VW Announces ID.4 BEV, Available in 2021

 On September 22, VW officially announced their newest battery-electric vehicle, the ID.4, intended to dramatically expand the VW group's range of BEV's, currently consisting of the Audi E-Tron, Porsche Taycan and the VW ID.3 (Europe-only). They have slowly but surely been releasing pictures of the car and now we can finally see the entire thing.

In lieu of retyping an entire article, let me simply link you to a good one from The Verge - https://www.theverge.com/2020/9/23/21444141/volkswagen-vw-id4-electric-suv-price-range-specs - and give you my thoughts on the car. You can also check out the VW.com ID.4 page here - https://www.vw.com/models/id4/section/colors/

The exterior styling, frankly, is disappointing to me. I can easily envisage an ICE drivetrain underneath the bland exterior. I prefer an electric vehicle that doesn't look like an ICE car - they stand out because of their drivetrain and should stand out with their styling as well, especially given the freedom designers should have without a bulky powertrain taking up space down the center of the car. The ID.4 is very much in the 'compact generic CUV/SUV' mold of the RAV4, Escape, CR-V, Forester, etc. (Only the Mazda CX-5 really stands out among this group of ICE vehicles). Maybe this is part of VW's strategy to sell hundreds of thousands of ID.4's over the next couple of years, but it seems too safe a play to me.

The interior, on the other hand, is very nice. I am a big fan of the uncluttered look of the Tesla Model 3 and Y, but do acknowledge that it might be a big adjustment for a lot of folks. Having a small instrument binnacle directly in front of the driver provides a little 'normalcy' that might make for an easier transition to a BEV. I do think, however, that the cowl is higher than necessary, again, going back to the conservative exterior look. The seats appear to be cloth but if they do offer leather, that is something you can't get in a Model Y. I also like the relative lack of buttons - essentially none on the dash panel - but the steering wheel is too cluttered - again, ICE-like.

I have to say, however, that the 'Play' and 'Pause' markings on the accelerator and brake pedals is really stupid - and shouldn't it be 'Stop', not 'Pause' on the brake?! I also dislike the little 'blister' that sticks out from the right side of the driver's screen, which appears to hold the shift functions. My OCD doesn't appreciate the unbalanced look (I didn't like the asymmetrical doors on the AMC Pacer either!).

And then there is the range of the early-release models - 250 miles (pre-EPA rating). In real-world terms, this would be more like 225-230 miles, in all likelihood. Higher-level models that will be available later will apparently have ratings above 300 miles, but I think VW should have eliminated range-anxiety earlier. And this is an RWD model, so if they add AWD as an option, the range will be lower with the same size battery pack.

As far as charging, the ID.4 obviously won't be using the Tesla Supercharger network, which is a weak point for any BEV besides Tesla. There are plenty of Level 2 charging options out there, but they tend to be less consistent in terms of availability (i.e., working) and you generally don't know if they ARE working until you get to a location (although some companies are now making that info available through their apps). And we don't know at this point if stations are integrated into the ID.4 navigation software or whether you need to use an app like PlugShare to find one.

Price-wise, the ID.4 versions available next year will start at just under $40,000 but with federal and state rebates, could be as low as $27,500 here in New Jersey ($7500 Fed and $5000 NJ rebates applied). Tesla no longer qualifies for the Federal rebate, and in NJ, their least expensive Model 3 (which is a sedan) would still be over $30,000 with the $5,000 NJ rebate. Of course, these rebates are all after-purchase, and could take several months to arrive - so you do pay full-price up front. And for the ID.4, this doesn't include any dealer mark-up (read: pure profit) that may occur.

Overall, I think this will be a success - assuming they don't have the software issues that plagued the early ID.3 vehicles - especially once the Tennessee factory opens in 2022 and starts producing for the American market. The size is good, the styling is conservative enough that it won't scare away people unsure about switching to an EV and I think in VW's major markets today, the charging network will be large enough to not scare people away from a major change in their vehicle fueling habits. And the pricing is low enough that people could buy this as their second, around-town car without having to worry about taking it on a long trip. They can have their Tiguan for that.

Vaporware

 There are a number of BEV/alternate fuel start-ups out there - companies like Rivian, Lucid, Lordstown Motors, Nio - all trying to become the next Tesla. Those 3 all seem poised to actually manufacture a mostly-in-house BEV sometime in the next year to 18 months. There are others - like Nikola and Faraday Future - that seem destined to be the next Theranos or Dale. 

Nikola in particular seems ripe to be a flame-out. They purport to be developing a line of hydrogen fuel cell powered and battery-powered vehicles, led by a heavy semi truck, the NikolaOne and have made dramatic promises based on a series of (apparently) non-running prototypes (or 'pushers', meaning they have to be pushed around). For Nikola, which recently somehow inked a development deal with GM, it all seems to be coming apart at the seams, as a recent report by Hindenburg Research (an admitted short seller on the stock) regarding a series of alleged lies by Nikola CEO Trevor Milton. Among the allegations was that the main prototype of the NikolaOne truck - advertised by Milton as a working prototype - was filmed implying it was a running prototype, when it fact it was a 'pusher' that was actually filmed rolling down a hill with after having been towed to the top. Hindenburg also alleged that the power inverter in their vehicles is not developed in-house, as claimed by Milton, but in fact purchased from a third party vendor and with the name disguised by masking tape! The Nikola response, which seems to have been positively received by the stock market, doesn't actually answer any of these claims directly but is a masterful use of the English language to talk around these points!

I tend to take ALL claims by disclosed short sellers with a shaker of salt but it seems they have raised some valid issues here. Perhaps they bare trying to make up for losing their shirts shorting Tesla but their report can't be dismissed out of hand. Elon Musk has made a lot of outrageous claims for sure, but he has built a new car company that has produced over a million electric vehicles, sent men to the ISS with a start-up company, is developing a new space-based broadband provider and drilling tunnels to bypass traffic-choked cities in several locations...

At any rate, I really want ALL of these BEV / alternate fuel start-ups to succeed. While they may compete with each other, the larger opportunity is the ICE market, especially as BEV ranges increase and charging becomes more widely available and faster. Battery technology will continue to improve and recycling of used batteries will continue to expand, further reducing the carbon footprint of BEVs. 

Late breaking - as I was getting ready to publish this, I see that Trevor Milton, the CEO of Nikola, has resigned. It will be interesting to see what happens to the GM deal going forward as well as Nikola in general.

Polestar 2 Test Drive

I've been watching for other new mass-market BEV's that are coming on the market, defining mass-market as priced under around $65k. Polestar is essentially Volvo's electric car company (although Volvo is now owned by Geely Automotive of China). The released the Polestar 1 hybrid in 2017 as a small sports coupe, and now are preparing to manufacture the Polestar 2 BEV as a 2020 model with deliveries expected to start in November. I had the opportunity to test drive one on August 27 in New York City, and my impressions follow.

The Polestar 2 is smaller in person than it appears in pictures. It is shorter than the Tesla Model 3 by about 20 inches, narrower by 3 inches and height is less by about 3 inches. It is definitely smaller inside, with a larger center console and a tall body-short greenhouse look that somewhat limits outward visibility, especially to the rear. That said, I liked the styling a lot, having a definitely 'Volvo' look recognizable by those of us that have owned one - especially the C-pillar and upright front and rear - but updated in a 'Euro-sleek' way. The interior is also very nice, with what feels like high quality materials and vegan as well. It feels like it will wear very well but looks classy. I also liked the more traditional instrument panel, which combines an iPad-sized center screen with a panel in front of the driver that displays speed, navigation, charge status and a few other items. Buttons are few and mainly on the steering wheel for cruise control and phone, and the voice command is Google's Alexa-based. The main issue is that the view out the front is much more cluttered than the Tesla M3/Y, and raising the seat means that the roof gets closer - and I'm only 5' 8'. The roof is glass with a partition in the middle, like the M3, but seems to be tinted a bit darker. And exit and entry into the rear seats is compromised by the rear wheel well, although the room back there is good. You do feel the narrowness of the car; 3 across in back for a trip would be tight.

The Polestar 2 does have a hatchback, which is well disguised to look like a trunk. And unlike the Model Y, it has a cargo cover, a major lapse in the MY in my view. Cargo area is definitely less but could fit my open house signs which is my new standard for rear room. ;-) The space under the trunk floor is very small, and there is no spare tire. The frunk is also smaller than the Model 3/Y - not as big and not as deep. The showroom model had a charging cable in it and it took up much of the space (as seen in pic below).

But enough about static impressions, how did it drive? Like the Tesla Model Y, very impressively. I had the drive mode set to 'standard' and the braking mode set to 'Hold', which allows for one-pedal driving (see my last post for explanation, but essentially allows the car to use regenerative braking to slow the car to a stop and hold there). Since I was driving mid-afternoon in NYC, there wasn't really a lot opportunity to test the acceleration, but I did have the chance to floor it going up Park Ave with no traffic and several green lights ahead, and it was nice and smooth - and silent, of course. The sound insulation seemed pretty good as very little traffic noise made it's way into the interior. I did not listen to the radio but the sound system has gotten good reviews. I do like the navigation in front of you, especially when you're dodging double-parked cars, cabs scooting in and out and buses. Much easier to focus on the potential hazards and the navi when it's in front of you! Handling was difficult to judge other than when I swerved to avoid one of those articulated buses where the driver doesn't particularly care who is beside him.... The ride was very comfortable - more so than the MY I drove in July (but that, of course, was a MY Performance with a stiffened suspension - and I did not find that objectionable). Overall, the car felt 'of a piece' - maybe a bit more than the MY from that perspective. The 5-mile loop didn't really test the range, other than noting that it started at 180 miles and stayed there the entire time (was not fully charged). Given that the rated range is 275 miles, real world is probably more like 240 - 250, which is unfortunate. And the MSRP of $59,900 for the base model is problematic for me, as in addition to being more expensive than the MY, it would not qualify for the New Jersey $5k BEV rebate, meaning the price differential between a Long Range AWD MY and the Polestar 2 grows to almost $10k. Edit: It would probably qualify for a Federal rebate of $7500, assuming the government continues that program. So that would reduce the price discrepancy to around $3k.

Pros -

- Instrument panel in front of driver

- (Perceived) quality of the interior

- Styling, both interior and exterior and cool shifter

- Heated steering wheel

- Very solid feel

Cons -

- Visibility esp to the rear

- Range (rated 275 238 vs 316 for MY)

- Interior space

- Awkward access to rear seat

- Price 

- No Tesla Supercharger network

UPDATE 10/8/2020 - The EPA has released it's official range for the Polestar 2, and it is very disappointing - 238 miles, which means a real-world rating of more like 220 - 225. 

Pictures follow - I drove the light grey standard version car, the dark grey one on the showroom floor has the Performance Pack, a $5k upgrade.

Tesla Model Y Test Drive

 As I noted in my previous post, I've been a Tesla fan for a while. Tesla originally had 2 'stores' here in NJ, and neither were very close - one was in Cherry Hill and the other in Paramus, each about an hour away. In the spring, they opened a new store in Lawrenceville, only 20 minutes away (and with a Service Center as well). Once the Model Y came out, I decided to schedule a test drive, which I did on July 1.

In case you're not aware, these 'stores' are not traditional dealerships, but part of Tesla's direct sales model. You cannot walk into a store and have them order a car for you. All orders are done via Tesla's website. So the 'salespeople' aren't really that. Unlike a traditional dealership, where taking a test drive isn't a simple proposition, it's easy and fun with Tesla. No high pressure sales tactics are applied.

Because of COVID-19 precautions, the actual store itself isn't open (although the Service Center is). You call when you arrive and an associate meets you outside. They only had one MY tester available, so I had to book an appointment on-line. He spent a few minutes going over a few items - mirrors, seats, steering wheel adjustment - as well as driving modes. This particular car was a Performance model, which is about $10k more than the Long Range AWD (currently the 'base' model) and adds a lowered, tightened suspension, 21 inch 'Uberturbine' wheels in black, bigger brakes with red calipers, and a carbon fiber lip spoiler in the back. The car was also Deep Blue Metallic, which is how I would spec mine. The driving modes were set to 'Chill' for acceleration and 'Hold' for braking, which enables 'one pedal' driving mode.

I should explain about 'one pedal' mode. One of the benefits of an electric car is that there is minimal routine maintenance. No oil changes or tune-ups, and brakes generally last much longer due to regenerative braking. Essentially, when you take your foot off the accelerator, the electric motor provides braking power and that returns energy to the battery, providing a certain level of recharging. It's like engine braking with a manual transmission ICE vehicle. The amount of regen can be adjusted, to the point where the car will come to a complete stop (and will hold in place) without the driver touching the brake pedal. It's pretty cool to judge when to take your foot of the accelerator to come to a stop at a stop light or stop sign, right on the line! And it only takes a few stops to get the hang of it. Just don't forget that your ICE vehicle doesn't have this!

I mentioned that the drive mode was in 'Chill' - there is also standard and a sporty mode (can't recall it's name). That said, the acceleration was still amazing (just required a heavier foot than the other modes) and totally silent other than some wind noise. Really incredible and addicting.... I was able to test the car on all types of roads, including a stretch of Route 295 where I quickly got up to 85 without noticing.... The silence is really eerie, as my Mazda CX-5 is pretty noisy when accelerating quickly. The car feels very firm and stable, with the big tires and beefed-up suspension, and handled great. And the outward visibility to the front and sides is outstanding, with no instrument panel in front of you. Seating position is like a 'regular' SUV, higher than a sedan, and quite commanding, especially to the front. 

The lack of traditional instrumentation isn't really an issue. I mean, what do you normally look at in your car besides the speedometer? Speed is in the upper left-hand corner of the large touchscreen and is easily visible. And controls for the major functions like HVAC, defrost, seat heaters, etc are easily accessible along the bottom of the screen, although I did have to look at them to operate. Maybe they become second nature over time, like in my current car.

The MY is quite roomy, and of course, like other Teslas, has a 'frunk' in the front and a great amount of room in the rear, including a decent-sized space under the rear floor. The rear seat space is fine and with the panoramic glass roof, the feeling inside is definitely one of airiness, even with the black interior (which isn't really a 'dark' black but more of a charcoal color. 

I do have a concern with the glass roof and heating the interior of the car. There are solutions (sunscreen, tint) that could mitigate the heating. And I would want that heating during the winter for sure, as running the heater in an electric car has much more impact on range than running the A/C. But that's really a nit.

I am seriously interested in this car, and will probably wait to order until 1) the 3Q crunch is over and 2) the resolve some of the quality issues they are having with the car (panel fits, paint issues). 

I would spec mine as the Long Range AWD with a tow hitch (for a bike rack) and the Deep Blue Metallic color, with black interior (partial white is also available). The results in a MSRP of $51,990, which earns a $5,000 rebate in NJ for a BEV purchase. You also do not pay sales tax on an electric car, so there is another $3,400 that you save. And there is a rebate of $500 to install a home charger (which would typically cost about $1,000 installed). So there are good financial reasons to buy a BEV in NJ.

 

First Post!

 My intent in this blog is to document my process of buying an electric vehicle (ok, probably a Tesla Model Y) and what happens after..... Maybe this will help others in their decision to go with a BEV and forgo the ICE life.

As a car guy, I've been interested in battery electric vehicles for a while, but always viewed them as a sort of niche vehicle, not really suited for mainstream use. Tesla certainly changed that and over time, their cars have become more and more suitable for daily driver use, to the point where range of 400 miles is available in the Model S now. The Model Y I am looking at (the Long Range AWD) is rated by the EPA at 316 miles of range, more than enough for the usual daily running around that I do as a Realtor. And it makes it usable for the longer trips we take - to my parents in Upstate NY and family and vacation in the Boston area. Fast charging means that you can 'top up' the battery in a short stop of 20 minutes or less. And the technology available in the MY means that you can plan your road trips with stops at charging stations as needed, built into the navigation.  

Why a BEV? Well, given that they are more mainstream now, it makes sense to maybe give up a little flexibility / ease of use for the greater good. Without meaning to be too altruistic, I do believe we need to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels, and a BEV is great way for the average guy / gal to do that. You can argue that a lot of our electricity comes from fossil fuels, and that is still true today. But eliminating a big chunk of pollution and greenhouse gases caused by cars burning gas or diesel is a great way to start, and something that many of us can do now. And as more and more electricity is generated via solar, wind, thermal and water power, the effect will multiply. 

The Tesla, specifically, is loaded with technology that 'normal' cars don't offer. Over-the-air updates means constant improvement of your car, and the ability to buy additional features, such as the Full Self Driving package that is available now and being enhanced constantly. The AutoPilot feature which combines a lot of the various driver aid functions into an integrated package that allows a certain amount of semi-autonomous driving. The 'clean sheet' design of their vehicles, including things like eliminating the cluttered interiors we know today and integrating almost everything into a touch screen. The availability of mobile service for many issues. And certainly the revolutionary buying process the eliminates the most irritating part of buying a car, the dealer. So all of those things - and the acceleration! - combine to really pique my interest in becoming a Tesla owner.

The next blog post will cover my test drive of the Tesla Model Y!