2021 VW ID.4 Revealed with 250-Mile Range

Volkswagen's electric crossover will come in rear- and all-wheel-drive versions and will reach U.S. showrooms by the end of 2020—and a cheaper model is coming.

• Volkswagen's electric 2021 ID.4 crossover has been unveiled, and it brings with it 250 miles of range, not a Tesla-beating figure but respectable.
• A 1st Edition model will launch by the end of the year, priced at $45,190, with other variants available in the first quarter of 2021 starting at $41,190.
• An AWD version will be available by the end of 2021 priced starting at $44,890, and VW says a less expensive base version ("around $35,000") will go on sale in 2022 with a smaller battery pack.

Volkswagen’s electrification strategy is bold. In the wake of Dieselgate, the automaker has spent years trying to push past the emissions-cheating scandal and emerge as something cleaner. VW's modular electric MEB platform is at the center of that clean initiative, which includes a promise to build one million EVs by 2023 and invest more than $39 billion in the entire VW Group by 2024, including $13 billion on Volkswagen alone. In the United States, that all starts with the ID.4.

The 2021 ID.4 was unveiled today, priced starting at $41,190 with an EPA estimated range of 250 miles. Early adopters of VW's EV offering can shell out $45,190 for the 1st Edition that will go on sale before the end of the year, while everyone else will have a choice of three trim levels that will go on sale in the first quarter of 2021. The ID.4 will be available in both rear- and all-wheel-drive variants, with the latter not available until later in 2021.

Its closest relative in the VW lineup, of course, is the Tiguan. The ID.4 is 4.6 inches shorter than the Tiguan but has a nearly identical wheelbase, 0.9 inch shorter at 108.9 inches. At 64.4 inches high, it's almost two inches lower in rear-wheel-drive form than the Tiguan and a half-inch wider. VW says it belongs "squarely in the middle" of the already crowded compact-SUV segment. Its most likely competitors, especially once the lower-priced models come out, will be the Kia Niro EV and the Hyundai Kona Electric, but once federal incentives are factored in, the Toyota RAV4 Prime or the Mazda CX-5 could also be considered competitors for the ID.4 shopper.