Volkswagen has revealed a preview of the next model in its electric ID range and it will be one of the most affordable electric cars around. This is the ID. 2all, and the production version is set to go on sale in Ireland in 2025.
Will the Golf name be used in production?
The ID. 2all is still, technically, a show car, but it's based on the ID. Life concept that was shown in 2021. That car's boxy, crossover silhouette was completely redesigned after Volkswagen brough in a new designer, Andreas Mindt.
There is still a faint chance that the new ID model might involve the Golf name in some way. VW brand boss Thomas Schafer has recently spoken of the Golf badge, saying that it just didn't make sense to not make use of such an iconic name.
Whether the Golf name is included or not, the price tag should be pretty enticing. VW is talking about a starting price of close to €25,000 - potentially as low as €22,000 - and even if Irish taxes bump that up a bit, the new EV should be one of the most affordable on the market.
The styling is far softer and more flowing than that of the ID. Life, and ditches that concept's overt boxiness in favour of curves and handsome styling that - on this showing - nicely combines ID range styling cues with touches of the Mk7 and Mk6 Golfs particularly around the C-pillar, which is large in the classic tradition of the Golf.
"The most important value for Volkswagen design is stability," says Andreas Mindt, the new head of Volkswagen design. This includes value stability, stability of form, reliability and recognisability. "A second core element of the brand is likeability," explains the designer. "The Beetle, Volkswagen bus, new Beetle and ID. Buzz clearly demonstrate this. Stability and likeability - we have to achieve these two values in every respect. We also want to create excitement in our customers. For example, with added dynamics, improved operability or the classic 'form follows function' of an ID. Buzz or Golf. Technologies, forms and concepts are what make a Volkswagen desirable. They are all reflected in the ID. 2all."
Small car, big boot
On the car's similarity in style to a Golf, Mindt says: "The C-pillar is the backbone of the Volkswagen design. In the ID. 2all, the stability of the C-pillar initially flows from the backbone into the side body elements."
In spite of the car's small size - it's just 4.0 metres long, about the same as a Polo - there's a pretty big boot with 440 litres with the rear seats up - quite a bit more than you get in either the current Golf or the ID.3 - and up to 1,330 litres if you fold the back seats. There's an additional 50-litre storage box under the back seat.
Underneath, the all-electric platform is based on the existing MEB structure that's used by the ID.3, ID.4, and ID. Buzz but switches from the rear-wheel-drive setup used by those three cars to a front-wheel-drive layout and is now officially called 'MEB Entry'. While it's a more sophisticated platform in some ways, it should also be cheaper to build, as it very likely uses lithium-phosphate batteries. VW hasn't officially confirmed this yet, but lithium-phosphate batteries are less expensive than traditional lithium-ion batteries and should also be more durable.
They also charge more quickly than traditional EV batteries, so a slightly shorter range - one of the disadvantages of this type of battery - might not be the worst thing in the world. The ID. 2all's lower weight should also help with overall efficiency and range. The ID. 2all should be able to charge at speeds of up to 200kW although, again, VW isn't confirming this figure yet, merely saying that it will be able to charge from 10-80 per cent in as little as 20 minutes from a high-output DC charging station. The maximum range will be 450km on the WLTP cycle, using a 226hp electric motor. It's likely that there will also be more affordable models with lower power outputs and a smaller battery.
More affordable EV models to follow
According to Kai Grünitz, VW's head of technical development: "The production version of the ID. 2all will be a full-value electric vehicle for every day of the year. A typical Volkswagen with sufficient space and a long range so that the destination can be reached without problems, even on long journeys. Thanks to the extremely variable MEB platform, our customers will also benefit from state-of-the-art technologies in the price class around €25,000. Volkswagen is once more democratising progress here. And that is also exactly our goal."
That's not the only goal - amid the details of the ID. 2all, VW has also confirmed that it wants to create an electric car that can be sold for less than €20,000 that could be a stripped-out ID. 2all, or possibly a basic ID.1 that would compete with the likes of the Dacia Spring and incoming affordable Chinese models.
While the ID. 2all is setting up a more affordable sort of electric car from VW, it will still come with high-end safety tools, including the latest version of Travel Assist - a system for partly automated driving. Other features that will be used in the ID. 2all include IQ.LIGHT LED matrix headlights, 3D LED taillight clusters with horizontal LED strip between them, Park Assist Plus with memory function, ID. Light (which flashes LED lights in the cabin for warnings and functions) and electric seats with massage function. A large panoramic sunroof will also be available.
In the centre of the dash, there's a big 12.9-inch touchscreen infotainment system shared with the incoming new ID.7 saloon, and which should feature much improved and more responsive software. The 'slider' air conditioning controls underneath will now be illuminated, too. Below those, there are two large wireless charging pads for phones. The steering wheel now features physical buttons rather than haptic pads, including two thumbwheels for accessing menu functions both for the central screen and for the instruments. Those instruments are on a larger screen than we've seen on previous ID models - 10.9 inches across the diagonal.
VW will all-but certainly spin a crossover model off from the ID. 2all, potentially using the Tiguan name, another badge that Schafer, and Volkswagen Group CEO Oliver Blume, has described as 'iconic.' There will also be a sporty performance variant, which is tipped to retain the classic GTI badge instead of the newly-created GTX brand. Indeed, it looks very much as if, once the ID.3 GTX and ID. Buzz GTX have been launched, VW will can the GTX badge altogether.
The ID. 2all will, of course, spin off other models across the VW Group. Cupra's 'Urban Rebel' compact hatch will be built on the same platform, and Skoda will launch a conceptually similar model soon after.