VW ID.7 Tourer – classy, comfortable, practical

The ubiquitous SUV is continuing to curry favour with buyers to the detriment of other styles of car, one victim being the traditional estate car. Even legendary estate car maker Volvo has a much-diminished range. Volkswagen Group still value the estate car though and they’ve moved them into their electric range.

VW’s ID line-up has the ID.7 Tourer which is not only classy and stylish but rather practical too. With the rear seats folded there’s 1948 litres of space, with the rear seats up 605 litres, and when folded it’s a pretty flat load area too.

The three-car range starts with the Pro Match Plus at €60,785/£52,225 and generous standard equipment including keyless entry and start, 38cm/15” navigation screen, tri-zone climate, LED matrix auto head lights, heat pump, privacy glass, power front seats, heated, folding and dipping door mirrors, rain sensor, area and rear-view cameras. In the mid-range Pro S Match Plus the equipment level and battery size climbs with a starting price of €64,810/£55,710. The top-of-the-range GTX Plus 4 MOTION includes all-wheel-drive and prices starting from €70,300/£60,400.

My mid-range Pro S Match Plus comes with the larger 86kwh battery, the lead-in car has a 77kwh battery, that gives an official combined range 679km/422miles. In the real-world, depending on your driving style, roads and weather, you’ll probably not find it difficult to see 482-563km/300-350 miles.

On the road the Tourer is a very nice drive with, given it’s an estate car, surprisingly good handling. You can push it along the twist and flow of cross-country roads at a decent pace. At cruising speeds it’s quiet and refined, not all EVs share those qualities, and there’s good adjustment on the seats to ensure a comfortable position.

On the downside there’s the inevitable rash of touchscreen activity and even where there are a few manual options, such as the touch/slider heating controls, they’re fiddly and imprecise when you’re trying to operate them while driving. Equally, the steering wheel mounted switches are too easy to catch. Then there’s 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 distracting!

All-in-all though, despite a few gripes and an admittedly high price, the ID.7 Tourer is a proper estate car, stylish, comfortable, nicely bolted together and for an EV very capable of long-distance drives. I was genuinely sorry to see this one head back to VW.

Facts at a glance

• Model: VW ID.7 Tourer Pro S Match Plus
• Engine: Electric with 86kwh battery developing 286PS
• Gears: Automatic
• Price: €64,810/£55,710
• Performance: 6.7s to 100kph/62mph – 180kph/112mph maximum speed
• Economy: Combined range 679km/422miles
• Emissions: 0 g/km

Model tested was UK-specification and equipment levels and prices may vary in other markets