Volkswagen’s ID family is growing, with the recently revealed ID Space Vizzion previewing what the forthcoming ID.5 estate will look like, once it hits the market in 2021.
As with other ID models, the Space Vizzion is a pure-electric vehicle, but this crossover promises to bring the best qualities of an SUV into a stylish estate car body without sacrificing any efficiency gains.
There’s an 82kWh battery hidden under the floor, and that’s big enough to allow the Space Vizzion to offer a range as high as 367 miles. Rapid charging capabilities using a 150kW system means a charge 80% can be carried out in just 30 minutes.
While range and recharging figures are easy to bandy around, it’s the practicality that Volkswagen has imbibed in the Space Vizzion that will appeal to owners. Designed to strike visual parallels with the Passat, the Space Vizzion makes do without a large engine so shrinks the bonnet and increases the size of the cabin. The wheelbase is almost three metres long, which frees up space inside while still allowing for a 586-litre boot.
The passenger area is as high-tech as you would expect, with a clean and uncluttered cabin that eschews physical buttons and switches for touchscreen panels and displays, as you would find in a Tesla. All other surfaces are covered in sustainable materials, further boosting its eco-credentials, with even the leather being artificial, created from the leftovers from apple juice production.
Volkswagen hasn’t managed to resist the temptation to extract supercar performance levels from the ID concept car, with the electric drivetrain expected to produce up to 355hp. There is 550Nm of torque on tap as well, so it’ll reach 62mph in just 5.4 seconds, thanks to a powerful electric motor at the rear with a smaller unit at the front.
Of course, from a brand famed for its GTI heritage, there will be a high-performance version to follow.
With Volkswagen dropping the e-Golf from the new generation model arriving next year, Volkswagen will be relying on the ID range of cars to attract buyers to electric motoring. However, while there is a huge investment in EVs, the German firm won’t be dropping petrol or diesel models any time soon.
Built around the new MEB platform, a platform designed exclusively for electric cars, the ID Space Vizzion will go into production late 2021, alongside the saloon model, and after the smaller ID.3 hatchback.
Volkswagen expects to sell as many as 100,000 ID models by the end of next year, and over a million by 2025. The group as a whole, including SEAT, Skoda and Audi, will roll out 27 electric models by 2022, all based on the MEB platform.
