More cargo space for the E-Passat: Volkswagen ID.7 Tourer has world premiere – electrified station wagon

But it was about time: With the market launch of an electrically powered mid-range station wagon, Volkswagen could actually take combustion-free mobility one step further in this country. The stage is clear for the ID.7 Tourer.

While the first ID.7 sedans are already rolling on local roads, the station wagon version called “Tourer” is currently celebrating its premiere in the studio. Or rather outside the studio, because Volkswagen has rented an ensemble of buildings with presentation areas both inside and outside, which is located in Mallorca, which is already sunny at this time of year. This gives the European press a first impression of how the first purely electrically powered station wagon from Lower Saxony works in reality.

Especially quite long at first glance. At 4.96 meters, the station wagon is no longer than the sedan, but the steeper rear window makes the useful variant appear visually stretched. And behind the large tailgate there is a lot of luggage space with a decent 1714 liters of storage volume if you fold down the rear seat backs. With five people on board and the backrest positioned accordingly, a proper 605 liters still fit in the rear compartment. And the fact that the rear legroom is just as excellent as in the sedan is hardly surprising given the 2.97 meter wheelbase.

So much for the useful part. And since the ID.7 Tourer is already here and can be inspected, I’ll get in at the front first. And then the ambient lighting, which can be set in ten different colors, shines at me. What makes it exciting isn’t the colors, but rather the way it’s designed: it’s backlit decor – it actually looks exciting. Aside from that, the interior appears conventional; A 15-inch touchscreen forms the command center of the ID.7.

However, customers can look forward to a feature whose quality has yet to be proven in practice, but which sounds interesting: namely, the developers have used artificial intelligence to use certain applications. This includes, for example, the integration of ChatGPT into voice control. Just ask a factual question about any subject area? This should result in answers to the same in the future because the system uses large online databases – including Wikipedia. And you should be able to communicate with the system in natural language.

The ID.7 offers long-distance seats

And when I’m already sitting in the car, I have to talk about the built-in armchairs. Sits pretty well for starters. And even without having traveled hundreds of kilometers in them, the high-tech portfolio sounds very tempting for long-distance users. Underneath the upholstery is the technical equipment to give the passengers a “pressure point massage”. In addition, the upholstered surfaces can be air-conditioned upon request. Volkswagen calls this upper-class comfort. I call it a bit marketing. But of course still very nice.

But there are a few other tempting specs. Keyword efficiency. The average consumption of the ID.7 Tourer should only be 14.1 to 16.3 kWh, which would be economical. The range is correspondingly high. Volkswagen states 685 kilometers for the version with an 86 kWh battery. The interested party can optionally get 77 kWh battery capacity. However, customers should choose carefully because the difference is not just in capacity. The larger battery can simply be filled more quickly, with up to 200 kilowatts. The variant with a smaller power storage unit only allows a maximum charging power of 175 kilowatts.

Would you like an approximate house number for charging to 80 percent charge level? The factory communicates in just under 30 minutes for both cases, but with the larger battery you generate more range in the same time. However, both editions produce 286 hp and exert 545 Newton meters of maximum torque on the rear axle alone. This means that acceleration to 100 km/h can be achieved within less than seven seconds.

The station wagon is not lacking in assistance

In addition, the large station wagon offers a lot of assistants, from automatic parking (the computer can remember previously saved points and maneuver there with assistance) to “Travel Assist” with lane changes supported by hardware and software. But being able to actually save lives with relatively little effort is the exit warning. If you park and want to open the door while traffic (especially cyclists) is approaching on the side facing the street, you will not only receive an acoustic warning, but the door opener will even be blocked for a short time.

And after the duty, the free choice: so that the large panoramic roof “Smart Glass” does not blind fellow travelers in the blazing sun, it can be switched to dark electronically. This is made possible by a layer of liquid crystals incorporated into the glass. If you apply voltage, the crystals align themselves so that they either let light through or not.

The ID.7 Tourer also offers some cool lighting options. Matrix LED headlights are of course available on request – but these days that’s no longer enough to lure adult playchildren (of course, there’s also the safety aspect here) from behind the stove. This requires gadgets like the illuminated Volkswagen logo in the front mask. And of course 3D taillights with animated brake lights to increase visibility when decelerating sharply.

The ID.7 is visible anyway, and the designers have already taken care of that – for example with the color-contrasting roofline, which is visually appealing. However, the old switch groups on the steering wheel, which turn operation into a game of skill, are less attractive. A return to the physical buttons like on the recently modified Golf seems to make more sense. But the shelves with the old switch elements probably have to be emptied first.

By the way, the ID.7 should not be a special offer. The sedan starts at 56,995 euros and experience shows that Volkswagen expects a moderate four-figure fee for the station wagon variant of a series. So utility has its price. But customers in this country seem to be happy to pay that, because the sedan in the Passat series only had a niche existence in Germany. Volkswagen has learned from this and only offers the current Passat in our area as a station wagon. With the Tourer, ID.7 sales could develop a certain dynamic and take electromobility in Germany a step further.