned. There shouldn’t be any decentralized production for the time being and so the VW ID.6, like the BMW iX3, would probably be exported from China to the world.