Volkswagen ID. 2all concept previews £22,000 Golf-sized electric hatchback
There's an ID.1 on the way too
Volkswagen has previewed one of its most important electric cars yet: the ‘ID. 2all’ concept closely resembles a showroom-ready electric hatchback that will arrive in 2025 and be priced as low as £22,000, it was claimed.
The production version of the ID. 2all will be the first car from the Volkswagen Group to make use of the new ‘MEB Entry’ electric underpinnings, using a front-wheel-drive layout where the electric motor is mounted under the bonnet and the battery pack sits under the passenger compartment.
A range of nearly 300 miles
Two different battery sizes are planned for the car, with capacities of 38kWh and 56kWh, and Volkswagen has indicated that the chemical make-up of these may be different to what has gone before.
Using the larger battery, a range of about 280 miles should be possible, while 125kW DC charging is claimed to allow a 10-80 per cent recharge in just 20 minutes. Quick AC charging at up to 11kW is also included.
Despite the focus on affordability, the concept car features a new electric motor that’s more powerful than the ID.3’s. It sends 222bhp to the front wheels allowing a 0-62mph time of less than seven seconds and a top speed of 100mph.
Smaller than a Polo, more spacious than a Golf
At 4,050mm long, the ID. 2all concept is 24mm shorter than the current Volkswagen Polo, but its wheels are pushed to the corners of the body resulting in a 2,600mm wheelbase (the distance between the front and rear axles) — some 48mm longer than the equivalent measurement in the Polo.
That frees up interior space for passengers, while the boot of the ID. 2all is considerably more spacious than that of both the VW Golf and the ID.3, at 440 litres.
An additional 50 litres of storage is provided for underneath the rear bench seat in a lockable compartment in which Volkswagen suggests there is space for the car’s charging cables as well as room for larger electronic devices and charging sockets for them.
Physical controls return to the cabin
Critics of the existing Volkswagen ID dashboard and infotainment will be relieved to see that the company has responded to feedback, as the ID. 2all previews a new approach with the return of physical buttons for the heating and air conditioning and a “classic volume control” below the 12.9in touchscreen. Physical controls also return to the new steering wheel, replacing the current haptic-feedback items.
Another welcome addition is a BMW iDrive-like rotary controller on the centre console to allow the driver and front-seat passenger to use the infotainment without touching the screen.
There are four switches on the driver’s door for the electric windows, too, hopefully consigning to history the system found in current ID models where there are just two switches and another touch-sensitive pad to choose whether they operate the front or rear windows.
New Volkswagen design language
It was expected that the Volkswagen ID.2 would take the form of a small crossover, following on from the boxy ID. Life concept car of 2021 — and a crossover based on the MEB Entry underpinnings is likely to be in the pipeline. However VW’s new design chief Andreas Mindt (ex-Bentley) was drafted in to use the concept to showcase a new direction for the brand’s style under the three pillars of “stability, likeability and excitement”.
The 20in alloy wheels and small door mirrors aside, it’s expected that the production version’s design will be little changed from the ID. 2all.
Sales of the new car start in 2025 and though UK prices have yet to be confirmed, Volkswagen has targeted a starting price of €25,000 in Germany — or £22,000 at today’s exchange rate. That would significantly undercut similarly-sized electric superminis such as the Vauxhall Corsa Electric and Peugeot e-208.
Other brands within the Volkswagen Group will also use the MEB Entry underpinnings for their own cars — including the Cupra Urban Rebel.
Related articles
- After reading about the Volkswagen ID. 2all concept car, you might be interested to read our review of the Volkswagen ID.5 GTX
- Keen to go electric? Here are the top 10 longest-range electric cars
- Did you hear that Volkswagen is to pay £193 million to British diesel car owners?
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