- VW has revealed the first in its new electric performance lineup: the ID.4 GTX.
- The new version of its ID.4 crossover is claimed to be the automaker’s fastest roadgoing EV, but although VW wants you to think “GTI,” it has sadly failed to fit the GTX with plaid seats.
- We’re still not sure whether the GTX will come to the U.S., but an AWD ID.4 is on its way.
Volkswagen announced it would be applying GTX branding to its most potent EVs earlier this month, and now it has revealed images of the first of this new performance line in the chunky form of the ID.4 GTX.
The reality is very close to our prediction, with the finished car showing off a mild visual makeover to distinguish it from the regular ID.4. While the bodywork is unchanged, the GTX distinguishes itself with painted lower body cladding and gloss black roof rails in place of the regular car’s shiny metal finish. It also carries GTX badging on the tailgate and front fenders and gets differently shaped LED elements within its taillights. A set of 20-inch wheels will be standard, with 21-inchers available an option.
Changes to the cabin take a similar approach. All the key architecture is shared with the existing car, but there’s more red trim, a redesigned instrument cluster, and some subtle GTX branding. Given the links Volkswagen is keen to draw with the existing GTI, we were disappointed not to see plaid seats.
The ID.4 GTX will feature all-wheel drive thanks to an additional front-mounted electric motor. The rear axle gets the same 201-hp permanent-magnet motor as the existing ID.4 but is joined by a less powerful asynchronous motor up front, each driving their respective axles through a single-speed reduction drive. Volkswagen claims a peak system output of 295 horsepower but hasn’t disclosed a torque figure. Curiously, that’s around the same power output that VW has claimed for the non-GTX all-wheel-drive version of the ID.4 that’s coming to the U.S. later this year, as well as the related Q4 e-tron Quattro, so it seems the GTX treatment doesn’t include any extra grunt.
A significant omission from the official release is the GTX’s weight, although we can safely assume it will than the already substantial rear-driven version, which weighed in at 4698 pounds on our scales.
Claimed performance is, frankly, underwhelming by segment standards. Volkswagen’s promise of a 6.2-second zero-to-62-mph time translates to GTI-level acceleration but looks leisurely by segment standards, delivering on our prediction that Volkswagen’s fastest EV will be slower than the cheapest and least powerful Tesla. Top speed will be limited to 112 mph, a number that looks very low by European standards, and especially in a country as fond of the limit-free Autobahn as Germany is.
The GTX uses the same 77.0-kWh battery pack as the regular ID.4, with Volkswagen claiming a range of up to 298 miles under the generally optimistic WLTP testing protocol. That’s just 12 miles less than the figure the company states for the regular ID.4. For reference, we managed 190 miles equivalent to 82 MPGe in the rear-driven version, while testing in very cold conditions. It will support high-speed recharging at speeds of up to 125 kilowatts.
Volkswagen hasn’t officially confirmed the GTX for the U.S., although it has promised that we will be the getting all-wheel drive versions of the ID.4. That suggests that either this car, or its powertrain under different branding, will eventually cross the Atlantic.
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