Review: Volkswagen's ID.4 EV Features Wireless CarPlay and a Gorgeous Infotainment System

[ikramerica]

There certainly is a sales tax on cars sold in the U.S., and lots of cars sold in the U.S. are equipped with DSGs, including various vehicles from Audi/VW that are sold here. I don't know about the parking systems and radar cruise control comparisons, but I hadn't heard that those offered on vehicles sold in the U.S. are inferior, until I read your comment.

The Adaptive Cruise on my Alltrack is fantastic. Because I have a bad foot, I use it as much as possible and enjoy controlling speed, even around town, with my left thumb.

On our Tiguan it’s not quite as good, but still works well. On the 2021.5 Atlas I test drove for a day, it seemed to react more abruptly.

Only my Alltrack has automatic parking and it gets closer to the curb than I could do manually, so I can’t complain.

 

[Biro]

I want to like a number of Volkswagens. But I know each and every one of them will mean trouble and expense down the road.

In the case of this infotainment system, all other acounts are that it is slow, clunky and difficult.

And that's before we get to the part that this vehicle is connected to the internet 24/7 and will be reporting back to the mothership everywhere you go, how you drive as you do it and what your preferences are for anything.

And that information will be sold to third parties. Assume your insurance company will be one of them.

It's the next big money grab by the auto industry - and you'll pay for it with your privacy. No thanks.

 

[twistedpixel8]

Most of our Audi lineup has too much torque for DSG's. You guys enjoy your detuned 1.4T diesel engines. I'll take a slush box on my dual-supercharged V6 S5.

Also the assistance systems are literally the same. The only thing we don't have (and are only software-locked) are the Matrix headlights due to outdated DOT regulations.

Lol no. The reason you don’t get DSG’s is because Americans don’t understand them and can’t use them properly. They give you slush boxes because they’re simple. DSG boxes can handle immense torque.

Your VAG lane assist bounces you between the lines. Ours keeps us centered. You get the old stuff, sorry if this is news to you.

 

[Zdigital2015]

I'm in the U.S. Typically you can't buy much of anything for $45,000 in the states.

$45K gets me a Toyota 4Runner TRD Off Road Premium, a Highlander Hybrid, a Honda Passport or a Civic Type R with money left over, a Subaru Outback, Mazda CX-9, CPO Lexus GX460…lots of great vehicles. Other than Volvo, the rest of the European nameplates are all crap now anyways, but I would be up for an XC60 or a V60.

 

[Zdigital2015]

Friends don’t let friends buy Audi or VW, lease maybe, just to get it out of your system, but never actually buy.

 

[Aston441]

Touchscreens in cars are monumentally stupid and are the main reason the car accident and death rates have been climbing.

 

[SuperMatt]

Touchscreens in cars are monumentally stupid and are the main reason the car accident and death rates have been climbing.

Do you have a source for this statement? I always tend to hear it is distracted driving due to people pulling out their phone and texting while driving. I would have hoped that things like CarPlay where you can glance at a map or use “hey Siri” to have it make calls for you would improve the situation. But I’d be interested to know if that’s not the case.

 

[Aston441]

Do you have a source for this statement? I always tend to hear it is distracted driving due to people pulling out their phone and texting while driving. I would have hoped that things like CarPlay where you can glance at a map or use “hey Siri” to have it make calls for you would improve the situation. But I’d be interested to know if that’s not the case.

I've read multiple studies of what I said, the touch screen of the drivers phone being the main culprit. ANYTHING that takes your eyes off the road is by definition insane. If you're really having a hard time googling today i guess i can look for you.

I have two VWs, one of them has a Porsche badge. I would not have purchased either if they had touch screens. I *drive* and driving well is my entertainment, not some binky blinky on the dash. That's nuts.

Also, all the people decrying VWAG reliability in this thread need to move forward from 10 years ago. VWAG products in many models are now more reliable than Toyota.

I'm a gearhead and a *driver* and have many vehicles. One of them is made by Toyota and is oddly the least reliable vehicle I own. Again, 10 years ago Toyota reliability was untouchable. Now they're kind of junk, which really shocked me.

 

[Aston441]

I've read multiple studies of what I said, the touch screen of the drivers phone being the main culprit. ANYTHING that takes your eyes off the road is by definition insane. If you're really having a hard time googling today i guess i can look for you.

I have two VWs, one of them has a Porsche badge. I would not have purchased either if they had touch screens. I *drive* and driving well is my entertainment, not some binky blinky on the dash. That's nuts.

Also, all the people decrying VWAG reliability in this thread need to move forward from 10 years ago. VWAG products in many models are now more reliable than Toyota.

I'm a gearhead and a *driver* and have many vehicles. One of them is made by Toyota and is oddly the least reliable vehicle I own. Again, 10 years ago Toyota reliability was untouchable. Now they're kind of junk, which really shocked me.

Edit: I guess technically, now that I think about it, one of my VWs has a touch screen, but it's redundant and has physical knobs and switches for every function available while the car is in motion.

 

[nicho]

Most other reviews have been pretty negative on VW’s infotainment system. Did VW update it?

It's in the article.

"Some early reviews of the ID.4 mentioned lag in the infotainment system, but I didn't notice any significant issues in that regard. VW tells me it has updated the infotainment system since those early reviews and fortunately, the ID.4 can also receive over-the-air updates so VW can continue to optimize performance going forward."

 

[nicho]

The CarPlay interface inside the VW looks crappy. Honestly, who okay there being two clocks right next to each other? And showing 4G and 5Ge? This looks like a quick fix to sale cars. Also, who was driving? Why was the cruise set at 70 mph in a 60?

Two clocks... yeah that sucks.

The other stuff though - isn't the 4G showing the car's own connection while the 5Ge is the phone's?

And I'd be worried if anyone was actually driving in the picture referenced, given the roadless hill in the near-foreground. Given the left turn instruction and the 0mph speed indicated, I think they are parked up. Or they just came off another road with a higher speed limit... I think that icon may be allowing a resumption of cruise control rather than indicating it is active.

 

[donguevas]

Whatever infotainment system a car has, it is the first thing to date. I prefer knobs and switches anyway to fumbling through menus to make the aircon stronger, or to change radio stations to one of my favourites. And wireless CarPlay is the last thing I would want, as I have no desire to be needlessly radiated while I pop down to the shops, or go for a long drive.

Then you better turn off your phone. Turn off the wifi in your home and your TV and microwave. Also, there is this pesky ol' thing called the sun, you might want to look that up.

 

[ikramerica]

Lol no. The reason you don’t get DSG’s is because Americans don’t understand them and can’t use them properly. They give you slush boxes because they’re simple. DSG boxes can handle immense torque.

Your VAG lane assist bounces you between the lines. Ours keeps us centered. You get the old stuff, sorry if this is news to you.

My Alltrack has the DSG. The Taos AWD has one. The GLI. The GTI.

But VW also uses the 8-speed non-dsg for many cars because it’s more efficient. It’s a tradeoff: performance vs. CAFE.

 

[ikramerica]

It's in the article.

"Some early reviews of the ID.4 mentioned lag in the infotainment system, but I didn't notice any significant issues in that regard. VW tells me it has updated the infotainment system since those early reviews and fortunately, the ID.4 can also receive over-the-air updates so VW can continue to optimize performance going forward."

The early reviews were beta builds of the OS. The id4 uses a different system than all other VWs.

The other cars all use an instantly responsive head unit with no lag to perform anything.

Never experienced lag in my 2009 Tiguan, 2015 Touareg, 2017 Alltrack or 2018 Tiguan, all with various generations of touch screens, some with Nav.

 

[codeoverride]

How much did VW pay for this article? There is nothing special about that UI. Tesla is still the best.

 

[sunman42]

What a load of pinball-like color and brightness distraction from safe driving, particularly at night.

 

[the7th1]

All good, but WHY oh why does all modern electric cars have to look like bad props from a low budget sci-fi produnction? Can’t we just have “normal” looking cars, but as electric cars? I know electric cars have to be built entirely different, but it must be possible to get rid of the horrible sci-fi trend!

 

[Scoob Redux]

Friends don’t let friends buy Audi or VW, lease maybe, just to get it out of your system, but never actually buy.

Agree. I had the misfortune of being given an Audi Q5 as a rental (in the "luxury" category no less 🤣 ). The shifter was the most unintuitive piece of junk, the infotainment system was awful, and the vehicle constantly tried to take the wheel from me and literally turn away from where I was trying to drive. Unbelievable that people pay money for these things.

 

[Black Belt]

I would never buy another VW. They are garbage and need constant repair

 

[SBlue1]

Most other reviews have been pretty negative on VW’s infotainment system. Did VW update it?

No they paid Macrumors.

 

[rebelbasesloaded]

Songs from Toto and Robert Palmer?? #OkBoomer

 

[kgo]

...and still no Apple Carkey...not really a success with this BMW only feature....

 

[Patchwork]

Last week Autogefühl reviewed the ID3 (along with the Honda e) and said that the infotainment was much improved following a software update. They still didn’t like the capacitive switches and sliders, a criticism I’ve seen elsewhere especially on the mk8 Golf. Unfortunately it seems to be the way a lot of cars are going in getting rid of knobs and buttons. They also weren’t too impressed with the build quality compared to the similar priced Honda, though suspect it won’t be worse than Tesla‘s (I actually own a model 3 and while nothing has fallen off or stopped working, there’s been plenty of niggling issues).

 

[miq]

That would explain it. I was wondering what a car review was doing on here. Wireless CarPlay is hardly a reason to review the whole car.

I don't care if it is electric, there's no way I'd ever buy a VW. Between the mediocre engineering and the shoddy build quality they're just terrible cars.

Shoddy build quality? Huh? You've clearly never driven or even been a passenger in a WV lol.

 

[xalea]

LOL no, there is not 'surging interest' in electric cars. There's a media and occasional government push for them, that's all. The problem is charging for the millions of people who live in condos, apartments, townhouses, etc. and the length of time it takes to charge. Until the charging is as quick as filling up at a gas station, electric vehicles will remain a niche item (and glorified social status symbol).