New Volkswagen ID. Cross prototype review: small EV could be the perfect city car

Verdict

The Volkswagen ID. Cross has all the ingredients needed to make it a success. It’s comfortable, spacious and efficient, everything an EV needs to be to attract family buyers. We’ll have to wait until we drive the fully finished car before delivering a definitive verdict, but most of the signs are positive at this stage.

Stop us if you’ve heard this one before, but the Volkswagen ID. Cross is a very important car for the German brand. Yes, it feels like we’ve said the same thing about the ID.3 when it was launched, and even the new T-Roc that went on sale earlier this year, but the ID. Cross is the car that, in partnership with the ID. Polo, re-launches VW into the realm of cheap electric cars. 

Expected to cost from less than €28,000 (that’s just over £24,000 but UK prices are yet to be confirmed), the ID. Cross has the potential to be a big seller for Volkswagen, so a lot of work has gone into its development, especially when it comes to space and efficiency. Those two words are key, because this is a car that’s built on the brand’s new MEB+ platform. It is technology shared with the VW Group’s new family of small, front-wheel-drive EVs that includes the Cupra Raval and Skoda Epiq, as well as the ID. Polo, and practicality with low running costs are key aims.

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Having the electric motor mounted on the front axle has allowed VW to maximise the amount of room inside. In fact, while the ID. Cross is similar in size to the VW T-Cross at 4.1 metres long, it actually has more space inside than the T-Roc from the segment above. There’s also a huge boot, at 475 litres, helped by an impressive storage box under the floor and a 22-litre front boot that’s ideal for storing charging cables.

We’ve already driven the Epiq and Raval in prototype form, but this is our first taste of the ID. Cross. The car we are driving on the near 50-mile test route around the outskirts of Amsterdam is almost as close to a production model as you can get. There’s still some subtle fettling to be done, and parts of the interior - such as the door panels - will be worked on, but otherwise it’s virtually the same car that customers will get their hands on later this year. 

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The dashboard is covered, although the disguise really didn’t leave too much to the imagination because all the screens and controls were on display. It was easy to get an idea of how the finished product will look and it’s a suitably classy place to sit. 

Our test car had the larger of the two batteries that will be offered, at 52kWh (there will also be a smaller 37kWh unit available) and, fully charged at the start of our drive, it displayed a potential range of 215 miles. Pulling away, the car’s front-wheel-drive balance is instantly recognisable. You can feel the weight at the front as you drive around town, but that’s not a bad thing because it gives a greater sense of urgency when you prod the accelerator. It also feels planted around tight bends.

The ID. Cross is composed over the smooth streets of Amsterdam and even copes relatively well when we hit the brick-paved roads surrounding the Zandvoort racing circuit. One-pedal driving is possible if you increase the brake energy recuperation levels to maximum, and it works well. If you do have to touch the brakes, there’s no real noticeable difference when the recuperation from the motor drops off and the brakes kick in. This makes city driving incredibly easy and comfortable.

That said, the ID. Cross is just as composed on the motorway. As we turn on to the slip road and accelerate towards Schiphol airport, the 208bhp electric motor provides plenty of shove and the ride feels comfortable when up to motorway speeds. There’s some road noise from the tyres, but overall the sound deadening does a good job. The usual caveat applies that we’ll have to wait to see how it copes with Britain’s potholed roads, but it’s an impressive start. 

What’s even more impressive is that we achieved 4.4 miles per kWh over the duration of the 90-minute drive. While it’s not a groundbreaking figure, the car was pushed relatively hard. If that sort of efficiency can be maintained, a real-world range of almost 230 miles seems more than possible.

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One area where VW has come in for a lot of criticism in recent years is with its interiors. The quality of the materials used inside many of the brand’s early electric cars was questionable, with hard plastics dominating in a bid to cut costs, but thankfully that all seems in the past and the ID. Cross is a great example of this renewed focus on a classy cabin feel. 

Our test car was indicative of a high-spec Style model that we’ll get in the UK, and the trim felt soft to the touch and well-built. Some lower-quality materials were naturally present farther down the cabin, but were mostly out of sight and won’t be an issue for the majority of people.

The retro theme on the 10-inch driver display and 13-inch infotainment screen are a delight. Anyone who grew up in the 1980s will love them. Designed to look like the instruments from a facelifted Mk1 Golf, the screens have a whole host of quirky features, including a fantastic animation of a cassette tape playing when you’re listening to songs. It looks surprisingly realistic.

Of course, the presence of physical buttons is a big talking point, but this is arguably where the ID. Cross lets itself down. While the buttons are there to control the climate and media, a lot still has to be done through the touchscreen. There are no shortcuts to the driving modes, for instance, and you have to drill down through two menus before you can switch between the economy and sport driving modes, or whatever else takes your fancy. Without any paddles behind the steering wheel, exactly the same applies if you want to change the levels of brake energy recuperation. It all seems a bit counterproductive.

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