New Volkswagen ID. Cross to rival Skoda Epiq with a sub-£27,000 price
The impressive Volkswagen ID. Polo will soon gain a larger sibling model
Volkswagen is having something of an electric revolution this year with the new ID.3 Neo, ID. Tiguan and ID. Polo – and soon to join the party will be the all-new ID. Cross.
One look at the Volkswagen ID. Cross’s exterior, combining an elevated ride height, plastic body protection and roof rails, makes clear exactly how it’s positioned. “This is one of Volkswagen Group’s electric urban car family, like the ID. Polo,” product manager Florian Schrader told Auto Express. “But it’s a bigger car with more space and more usability. It’s a true SUV, rolling on larger wheels.”
The ID. Cross can also be seen as an all-electric equivalent to the petrol-powered T-Cross. At 4,153mm long, the new ID SUV is fractionally longer and has an extra 50mm between the wheels, plus it’s wider and taller to boost cabin space. It also has a larger boot, and a 22-litre storage area under the bonnet for the charging cable.
Its size, along with its maximum 271-mile range pitches VW’s new electric crossover squarely against the Skoda Epiq, which is also based on the MEB architecture, and the Renault 4.
How much will the Volkswagen ID. Cross cost?
Given Volkswagen’s slightly more premium badge, the ID. Cross is set to command a small premium over its aforementioned Skoda and Renault rivals. The line-up is set to mirror the ID. Polo’s with two battery options (37kWh and 52kWh units), each available with two trim levels, the entry-level Life and the upper Style.
According to a leading car data platform, the base ID. Cross Life with the smaller battery will start at £26,985, while the 52kWh option should start at £30,450 with the Style version of both costing an extra £3,415.
The ID. Polo, which has the same platform, battery and electric motors as the ID. Cross, is eligible for the Government’s £1,500 Electric Car Grant, so further price reductions could be in store for the electric crossover too.
What does the new Volkswagen ID. Cross look like?
The ID. Cross fits squarely into the new ‘True Volkswagen’ strategy, creating classical bodystyles featuring horizontal lines and easily understood names, rather than the more rounded designs of VW’s ID.3 and ID.4, which have been recently facelifted and renamed the ID.3 Neo and ID. Tiguan, respectively. VW CEO Thomas Schafer has told Auto Express that VW got it wrong with the look, unfamiliar names and digital controls of its first mass-market EVs.
The flagship ID. Cross Style model features full-width lightbars front and rear, illuminated VW badges and whisky tumbler-effect 3D tail-lights. “We tried to make the front end resemble a face: the headlamps are eyes above a smile,” said Schrader. That taps into the new VW design strategy of a likeable appearance, visual stability and surprising details. An example of this is the ‘floating’ roof, segmented by the dark middle and rear pillars: the ID. Cross won’t be offered with contrasting roof paint.
New Volkswagen ID. Cross battery, range and power
Under the skin is VW Group’s MEB+ electric car architecture: 80 per cent of components are shared with the other cars in the family – the ID. Polo, Epiq and Cupra Raval – maximising economies of scale and driving down costs. The four cars offer a choice of two standardised batteries: a 37kWh lithium iron phosphate (LFP) pack and a more expensive, more energy-dense 52kWh NMC unit.
Production starts in October in VW’s factory in Pamplona, Spain, and “we will start with the bigger battery, then come over to the LFP one,” explained Schrader. “Both will be available in short order.”
Big developments compared with the first ID cars include switching the motor from being rear-mounted to spinning the front wheels, and the introduction of a one-pedal driving mode.
The ID. Cross’ APP290 e-motor is available in the UK in two states of tune, with the 114bhp entry-level LFP Trend model not being sold here. The UK line-up starts with the 37kWh battery paired with a 133bhp motor in Life and Style trims, completing the 0-62mph sprint in 9.8 seconds.
But if you’re ever in a hurry, you’ll need the 52kWh pack and its 208bhp motor. Versions with this set-up accelerate from standstill to 62mph in 7.4 seconds. The big battery naturally offers the headline range figure – 273 miles – and the quickest recharging, with its 105kW DC maximum rate replenishing the pack from 10 to 80 per cent in 24 minutes.
The lesser battery is capped at 90kW for DC public charging, with the same 70 per cent top-up taking an extra three minutes. It’s good for about 195 miles on the WLTP cycle. A 52kWh car weighs a minimum of 1,548kg, and there’s only an 11kg weight penalty for the bigger battery, thanks to the standardised cell size and a ‘cell-to-pack’ design, which eliminates the lattice frame found in other IDs.
All ID. Cross EVs have ‘V2L’ capability, with owners able to charge appliances from their car: perfect if you’re camping on top of your ID. Cross, with the roof bars able to withstand a dynamic load of 75kg. The 52kWh version – with its punchier motor – is also able to tow up to 1,200kg. Just don’t expect to make it very far.
What does the VW ID. Cross look like inside?
Inside, the ID. Cross shares much with the ID. Polo. The fabric-trimmed lower dashboard section is the same, as are the twin digital screens and the steering wheel – with proper buttons rather than haptic switches. But above the Style trim’s full-dash lightbar, packing 30 colour variations and extending into the doors, is an upper section that’s taller than the Polo’s and boasts chunky vertical vents befitting an SUV. Occupants operate the air-con using a bank of central switches, as VW responds to a customer revolt against the ID.3’s unintuitive controls.
Giving the ID. Cross’ infotainment some character is the new ‘retro’ mode for the 12.9-inch touchscreen and driver’s display. In this setting, the layout resembles that of a Mk1 Golf, though there’s no readout for engine temperature or revs, and instead you get energy consumption and remaining range.
The front seats are comfortable and owners can option a three-programme massage function, a feature VW claims is unique in the compact SUV class. Another posh option is the 425-watt, 10-speaker Harman Kardon sound system, although its subwoofer eats up a bit of underfloor space in the boot.
We sat in the rear with Schrader at a preview in Hamburg, Germany, and can report that the ID. Cross has adequate legroom for four six-foot adults, and the flat floor is welcome if a child squeezes in the middle. But we’d recommend the optional panoramic glass roof: it felt a bit claustrophobic inside.
The boot is a good size, with its 475-litre capacity beating the T-Cross’s by 20 litres. Fold the rear seats flat and the electric SUV can swallow up to 1,345 litres of cargo. The rear hatch is opened manually, with VW thankfully not fitting a foot-operated tailgate.
Among the standard kit on Life models are 18-inch wheels, twin-zone air-con, a rear-view camera and adaptive cruise control. As well as the fancy external and interior lighting, the flagship Style ID. Cross also adds keyless entry and start.
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