Volkswagen ID.4 Pro 2026 Review

In many ways, this is the might of the Volkswagen Group pushing back on the influx of electrified Chinese SUVs. Yes, there’s still a monetary gap, but with the 2026 Volkswagen ID.4 Pro’s price starting with a five, it’s a clear shot. And the venerable German brand has its reputation to fall back on, too.

There are two models to choose from, with the Pro we’re testing being the cheaper option at $59,990 before on-road costs (ORCs).

It also comes with a 10 cent per kWh discount on charging at Ampol AmpCharge public EV stations for 12 months to further sweeten the deal.

If twin e-motors and all-wheel drive are your jam, the $69,990 GTX gains a power boost and a sportier aesthetic for an extra $10k – or $72,990 drive away. Adding more choice, the ID.5 mirrors this model line-up in a coupe-esque five-door liftback body style for an extra $3k respectively.

Again, while the landmark pricing is genuinely impressive for a legacy brand, you can save cash with the likes of the BYD Sealion 7, Geely EX5, XPeng G6 and Deepal S07. Yet, you’re somewhat taking a ‘risk’ on an emerging brand by doing so, which isn’t everyone’s cup of tea.

The VeeDub punches hard on monetary terms with the likes of the Tesla Model Y Juniper, Hyundai IONIQ 5 and Kia EV6.

Design is subjective, but the aesthetic appeal of the 2026 Volkswagen ID.4 Pro can go one of two ways. Either it’s verging on bland with the smoothed-over surfacing, or the normalised lines and angles make it far more palatable for daily use. We tend to lean towards the latter.

If a swooping roofline and liftback tailgate tickle your fancy, the ID.5 fulfils that brief but no matter which you choose, the styling is holding up well considering it’s of a 2020 vintage, such was the delay in both models reaching Aussie shores.

Pushing the base-model status and competitive pricing aside, the ID.4 Pro comes with appreciably high spec levels. It’s fitted with 19-inch ‘Hamar’ alloy wheels, IQ.LIGHT Matrix LED headlights, strip daytime running lights, 3D LED taillights with dynamic indicators, keyless entry and auto start, rear privacy glass, puddle lighting and a panoramic glass roof with electric sunblind.

Inside, the ID.4 Pro gains ‘ergoActive’ front seats with powered adjustment, heating and memory as well as pneumatically adjustable lumbar with massaging. They’re cloaked in ArtVelours microfleece, while the cabin is bathed in 30-colour ambient lighting. There’s also Air Care tri-zone climate control, a heated steering wheel, auto-dimming rear view mirror and an arm rest for each front pew. 

Having the Mode 2 and Mode 3 charging cable included in the purchase price is a boon, too. The only options are metallic paint ($1000) and an exterior styling pack ($900) that includes some silver garnishes. Our test car gains a posh hue – Costa Azul – but not the extra design treatment.

For peace of mind, the ID.4 Pro is covered by VeeDub’s five-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty, while the battery gains eight years/160,000km of coverage. Servicing intervals are lengthy at two years or 30,000km (whichever comes first), while you can pre-pay for six years of garage visits for $1785.

Refreshingly, one of the genuine advantages of the 2026 Volkswagen ID.4 Pro has on its side is the lack of obtrusive safety systems and audible warnings. It’s certainly refreshing considering the contemporary landscape, especially product shipping from China.

That doesn’t mean it goes without, as Volkswagen’s IQ.DRIVE suite includes autonomous emergency braking (AEB) with cyclist and pedestrian detection, adaptive cruise control (ACC) with stop-and-go function, blind-spot monitoring, lane departure warning with active lane keeping and rear cross-traffic alert.

Front and rear parking sensors are present, while the Area View 360-degree surround view cameras make getting in the right spot a bit easier, though the quality of the vision captured – especially the reversing camera – could be of higher quality.

Traffic sign recognition is absent, but the advanced driver and drowsiness monitoring is present and, thankfully,  isn’t too eager to tell you off for daring to glance your eyes off the road, either.

While the ID.4 does have a five-star ANCAP safety rating, it’s for the New Zealand market only. The Pro has six airbags, as well as dual ISOFIX points and three top-tether anchorages.

Just enough – and that’s a positive. Screens don’t dominate the dash of the 2026 Volkswagen ID.4 Pro.

That’s not to say it doesn’t have them, though. At only 5.3 inches, the digital instrument cluster appears too small, but it works well and houses all the technical information you want in a clear and adjustable fashion. It’s worth noting that this column-mounted arrangement largely negates the need for a head-up display, too.

The 12.9-inch infotainment display is the opposite and is indeed large, sitting proudly within the dash. The graphics are clear and the operating system is both snappy enough and logically laid out for fast familiarisation. You can even customise your own home screen and the climate controls remain when using smartphone mirroring.

The ID.4 originally launched sans wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto which has since been rectified, but there’s still no native sat-nav, which will be a bugbear for some. It does gain “Hello IDA” voice assistant, DAB+ digital radio, Bluetooth, USB-C ports, a wireless charge pad and seven-speaker audio.

A GoConnect connected services app allows for remote monitoring, including technical status, location, recent trips, errors and warnings. It doesn’t allow you to manipulate some of the ID.4 Pros functions – like remote starting the air conditioning on a blazing hot day.

Long story short, the single-motor, rear-wheel drive 2026 Volkswagen ID.4 Pro is all the electrified VeeDub you need. It isn’t going to quite fling you to the headrest like some EVs, but its zero to 100km/h time of 6.7 seconds is more than good enough.

Achieving this is Volkswagen’s APP550 electric motor that feeds the rear axle with 210kW and 545Nm via a single-speed reduction gear. The significant torque figure is reassuring in all situations and it’s never short of pulling power despite the 2170kg tare mass.

The VW e-motor draws power from an 82kWh (77kWh useable) lithium-ion nickel manganese cobalt battery pack that’s positioned low in the chassis for better packaging and weight distribution. The ID.4 Pro utilises a B mode for regenerative braking, which is more subtle than other systems and doesn’t come to a complete stop for true one-pedal driving.

It depends on the type of driving you do.

Officially the 2026 Volkswagen ID.4 Pro has a WLTP-rated range of 544km with an average energy consumption of 16.7kWh/100km and through our testing proves to be very efficient. The only time we saw our combined total exceed the manufacturer figure was on an extended highway run – where EVs are known to be their least efficient.

From a ‘worst’ reading of 17.8kWh/100km, after more than 1000km of driving that also included slow-speed city traffic, our result came to 16.6kWh/100km. No, it isn’t as efficient as variants of the Tesla Model Y Juniper, but it’s still impressive.

Using 400V architecture (unlike Hyundai/Kia, which use 800V in this segment), the ID.4 Pro is limited to 175kW DC fast charging. However, that’s usually more than enough, and results in a 10-80 per cent top up in about 28 minutes when hooked up to an appropriate DC unit. Or, if you’re using the maximum AC rate of 11kW, it takes approximately eight hours and 15 minutes.

With just the right amount of power and significant torque, the rear-wheel drive 2026 Volkswagen ID.4 Pro is the sweeter steer, proving you don’t always need the most of everything to gain the best driving experience.

However, while it holds its head high in this regard, we’re not talking outright dynamic prowess. After all, no one’s buying a family-friendly EV for that. Where it really shines is how easy it is to get along with and its levels of comfort. The key to this is the fitment of Dynamic Chassis Control Plus (DCC Plus) and tyres with genuine profile.

DCC Plus incorporates adaptive dampers with, wait for it, 15-way adjustment. Flick through the Individual drive mode (there’s also Eco, Normal and Sport) and you can quite literally tailor your own experience. Slide down to the softest suspension setting and the ID.4 Pro soaks up the worst lumps and bumps you can aim it at. The chunky – by modern standards – Hankook Ventus S1 Evo3 tyres (235/55 front, 255/50 rear) also help.

There is the option to stiffen everything up and reduce a bit of the lateral and vertical pitch in Sport mode, but it does introduce unneeded stiffness. As a happy medium, loitering around the centre of the 15-stage damping scale reaps the most reward in terms of ride comfort and body control, with only a slight trace of skittishness over sharp imperfections.

Compared to the dual-motor, all-wheel drive GTX, the Pro has a more natural rear-drive character and you can even select ESC Sport for slackened intervention. Essentially, there’s more ‘fun’ to be had here than you expect. And while the Progressive Steering doesn’t feel as natural as what you’ll find in the something like the Mk8 VW Golf, it aids turn-in while remaining accurate and pleasing to use.

The only blots on the copybook are a rather long brake pedal that feels a little odd and inconsistent as well as some road noise on course-chip highway surfaces. The former is largely due to the regenerative braking, but the MEB platform has also received criticism for using rear drum brakes instead of discs.

Again, there’s an underlying theme of normalcy that’s really appreciated inside the 2026 Volkswagen ID.4 Pro. However, that isn’t to say it’s lacking quality or boring.

It’s a rather minimalist aesthetic, but the ambient lighting ups the mood at night and in general the fit and finish is of a high quality. There are some less desirable plastics, like the scratchy rear door cards, but the doors have the reassuring VW ‘thunk’ when you close them – and despite using electric releases, it’s great to see traditional door handles.

The polarising touch-sensitive multi-function steering wheel carries over (it’s being phased out in some VW models), but it’s nice to see that the haptic slider controls underneath the infotainment screen for volume and temperature are backlit. Thanks to the wagon body style, outward visibility is generally clear.

Some slight annoyances are an under-utilisation of storage areas – like the space under the centre console and the half-size glove box – while the twisting, steering column-mounted gear lever isn’t for everyone.

Jump in the back seat and there’s generous amounts legroom for all shapes and sizes, while toe and headroom are decent rather than abundant. Amenities are well catered with a third zone of climate control, dual air vents, USB-C ports, phone and map pockets, a fold-down centre arm rest with cup holders as well as provisions for bottles in the door cards.

A sign of slightly poor EV packaging is the absence of a front boot (or frunk) that would be handy for storing the cables, yet 543 litres of cargo capacity in the back does make up for it. That expands to 1575L with the 60/40-split folding rear seats stowed, while there’s also a ski port to load items through and hidden underfloor storage – but no spare wheel, unfortunately.

With origins rooted in 2020, the 2026 Volkswagen ID.4 Pro isn’t the newest kid on the block. Nor is it the cheapest – although that is mitigated somewhat by its efficiency and being endowed with a driving range greater than most segment rivals.

However, what the VeeDub does very well is harder to quantify. It’s a product built by a company that’s been in the business of making cars for a long time, so it nails the basics with traits that make it not only pleasing to drive, but live with, too. And that’s not something that can be said about some of the price-leading Chinese rivals. 

Ultimately, the fact VW managed to put the price to within earshot of those offerings is impressive. There’s also comfort in the knowledge you’re also not taking a punt on an emerging marque.

The real question is if you see value in the Euro badge to justify the premium over the slew of Chinese (and Korean) EV offerings. We tend to think buyers should. Yet, not just for the respected VW image, but for the quality of the execution. The ID.4 Pro is a cohesive package.

2026 Volkswagen ID.4 Pro at a glance:
Price: $59,990 (plus on-road costs)
Available: Now
Powertrain: Permanent-magnet synchronous motor
Output: 210kW/545Nm
Transmission: Single-speed reduction gear
Battery: 82kWh lithium ion
Range: 544km (WLTP)
Energy consumption: 16.7kWh/100km (WLTP)
Safety rating: Not rated

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