VW ID.4 Revealed - Reservations Open

[Hersbird]

I'm telling you, a freak snowstorm here or there is very different than what you get in 3 months of real winter. Our first snows of winter are seldom a big deal for anyone here too. The ground isn't frozen 2 feet down, the burms and ruts haven't turned to ice. With a fresh snow, and the first snows, you can find the slushy bottom.

I see it all the time. If people moving here don't abandon ship completely after the first winter they certainly abandon their RWD cars after the first winter. I want to believe the line RWD is better, I've bought RWD hoping, and have had RWD just sit for 3 months of the year. Meanwhile people who just need to get up before the plows run and get to work 6 days a week buy a AWD or at the bare minimum a FWD.

[redpoint5]

Originally Posted by Hersbird

I see it all the time. If people moving here don't abandon ship completely after the first winter they certainly abandon their RWD cars after the first winter. I want to believe the line RWD is better, I've bought RWD hoping, and have had RWD just sit for 3 months of the year. Meanwhile people who just need to get up before the plows run and get to work 6 days a week buy a AWD or at the bare minimum a FWD.

I'd abandon 2WD if I lived there. I've made a couple winter treks through Idaho and Montana in the company vehicle, but it's got winter rated tires and AWD. I wouldn't have gone if the vehicle were any less capable.

[freebeard]

Meanwhile people who just need to get up before the plows run and get to work 6 days a week buy a AWD or at the bare minimum a FWD.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qfirnP08FP0

[NeilBlanchard]

Originally Posted by JSH

Some more ID.4 news.

VW will build it in 3 plants. Production has started in Zwickau, Germany; pre-production builds have started in Anting, China; and production is scheduled for Chattanooga, TN next year.

Thanks for bringing it back on topic!

The questions I have on the ID.4 are:

Will it have a direct heating defroster? Hopefully they use the improved version with a layer of silver inside the glass.

Will it have a heat pump?

Will there be an option to have the rear seat heated?

[JSH]

Originally Posted by Hersbird

I'm telling you, a freak snowstorm here or there is very different than what you get in 3 months of real winter. Our first snows of winter are seldom a big deal for anyone here too. The ground isn't frozen 2 feet down, the burms and ruts haven't turned to ice. With a fresh snow, and the first snows, you can find the slushy bottom.

I see it all the time. If people moving here don't abandon ship completely after the first winter they certainly abandon their RWD cars after the first winter. I want to believe the line RWD is better, I've bought RWD hoping, and have had RWD just sit for 3 months of the year. Meanwhile people who just need to get up before the plows run and get to work 6 days a week buy a AWD or at the bare minimum a FWD.

I'm aware that a freak snowstorm isn't the same as a full winter. However, I've never owned a modern RWD vehicle with traction control and stability control so rentals are my only experience with them.

My RWD winter driving experience is with old-school vehicles. As mentioned before I grew up in Michigan. I learned to drive in my father's 1982 Oldsmobile 98. No stability control, no ABS, no traction control, and no winter tires. My mother had a late 80's E150 conversion van. Also no driver aids. My parents didn't own a FWD car until they purchased their 2010 Prius.

My father-in-law has always driven RWD F-250s. They live in a rural area so the snow plow doesn't get to their house until 2-3 days after a storm. He still managed to make it to work every day at 6 am. My mother-in-law had a RWD Aerostar van. She replaced that with a RWD Thunderbird. My wife's first vehicle an 80's RWD Ford Ranger. My in-law's first FWD vehicle was 2006 Ford Escape.

People got where they were going before FWD or AWD vehicles were commonplace. If I did a lot of off-road driving on snow I would consider AWD but for paved and gravel roads RWD does fine. Even better with winter tires. (I bought my first set after moving to Oregon and they are a game changer in the passes and forest roads.)

[redpoint5]

Now a non-traction control, non-stability control RWD vehicle is a whole other story. My wife accidentally spun out several times in the Jeep Liberty just on wet pavement, and she's a conservative driver.

[Hersbird]

Sorry for the hijacking, but if you read all of the posts at least about FWD, RWD, AWD you see they were about the possibility of an ID4 purchase.

I would buy the non AWD versions of an ID4 or any Tesla if they were FWD not RWD. As they both come in AWD versions it wouldn't be that hard to make all 3, FWD, RWD, and AWD.

I also will always pay up to $5000 more for an AWD vs FWD option, pickup, van, car, whatever. For one, the non AWD versions of most of those have terrible resale where I live. The last new anything I bought was a 2003 Dodge Ram and I made the mistake "saving" $3500 by ordering a 2wd. Also note I ordered it, because the dealer refused to stock a single one. I sould have listened to them because when I sold it I had to list it nationwide and it took a $1200 transport ride to Tennessee to find a 2wd buyer on a cherry 3 year old truck with 17,000 miles on it. Why low miles? Because it was useless for 10 months of that time. We tried to pick up a mattress one winter and needed a tow back up the hill to our house. Don't get me wrong, I bought it as a toy to make a cool sport truck out of it, so popular in the 2000s. I traded in a 2wd Dodge Dakota RT to get it. I actually did drive that Dakota all winter. Sandbags, 4 studded tires on smaller wheels, I had chains for when it got really bad. I even took it hunting up on forest service roads in a foot of fresh snow on top of hard packed snow. Making it work is one thing, living life easy with a Subaru or Jeep is another.

[JSH]

Originally Posted by NeilBlanchard

Thanks for bringing it back on topic!

The questions I have on the ID.4 are:

Will it have a direct heating defroster? Hopefully they use the improved version with a layer of silver inside the glass.

Will it have a heat pump?

Will there be an option to have the rear seat heated?

Heated defroster (front or rear?) - No mention

Heat Pump: The VW MEB platform can have resistance heat or a heat pump. On the ID.3 sold in Europe the resistance heater is standard and the heat pump an option. A Canadian article on the ID.4 launch says the heat pump will be standard for Canada. I've haven't seen anything definitive on what will be available in the US market.

Heater rear seats: No. The current option packages specifically say heated front seats with no mention of the rear.

[JSH]

Originally Posted by Hersbird

I would buy the non AWD versions of an ID4 or any Tesla if they were FWD not RWD. As they both come in AWD versions it wouldn't be that hard to make all 3, FWD, RWD, and AWD.

Because the MEB platform is standard RWD the large 200 hp motor is in the rear. The AWD version gets an additional small 100 hp motor in the front. I doubt the large motor fits in the front due to the need to turn the wheels and I don't see them offering a 100 hp FWD version. Even the RWD version is a bit slow.

[Hersbird]

It would be fast enough for me, and limiting power draw to 1/2 or 1/3 the other versions you would ultimately get more range as well.

Driving to work in the city will never be fun in any car. I could have a Ferrari and still ultimately I'm going to work not going fishing. If anything the fancier it is, I'm just thinking how much more I have to make that trip to pay for it.