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The Volkswagen ID.7 GTX 4MOTION adds more power and all-wheel drive, transforming the efficiency-focused ID.7 fastback saloon into more of a driver’s car.
The Volkswagen ID.7 ‘upper mid-size’ ‘fastback’ saloon appeared on UK roads at the start of 2024 and was notable for its space, efficiency and long driving range. Now we have the Volkswagen ID.7 GTX 4MOTION, adding extra power and all-wheel drive, so is this the variant to choose if you want more of a driver’s car?
Compared to the standard Volkswagen ID.7 with rear-wheel drive, the ID.7 GTX 4MOTION gains an extra electric motor at the front, giving all-wheel drive, and a power hike – 340 PS compared to 286 PS for the ID.7 Pro Match.
The ID.7 GTX also gains a larger 91 kWh (gross) / 86 kWh (net) battery compared to the 77 kWh unit in the ID.7 Pro Match. The larger battery is a contributing factor in the kerb weight of the ID.7 GTX increasing from 2,172 kg to 2,328 kg.
The ID.7 GTX also features some sportier visual trim details, but the impressive drag coefficient of 0.23 Cd (with 20-inch wheels) remains.
The basic body is unchanged; the 4,961mm length results in huge amounts of rear legroom, and a large boot of 532 litres, or 1,586 litres if the rear seats are folded down. A compartment under the boot floor can accommodate charging cables; it’s not very deep, but it does stretch all the way back to the rear seats.
The extra power of the ID.7 GTX 4MOTION – 340 PS compared to 286 PS for the ID.7 Pro Match – translates to a more rapid 0-62 mph acceleration time of 5.4 seconds (compared to 6.5 seconds). The ID.7 GTX also gains all-wheel drive rather than the rear-wheel drive of the standard ID.7. The extra power, performance and all-wheel drive may not sound like a huge change, but it’s enough to transform the ID.7 from feeling like a car that’s primarily engineered for efficiency into more of a driver’s car.
The ID.7 has a lower centre of gravity than an SUV, ie. than most new cars, which means that if you drive enthusiastically on twisty roads, you can enjoy minimal body roll as well as decent acceleration and more reassuring grip levels. The driving experience is helped by adaptive chassis control (DCC) and XDS+ electronic differential locks.
The primary ride quality remains comfortable, but with large 21-inch wheels and low profile tyres, secondary ride quality suffers – so watch out for potholes. Overall refinement is excellent – as is the case with virtually all electric cars – which makes the ID.7 ideal for long motorway trips.
The ID.7 GTX 4MOTION has gained an extra drive mode – Traction – in addition to Eco, Comfort and Sport. There’s also Individual, which allows you to tailor various settings, including adaptive chassis control, with the ability to select from a sliding scale ranging from Comfort to Sport. If you select a particular drive mode, even if you just get out of the driver’s seat for one second, the car resets the mode (as well as switching off various other features such as heated seats and steering wheel).
If you want to increase the amount of brake regeneration you can do this by twisting the gear selector stalk on the right-hand side of the steering column to the ‘B’ setting.
The ID.7 features the ‘IQ.LIGHT’ – LED matrix headlights with automatic headlight control, and these certainly offer impressive lighting at night.
Previous ID models including the ID.3, ID.4 and ID.5 all had an infotainment system which had a number of issues including a lack of obvious shortcut buttons, resulting in too much button-pressing for basic car controls, and so it was frustrating to use.
The ID.7 is the first ID model to feature a revised infotainment system. The good news is that there are now shortcut buttons at the top of the large 15-inch central touchscreen, and you can even choose which buttons you want by selecting from a range of apps. But if you want something that you can’t fit in your row of five ‘favourite’ shortcuts, there can still be a lot of button-pressing to find it elsewhere.
There are also permanent climate controls at the bottom of the screen, which even remain when Apple CarPlay is in use, which is helpful, and unusual.
The bad news is that the screen has a lot of information on it, which is the case for the home screen, but also for other screens such as climate. Despite the climate screen having a lot of controls, there are two really important climate controls – front and rear window demist buttons – that aren’t on the climate screen, and they’re in a very random place. Hidden away to the right of the steering wheel is a small collection of buttons for the lights, and grouped in here are the front and rear demist buttons – why they’re here and not in a prominent place on the climate screen we have no idea!
– we tried looking for the rear window demist button and couldn’t find this amongst all the other controls on there. As well as lots of buttons, you can also adjust the direction of the heating and ventilation by dragging the airflow from images of the vents on the screen.
As with virtually all new cars, the steering wheel is likely to be wrenched out of your hands by the lane departure warning (LDW) system; you can disengage this by pressing the Assist button, and then the LDW button, which is relatively straightforward (although you have to do this every time you start the car).
As well as the touchscreen, there’s also an instrument display in front of the driver, which is very small – and there’s also a similarly-sized head-up display projected on to the windscreen.
Other available features include a new panoramic sunroof with smart glass which can be switched between opaque and transparent settings by touch control, seats that can give you a massage, and you can also give voice commands to the new in-car assistant, now called ‘IDA’.
Although the touchscreen has been improved, there’s still an example of too much button-pressing – there are only two buttons on the driver’s door for the electric windows; if you want to lower the rear windows, you have to first press the button for ‘Rear’, then press the window button – which is twice the amount of button-pressing that should be needed.
The Volkswagen ID.7 GTX 4MOTION 86kWh has a WLTP combined electric driving range of 365 miles, which is slightly less than the 383 miles of the ID.7 Pro Match which has a smaller 77 kWh battery. The real-world range fell short of this, at 260 miles, but the car was on test in winter when temperatures were hovering just above freezing. This drop in range is despite our test car featuring a heat pump – which uses heat from the powertrain to help warm the cabin in cold weather, so theoretically the battery range shouldn’t be impacted too severely. Note that the heat pump isn’t standard, but a £1,050 option.
Energy efficiency also isn’t quite as good, at 3.8 miles/kWh compared to the excellent 4.7 miles/kWh of the standard ID.7.
Another improvement for the ID.7 GTX model is the charging speed, which has increased from 175 kW to 200 kW. Volkswagen says that this will give you a 10% to 80% charge in 26 minutes – or 127 miles of range in just 10 minutes.
Using 11 kW 3-phase AC charging, a 0% to 100% charge should take 9 hours.
The ID.7 has vehicle to grid (V2G) capability, which is currently only compatible with one model of wallbox, but Volkswagen is working to make it compatible with other wallboxes. Other Volkswagen models with V2G capability include the ID.3, ID.4, ID.5, and ID.Buzz.
The Volkswagen ID.7 GTX 4MOTION is priced at £61,980, but our test car had a number of options – 21-inch alloy wheels (£620), Exterior Pack Plus with electronic darkening panoramic sunroof (£1,100) and heat pump (£1,050), taking the price as tested to £65,635.
You can also opt for a rear-wheel drive ID.7, and there’s now the ID.7 Tourer (estate).
The rear-wheel drive Volkswagen ID.7 Pro Match model feels like it’s been engineered to be as efficient as possible. The ID.7 GTX 4MOTION gains more power, more performance and all-wheel drive compared to the standard model. This may not sound like a huge amount of change, but the result is a much better driver’s car. You also gain a larger battery, even though the official driving range – which is still impressive – ends up being slightly less than the rear-wheel drive model. The GTX still has all the space of the standard ID.7, including huge amounts of rear legroom and a large boot. As with many of the latest EVs, the ID.7 GTX 4MOTION can’t really be described as affordable, and a ‘fastback saloon’ is not likely to be as in demand with car buyers as an SUV. The Volkswagen ID.7 GTX 4MOTION is awarded a Green Car Guide rating of 9 out of 10.
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