We Tackle the Desert in New VW ID.4s and an Old Beetle

Amid the growing number of outdoorsy-themed crossovers decked out with body cladding and knobby tires, we must give credit to Volkswagen for competing in grueling desert-racing conditions with two of its pedestrian ID.4 electric SUVs. A promotional move to be sure—the company currently is not keen on transferring its learnings to an off-road-oriented production model—it’s still a bold effort made bolder by the fact that both vehicles crossed their respective finish lines largely without issue. It also highlights the challenges that EVs face as they become more common, even in the backcountry.

VW’s ID.4 adventure isn’t terribly surprising considering the company’s long, unconventional history in off-roading. The original Beetle, in all its rudimentary rear-engine glory, has been conquering the desert for decades. Over the years, VW has won titles in disciplines as varied as the Dakar Rally and action-packed rallycross. It even once competed in the Baja 1000 endurance race with a top-level Trophy Truck—a rather exotic one powered by a mid-mounted V-12 turbo-diesel borrowed from Audi’s vaunted Le Mans racers. In the wake of the ignominious downfall of diesel technology, electric power is the clear way forward for VW, be it down Main Street or through rock-strewn arroyos.

Compared to purpose-built off-road machines with flared bodywork and suspension travel measured in feet, the lightly modified ID.4s are eat-out-of-your-hand tame. The lesser of the two—a two-motor all-wheel-drive model upgraded with all-terrain tires, skid plates, stronger suspension arms, and a repositioned radiator—competed in this year’s 1400-mile Rebelle Rally in the American Southwest. The other, a single-motor rear-drive model, raced in the National Off-Road Racing Association’s (NORRA) Mexican 1000 on the Baja Peninsula. Built by Tanner Foust and Rhys Millen Racing, it is the more specialized of the two, featuring a two-inch body lift, larger tires, a reinforced suspension with rally-inspired coil-over shocks, and a stripped interior fitted with a roll cage.

Both ID.4s are impressive more for having made it to the checkered flag than for how quickly they got there. But considering their modest upgrades, they performed well when VW invited us to hit the desolate trails near Palm Springs, California. Regenerative braking helped us moderate our range and pace over uneven ground, and their suspensions rounded off gentler whoop-de-doos without shoving the wheels through their fender liners. The 295-hp dual-motor version is by far the more entertaining of the two. Along with enough grunt to push you back in the seat, the Rebelle racer showcased the ID.4’s nimbleness and the flexibility of electric drivetrains, metering torque between its front and rear axles and modulating the brakes to allow for some sliding around corners. The 201-hp NORRA version, on the other hand, lacked the thrust and additional traction for much fun, although its taller tires and beefier suspension do give it a leg up through rougher sections.

Perhaps to make the ID.4s seem exceptionally refined, VW also brought along an off-road-prepped 1969 Beetle, which was substantially built to Class 11 desert-racing specifications. Although largely vintage in composition, it featured a roll cage, more than a foot of ground clearance, an upgraded suspension with Bilstein dampers, and the requisite GPS and radio equipment for navigating between remote checkpoints. “Objects in mirror are losing,” reads a message stenciled above its rearview mirror. A puttering 1.6-liter flat-four sends about 75 horsepower through a four-speed manual transaxle with a hilariously imprecise, long-throw shifter, while the huge, thin-rimmed steering wheel offers only vague suggestions of course correction. A lack of most of its windows bathed the interior with dust and unmistakable air-cooled-engine clatter.

At a mere 2150 pounds, the Beetle weighs less than half as much as the ID.4s, which lent it agility and helped it to keep from digging into Johnson Valley’s soft silt. It was still painfully slow as it bucked and bounced across the landscape with the grace of a paint shaker. But it could trundle over treacherous washboard-like bumps with more momentum than either of the two EVs could sustain—and not just because its four drum brakes are as helpful at shedding speed as dragging your foot on the ground. Hustling one across the desert for hours on end would be brutal, yet engaging in all the ways that the quiet, computer-laden ID.4s are not. The ID.4s deprived our senses with their general lack of noise beyond the whir of their electric motors and the pitter-patter of debris against their underbodies, which limited their charm and made it tricky to gauge our speed. There’s still no consensus on what exactly EVs are supposed to sound like, and some may even prefer near-silence when exploring the natural world. But any vehicle that can throw up a plume of dust needs to offer at least some auditory excitement.

The shortness of our course meant that the other big EV bugaboos—range anxiety and charging complications—were not an issue, and a base camp offered a plentiful supply of electrons when needed. In competition, however, the ID.4s required the use of a massive generator truck to regularly recharge their batteries. While such a setup can support other utilities for a race weekend, power generation remains an onerous logistical challenge even for high-profile electric racing series such as Extreme E. VW may be continually expanding its Electrify America network of chargers, but only Jeep has pledged to install outlets at certain major trailheads, bolstering the viability of taking EVs off the beaten path.

As the sun set on our dusty day in the desert, we wished for more seat time in all three VWs—not only to probe more of their capabilities but because mechanical woes ultimately sidelined two of the vehicles for most of our drive. The Beetle succumbed to a flat tire early on and had no readily available spare, and the NORRA-spec ID.4 suffered a suspension failure resulting from a bolt that shook loose on the trail, necessitating a lengthy repair. Regardless of how widespread EVs become in the greater automotive universe, they will never escape the unpredictability of driving off-road.

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