VW ID.7

I guess if you're spending 3 or more hours in a day in a car then you'd be tempted to spend more money on the car

Also, this is (presumably) Germany where they don't have annoying thing like VRT and have much better incentives, so €60k probably buys you a better class of car than here

That poster would love it with a diamond shaped badge on.

No I would not. I would be ashamed of Renault if they launched something as dull and blob faced as that thing.

Looks are subjective. Don't like the small windows and oversized wheels on etech. Front looks nice but rear is bland imo. Don't like the look of EV6 at all. Think Enyaq is a large practical car but it's not a looker, again IMO. I'll await the unveiled ID7 but don't think it will be any worse looking than those 3.

Initial thoughts? It looks like VW is sticking to a similar concept as the ID3 and ID4. The bigger infotainment screen is a bonus. I don't see them adding physical buttons around the car. I think this is something that annoys car journalists more than actual owners.

The lack of physical buttons on my ID3 annoys me massively, I don't think it's just a journalist thing. It's genuinely one of the reasons I'm considering changing at the end of my PCP contract next year. It probably wouldn't be as much of a problem if the touch screen was more responsive and less of a pain to use mind you, which I would hope it will be on newer models higher up the range.

Waiting 5 seconds to confirm that my seat heating has actually turned on because there's no instant feedback, while knowing if I drop into reverse to get out of my driveway the camera will take me off that screen and it'll take another 30 seconds to get back in and sort it, is a small but significant annoyance every single day that I never had to deal with in my previous car when I just pressed a physical button and I knew it was pressed because I pressed it. And it's worse if you decide you want to change anything while driving with the amount of time you need to take your eyes off the road to do it.

Two finger tap on the heat slider will turn on your heated seats without going into any menu.

Yeah I have a first edition, maybe it's better on newer cars.

I actually like the haptic buttons on the steering wheel and I wish they'd keep them

The sliders are pretty useless though. I'm glad I've got the Travel Assist since I don't keep to worry about ending up in a ditch while messing with the climate controls

18 is cold, 21 for me and 23 for the passenger.

i think most people who whinge miss the big “clim” button that takes them straight to climate control

Anyone having an issue where the screen layout just resets itself to default? Mine has done it twice, seems to happen if it gets stuck on the charging screen while starting up or something

I went over to Spain to have a look as did a few of the other Irish lads.

It sounds like VW is having another crack at relaunching the Phaeton going by your superb and audi references, can VW break into luxury cars though?

I wonder how much for the ID.7 Pro S 700km version, it'll probably start getting close to an EQE in price i'd imagine.

Probably too much of an ask for them to do the estate in brown. Only other contenders is the Porsche GTS and cross or the discontinued maple brown of the V90 phev.

Not a hint on price given at all. I can’t see it being under the grant anyway. Larger battery version in a pro could be a tricky sell here I think.

We all know VW only knows how to do Black, white, silver, dull blue, and dull grey. I've seen a few interesting coloured Tiguans around recently but that's about it.

Yes, you are right. Any ID4 I've seen with a 231 plate is a very basic model. It's too expensive to buy one with a bit of spec on it now. It really puts me off going for another ID4 in the future. I couldn't justify spending an extra 8-10k to get the same car next time around with no grant. The only person I know with an ID5 won the lotto so there you go. 😂

That gap will close post July as grant is reduced by €1,500 and it won't be long before the grant will be gone and the distraction of the grant threshold will be no more

I agree, I think people need to look more at the Arteon for comparison rather than the Passat

Everything I've seen so far about the car says it'll be aimed at the luxury segment

I canceled my Q4 Etron and bought an A3 because, in the space of a year, the car went up a few grand. I think everyone has a threshold and 2 or 3 grand can make a big difference on monthlies, especially if everyone is already pushing their upper limit with the price of new cars. I did sell the A3 soon thereafter and bought a Polestar, but I was very much guided by price. Every car has its limit and if the reduction in the grant pushes up those monthlies, a person sitting in a dealer's chair might think, "How much was that ICE car again?" and press ahead without thinking about the added fuel costs.

It was difficult to get an ID4 last year and you certainly couldn't get your hands on a Q4 unless you were prepared to wait 12 months. I think Audi is just fulfilling a lot of missed opportunities at the moment. VW is offering the ID4 at 3.9% APR at the moment so you have to wonder if they are being affected by other brands creeping up behind them. I know for a fact that Polestar is absolutely chewing up the company car market in Dublin at the moment with its low APR rate. They will have to bring down the price of VAG cars eventually. If the ID4 and Q4 are anything to go by, the only 231 cars I'm seeing on the road at the moment are very basic models that come in below the grant threshold.

It should start to show from March onwards. They signed up quite a few lease agreements in March. I think at the moment they are selling close to 45 cars per month so I'd expect to see that increase to close to 70 by the summer which starts to eat into VAG sales for less popular models.

I’ve no idea. I was told not even the glass roof could be shown and then anyone from Germany got to do as they please.

I’m on a trip in a few weeks with them again and I’ll be making the point.