Lucky me and first impressions

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Richpa
Posts: 9
Joined: Wed Oct 27, 2021 2:59 pm

Post by Richpa »

I have had a Jaguar i=Pace on order since June with an expected delivery date of Jan / Feb. I recently got a letter from JLR explaining that I would not be able to have the heads up display that I had configured because of the chip shortage, but they were still unable to give me any confirmation as to when my car could become available. The dealership did say they would be updated approximately 3 months before delivery! No-one to confirm if any new iPace were being produced at the moment.

I rang my local VW dealership last week to ask about lead times on iD3 / 4 and was told around 6-7 months! I was offered a test drive but declined as I didn't feel I could plan that far into the future. The salesman then rang back to say they they did have an iD4 that had just arrived and was un-allocated. I took a look and reserved it even before test driving their demonstrator. It is a Family Pro in metallic blue with standard spec - Glass roof, Matrix headlamps etc but no powered tailgate, heads up or power seats.
On the test drive I found the performance to be good - more than adequate, but obviously not quite giving the acceleration thrills offered by some more powerful EV's. Hopefully that will help to keep points off my licence. I do notice a slight "grindy" sound at low speed that I don't like - I don't think its the pedestrian warning sound - not sure what it is but I was present on the demo car and my own. The interior is fine, well put together but not quite as plush as it could be - but of course it is much more reasonably priced than the likes of the iPace. I'm not particularly impressed with the central screen as it is a bit slow as others have pointed out and the lower buttons and heating / volume sliders really need to be backlit. The speed limit recognition is often wrong. A few real buttons for climate / heated steering wheel would be better I think. I don't get the ID light either - seems rather a gimmick. What did surprise me was how well the wireless Android phone connection works. Also, if I set navigation in google maps the navigation direction arrows show up in the central pod. I don't know of any other system that does that. I don't agree with the criticism of the 2 window control buttons and selector haptic for rear windows. How often do you need to control the rear windows from the driver's seat? In my (Traded in) Evoque I hit the rear window buttons by mistake quite often. I prefer VW's solution. Also I don't care about the lack of a "Frunk" - preferring a shorter bonnet.

Recognising that they are two very different cars, comparing the iD4 with my ex 2yrs old Evoque P200 HSE:

Build quality - pretty comparable - inside and out - but VW seem to be able to make the door closing clunk sound better than anyone else
Door handles - much better thank goodness - I had 3 door hand failures requiring dealership repair with the pop out ones on the Evoque
Interior - materials no match for the Evoque but I did have to pay a £2000 premium to get an animal free interior in the Evoque! The VW has a very nice minimalist layout which induces a feeling of calm but I would like a bit more chrome or stainless steel and much less cheap looking shiny black plastic
Tech - generally both pretty poor really but full marks for the wireless connectivity with Apple and Android. Evoque remote App has more functions.
Seats - its a draw - just wish mine had a massage function
Space - VW has more room overall - also has roof bars
Sound insulation - difficult because the Evoque has an engine so that hides other noises
Sound system - both really good actually
Drive - pretty similar - haven't missed 4WD but obviously no snow/ ice / flood experience yet
I must say however that part of my daily commute is down a REALLY bad country lane to drop the dog off at a farm for day care and the iD4 copes with the holes and ruts just as well as the Evoque and with the same level of comfort.

If I had the choice I would have gone for;
Power tailgate, Heat pump, Massaging seats, full driver assist tech, HUD, White paintwork, Grey interior without the brown and 4WD with 300 bhp. The GTX comes with body coloured lower panels which I think make it look too chunky - wish it could be configured with the same black parts.
We'll see what is on offer in a couple of years time.

So those are my thoughts from a Land Rover fan boy who now has his first VW, first EV and obviously a new bias! Below - First charge being supervised by Tilly the dog.

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Warrior
Posts: 163
Joined: Thu Oct 07, 2021 11:12 am
Location: Worcester

Post by Warrior »

First of all, welcome and glad that you managed to find your ID4 so quickly. Mine was a showroom car that no one had snapped up, so I only waited 3 weeks after having my first test drive. Like you, I would have liked a power tailgate and I would have preferred the interior without the brown, but hey ho, I got a decent spec with the 1st Edition and I love driving it. We all have a lot to learn with EVs, so the future looks quite interesting.
ID4 1st Edition in Dusk Blue Metallic (77 kWh)
EO Mini Pro 2
Unionjack
Posts: 17
Joined: Thu Sep 23, 2021 11:40 am

Post by Unionjack »

Congratulations @Richpa

Great to see another ID4 on the road!
Hopefully you will fall in love with the drive, it’s not the fastest but it is very comfortable and relaxing when you drive it especially when you have 3 children in the back 🤣
Enjoy!
ID.4 Life 52kWh Pure in Manganese Grey
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