2025 Volkswagen ID7 Prototype First Drive: A Better Electric VW

"Kaizen." It's a word we first heard from Toyota in the late 1980s as the company explained the core concept behind the lean production processes that enabled it to develop cars quicker—and make them at lower cost—than American or European automakers. It means continuous improvement, the idea that no matter how good you may think a product or process might be, there are always a million tiny ways it can be made better. The 2025 Volkswagen ID7 all-electric sedan is the kaizen car for the German manufacturer.

The VW ID7 is the seventh vehicle developed on Volkswagen's MEB electric vehicle architecture, and in 2024 it will join the ID4 crossover and the forthcoming ID Buzz as the third Volkswagen electric car available in the U.S. Volkswagen's abrupt pivot to EVs has not been without problems, with MEB vehicles criticized for their poorly executed human-machine interface (HMI) setup, cheap-looking materials, and relatively modest range and performance. The 2025 VW ID7 tackles those issues head on.

We can't talk in detail about the interior or exterior design, but what we can tell you is the 2025 Volkswagen ID7 is a four-door hatchback sized between the Tesla Model S and Model 3 and that the MEB skateboard platform endows the car with exceptionally generous rear legroom and headroom. Compared with the ID4, it is 14.5 inches longer overall, and has a 7.9-inch-longer wheelbase. The trunk, though shallow, is long and wide, and the load capacity can be increased courtesy of the 60/40 split-folding rear seat.

The ID7 marks the debut of Volkswagen's second-generation PSM motor. Dubbed the APP550, it develops 282 hp and 402 lb-ft of torque in ID7 specification. Quick sidebar: The front motor in all-wheel-drive MEB vehicles is an asynchronous type with coaxial drive. It's compact, but the coaxial drive format—that means the driveshafts are in line with the central shaft of the motor—requires a more expensive planetary-gear transmission. The APP550 uses a gearset to transmit drive to axles located behind the motor. This layout is better for high-power and high-torque applications, Volkswagen engineers say.

The 40 percent power and 75 percent torque increases over the PSM motor currently used in the ID4 are nice to have—and will prove their worth when the heavy three-row, long-wheelbase ID Buzz arrives in America later this year—but they weren't the sole focus of the APP550 motor's development. Volkswagen engineers also concentrated on improving efficiency, especially at highway cruising speeds, and on making the motor cheaper to build, even though some of the parts and materials used in it are more expensive.

The APP550, which revs to 13,000 rpm, has a new inverter that generates higher phase currents to increase power and torque outputs, and the rotor is now cooled by oil shared with the gearbox. The oil-cooling system also, counterintuitively perhaps, improves the motor's cold-weather performance as it reduces drag on its rotating parts. The APP550 will also produce its peak power and torque even when the battery is at a relatively low state of charge, and it is designed to operate most efficiently between 5,000 and 11,000 rpm.

This, and the fact the 2025 VW ID7 has a claimed drag coefficient of just 0.23, making it the slipperiest of the MEB models so far, means Volkswagen engineers predict it will have a 14 percent better range (on the European WLTP test) than the 201-hp single-motor ID4 with the same 82-kWh (77-kWh net) battery pack. If their math holds up, that could mean an EPA-rated range of 313 miles. With the bigger 91-kWh (86-kWh net) battery that will be optional in Europe, the new ID7 could travel up to 335 miles between charges under EPA test conditions. However, the big battery will not be available in the U.S.

A brief drive of a camouflaged ID7 prototype with the APP550 powering the rear wheels (VW will reveal a dual-motor, all-wheel-drive ID7 in Europe later this year) showed the car to be smooth, quiet, and quick. Our test vehicle rolled on the top-spec 20-inch aluminum wheels and a staggered tire setup, with 235/40 Pirelli P Zeros up front and 255/40 items at the rear. It was too short a drive to make any definitive judgements, but at first acquaintance the ID7 feels more agile and more enjoyable to drive than the ID4, not least because it rides lower and has a lower seating position.

Four drive modes—Eco, Comfort, Sport, and Individual—are available, but Volkswagen doesn't offer keen drivers the same level of manual control as some other EV manufacturers, skipping the use of steering wheel paddles employed by other automakers that allow instantaneous changes to the level of lift-off battery regeneration.

We can share more on April 17, but when it comes to the driving chores, Volkswagen's philosophy seems to be to let the ID7 do most of the heavy lifting, which will probably suit most of its intended customer base. This also explains the ID7's dramatically improved HMI system, which will eventually roll out across the MEB range. The physical manifestation of that is the new 15.0-inch touchscreen at the center of the ID7's dash, with new software that improves usability and reduces complexity.

The larger screen and different aspect ratio have allowed the addition of two icon bars that run across the display's upper and lower edges. The lower bar is dedicated to the HVAC system and allows functions like front-seat heating and cooling to be initiated without having to dive through several menu layers. One of the icons can be customized to shortcut to a favorite function, such as directing warm air to your hands or cold air to your feet.

The top bar offers shortcuts to the system menu and a menu for vehicle-specific settings that include the stability control on/off switch, charging, keyless access, and adjustment for the standard head-up display. It's also where you can place your own shortcut buttons, access frequently used or favorite functions such as navigation, driver assistance adjustments, or your preferred music streaming service. Between the bars you can configure the screen to display a variety of information, such as the nav map, energy consumption, range prediction, and what's playing on the optional 700-watt, 14-speaker Harman Kardon premium sound system.

Although the final specification for U.S. models has yet to be determined, in Europe the 2025 VW ID7 will debut a new generation of driver and front-passenger seats that offer back and pelvic massage. The seats will also have sensors that detect whether passengers need to be warmed or cooled or even if their damp clothes need drying and automatically activate the appropriate heating and fan elements.

The new ID7 also has smart air vents that feature electronically controlled vertical and horizontal motors to open and close them interactively and to distribute air quickly over a large area through dynamic movement. The system will begin to cool or heat the cabin as soon as the driver approaches the ID7 with the key. With voice activation, the tech will even direct warm air onto the driver's hands on frosty mornings.

Production of the ID7 is scheduled to begin in June at Volkswagen's Emden plant in Germany, which has been the subject of a billion-dollar makeover to become one of the company's major MEB production facilities.