The wraps have officially come off the 2022 Volkswagen ID.5, the sexier, more stylish sibling to the ID.4 crossover. Both vehicles have a similar exterior footprint and a lower roofline. Most of the differences are toward the rear where the C-pillar is angled more dramatically, giving the ID.5 a wedge shape instead of a more conventional upright one. As a result, it gets a more liftback-like look that’s sportier and more distinctive. There’s also a small rear wing in the back similar to what you find in the Volvo C40 Recharge.
To further differentiate the 2022 Volkswagen ID.5, it gets a unique lower front fascia that’s blacked out on the standard model. The sportier ID.5 GTX has a face similar to the ID.4 but is distinguishable thanks to it getting LED fog lights. It also trades the silver C-pillar trim for a dark gray one. At about 180 to 181 inches long depending on which model you get; the ID.5 has a similar footprint to the more practical ID.4. Only this time you get a crossover that looks more like a raised sedan because of its low and fast-descending roofline. This also results in a low coefficient of drag of 0.26 for the standard ID.5 and 0.27 for the ID.5 GTX.
Like the ID.3, ID.4, and the upcoming ID. Buzz, the ID.5 rides on Volkswagen’s MEB architecture developed specifically for battery-electric vehicles. When using a DC charger, the ID.5 can charge at peak rates of up to 135 kW, allowing it to go from 10 to 80 percent in under 40 minutes. Using a level 2 AC charger, it can charge at rates of up to 11 kW. Volkswagen will offer single- and dual-motor configurations. We suspect that their output will mirror the ID.4’s. That means single-motor models make 201 hp and 229 lb-ft of torque while the dual-motor configuration in the GTX will be good for 295 hp and 229 lb-ft. Thanks to its more aerodynamic shape, the ID.5 could also have slightly more range than the ID.4.
The ID.5’s interior is similar to the one found in the ID.4. That means it features a small digital gauge cluster in front of the driver and the centerpiece is a free-standing 10.0- or 12.0-inch touch screen housing Volkswagen’s latest infotainment system. This means most of the controls will be inside the displays and the ones that are on the dash are capacitive and haptic feedback ones. The new software will be capable of getting over-the-air updates and Car2X communication, which will allow compatible Volkswagen vehicles to receive data from their surrounding infrastructure to inform the driver of dangerous areas, accidents, and traffic conditions.
Volkswagen’s latest driver assistance features will also be offered on the ID.5. In addition to collision prevention and driver assistance features, the crossover will also get the Travel Assist semi-autonomous system, which bundles together features like adaptive cruise control, steering assist, lane centering, and traffic jam assist to help ease the daily grind and long road trips.
For now, the 2022 Volkswagen ID.5 will only be sold in Europe, growing the brand’s ID lineup there to three models. There’s no word yet on whether this will come to the U.S. because Volkswagen has only announced the ID.4 and ID. Buzz for this market.
