Volkswagen ID.5 SUV - Electric motor, drive & performance
The Volkswagen ID.5 is no sports car but it does well as a comfortable cruiser
It may have a sporty silhouette, but the Volkswagen ID.5 is still a family-focused SUV that favours getting from A to B comfortably rather than impressing driving enthusiasts. Given the similarity between the ID.5 and the Volkswagen ID.4 it’s based on, the driving experience of the two cars is unsurprisingly familiar.
Comfort and refinement are good; even on our test car’s large 20-inch wheels, we didn’t feel too many of the lumps and bumps in the road, although it must be said that the suspension was noisier than that of rivals such as the Genesis GV60 and Nissan Ariya.
On the motorway, the ID.5 was composed and felt relaxing on a cruise. Thanks to its coupe-like shape, wind noise was kept to a minimum, so it felt like a nice place to be even at speed. Although it’s quite big, the ID.5’s tight turning circle and featherweight steering meant it felt very easy to manoeuvre around town. However, a lack of steering feel and responsiveness in other scenarios means it feels a little uninspiring to drive generally. We think the Nissan Ariya strikes a better balance between driving feel and comfort, while a Ford Mustang Mach-E or Kia EV6 offers more driving fun.
Volkswagen ID.5 electric motor
Volkswagen has drastically changed the ID.5 lineup since launch, and while there used to be a choice of Pro, Pro Performance and GTX, they’ve been reduced to a sole standard motor and more powerful GTX setup. Pro and Pro Performance had 172bhp and 201bhp respectively, but now all standard models get a 282bhp motor mounted to the rear axle – that’s almost as much as the previous GTX model’s output.
The standard ID.5 will now do 0-62mph in 6.7 seconds, so it should feel much brisker than the previous Pro Performance model, which did the same sprint in 8.4 seconds.
While the GTX looks fairly subtle for a performance model, its 335bhp means it lives up to its billing, and it’s an increase on the original car’s 295bhp figure. Accelerating from 0-62mph takes 5.4 seconds, which is almost a second quicker than before, and quicker than the Volkswagen Golf GTI hot hatch. The top speed for both models is now 112mph, up from the 99mph of the standard models before the updates.
We’re glad Volkswagen didn’t use the GTI badge here, though. The ID.5 GTX may offer better straight-line performance than a Golf GTI, but despite this, it doesn’t feel particularly quick. Acceleration is a little quicker in Sport mode, but then the steering is a little lazy. It handles lower-speed corners well, but comes unstuck in faster bends because it’s keen to push wide. Ultimately, it’s best driven at a cruise rather than as a B-road blitzer, which limits its appeal as a performance model. We’d avoid the GTX for these reasons, and think the standard version represents better value for money.
