Update: ‘Interior,’ ‘Specifications,’ and ‘Release date’ sections updated.
While 2023 is the year of the next-gen VW Tiguan, 2024 will be the year an improved VW ID.4 breaks cover, as per a report German magazine Auto Bild published in its issue on March 1, 2023. First details about the VW ID.4 facelift have started surfacing well ahead of the premiere in 2024.
Here’s what we know and expect for the future iteration of the ID.4.
Design
The VW ID.4 features a charismatic and confident design that has been loved by hundreds of thousands of customers around the world. With 119,600 units delivered in 2021, around 170,000 units in 2022, and 41,900 units in Q1 2023, the ID.4 has already won the love of 300,000+ car buyers.
Introduced in September 2020, the ID.4 still looks new thanks to its futuristic, offbeat design. Volkswagen has planned a timely facelift to maintain its freshness given the influx of new electric SUVs in the next couple of years.
Volkswagen, unlike Hyundai and Kia, doesn’t believe in extensive design changes for facelifts. Refreshes during the same generation are typically soft, and we think that’ll be the case with the new ID.4, too. The exterior revisions will likely be concentrated at the front.
The new VW ID.4 should feature a new front bumper with optimized air-cooling openings. The body color could be used more extensively on the face, which, along with a reduced application of black, may give the new model a cleaner first impression.
The light strip between the headlights is thicker, just as thick as the daytime running light strip inside the headlights. Speaking of lighting, they could feature the IQ.LIGHT HD matrix technology, the availability of which has been confirmed to expand from the Touareg to the Tiguan in its third generation. On the Touareg, the IQ.LIGHT HD matrix headlights comprise 19,216 individually controllable micro LEDs each. These micro LEDs create precise beams and avoid glare.
In addition to saving pedestrians and other drivers from being blinded by high beams, IQ.LIGHT HD matrix headlights assist the driver on highways, where it gets pitch-black dark at night. With a feature called ‘Lane Light,’ they can project an interactive light carpet onto the lane in which the vehicle is driving. Volkswagen says the light carpet sticks to the lane “with magnet-like precision.”
We expect that there’ll be a bank of new alloy wheel options, available in four different sizes – 18, 19, 20, and 21 inches. However, in the U.S., Volkswagen may not use the basic, 18-inch wheels in any of the configurations. The company may offer fresh paint choices as well, possibly including the ID.7‘s new Aquamarin Blue Metallic in some markets.
Interior
15-inch touchscreen with updated software
Inside, the facelifted VW ID.4 should feature a new 15-inch touchscreen infotainment system. In addition to offering better readability and easier access than the current model’s most advanced, 12.9-inch touchscreen infotainment system, the 15-inch unit should have smoother and snappier functioning.
Smart climate control
Another big upgrade in the new VW ID.4 will likely be a smart climate control system that automatically sets the temperature in different zones based on the sun’s position. A sensor in the windscreen would detect the incident angle of the sunlight and based on the information obtained from this sensor, the air conditioner would cool the warmer zones first. The new system may allow saving personal settings as well, which would be practical for customers who share their EVs with multiple drivers.
Push buttons
Like the 12.9-inch touchscreen infotainment system offered currently, the 15-inch unit should have backlit sliders located at the bottom. Another convenience improvement in the new ID.4 will likely be the usage of push buttons instead of touch-sensitive buttons on the steering wheel. In October 2022, Volkswagen CEO Thomas Schäfer said in a post on LinkedIn that the company is bringing back push-button controls on the steering wheel. The 2024 Passat Variant, that debuted in August 2023, features physical buttons on the steering, signaling that the company has started implementing important interior changes based on customer feedback.
Specifications
The facelifted VW ID.4 should be released in a mix of current and new configurations. Some of the incoming configurations should have an 86 kWh (net) battery pack that offers a higher range than the current model’s 77 kWh (net) unit 275 miles (U.S. EPA)/331 miles (Germany WLTP), probably well over 300 miles (U.S. EPA)/350 miles (Germany WLTP). Do note that Volkswagen has announced an MY2024 update for the current model and claims this revision will increase its range, but we don’t think that improvement will be as substantial as the one we’re expecting with the future mid-cycle refresh.
Volkswagen introduced its new APP550 (“MEB Performance”) rear motor in the ID.4 with the MY2024 update in early September 2023. This motor produces 210 kW (282 hp) and 545 Nm (402 lb.-ft.) of torque, although the latter is yet to be confirmed for the U.S.-spec units. That’s a great improvement over the current model’s motor it replaces, tuned to develop 150 kW (201 hp) and 310 Nm (229 lb.-ft.) of torque. Also new for MY2024 is a ~330 hp dual-motor powertrain, which takes the place of the current model’s 295 hp/339 lb.-ft. unit.
Given the recent significant powertrain upgrades, we doubt Volkswagen is planning further performance revisions with the facelift. It may, however, try to make the recently introduced motors more efficient and reduce energy consumption to improve driving range. The company has pushed the peak DC charging input from 170 kW to 175 kW with the MY2024 update (yet to be confirmed for the U.S.), and it may bring another small increment with the facelift.
According to the Auto Bild report, Volkswagen will replace the ID.4 GTX in Europe with an R-Line variant with the facelift. The ID.4 GTX saw its 210 kW (282 hp) dual-motor powertrain being replaced by a new, 250 kW (335 hp) unit with the MY2024 update. Seeing the recent significant update, we doubt it’ll get a new or more powerful powertrain with the facelift.
Release date
The facelifted VW ID.4 may debut in late 2024 and start arriving at U.S. dealerships in early 2025, about a year after the recently updated current model goes on sale. Its prices should start at around USD 40,000, with the American-spec cars made in Chattanooga, Tennessee, as part of the MY2025 ID.4.
TopElectricSUV says
Volkswagen’s best-selling EV worldwide should become a more practical and compact SUV with the refresh. The facelifted VW ID.4 may not look all that different, but further improvements in convenience, performance, efficiency, and range, can make it a more appealing product, and address the feedback from early adopters.
Featured Image Source: TopElectricSUV’s rendering of the facelifted VW ID.4 (facelift).
I got my Master’s in Business Management & Administration and have been an International Automotive News Editor since 2014. I’ve traveled to global motor shows and automotive events, driven various types of vehicles, and focused on hybrid and electric cars in the last 4 years.
