From one single model, the ID.3 hatch, launched in 2019, VW’s electric car range has mushroomed into an entire family of models, each of a different size and shape. So far we’ve had SUVs, minivans and a Tesla Model 3-rivalling sedan, and very soon that will be joined by the ID.7 Tourer you see here doing a bad job of disguising itself from our spy photographers. Essentially a production version of 2019’s ID. Space Vizzion concept wagon, you can think of the ID.7 Tourer as a sexier, electric alternative to the new Passat. The new-for-2024 Passat is only sold as a wagon, and only with combustion and plug-in hybrid powertrains, so the two cars should complement (rather than cannibalize) each other.
They even look more than a little alike,
with low rooflines and curvy rear quarter panels, though they’re entirely
different under the skin. While the Passat rides on the latest MQB evo platform
like the new Tiguan whose powertrains it share, the ID.7 Tourer uses the same
MEB electric car platform used on the ID.3, ID.4, ID.Buzz, Audi Q4, Skoda Enyaq
and more. Though more versions will inevitably follow, VW has so far only
confirmed one powertrain configuration for the ID.7, that being a single motor
setup that sends 282 hp to the rear wheels, and is hooked up
to the buyer’s choice of 77 or 86 kWh batteries offering a WLTP range of 615 km and 700 km.
The Tourer’s range won’t be quite that
impressive because the wagon body will be slightly heavier and less
aerodynamic, though not be much in the case of the latter. VW quotes a drag
factor of 0.23 Cd for the liftback sedan and a still-slippery 0.24 for the
Tourer. The wagon gets it own back when it comes to trunk space, anyway. VW has
already confirmed that the Tourer will swallow 545 liters with the
seats up and 1,714 lt with them folded down, compared with 532
liters and 1,586 liters for the sedan. But for all EVs’
supposed packaging advantages, the ID.7 wagon still can’t match the ICE Passat
wagon for cargo capacity: the trad-tourer can accommodate 1,920 liters of fridge-freezer, wardrobe and grandfather clock with its seats dropped
forward.
One factor that might influence the buying
decision of any drivers considering both the Passat and ID.7 is the likely gulf
in price. If, as expected, VW places a couple of grand premium on the Tourer
body, the base price of an ID.7 in Germany will swell from €56,995 (US$ 61,363) to
almost € 60,000 (US$ 64,600). The (far less powerful) entry-level Passat, however,
costs just € 44,495 (US$ 47,905), and even the top-spec R-Line diesel only comes in
at € 53,470 (US$ 57,600). That’s something only Europeans will have to worry about
because neither model is coming to North America, but the ID.7 sedan will
arrive in U.S. dealers next year.
