Volkswagen ID.7 Tourer Review - Windscreen Wiper Issue Fails to Dampen Mood
Little things can mean a lot. A kind gesture, a bit of help, some recognition for a job well done. Unfortunately, you can also have the flip side when some tiny detail ruins what was, overall, an excellent experience.
It’s like having a car which has a rattle behind the dashboard. No matter how hard you whack the fascia, the rattle…or buzz…always starts at 58mph.
Why does it always rain on me?
Take my latest test car — a Volkswagen ID.7 Tourer. I had it for a week, and for five of those days, it was a thoroughly enjoyable experience. That was until it rained on day six on the way home from the Lake District. Not a problem if you’re in a car, though, you just turn on the wipers. They sweep back and forth across the windscreen and cross your line of sight. This isn’t a problem…unless you’re in some Volkswagen Group cars.
The wiper, which sweeps across from the left (passenger side), stops directly in your line of sight. And then, when it moves back to the left, it leaves a line of water, again in your line of sight. It’s hugely distracting.
As I said at the start, little things can mean a lot. Perhaps this wiper issue wouldn’t bother you…but it did me. Surely Volkswagen can sort this. Whether it’s a quirk of the car being originally designed for German roads, but we’re not the only country that drives on the left. Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Japan, Singapore, India…I could go on. In fact, around 30 per cent of the world drives on the left. Come on Volkswagen, it rains in those countries too.
Moan over.
Anyway, what about the rest of the car?
Exterior, Range and Power
The bottom line is that this is one of the best large, electric estate cars around. I like estate cars and used to own an Audi A6 Avant. I sold it with 128,000 miles on the clock; it never missed a beat, and, despite being 16 years old, didn’t have a single paint blemish.
I think the ID.7 is a good looking thing. In terms of power and mileage, three versions are currently on offer. The one I had was the Pro S version, which sits between the entry-level Pro and the GTX. It’s also the model which has a bigger, long-range battery, giving an official chunky range of 422 miles. Its power tops out at 282bhp, and a 0-60 mph sprint takes 6.7 seconds, with power going to the rear wheels. The entry level Pro model can manage 372 miles while the all-wheel drive GTX with a 335bhp battery does the same sprint in 5.5 seconds, but its range takes a hit (357 miles) due to the additional motor’s weight and the fitment of adaptive suspension. A 10-80 per cent charge takes around 25 minutes on a rapid charger.
What is the ID.7 like to drive?
This is a terrific driver’s car. It’s fun to punt along and has a genuinely sporty feel to it. The ride is smooth and the handling is nicely controlled, which is a happy compromise. It’s also extremely quiet. A lot of electric cars have a whine from the electric motor, but there’s nothing with the ID.7. If long-legged, hushed cruising is what you fancy, this is the car for you. It’ll be brilliant as a business tool for anyone who needs to carry a decent load regularly and family outings will be a doddle.
One pedal driving isn’t quite available…the ID.7 won’t come to a standstill…but it’s not far off and is nicely weighted. Nicely weighted is something that the brake pedal isn’t. You’ll get used to it, but there’s a lot of early travel on the pedal. On the first couple of outings, this can be a bit unnerving. It requires a good shove.
Interior & Tech
Inside is of a premium standard and looks the same as the Volkswagen ID.7 hatchback, which is a good thing. It’s a familiar gripe of mine that too much is controlled by the central touchscreen. Whoever decided that it was a good idea to require icons that you fidget with to adjust the direction of airflow was plainly someone who didn’t actually drive the car on a busy motorway. It’s a shame, because the rest of the kit embedded in the screen works well.
The driver has a fairly small screen in front of them, but this is supplemented by an excellent head-up display, which also projects sat nav directions onto the windscreen. Slick.
As for kit, there are three levels of trim — Pro Match Plus, Pro S Match Plus, and GTX Plus 4MOTION. Every ID.7 Tourer comes with front and rear parking sensors, head-up display, 3-zone air conditioning, sat nav, powered tailgate, rear privacy glass, 15-inch central touchscreen, rear view camera, DAB radio, keyless entry and start, powered and heated front seats with massage and lumbar function, excellent Matrix LED headlights, and powered and heated mirrors. The voice control assistant is one of the best around. All in all, that’s a decent list of standard kit.
Starting price is £51,830 (April ’26), Pro S Match Plus trim gets you the bigger battery, while if you fancy the sport-focused all-wheel drive GTX Plus 4MOTION, you’ll need to find just over £60k. Okay, you now get bigger alloys, heated rear seats, ventilated front seats, a 12-speaker Harman Kardon sound system and some additional exterior trim, but we’d stick with either of the other two depending on what sort of mileage you’ll expect to do. If you want to stand out a bit, go for the GTX.
The interior is roomy with plenty of space for 5 adults. A 605-litre boot should cope with most clobber.
Concluding thoughts
If you want an all-electric, sizeable estate car which works well as a family holdall or business tool, you don’t really have much choice out there. But that’s not a problem, as the Volkswagen ID.7 Tourer will be ideal. Great car.
words: Graham Courtney
pictures: Volkswagen
