Volkswagen's replacement for the ID.4 crossover is here

Based on the images VW supplied to Ars, I think they’ve mostly met that brief; the R-Line interior in particular looks rather good to me. More importantly though, VW has been listening to feedback.

The return to normal door handles will be welcome, even if it might have been driven by Chinese vehicle regulators. Even more welcome are the plethora of physical controls: real buttons on the steering wheel, real switches for the climate control and windows, and real physical air vents, not computer-controlled ones. There’s a new 15-inch infotainment screen that looks nice but will need to be responsive, plus the option of a 12-inch passenger display, a trend I continue to bemoan like Grandpa Simpson shouting at the clouds.

One feature that really got my attention is one of the options for the new 10-inch digital main instrument display: the retro dials. Instead of something presumably 21st-century looking—I don’t know since we didn’t get any press shots of the default theme—you can opt to replicate the dials and warning lights from an Mk1 Golf, an Mk2 Golf Country, an Mk 4 Golf, a first-gen Tiguan, a racing Toureg, or the Beetle. (I’m not sure if it’s the original rear-engined Beetle or the retro one designed by J Mays in the late 1990s.)

Pre-sales for the electric Tiguan start in Europe next week, with a starting price in Germany of 42,695 euros ($44,716). Although the ID. Tiguan is coming to the US, VW told us it “has not announced North American timing for the vehicle. Following the European ID. Tiguan launch in early 2027, the company will share North American timing, offer structure, pricing, and other market-specific details in due course.”