VW ID.7 Revealed Just as EV Sedan Battle Heats Up

• 2024 Volkswagen ID.7 revealed ahead of the start of production later this summer, with the midsize electric sedan set to become the second ID model from VW to be launched stateside.

• In debut form the ID.7 will offer a rear-wheel drive layout and a choice of 77- and 86kWh batteries, the latter promising approximately 435 miles in the WLTP cycle.

• The ID.7, set to arrive stateside in 2024, will offer 282 hp and 401 lb-ft of torque courtesy of a new motor, representing a significant step up from the single-motor 201-hp ID.4 sport utility.

Volkswagen has taken the wraps off the ID.7 electric sedan, revealing what will be a long-awaited challenger to the Tesla Model 3. Sized comparably to the VW Passat, the ID.7 is intended for long distance travel with a range to match, while offering a spacious interior thanks to a long wheelbase and the largest MEB-platform battery to date.

Just what will the ID.7 offer EV shoppers when it lands stateside in 2024?

For starters, a sleek exterior with a drag coefficient of approximately 0.23, making the newest addition to Volkswagen's electric lineup an efficient performer on long journeys. With a wheelbase of 116.8 inches and an overall length of 195.3 inches, the ID.7 will also give first- and second-row passengers room to stretch out and admire the sky thanks to a PDLC (polymer-dispersed liquid crystal) electrochromic dimming panoramic sunroof that will be standard equipment in the U.S. model.

The sedan's exterior design, meanwhile, represents an evolution of the design language launched with the ID.4—so far the sole ID model to be offered on our side of the Atlantic—with Wolfsburg giving the ID.7 a flowing, soft-edged exterior punctuated by an LED stripe stretching across the sedan's front fascia and headlights.

Viewed in profile, the sides of the sedan feature a subtle floating skirt line in a contrasting black color and sculpted lower door surfaces, avoiding the slabby look of many EVs on the market at the moment. Out back, the ID.7 features a relative short trunk lid with the rear glass stretching almost all the way to the subtle trunk spoiler. But the sedan is not a liftback, so the tall trunk opening will be all that owners will be able to use to stow cargo.

On the inside, the ID.7 greets passengers with a spacious, businesslike cabin that will be familiar to VW and Audi owners, featuring ergonomic and well-bolstered seats. A long and relatively tall center console framed by aluminum leads to the center stack, dominated by a large, floating 15-inch infotainment touchscreen, with VW still keeping a few tactile buttons on the dash. The instrument cluster, meanwhile, will be a rather minimalist screen, and there are plenty of buttons on the horizontal spokes of the steering wheel. An augmented-reality head-up display will be standard, displaying vehicle speed and additional items such as turn arrows. A voice assistant should help sort out the rest.

"The dominant detail in the interior is the dash panel," VW notes. "The horizontal structure of this soft-padded dash panel in front of the driver and front passenger has a clear and tidy layout. The trim, which is optionally illuminated by the ambient lighting, and the horizontal band that houses the air vents are integrated into the linear design."

Quite a few luxury features will be on the menu in the ID.7, at least in Europe, including 10-color ambient lighting as a standard feature, in addition to optional massaging seats and an air conditioning system derived from a draft-free system first introduced in the Phaeton sedan.