Sampling a multi-million-dollar concept car is rarely anything but a fleeting experience at the best of times. So a handful of laps around Volkswagen’s Wolfsburg test track was much more than we ever expected when we were invited to drive the ID Life shortly after its world debut at the recent 2021 Munich motor show.
The new electric crossover concept points towards a future of modestly priced, zero-emission personal mobility, in much the same way that the original Beetle promised the world access to affordable combustion-engine motoring more than eight decades ago.
The new five-seater will go on sale in 2025 priced from not much more than €20,000 (£17,250). There will be Cupra, Seat and Skoda sibling models, of course. In fact, moves are already under way to produce the new Volkswagen model at Seat’s Martorell factory in Spain, which is being geared up for annual volumes of up to 500,000 electric cars on the back of a generous European Union subsidy.
It is not the only affordable mass-market electric car that Volkswagen is working on right now, though. Word is the production version of the ID Life will wear the name ID 2, positioning it below the ID 3 as an alternative to the combustion-engined Volkswagen T-Cross. An even smaller and lower-riding hatchback model with the ID 1 name is expected to follow it into showrooms as a successor to the Volkswagen e-up.
The original plan called for the introduction of the new Volkswagen crossover in 2027. But after a faster-than-expected acceptance to electric cars among private buyers, Volkswagen moved the launch forward by a full two years. It is so upbeat about the chances of success that it is happy to let us get behind the wheel of the sole existing example of the ID Life, despite the fact that it will be another four years at least before you and I can go out and buy one.
The aim with the styling was not simply to create a smaller ID 3 with some SUV-like flourishes. Rather, Volkswagen says it wanted to establish a more timeless lineage that could be progressed through to the future production version without radical changes. As such, its design shares little with its other electric-powered models, taking on a more boxy profile meant to provide it with maximum versatility within relatively compact dimensions.
Join the debate
Add your comment
Way more appealing than an ID3. And it's got luggage space up front, just like a Beetle! VW rushed to market but maybe this will be their first really appealing EV.
They don’t emit emissions while moving, but do everywhere else while charging and in production.
Well if it's juiced on renewable energy it's zero emission from the motor at least. That's undeniable. Production is another matter, but at least manufacturing processes are getting cleaner. It's the battery that needs most improvement as we know.
I used to read the news of new car launches with excitement.
Not any more.
Even if the impossible happens and they crack better batteries, reasonably long real-world ranges and get remotely near a £17,000 price (which they won't, especially in 4 years time when an entry level ICE hybrid supermini will cost close on £27k, going by recent car price inflation), I still have no interest in owning this car.
I'd buy something like this with the same passion I have for buying a new washing machine.
That's not to say I'm against EVs - I'm just against paying so much money for something that does a job but doesn't excite me (and looks like something a kids cartoon character should be driving about in).
gavsmit I agree 100% with your sentiment. ICE have undoubtedly contributed to the worlds problems but its not the Holy Grail. Check out the increase in aircraft emissions and the projections and ask yourself who's banning them in 2030! Depending on where you live in the world gavsmit I would plan on buying a 'keeper' in the next 5yrs and putting it in storage. Then when they are no longer available new, bring it out as a used new car and enjoy it?