Bought a VW ID.4

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David Towle

Well-Known Member
We decided to replace our Lexus NX with a VW ID.4 First Edition. To me its the first truly good looking electric car on the US market (the Tesla S was close but is now quite outdated). So far so good. The First Edition options package had a lot of things we wanted at a good discount over the upcoming cars. We bought a medium metallic blue one which seems to be an "in" color on many vehicles now. Had to pay full price of course.
I'm hoping to see great range on the car even though its rated at only 250 miles, since we are regularly getting over 70 miles per charge on the Clarity on the flat Florida roads. That number will shortly go down of course when we have to use the AC more of the time.
Its nice to be finally plugging the Clarity in again after a year of mainly gas usage while living in rental apartments.
 
I like the ID.4, but am holding out to see how much of a performance increase the AWD version has. A software update to reduce the screen lag seems likely.
 
Mowcowbell said:
I like the ID.4, but am holding out to see how much of a performance increase the AWD version has. A software update to reduce the screen lag seems likely.
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It should be a lot faster with an extra 100 hp but I'd rather have better efficiency. I'm very happy that mine is RWD instead of FWD, drove Peugeot RWD wagons for 35 years. The handling is nice and the turning circle is really tight (unlike Clarity).
 
I think I would be more interested in a FWD than a RWD since the majority of the braking energy is handled in the front, so I would guess that the overall efficiency may suffer from the loss of regen 'opportunity'. That would be why I would prefer to wait for the AWD version, as I anticipate that it may have better regen (thus efficiency). And also less brake wear in the long term. I'm not interested in the difference in acceleration.
 
Ray B said:
I think I would be more interested in a FWD than a RWD since the majority of the braking energy is handled in the front, so I would guess that the overall efficiency may suffer from the loss of regen 'opportunity'. That would be why I would prefer to wait for the AWD version, as I anticipate that it may have better regen (thus efficiency). And also less brake wear in the long term. I'm not interested in the difference in acceleration.
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The RWD ID.4 provides significantly more (and more consistent) regen braking than the Clarity ever does at maximum 4 chevrons, all I would ever want. There is no loss of regen "opportunity". The big weight transfer to the front (and corresponding transfer of braking duty to the front) only happens with strong emergency type braking and that's not what anybody does in normal driving where you care about regen.
For me it would be nice if it had the paddles like the Clarity to smoothly transition the regen but you can't have it all. (Only because my right foot cramps from constant accelerator duty). I think my brakes in both the Clarity and ID.4 will last for at least 200,000 miles maybe way more.
 
David Towle said:
The RWD ID.4 provides significantly more (and more consistent) regen braking than the Clarity ever does at maximum 4 chevrons, all I would ever want. There is no loss of regen "opportunity".
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I may be misinterpreting what you’re saying, but the Clarity provides regenerative braking beyond what is experienced with the paddles and chevrons. Applying the brake pedal utilizes regenerative braking, almost exclusively. A couple of exceptions would be a panic stop and at speeds below ~5mph, when coming to a complete stop.

It is unlikely that there is much difference, between the two vehicles, in their ability to recapture kinetic energy.
 
Landshark said:
Applying the brake pedal utilizes regenerative braking, almost exclusively. A couple of exceptions would be a panic stop and at speeds below ~5mph, when coming to a complete stop.
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Not sure if I know enough to agree with "almost exclusively" or not, but regardless one other exception is when the battery is near full.

And it isn't clear if weight shift to the front during breaking affects regen ability depending on drive axle... as noted it probably doesn't matter under most normal/relaxed braking situations.
 
There have been charts posted that display the current being sent to the batteries while applying the brake pedal.

As for the full battery scenario, it is excess regenerative energy that is triggering the ICE to run. That energy is generated when the brake pedal is applied. I don’t know how other vehicles handle that situation. It could be viewed as a lost opportunity, but not for the lack of available energy. The Clarity simply has nowhere to store that energy when the battery is fully charged.
JFon101231 said:
Not sure if I know enough to agree with "almost exclusively" or not, but regardless one other exception is when the battery is near full.

And it isn't clear if weight shift to the front during breaking affects regen ability depending on drive axle... as noted it probably doesn't matter under most normal/relaxed braking situations.
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Landshark said:
I may be misinterpreting what you’re saying, but the Clarity provides regenerative braking beyond what is experienced with the paddles and chevrons. Applying the brake pedal utilizes regenerative braking, almost exclusively. A couple of exceptions would be a panic stop and at speeds below ~5mph, when coming to a complete stop.

It is unlikely that there is much difference, between the two vehicles, in their ability to recapture kinetic energy.
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I think you are trying to compare apples to oranges. I'm comparing the Clarity at 4 chevrons with partially depleted battery to ID.4 in B mode, and what happens when you let off the accelerator in either car. I assume they can both do significantly more when the brake pedal is pushed but I have not checked that in the VW.
 
David Towle said:
I think you are trying to compare apples to oranges.
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It began as an apples to oranges comparison. If the discussion is the “built in” level of regenerative braking when removing the foot from the accelerator, it will most likely be an apples to oranges comparison between two different cars.

This does not mean that there are lost opportunities for capturing regenerative energy with the Clarity. You’ll just have to coast for a greater distance with 4 chevrons or apply the brake pedal to slow the car more aggressively. To put it a different way, if you bring both cars to a stop from 60mph in 30 seconds, they both will have recaptured roughly the same amounted energy. It’s just that one does it with more of a single pedal driving style and the other does it with 2 pedal driving.
 
Landshark said:
It began as an apples to oranges comparison. If the discussion is the “built in” level of regenerative braking when removing the foot from the accelerator, it will most likely be an apples to oranges comparison between two different cars.

This does not mean that there are lost opportunities for capturing regenerative energy with the Clarity. You’ll just have to coast for a greater distance with 4 chevrons or apply the brake pedal to slow the car more aggressively. To put it a different way, if you bring both cars to a stop from 60mph in 30 seconds, they both will have recaptured roughly the same amounted energy. It’s just that one does it with more of a single pedal driving style and the other does it with 2 pedal driving.
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I'll add to that that you want to always use the lowest level of regen possible anyway, just like accelerating the less work the motor is doing the more efficient it is. All the way to the point of pure coasting where you will get the greatest return of what you put in.
 
Looking forward to your reports on the ID.4. Good luck with it. How much of an issue is the infotainment screen lag right now?
 
David Towle said:
We decided to replace our Lexus NX with a VW ID.4 First Edition. To me its the first truly good looking electric car on the US market (the Tesla S was close but is now quite outdated). So far so good. The First Edition options package had a lot of things we wanted at a good discount over the upcoming cars. We bought a medium metallic blue one which seems to be an "in" color on many vehicles now. Had to pay full price of course.
I'm hoping to see great range on the car even though its rated at only 250 miles, since we are regularly getting over 70 miles per charge on the Clarity on the flat Florida roads. That number will shortly go down of course when we have to use the AC more of the time.
Its nice to be finally plugging the Clarity in again after a year of mainly gas usage while living in rental apartments.
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Congrats! Have a pic? :)
 
David, Congrats on your new car. I hope you don't live at someplace cold and have the heat pump option for ID.4. I heard VW had to give refunds in Europe because the heat pump couldn't pump enough heat in cold winter.
 
megreyhair said:
David, Congrats on your new car. I hope you don't live at someplace cold and have the heat pump option for ID.4. I heard VW had to give refunds in Europe because the heat pump couldn't pump enough heat in cold winter.
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I'm surprised to learn about these refunds. Isn't it well-known that heat pumps don't work when the ambient temperature gets really cold? That's why the ID.4 (and all EVs AFAIK) include a resistance heater to warm the cabin on those really cold days. Was the ID.4's resistance heater also inadequate?

I can't tell when my EV's heat-pump passes the baton to the resistance heater, but my EV keeps me warm on the coldest days. As with my Clarity, I love the ability to precondition the interior before I exit my house, too.
 
VW must have enough chips to ramp up ID.4 production. A quick search on Autotrader is showing many Pro and Pro S models appearing in dealerships. Looks great with a black steering wheel/column.
 
Mark W said:
Looking forward to your reports on the ID.4. Good luck with it. How much of an issue is the infotainment screen lag right now?
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I've used it just for GPS and that seems OK but the GPS itself seems to not have lots of info. My Clarity is a base model and I use a $20 Garmin and it seems to have more places listed than this one.
 
insightman said:
I'm surprised to learn about these refunds. Isn't it well-known that heat pumps don't work when the ambient temperature gets really cold? That's why the ID.4 (and all EVs AFAIK) include a resistance heater to warm the cabin on those really cold days. Was the ID.4's resistance heater also inadequate?

I can't tell when my EV's heat-pump passes the baton to the resistance heater, but my EV keeps me warm on the coldest days. As with my Clarity, I love the ability to precondition the interior before I exit my house, too.
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This says modern heat pumps can work down to 5F or colder, but I don't know if the equipment size can be squeezed down to use in a car. https://buildingadvisor.com/do-heat-pumps-work-in-cold-climates/
 
Congratulations on the new ride. 70 miles on the Clarity......wow!!!!
David Towle said:
We decided to replace our Lexus NX with a VW ID.4 First Edition. To me its the first truly good looking electric car on the US market (the Tesla S was close but is now quite outdated). So far so good. The First Edition options package had a lot of things we wanted at a good discount over the upcoming cars. We bought a medium metallic blue one which seems to be an "in" color on many vehicles now. Had to pay full price of course.
I'm hoping to see great range on the car even though its rated at only 250 miles, since we are regularly getting over 70 miles per charge on the Clarity on the flat Florida roads. That number will shortly go down of course when we have to use the AC more of the time.
Its nice to be finally plugging the Clarity in again after a year of mainly gas usage while living in rental apartments.
Click to expand...

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