The estate version of the Volkswagen ID.7 brings back the shine to an endangered species of automobile. Called Tourer, according to the tradition of the house, this car goes against the current of the continuous boom of SUVs that saturates the market. Even more than their thermal counterparts, electric cars have been devoured by these fake 4×4s, whose architecture offers some advantages. Volume to accommodate batteries between the axles, profitability superior to any other model and adaptation to the preferences of a friendly clientele, evidently not yet tired of elevated vehicles. This last argument, however, is beginning to lose relevance.
If the supremacy of the SUV – a type of car that is now the majority among new car sales – is certainly based on the appetite of buyers (and purchasers), it is also the result of the disappearance of other body types. Obsessed with tall, square cars, manufacturers have abandoned pickup trucks, but also coupes, convertibles and minivans. They are even starting to neglect sedans. In the absence of an alternative solution, buyers looking for a family car sometimes have no choice but to opt for an SUV. We should therefore be glad that Volkswagen is starting to market a station wagon based on the ID.7, a large electric sedan with somewhat unattractive styling that is offered here in a more elegant version.
Electric counterpart to the Passat estate car and competitor to the BMW i5 Touring, the ID.7 Tourer, designed on a specifically electric platform, is part of the great tradition of the estate estate. Designed with good sobriety, and although its profile is not as slim as we would have liked (it was necessary to house the enormous batteries under the cabin and enable a large 605-liter trunk), this Volkswagen does not lack rhythm. Like most “premium” models designed across the Rhine, the ID.7 Tourer is hardly concerned with its mass, which shamelessly maxes out at 2.2 tons. The fault lies with an NMC (nickel-manganese-cobalt) battery, whose capacity can be chosen between 77 or 86 kilowatt hours (kWh), which allows an enviable range of, according to the manufacturer, up to 690 kilometers.
Size for family use.
It makes no sense to argue about the benefit of loading the boat by ballasting the car with half a ton of batteries – which contributes, in this way, to increasing prices, which start at 58,990 euros -, while the network of high-power terminals has been become considerably denser, especially in France, where there are more than 11,000 charging points of more than 150 kilowatts. All manufacturers make the same argument: to reassure the customer, it is necessary to incorporate large batteries. It’s a shame that, after a few months of practice, the new electric motorist realizes that the charging power of his car and the density of public terminals matter as much, or even more, than autonomy.
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