Volkswagen ID.5 SUV - Interior & comfort
The ID.5 looks modern inside but several aspects frustrate
Because it shares the majority of its interior parts with the ID.4, you’ll either love the Volkswagen ID.5’s interior or it’ll drive you mad. Some of the trim is noticeably nicer than the ID.4’s, reflecting the higher price of the ID.5. The ID.4 is hardly cheap itself, though, so we’ll hope that VW decides to fit softer materials in that car as well.
What’s worse is that the Skoda Enyaq Coupe iV still feels more premium, even though it’s likely to cost less than an equivalent ID.5. There are other bugbears, such as the daft window switches that have a touch-sensitive panel to switch the controls from front to rear - the Skoda doesn’t have these and is better for it. We found the touch panels on the steering wheel to be easy to knock accidentally, too.
Volkswagen ID.5 dashboard
Volkswagen’s electric ID. models come with a small display ahead of the driver and a large 12-inch touchscreen that sticks out of the otherwise minimalist dashboard. The touchscreen is quick to respond and has crisp graphics, although too many commonly used functions are accessed within submenus.
Having all the tiles in the same colour means you need to take a second to work out which one you need, at least until the position of the widgets becomes familiar. It’ll be easy enough to live with eventually, but something like a Volkswagen Tiguan is immediately intuitive.
Below the screen are the much-maligned climate control sliders. They’re useful for a quick swipe to make the temperature cooler or warmer, but no good if you want to choose a precise setting because you’ll be concentrating on getting the sliders to behave rather than on the road ahead.
Volkswagen’s latest software update package is fitted as standard, which promises to have fixed all the bugs and glitches with the software. Time will tell if that is the case, but it’s clear that some improvement is still needed. The voice command system picks up on general conversation too frequently and interrupts you, which can be both annoying and distracting.
When the ID. models were revealed, they tended to come with brightly coloured trim - such as orange dashboard pads and a white steering wheel. However, UK buyers may be disappointed by the interior trim available; all standard models come with an incredibly drab black and grey interior with just the odd bit of chrome here and there. It’d be acceptable in a supermini, but it certainly doesn’t feel like a £50,000 car. At the time of writing, you can’t even add funky colours on the options list.
Equipment
The ID.5 features only the top trim levels of the ID.4 range, so both are well equipped. Currently, you can choose Tech or Max trims, and each is available with both the powertrains mentioned on the previous page.
Tech features alloy wheels (not a standard feature on the ID.4), electrically adjustable front seats, a powered tailgate, a panoramic glass roof, a head-up display, a rear-view camera, three-zone climate control and Matrix LED headlights. This is the model we’d pick, because it’s comprehensively equipped.
TrustpilotMax is around £3,500 more expensive and brings bigger wheels, sports seats, adaptive chassis control with different driving modes and a heat pump to improve range in cold conditions.
The GTX Max range-topper gets sportier styling to go with its upgraded performance, plus red stitching on the seats, GTX logos and uprated brakes.
Options
A heat pump costs around £1,000 for Tech models, and you’ll be paying around £200 for a cable that lets you charge from a normal plug socket. Accessories include floor mats, bike carriers and boot liners. VW also offers a spare wheel for £400; normally we’d recommend a spare wheel but that’s very expensive and there’s no clever packaging for it, so it takes up a sizeable chunk of boot space.
