By Christopher A. Sawyer
The Virtual Driver

(October 16, 2016) If you are Volkswagen, and have been caught deliberately cheating on diesel emission test globally, you’d better quickly do something to atone for your sins agains the environment. So, just in time for the Paris Motor Show, VW announced the concept version of the I.D. (The production model will launch in 2020.) And while the company didn’t say what the initials stand for, it said all future VW drivers will be given their own individual profile or identity that will bring personalized settings (seats, climate control, radio stations and songs, ambient lighting, navigation settings, contact details, etc.) into the car by using their smartphone.

This information will be stored in the cloud with the smartphone acting as the digital key.

Digital is the key word here as VW says it will have a fully autonomous version on sale in 2025. Plus, Volkswagen Home-Net will interconnect car and home, making it possible (should you have security cameras in your home) to see if everything is okay before you arrive or to let a family member who has forgotten their key into the home.

Exactly what this has to do with building globally competitive transportation is unclear, though it does serve to modernize the utopian dreams and ideas behind nearly every car of the future concept of the late 1950s and early 1960s in a way more in tune with today’s collectivist environmental ideal.



I.D. is the first product to be built using VW’s Modularer Elektrifizierungsbaukasten (“Modular Electric Drive kit” or MEB) conceived for pure electric vehicles. It’ll need it as VW has set a goal of selling one million EVs by 2025, and expects pricing for the production I.D. to be on par with a similarly powerful and outfitted four-door Golf.

As has become commonplace with purpose-built EVs, the lithium-ion battery pack is integrated into the floor between the axles. At 161.4 inches it is six inches shorter than a Golf, but sits on a five-inch longer wheelbase (108.3 inches). The concept is 70.9 in. wide and 60.2 in. tall.

Hearkening back to VW’s roots, the Modular Electric Drive is located in the rear and, along with the floor-mounted battery pack, gives the car a 48:52 front:rear weight distribution. An integrated unit, it comprises the 125 kW (168 hp) electric motor, power electronic and single-speed transmission, and is capable of accelerating the car from 0-62 mph in less than eight seconds before topping out at 99 mph.

Range, using European test cycles, should be between 249 and 373 miles on a charge. Production versions, says VW, could offer a range of motors and batteries, both more and less powerful than the one shown on the I.D. concept. The ancillary equipment is packaged up front.

In the concept, the steering wheel retracts into the instrument panel when autonomous driving mode is engaged in order to increase interior room and make it feel more like a lounge. An intriguing idea, and one shown by supplier ZF TRW, the likelihood of this idea making it to production is nil as it would move the steering wheel mounted air bag from its optimal position, and introduce an unnecessary delay should it be necessary for the driver to retake control.

Also unlikely to make production are the doors as shown. The elimination of the center pillar would take a heavy toll on structural rigidity, and make it difficult to accurately align the conventional front and sliding rear doors. Adding a pillar would not only eliminate the reinforcements that would be necessary to maintain the structure’s torsional rigidity, but provide a stable latch point for the doors. However, since the production I.D. most likely will be more expensive to produce than a Golf, the sliding rear doors probably will be replaced by conventionally hinged ports.

Like Mercedes’ EQ, the VW I.D. features a clear logo that is illuminated by a white light when the car is switched on. Grille openings are minimized, blue highlights are used on the front and rear fascias and sills, cameras replace door mirrors, and black is used as a contrast on major body panels. When the driver approaches the car, the LED headlights “look” in his direction. When started, the transparent front and rear VW logos light up.

This is followed by blue lighting in the lower sections of the front and rear fascias and sills, the “eyes” (headlights) opening, and courtesy lamps illuminating the door handles. As if this isn’t silly enough, there are different lighting sequences for each operating mode. The blue lower body panels pulsate or “breathe” when the vehicle is charging, and the headlights remain off. The VW logos, daytime running lights (DRLs) and headlights turn on when driving normally, and the headlights adopt a more dynamic lighting signature under acceleration.

In autonomous mode, the roof-mounted laser scanners extend and light up in the same blue hue used on the fascias and sills. In addition, the headlights “look” left or right  to communicate the direction the car is going to turn On shutdown, the DRLs shut off, the door handles illuminate, and these lights go off with those in the fascias and sills when the doors are closed. The VW logos stay lit until the driver and passengers walk away from the car.

There’s more of the same inside, with a retracting steering wheel, rear seats that fold flat into the floor to create large load space, reconfigurable electronic switchgear, and more. Four individual seats are used, though the production version is likely to have a bench back seat. VW’s Open Space concept may look good on the auto show floor, but most buyers prefer practicality and flexibility over style, and — according to polls — are far from sold on autonomous driving. Which could be a large obstacle for VW’s plans to sell one million EVs by 2025.

The Virtual Driver