A tricky facet of this funny old job of mine is that, on occasion, I am required to formulate opinions extremely quickly, based on information that was presented to me just moments prior. As a result, sometimes after a little time to ruminate, my opinions morph and change.
Example: a few weeks ago, we were granted a handful of hours with a pre-production VW ID. Buzz; a car we’ve been impatiently awaiting the arrival of for a full five years. On the day I was largely impressed and excited by what I saw. I still think it’s going to be a great car. But after some time to ponder, I feel some doubts creeping in.
And it all centers around one question: has VW done a sufficiently good job of realising the concept that was unveiled in Detroit in 2017 – the concept that we and the rest of the automotive press fell in love with – as a production model?
At the time, I thought it was a B+. Now I’m leaning toward a B-. Styling-wise, I think it’s a decent effort, and while I expect a fair bit of grumbling from opinionated internetfolk, most of the big changes are unsurprising to anyone who knows cars. “The headlights are different!” Of course they are – it was always likely to end up with the generic ID face, to establish lineage with its siblings. “It’s more boxy and less curvaceous!” Of course it is. It’s a van. Vans need to be boxy so that you can fit lots of stuff in them. “The steering wheel isn’t a weird oblong shape any more!” Good!
With my sensible hat on, I fully understand all these tweaks. They are rational, understandable choices. But I can’t help feeling that the sum total of these entirely predictable amendments is a vehicle significantly shorter on Je ne sais quoi than the concept that preceded it.
I feel the same way about the entirely sensible, but similarly frustrating decision to omit the camper variant at launch. We start with a people carrier and a cargo version. Of course we do! The former will be hoovered up by taxi companies the world over, and sell out in mere seconds. The latter will be devoured by delivery companies. But… the camper is the really exciting one, right??. It’s the one that most directly harks back to the original, iconic, T1 Bulli, and it’s the guise in which the concept was first presented to us in.
I’ve said many times before that falling in love with a concept car is a one-way ticket to bitter disappointment. It seems I have forgotten my own sage advice on this occasion. Once the dust settles, it will be clear that VW has in fact executed the ID. Buzz very well. I think it’s going to sell in massive numbers and leave a lot of customers extremely satisfied. But it’s going to take a moment to get over the sting of what could have been. Oh well. Only three more years until we get the camper.
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About the author
Jack is a London-based presenter, writer, and expert in all things automotive. A lifelong car fanatic and recovering petrolhead, Jack is a fully converted EV evangelist these days and, prior to joining Fully Charged, spent two years launching and fronting a new EV media brand called Electroheads.
