Volkswagen ID.7 - Range, charging & running costs

Electric range, battery life and charge time

The entry-level Volkswagen Pro can do up to 383 miles on a charge, while a larger battery pack in the Pro S version increases the driving range up to 437 miles. 

However, efficiency is becoming ever more important. During a group test with its five main rivals, we found the VW ID.7 was the third most efficient, but the 3.4mi/kWh we measured still only equates to an overall real-world range of 262 miles with the 77kWh battery pack. We got 3.3mi/kWh from a Tourer with the bigger 86kWh Pro S battery pack in mild temperatures on a mixture of fast A and B-roads, plus some motorway driving, which works out to around 284 miles of range. The latter test car didn’t have a heat pump fitted, so the range and efficiency might have been better if one had been fitted.

It is a shame that VW still charges extra for a heat pump, which is standard on many of the ID.7’s rivals, and helps to improve the range in colder weather by giving you a more efficient way of heating the interior without having to use as much electricity from the battery.

Rapid charging is possible at up to 170kW for the 77kWh Pro model – matching the base Tesla Model 3. The 86kWh Pro S ups the charging speed to 200kW, but that falls short of the Tesla Model 3 Long Range, which is capable of 250kW top-ups. Either way, VW’s charging curve is sufficiently flat that the maker claims a 10-80 per cent refill in either version is possible in under 30 minutes – roughly the same as the range-topping Tesla. 

What’s also like the Tesla is that you’re able to precondition the battery ahead of visiting a rapid charger, either through route planning in the sat-nav system, or manually in the battery sub-menu. This is helpful because the car doesn’t have to waste time preparing the battery before ramping up to accept the maximum charging speed when you plug in, which will save time if you have to make multiple charging stops during a journey.

Those who have access to a 7.4kW wallbox charger at home should be able to refill a flat battery (a worst-case scenario) in a little over 12 hours with the Pro version, and just under 14 hours with the Pro S and GTX models.

Tax

Electric cars like the ID.7 will cost company car drivers less in terms of lower Benefit-in-Kind (BiK) tax rates compared with traditional petrol, diesel, or even hybrid-powered cars because of zero-tailpipe emissions. EVs also benefit from not having to pay road tax or the London congestion charge, at least until 2025. 

Insurance groups

Insurance for an electric car isn’t going to be as inexpensive as an equivalent petrol or diesel car, but the group 38 rating for the Volkswagen ID.7 Pro and 39 for the Pro S. That’s a little higher than the Tesla Model 3 RWD, which starts in group 36, but the ID.7 is likely to be more affordable to insure the BYD Seal, which starts in group 48.

The high-performance ID.7 GTX will be the most expensive model in the range to insure because it starts in group 41. 

Depreciation

The VW badge is a known quantity, which helps with regard to desirability and the predicted resale values of the ID.7 compared with its rivals. According to our expert data, the ID.7 is likely to retain between 51 and 54 per cent of its resale value over three years or 36,000 miles, which is much better than the 38 to 40 per cent a Polestar 2 is expected to retain, or the 44 to 48 per cent the Hyundai Ioniq 6 is likely to hold onto over the same period.  

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