Volkswagen has unveiled the ID. Cross Concept, a concept car that previews the affordable compact electric SUV it probably should’ve led its whole ID. campaign with from the start.
Aimed squarely at the subcompact class—think Toyota Corolla Cross size, not RAV4—the ID. Cross Concept uses a single front-axle motor making 208 horsepower and is good for a range of 261 miles by WLTP standards. Its biggest win, however, would probably be the way it generally looks and is, especially compared to the EVs VW has produced so far.
The main one we get in the U.S., the ID.4, is frankly one of the most bland vehicles I’ve ever driven, and that’s before you take into account the much-maligned user experience of the whole thing. The ID. Buzz van, meanwhile, accomplishes its main mission of looking extremely retro-cool, but how many of those have you actually seen driving around?
This ID. Cross, however, looks like it could finally be the attractive, affordable, and well-conceived EV VW desperately needs. This “return to form” vibe isn’t just a car nerd’s observation either, but something VW itself vaguely acknowledges too.
“With this new Volkswagen generation, we are now delivering on our promises,” said CEO Thomas Schäfer, emphasis mine. Also, this line in the press release cracked me up: “The ID. Cross Concept, in Urban Jungle green, reflects a new, clear, and likable design language.” Almost as though the old design language was, uh, not likable.
It has a decidedly “happy” looking face, yet remains modern—squat and reasonably rugged. Inside, the “lounge-style” interior houses two big screens, but there is also a row of physical climate control switches and real buttons on the steering wheel. There are “Vanilla Chai” fabric surfaces, above-segment-average space, and a frunk—something the ID.4 was annoyingly missing. And there appears to be a little garden underneath the center armrest. Something tells me this part won’t make it to production, but one can dream.
In Europe at least, Volkswagen plans on rolling out four compact EVs over the next couple of years. The ID. Polo (a production version of the ID.2 All concept) will be unveiled in the first half of 2026 with a sportier GTI version dropping shortly after. Then, the production ID. Cross will be shown in the summer of ’26 before a showroom-ready ID. Every1 city car comes out in 2027.
If we could pick one that’d actually sell decently here in the States, the ID. Cross is it, no question. Bring it here, VW. America deserves an affordable electric VW worth having.
Topshot: Volkswagen
I like the real physical door handles. The real range of ~250miles while low could be ok for the right price.
The driver screen with no cowl is a interesting choice, the giant ball in the sky sure likes to wash out screens and reflect light at driver’s eyes.
The front looks like it was made to have room for halogen headlights and adapted to LEDs. I don’t expect that from the production car but I do hope the fake vents in the C-pillar give way to real rear quarter windows.
Incense sticks? Really? Where is the bong hiding.
Yeah this is how it’s done. This is very handsome without being derivative. It also might have the first VW cabin I’ve seen in years that doesn’t seem uninspiring and likely to look half as nice in person.
They need to ditch their incredibly off-putting naming convention because the products themselves seem mostly very nice aside from some questionable range/pricing issues.
I must be getting old. My reaction to all three of the new cars talked about on the site today is “meh”.
It does look kind of cute from the back, but I disagree about a ‘friendly face.’ Looks like 3/4 of the way from edgy to angry. Well past annoyed, which is the halfway point. But from the side, the body panel to DLO ratio is horribly high. Like it’s trying to compete with the first-gen Evoque for the Urkel Pants award, with lesser length making it all the less attractive.
I think the front has a certain “Squidward, you like krabby patties, don’t you” vibe.
Overall inoffensive, but feels like it’s trying to rip the “OMG guys, look how retro I am” from the ioniq 5 and that weird Nismo concept cube thing from a number of years back.
The UK car magazines have been given a price of around £25k for the base model and £32k for the top trim. If I take UK tax of 20% off I reckon that would be circa. $18k – $26k before your taxes and dealer shenanigans*. (VW prices seem to match dollar for pound at the moment – the Golf GTI does.)
I’m not a big fan of SUVs in general but, as an affordable city car that’s got a decent amount of usable space, this one looks pretty good.
In Europe everyone will be buying the Skoda equivalent – the Epiq (seriously!) – which will be a fair chunk of change cheaper, look nicer and probably be better built. I’ve always thought it a shame that Skoda hasn’t made it across the Atlantic; I know you wouldn’t buy the wagons and hatchbacks in sufficient quantities to make it worthwhile but I wonder why they never tried to have a crack at the SUV and crossover markets.
*Tariffs not included. They might be zero or a squillion percent in a few months. Who knows.
Is that £25k pre tax or post tax? I think it might be pre.
No, it’s with VAT (20% sales tax) added. The only products that are priced without VAT are those that are aimed primarily at businesses where that tax can be claimed back; trucks and plant machinery etc.
This VW is a Renault 5 competitor which is £23k out the door. The VW is slightly larger and heavier but with the same size battery. The UK has just introduced an EV purchase incentive but I haven’t included that in any of the prices.
If VW bring it over it will be cheap. If. I’m not convinced they will.