Volkswagen Reveals Long Range ID.7 Electric Sedan

The latest electric Volkswagen is a sedan. The Volkswagen ID.7 is an electric sedan larger than the recently dropped Passat that promises an electric range of up to 700 km on the WLTP cycle. Sedans aren't exactly selling well here in North America anymore, but VW plans to bring this one anyway.

Like the company's other EVs like the ID.4 and the upcoming ID. Buzz, the Volkswagen ID.7 uses VW's MEB electric architecture. It's highly flexible and scalable, which is why it can underpin a compact hatchback as well as this 4,960 mm long four-door hatch. That's right, this big sedan is also a hatch.

The MEB platform has been around long enough that VW has developed a new generation of electric powertrain to install in it. This generation is more efficient. With 282 hp from a single motor, it is also VW's most powerful electric motor yet.



All versions of the ID.7 will get that same motor, but there will be different sizes of battery available. Without giving away specific sizes, VW said that the largest would offer up to 700 km of range on the WLTP test cycle. Expect that to translate to between 550 and 600 on the test cycles used here. Like other MEB platform vehicles, charging at up to 200 kW will be possible.

Around 50 mm longer than a Passat, and with the long wheelbase we expect from EVs, the ID.7 should be massive inside. Volkswagen has filled the space with new luxury trimmings the likes of which we haven't seen since the company's Phaeton sedan which left Canada in 2006.

The features include heated and ventilated seats as well as a new available massage function. ID.7 will have a new panoramic sunroof with electrically tinted glass, with the roof and most other functions able to be controlled by voice.



A 15.0-inch centre screen provides infotainment. The company is using it to launch a new interface after buyers were less than impressed with the system launched in the ID.4 and some other recent vee-dubs. While there don't seem to be more buttons, VW has made changes like adding a backlight to the touch sliders, making them easier to see.

The gauge cluster is small, but VW doesn't expect you to use it all that much. That's because there is a new augmented reality head-up display that will show you most of what the dash could along with plenty more.

VW has used the car's size for more than just cabin space. A long sedan makes it easier to optimize the car for the wind tunnel while still having enough space for people and mechanical hardware. To that end, VW says the ID.7 will have a drag coefficient of just 0.23. The car's slipperiness (along with not being a bigger, heavier crossover SUV) plays a big part in that expected long range.



The ID.7 has a healthy dose of high-tech driver assists, too. That includes Travel Assist with Swarm Data, which can handle "lateral and longitudinal control." In other words, it can steer and accelerate to help out with lane changes on high-speed highways. It also has the ability to record your last 50m of parking maneuvers and undo your parking job by itself.

Volkswagen says the ID.7 is the third of its planned 10 new EVs by 2026. It comes after the refreshed ID.3 and the long wheelbase ID. Buzz. The car will launch in Europe and China this fall and is expected here sometime in 2024.