Skip to main content

VW ID.7 Tourer flagship EV will have up to 426 mile range

Station wagons may be a tough sell in the U.S., but Europe is getting a beauty

VW ID.7 concept vehicle parked on a stone driveway with a landscaped rock wall in the background right rear three-quarter view of white car.
VW / VW

Volkswagen begins presales in Europe this quarter of the ID.7 Tourer, an estate car version of the VW ID.7 fastback saloon announced last fall as the VW EV flagship. In the U.S., we’d call the ID.7 saloon a sedan and the estate car a station wagon. The photos that accompany this article are of near-production vehicles, VW says.

When VW introduced the ID.7 in November 2023, the company stated it was a worldwide release, and U.S. sales would follow the initial rollout in Europe. The ID.7 Tourer is a good-looking vehicle with more visual impact than the saloon, so I hope VW also decides to sell this newer model in the U.S. Station wagons haven’t sold well in the U.S. in recent years unless re-labeled as cross-over utility vehicles (CUVs) — which could keep the Tourer from our shores.

VW ID.7 concept white with black top right side view.
VW / VW

Why the ID.7 Tourer matters to VW

Volkswagen describes the ID.7 Tourer as an ideal business car because of its spaciousness, comfort on long trips, driver cockpit setup, and long-range per charge. Two battery capacities will be available for the ID.7. VW claims the range for the larger battery is up to 426 miles, using the EU’s WLTP range rating standard, which is more optimistic than U.S. EPA ratings. But even if the real-world driving range is closer to 400 miles, that’s impressive for business travelers. The larger battery will charge at up to 200 kW at DC charging stations, potentially recharging from 10% to 80% in less than 30 minutes.

But the ID.7 Tourer isn’t all work and no play; in VW’s vision, it’s for families, too. “The new ID.7 Tourer is a perfect estate model, especially for families and long-distance drivers. With plenty of space and a high level of comfort, it impresses fully electrically with long ranges!” according to Imelda Labbé, Member of the Volkswagen Brand Board of Management, responsible for Sales, Marketing, and Aftersales.

VW ID.7 Tourer driver cockpit convenience and creature comforts

The ID. 7’s cabin will take care of passengers with automatic air conditioning, optional pressure-point massage seats, and a Wellness in Car app that can adjust air conditioning, sound, background lighting, sunroof smart glass functioning, seat air conditioning, and massage, plus the infotainment display settings. The app will be pre-configured with three modes: Fresh Up, Calm Down, and Power Break, which sound like they could be welcomed wholeheartedly by business travelers but possibly over-optimistic for families on long trips with kids.

VW includes benefits for drivers, too, with a standard augmented reality (AR) heads-up display function that projects important information on the windshield so the driver doesn’t need to search for smaller dials and indicators lower on the dashboard. The exact size of the center stack display isn’t public, but it looks huge, which can benefit the driver and passengers alike.

VW ID.7 Tourer cargo space

Whether you’re driving an estate car or a station wagon for business travel or to haul family members to sporting events or on vacation, space matters. The ID.7 Tourer can hold up to 21.6 cubic feet behind the second row of seats in this five-passenger vehicle. However, the second-row seatbacks fold forward, and the space almost triples to 60.5 cubic feet. Those measurements are respectable, and to put them in context, the Volvo V60 Cross Country has just a bit more space behind the second row, 23.2 cubic feet, and the same 60.5 cubic feet for cargo behind the front seats.

If U.S. car buyers stray from pickup truck lots and lofty, lifted SUVs long enough to assess how we use our vehicles, cars like the ID.7 Tourer could find a healthy market. The VW news release did not include extensive specifications for the ID.7 Tourer, and there was no mention of price range. It’s early to make a call on the latest VW EV, but I hope the stats, the numbers, and the prices appeal sufficiently that VW will sell this attractive car in the U.S.

Editors' Recommendations

Bruce Brown
Digital Trends Contributing Editor Bruce Brown is a member of the Smart Homes and Cars teams. He also writes technology news…
GM slashes EV production in half for 2024, still plans to have 1,000,000 electric cars by 2025
GM won't make quite as many EVs as it said (yet)
Cadillac Escalade IQ

Back in October 2023, GM announced plans to produce 400,000 electric vehicles by the middle of 2024 and reach an annual production capacity of a million EVs by the end of 2025. While the Detroit-based manufacturer believes it is still firmly on track to achieve its long-term goal, its plans for this year appear to have been scaled down somewhat.

Instead of having 400,000 more electric cars ready to go by summer, GM will instead aim to have 300,000 of the zero-emission vehicles ready to roll at best. That number could also be as low as 200,000 if production hits the low end of GM’s estimates. The decision to scale back the company’s EV goals was revealed by CEO Mary Barra during GM’s Q4 2023 earnings call.

Read more
Fewer EVs qualify for the $7,500 EV tax credit in 2024
Your EV tax break is going away
Charging a Ford F-150 Lightning EV with a Level 2 wall charger in a garage.

In August 2022, President Joe Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act into law and repealed the previous electric vehicle tax credit that had been in effect since 2010. Unlike the previous guidelines, in which any EV could qualify for a tax credit of up to $7,500 as long as the manufacturer hadn’t sold over 200k EVs, the Inflation Reduction Act only favored electric vehicles made in America with no limit on the manufacturer sales. As a result, major automakers such as Tesla and GM made it back on the list after they were locked out in the old rules for surpassing the 200k sales.

However, electric vehicles that are made in North America are required to meet specific requirements to qualify for the federal EV tax credit. More succinctly, the federal government imposed a price cap limit and a certain percentage on the battery components and critical minerals that are used to manufacture electric vehicles. But that’s not all; the requirements get higher every year, which means fewer EVs will qualify for the $7,500 federal tax credit in 2024 than in 2023. Why is it so? 

Read more
Chicago, Tesla show how climate change is beating EVs
Charging EVS at home may be the best cold weather practice.
Telsa

Tesla Cybertruck snow performance isn't the only climate-related EV problem. Frigid Arctic temperatures caused havoc among Chicago-area EV owners in mid-January. During extended hours of sub-zero temperatures, EV batteries couldn't hold their charge, and charging took much longer than usual. Charging times grew, and waiting times multiplied at charger locations overwhelmed by the weather.

TV news pieces showed Tesla supercharger stations with long lines of cars waiting to charge and people pushing Teslas with depleted batteries to parking spaces. Tesla is an easy target, but the very low temperatures affect all EVs with Lithium-ion batteries.

Read more