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
Response to headline:
No you wont.
I will never buy another VWAG vehicle, but this does look half decent.
I have seen more RHD VW T2 variants (at least four) than I have of the ID. Buzz (zero) where I live (PNW).
Of all the mid-size electric crossovers, this is definitely one of them.
One thing that hopefully remains from this concept to a production version hopefully are actual door handles vs the flush mount garbage most EVs seem to insist upon. Talk about added complexity and headache just for the sake of….. well nothing. Is the saving drag from 4 1 inch protrusions really worth the potential issues?!
I’d be far more interested in that ID.Polo GTI.
Agreed!
Nothing says “Don’t Drink That!” like putting your cupholder beneath the console and far-far forward out of reach.
But golly, I’m glad we made space for the watercress garden and incense burner.
Good thing the interior is ash-colored – which I actually like – (because tweed seats are the best kind of seats)
That’s not an incense burner, those are diffuser sticks for essential oils. I know because there’s one for lavender in my window sill right now.
Ah yes – Essential oil diffuser.
Exactly what every car needs.
It beats gluing crystals to your steering wheel airbag.
I like the exterior. I think I like the idea of some of the interior if they were in a darker color.
It looks like a Germanic answer to the C3 Aircross.
To my eye, I much prefer the Citroen but that might be due to the bland-corporate-slate-grey paint here. Or maybe it’s the headlights.
I’d just like to know how many window switches are on the driver door card.
Given VW’s track record in the US, I give this less than a snowball’s chance in Hell of coming here.
Four! Can you believe it! With real buttons, no capacitive junk for doors and windows. No capacitive buttons on the steering wheel either. Real HVAC controls. Hallelujah!
Two.
For the front windows.
The rears get manual winders.
Just like in the 90s
I’d wait with any VW group product until we can see what comes out of their Rivian co-engineering efforts, after the massive failure of Cariad. No point in having a decent car with a good interior where any HMI interaction still frustrates and takes away from the joy/relaxation of driving.
Has anyone tried putting a V8 in an EV to appeal to US buyers?
Not to drive the wheels or anything, just a big honking V8, sat there in the ‘engine’ bay. Maybe with some cutaways, or transparent bits, so you can watch it spinning round, and all the pushrods* pushing, the rocker arms rocking etc.
This could be what really sells electric vehicles to the USA.
*(it’s well known that Americans think overhead cams are immoral or something)
Oh, you are on to us. You can keep the tyranny of the metric system and your overhead cam operated guillotines on your side of the pond. But touché’, as we go for fake cheese and pastries we’d likely go for a fake V8.
It’s like a Landau roof, fake decoration pretending to be a collapsible roof from a carriage, but for your EV engine bay!
We don’t want no stinkin’ LED lights. All sources of illumination must be kerosene! Just as god intended!
Best I can do is one of those flickering ‘flame effect’ bulbs.
It’s the kind of vehicle VW needs in all markets cheap and cheerful cuv. Maybe they can find some manufacturing capacity somewhere to make it happen in the US but I kind of doubt it. Especially with the id.4 going out of us production. Though maybe made in Mexico with a tarrif might still be cheap enough to get some sales.
Bring to the U.S.
It looks like a production car so much that for a moment I thought “ID. Concept” was the model name.
Bring it as-is!
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.
Under the Octopus’s garden.
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.
Modern car (and particularly SUV, and especially truck) design looks about 23.5/4 of the way towards “angry,” so 3/4 of the way there is downright chummy.
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.
I’m not sure how many US-market VWs are built in Europe. It’s my impression that most of their cars sold here are built in North America.
Considering the current ‘varying degrees of hostility’ trade policies, I don’t expect many foreign companies to invest in production facilities. Hyundai did, and armed masked thugs just raided their factory to fill our concentration camps.
Hah, even if we did get it here import duty free or built here with cheap illegal labor VW would never sell it at that price.
They would start at, $34k here and VW would laugh all the way to the bank.