Giannis
Staff member
Picture this: I've been pulling 12h work days, 6 days a week, plus Sunday afternoon at the office the last few months. The day before yesterday, I had a very important meeting at the island of Crete, at some archaeological site dating around 1500 BC, where we'd spend the morning with a team from the local university, gathering samples from the masonry and running some non destructive tests. That's 6h under the sun, at 38 degrees Celsius. Not a fun day.
Not an easy one, as well. I set off at 3.15am from home, drove (like a maniac) to Athens airport, got on the 7.10am flight to Heraklion, which ended up taking off one hour later, got to Heraklion, and then stopped by the Avis office to pick up a BMW 1 Series I had booked. I then had to drive into the city, pick up an archaeologist from the local Ephorate of Antiquities and head to the site, where we'd meet the rest of the team. The plan was to finish by 15.00, then spend some time driving around the island, grab something to eat and leave with the 20.00 flight, reach Athens and then drive home (some 250 km to the west).
I could have gone for a Fiat Panda, which would be the cheapest option, but I felt a bit fancy and wanted to experience first hand the wrong wheel drive decline of my favourite brand. It was with great horror, that I was informed that they had nothing from that class available, and that I would be upgraded to a couple of classes above. I was givenan electric SUV and as I would have the car for only half a day, I was not to charge it before returning it. And then I was handed the key to a VW ID4.
I got into the car, already 1h late and had no time to become familiar with it. I just selected drive, pressed the play pedal and off I went. My journey was 40 km to the work site, 40 km back from it and then another 80 driving around, before handing the car back. My driving was a mix of back roads, city driving and some highway.
How does the car drive?
It feels like driving on a gaming console. No feedback, no sound, no hassle, no engagement, no nothing. Stepping out of the E39 and into that, felt like being asked to operate some Playmobil toy - that easy. I just googled the stats, and found out it has 286hp, but certainly doesn't feel like it. It picks up speed effortlessly, but not violently. The driving experience at all points, was butter smooth. The only time I felt something was during a clumsy moment, where I had too much speed before a corner and stepped on the brakes. The ID4 panicked, lights flashed everywhere, ABS kicked in, it understeered into the opposing driving lane (which was thankfully empty) and I shat my pants. It's not meant to be driven like that, that's for sure.
How is it to live with?
In one word, horrible. In more words, horrible and dangerous. Capacitive buttons are a stupid idea. You have to take your eyes from the road, and be absolutely precise with your fingers, or else all hell will break loose. At one point I rested my hand on the door, which resulted in operating the central locking function, folding the mirrors, and switching the window controls to the rear. BTW, whoever thought of that, deserves to burn in hell eternally. Why the f*ck does one of the simpest things to operate in a car, have to become a multiple step function, which requires you to take a look at the door, to find the touch button, which takes an effort to actually hit?
The screens were nice and clear though. You can picture how sunny that day was. I had trouble looking at the road, while wearing my darkest sun shades. Yet, the screens were perfectly readable. Kudos for that. On the other hand, the map was lagging and I only found out how to operate the radio shortly before handing the car back. No kudos for that.
Any other thoughts?
Well, the seats were descent, the materials were like Subaru in the 2000s, the interior space was massive and the cargo space was adequate, but not massive. The ground clearence was a joke, and the steering feel was unnerving, especially when lane assist intervened. I did not turn off anything, though. Nor did I look for how to turn safety systems off, neither had I the need for it.
I have absolutely no idea how much battery charge did I consume and whether it was too much or too little. Most of the time I drove normally, and only floored it three times. I did try to flick it into a corner though, and it was not fun. BTW, this this weights at least 2 tons, but feels nothing like it. I swear it felt as easy to drive as my wife's Yaris. Which was shocking.
Bottom line
Thinking about it, the most impressive thing was how easy driving felt. Effortless, stress-free and simple. And also boring. I will have forgotten everything about it in a week and I'll never look back, I'll never miss the ID4 and I'll never want one.
Upon returning to Athens, I met with a few friends from the local BMW club, grabbed a quick bite, compared the oil consumption of our cars, and at 23.30 set off to drive home. I arrived 2,5h later, beaten up, dirty and tired, as if I had the female leading role in a gangbang porn film. I parked in my garage, locked the car and stared at it, both because I bloody love it, and because I was waiting to see if the alarm will mulfunction again, and wake up everyone in a three blocks radius. That drive home was not easy or relaxing, but it was most enjoyable.
I am writing this on a Sunday afternoon, two days after my trip, just as I printed the invoice from Avis. I thought I had to write this experience down, or else I'd forget. Just as I will forget the ID4.
I'm not ready yet. I still prefer the sound of an I6, the smell of fumes and burnt oil and paying massive ammounts of money on gasoline, over the simplyfied translational experience, the ID4 offers.
And here's a photo. I only took one of the ID4. It's as exciting as a washing machine, so I couldn't see a reason to photograph it like an Instagram model.
Not an easy one, as well. I set off at 3.15am from home, drove (like a maniac) to Athens airport, got on the 7.10am flight to Heraklion, which ended up taking off one hour later, got to Heraklion, and then stopped by the Avis office to pick up a BMW 1 Series I had booked. I then had to drive into the city, pick up an archaeologist from the local Ephorate of Antiquities and head to the site, where we'd meet the rest of the team. The plan was to finish by 15.00, then spend some time driving around the island, grab something to eat and leave with the 20.00 flight, reach Athens and then drive home (some 250 km to the west).
I could have gone for a Fiat Panda, which would be the cheapest option, but I felt a bit fancy and wanted to experience first hand the wrong wheel drive decline of my favourite brand. It was with great horror, that I was informed that they had nothing from that class available, and that I would be upgraded to a couple of classes above. I was givenan electric SUV and as I would have the car for only half a day, I was not to charge it before returning it. And then I was handed the key to a VW ID4.
I got into the car, already 1h late and had no time to become familiar with it. I just selected drive, pressed the play pedal and off I went. My journey was 40 km to the work site, 40 km back from it and then another 80 driving around, before handing the car back. My driving was a mix of back roads, city driving and some highway.
How does the car drive?
It feels like driving on a gaming console. No feedback, no sound, no hassle, no engagement, no nothing. Stepping out of the E39 and into that, felt like being asked to operate some Playmobil toy - that easy. I just googled the stats, and found out it has 286hp, but certainly doesn't feel like it. It picks up speed effortlessly, but not violently. The driving experience at all points, was butter smooth. The only time I felt something was during a clumsy moment, where I had too much speed before a corner and stepped on the brakes. The ID4 panicked, lights flashed everywhere, ABS kicked in, it understeered into the opposing driving lane (which was thankfully empty) and I shat my pants. It's not meant to be driven like that, that's for sure.
How is it to live with?
In one word, horrible. In more words, horrible and dangerous. Capacitive buttons are a stupid idea. You have to take your eyes from the road, and be absolutely precise with your fingers, or else all hell will break loose. At one point I rested my hand on the door, which resulted in operating the central locking function, folding the mirrors, and switching the window controls to the rear. BTW, whoever thought of that, deserves to burn in hell eternally. Why the f*ck does one of the simpest things to operate in a car, have to become a multiple step function, which requires you to take a look at the door, to find the touch button, which takes an effort to actually hit?
The screens were nice and clear though. You can picture how sunny that day was. I had trouble looking at the road, while wearing my darkest sun shades. Yet, the screens were perfectly readable. Kudos for that. On the other hand, the map was lagging and I only found out how to operate the radio shortly before handing the car back. No kudos for that.
Any other thoughts?
Well, the seats were descent, the materials were like Subaru in the 2000s, the interior space was massive and the cargo space was adequate, but not massive. The ground clearence was a joke, and the steering feel was unnerving, especially when lane assist intervened. I did not turn off anything, though. Nor did I look for how to turn safety systems off, neither had I the need for it.
I have absolutely no idea how much battery charge did I consume and whether it was too much or too little. Most of the time I drove normally, and only floored it three times. I did try to flick it into a corner though, and it was not fun. BTW, this this weights at least 2 tons, but feels nothing like it. I swear it felt as easy to drive as my wife's Yaris. Which was shocking.
Bottom line
Thinking about it, the most impressive thing was how easy driving felt. Effortless, stress-free and simple. And also boring. I will have forgotten everything about it in a week and I'll never look back, I'll never miss the ID4 and I'll never want one.
Upon returning to Athens, I met with a few friends from the local BMW club, grabbed a quick bite, compared the oil consumption of our cars, and at 23.30 set off to drive home. I arrived 2,5h later, beaten up, dirty and tired, as if I had the female leading role in a gangbang porn film. I parked in my garage, locked the car and stared at it, both because I bloody love it, and because I was waiting to see if the alarm will mulfunction again, and wake up everyone in a three blocks radius. That drive home was not easy or relaxing, but it was most enjoyable.
I am writing this on a Sunday afternoon, two days after my trip, just as I printed the invoice from Avis. I thought I had to write this experience down, or else I'd forget. Just as I will forget the ID4.
I'm not ready yet. I still prefer the sound of an I6, the smell of fumes and burnt oil and paying massive ammounts of money on gasoline, over the simplyfied translational experience, the ID4 offers.
And here's a photo. I only took one of the ID4. It's as exciting as a washing machine, so I couldn't see a reason to photograph it like an Instagram model.
