After five years on sale, the Volkswagen ID.4 bids a not-so-fond farewell, replaced by the ID. Tiguan. The new electric SUV seeks to rehabilitate Wolfsburg’s public image as it navigates turbulent times, and it’s going up against some serious Chinese competition.
Succeeding the ID.4 (and the coupé-style ID.5, which is also going the way of the dodo) is an immensely difficult task. The two cars sold fairly well – a combined total of over 950,000 units reached customers’ hands since 2021 – but they haven’t exactly been beneficial to Volkswagen’s reputation of peerless quality and ease of use.
The company has thus listened to its customers in a bid to turn things around, and reusing the moniker of its hugely successful C-segment SUV seems like a good place to start. New name, but not an entirely new car – the ID. Tiguan is merely a heavy facelift of the ID.4 (similar to the ID.3 Neo) and shares that car’s 2,765 mm wheelbase.
Not that you can very much tell from the outside, because the ID. Tiguan doesn’t appear to share a single exterior body panel with the ID.4. It’s also 34 mm longer (4,618 mm), three millimetres wider (1,855 mm) and, with the streamlining of variants, 15 mm lower than the regular models (1,619 mm, identical to the outgoing 4Motion all-wheel drive versions).
Dispensing with the ID.4’s soft, milquetoast styling, the ID. Tiguan is thus the largest model to sport Volkswagen’s latest Pure Positive design language, after the ID.3 Neo, ID. Polo and ID. Cross. You get the same visor-like “aquarium” front end with a full-width light bar and an optional illuminated VW badge.
Down below, angular air curtain inlets flank a slim centre intake with an active grille shutter. These, together with the sleeker door mirrors, wheel air dams, a flat underbody and a long rear spoiler, result in a marginal reduction in the drag coefficient to 0.26.
Along the side, new doors and fin-like D-pillars banish the ID.4’s wavy window line and contrasting silver roof. A subtle shoulder crease, an undercut in the flanks and a Mk3 Scirocco-esque black strip provide some welcome structure to the design, and you finally get conventional, chunky door pulls – another response to customer feedback. Wheel options ranging from 19 to 21 inches fill the new squared-off wheel arches.
Finishing off the look are full-width taillights with rectangular 3D clusters said to be inspired by whisky tumblers, again capped off with a light-up badge. A look-faster R-Line variant appears for the first time on an ID. model, featuring an aggressive full-width front air intake in gloss black, vertical light strips and rear reflectors, a unique rear valance, 20-inch wheels to start and Night Chrome door mirror caps.
The interior has again been completely redesigned – only the wiper/indicator stalk and column-mounted gear selector are unchanged – and follows the direction set by the newer ID. cars. That means you get higher-quality materials and a marked increase in the number of physical controls, including new steering wheel buttons, air-con toggles, a volume knob and – finally! – four window switches (are you listening, Volvo?).
You also get new screens – a much larger ten-inch instrument display and a 15-inch infotainment touchscreen. As per the other ID. models, there’s a cute Retro display mode, here showing a rendition of the Mk4 Golf’s blue and red dials, plus a “cassette deck” with a “shelf” for displaying either a Mk1 Golf, a Mk2 Golf Country, a Mk4 Golf, a Mk1 Tiguan, a Dakar-spec Race Touareg or an original Beetle.
For the first time on a European VW, there’s an optional 12-inch passenger display, coming with a polarised privacy filter to avoid distracting the driver. The passenger is able to pair their own Bluetooth headphones to the screen to watch their own videos, play video games or listen to music. The entire setup, which can be paired with a 480-watt Harman Kardon sound system, is bookended by vertical air vents and encircled by a metallic strip.
Down below, the wide, two-tier centre console houses two illuminated versions of the latest magnetised Qi2 wireless chargers, along with covered storage and a split-opening armrest. Elsewhere, you’ll find a new two-spoke steering wheel (with a 12 o’clock marker on the R-Line), fine topstitching on higher-end models, sports seats on the R-Line and ID. Light ambient lighting that can also be used to communicate with and warn the driver.
Despite the extra length, boot space has actually decreased slightly to 534 litres, expandable to 1,577 litres with the rear seats folded. The good news is that there is now finally a front boot, although it is a fairly small one that measures just 32 litres.
Performance wasn’t a particular problem with the ID.4, so the power outputs have remained largely the same – rear-drive models make either 190 PS (140 kW) or 286 PS (210 kW), while the 4Motion churns out 299 PS (220 kW) from its dual motors. The hot 340 PS (250 kW) GTX variant is no more, it seems.
However, the use of new APP350 (denoting the amount of maximum torque in Newton metres) rear and AKA front motors means that despite utilising the same 58 kWh (for the base 190 PS model) and 77 kWh usable batteries, the ID. Tiguan gets a useful boost in range.
The WLTP figures now read up to 450 km (+12 km) for the base model and 600 km (+28 km) with the 77 kWh battery. We should point out, however, that the 4Motion actually loses a scant three kilometres of range at 560 km.
Unfortunately, the ID. Tiguan remains saddled with a 400-volt electrical architecture, so its DC fast charging performance will still be shaded by its latest Chinese rivals. The 58 kWh battery only accepts up to 105 kW and takes 25 minutes to be topped up from 10 to 80%, while the 77 kWh supports up to 165 kW and requires a yawning 29 minutes to be charged to the same percentage. Thankfully, 11 kW AC charging capacity comes standard.
Of course, a new Volkswagen isn’t complete without the brand’s latest driver assists, with the ID. Tiguan being made available with Connected Travel Assist. This not only provides Level 2 semi-autonomous driving functionality but will also stop the car at a red light. Completing the list of features are a one-pedal driving mode, a digital key and V2L functionality.
The ID. Tiguan could very well become the first VW EV to be sold officially in Malaysia. Remember, the ID.4 was earmarked for our market back in 2022 before being delayed indefinitely, and last year, Volkswagen Group Malaysia confirmed that the CKD local assembly plant in Pekan, Pahang would be tooled up to build EVs – and for exports at that. Would you buy this car if it comes here? Let us know in the comments.
