SAIC Volkswagen ID.4 X

Let me start with the exterior. The overall look is very youthful, not the stereotypical image that mass - produced cars give. It's chubby and rather round and cute, but the front end looks very aggressive and imposing, so it has a kind of cute - yet - fierce charm. The most eye - catching features are the matrix headlights and the front light strip. When you approach the car with the key for the welcome function, the interaction is really cool. The headlights move like eyes, and the car logo and the whole LED light strip light up together, which has earned a lot of second glances. I myself will look twice when I see such lights on the road.

I'm quite satisfied with the range. I'm in Guangzhou. In summer, when driving with the air - conditioner on on the urban expressway, the power consumption is about 13 kWh. When there's traffic jam and I use semi - autonomous driving, it's about 17 kWh. It should be even lower on the highway.

In terms of the interior, it's simple yet has some pleasant surprises. It's more youthful and fashionable than the global version (or the FAW version), and the center console is more user - friendly than that of the global version. The seats are very comfortable and have a massage function. However, I'd prefer it if the style were more sporty. The panoramic sunroof is quite large. I was even asked to pay extra for the ice film that was supposed to be given for free when applying the car wrap! The most important thing is that it has a sunshade, which is really thoughtful!

I chose the Long - Range Comfort Edition, which offers the best cost - performance ratio. But if there were an Extreme Long - Range Edition (with an additional 360 - degree camera), I might have chosen that one.

When it comes to space, the rear seats are large, the floor is completely flat, and the trunk is also quite big. The only drawback is that the rear seats don't lie flat with the trunk when folded down. You need to buy additional accessories to achieve that.

In terms of intelligence, I'd like to give a thumbs - up to IQ.LIGHT (or is it ID.LIGHT?) and AR - HUD, which have improved driving safety. Although I have the 2022 model and haven't encountered the problems of network disconnection, system freezing, or screen blackout that the 2021 model had, I have to say that there are too few third - party applications on the car system. Currently, there are only Changba, Kugou (which is quite bad), Meituan (with limited functions), and an app developed by CCTV. Only iQiyi is relatively usable. I've heard that the software engineers at Volkswagen China are very capable and know what Chinese users need, but they have too little authority. I don't really like the car system interface. It's functional but its logic is more European. However, CarPlay makes up for a lot of its shortcomings. Even if the car system is not great, it's not a big problem. It would be even better if the Apple Maps and Gaode Maps in CarPlay could be mapped onto the AR - HUD. I really hope this function will be available soon.

Moreover, the wall - mounted charger doesn't have a networking function or Bluetooth. It's really frustrating! I have the 2022 model, and I can make charging appointments. I've heard that the 2021 model had a bug that prevented appointment charging.

The key can't make the car honk to help you find it, which is quite inconvenient at times.

Let me mention some advantages of the driving experience:
1. The turning radius is very small, which is extremely useful for me because the design of my community's garage is so unreasonable that I have to adjust the direction several times when getting my other two petrol cars out of the garage.
2. The chassis is very solid. It's stable when turning and also very smooth on the highway.
3. The accelerator pedal is tuned like that of a petrol car, and the driving feeling is very comfortable. It's not extremely fast, but it can overtake most of the petrol cars on the road, which is enough since it's not a racing car.
4. There isn't a strong dragging feeling in B - mode, although I don't use it often.
5. The semi - autonomous driving is of L2+ level, and the lane - keeping function is excellent. It's quite practical when used in conjunction with the AR - HUD.

¡¾Space Performance¡¿
The front space is quite large because the adjustment range of the front seats is relatively wide. The rear space is just an average performance for a compact SUV. When a person of my height sits in the back row, there's still a bit of a close distance between the head and the roof. Moreover, it'll be a bit crowded if three adults sit in the back row, after all, it's just a compact SUV.
¡¾Charging Time¡¿
There are many factors affecting the charging time, which are related to the vehicle's battery status and the outdoor temperature. The charging speed is extremely slow in winter because the battery activity is low. When charging, the BMS will reduce the charging power. When the temperature is suitable recently, the charging power will be higher, especially when you go to charge after driving for a while, the charging power will be even higher. This is also related to the battery activity.
¡¾Endurance¡¿
The endurance level is just mediocre, not very surprising, and of course, it won't deviate too much from the theoretical value. The endurance is mainly related to driving habits, driving speed, and outdoor temperature. If there's traffic congestion on urban roads and the vehicle starts and stops frequently, the power consumption won't be low; when the speed exceeds 100 km/h on the urban expressway, the power consumption will be relatively high, generally above 20 kWh per 100 kilometers. Of course, it's also highly related to the temperature. The power consumption will be quite high when turning on the heater in winter. Especially when you've just started the vehicle and driven for a short distance, the average power consumption will be extremely high. The energy consumption of air - conditioning for cooling in summer is relatively lower than that for heating. Currently, the power consumption of this vehicle I'm driving is basically 16 kWh per 100 kilometers, and the driving conditions include 1/3 of congested urban roads and 2/3 of elevated roads.
¡¾Intelligence¡¿
Compared with domestic new - force models, the intelligent level seems to be a bit backward. But this also reflects the different focuses of each brand on vehicle quality. The most basic aspects of vehicle quality are driving, handling, chassis, and body strength, etc. Too many fancy intelligent functions may not be used much in actual use. It depends on personal preference and needs.
¡¾Most Dissatisfied¡¿
At the beginning, this car often lost network connection, and various sensors in the car often reported errors. The blinking fault lights on the screen would confuse novice drivers because you don't know which are real faults and which are false alarms. After a hardware driver upgrade and a whole - vehicle system upgrade later, the false - alarm rate has decreased a lot, but it still occurs occasionally. It's hoped that the subsequent OTA can gradually solve the false - alarm problem. In addition, the functions of the electronic control system still need to be improved, and the power consumption is relatively high. Although the battery capacity is large, high power consumption will inevitably lead to a decrease in endurance.
¡¾Car - Buying Experience¡¿
I didn't plan to change the car originally, but considering that my current activity range is mainly within the city and I don't drive long - distance, and I have to drive every day. A green - license plate vehicle is not affected by the license - plate restriction. The car - buying process was tortuous. I've previously looked at some fuel - powered cars and planned to use two fuel cars alternately to avoid license - plate restrictions. But the usage cost is high and troublesome. I also looked at some hybrid models in the middle, but due to various reasons, there were no available cars, and the salesperson was not enthusiastic. I bought this car out of urgent need. I took a test drive and placed an order on the same day. There's also a two - year interest - free loan for the car purchase, which has relieved a lot of economic pressure.
¡¾Driving Experience¡¿
This car seems to be quite in line with Volkswagen's consistent style. Although it's an electric vehicle, the acceleration doesn't feel abrupt, and the energy - recovery braking isn't overly strong. It's quite flexible to operate when driving. Due to rear - wheel drive, the turning radius of the front wheels is small, so it's easy to turn and make a U - turn. The seats are quite comfortable, and the front seats even have a massage function, which is quite practical.
¡¾Sales Attitude¡¿
There was a full - time new - energy vehicle salesperson in the store when I was buying the car. The salesperson was quite enthusiastic in promotion and explained things in detail. However, the real situation of the vehicle wasn't clearly stated during the purchase. This car was a display vehicle and had been placed in the showroom for some time. The 12 - volt small battery had been discharged, but the salesperson didn't tell the truth. Also, some rights and interests during the car purchase weren't clearly explained. Although it was a display vehicle, it was sold at the official price without any discount, which I find a bit dishonest. Of course, I also have my own subjective reasons. I was eager to buy a car when I saw an available one, so I didn't pay much attention to some details.

Appearance: The real blue ID.4X looks great. The front face is imposing, the green license plate is pleasing to the eye, and the glowing LOGO has a strong sense of technology, making it highly eye - catching.
Interior: The blue interior of the ID.4X is youthful, bright and transparent. The seats are comfortable. The suede texture is okay. The front - seat massage offers the experience of a luxury car worth hundreds of thousands of yuan. The lumbar support adjustment deserves positive reviews.
Center console: The gear - shifting knob is high - end. The large center console screen is not glaring and has high resolution. The touch - type buttons are of high quality. The air - conditioning vents can be adjusted to a comfortable angle.
Space: I'm 1.8 meters tall and like to adjust the seat to the lowest position. There is plenty of space in the front row and a wide field of vision. The trunk seems to be the largest in its class. It's absolutely sufficient for regular cargo - carrying.
Handling: The chassis can be adjusted, which is really amazing. It has a chassis adjustment function usually found only in off - road vehicles. The comfort mode is suitable for rough roads and slow driving. The sport mode offers a sporty handling experience just like a sedan, giving you full confidence when driving. The kinetic energy recovery in the early stage of braking is easy to get used to and master. It's very stable at high speeds. Especially, the L2+ autonomous driving has very high reliability and is very useful.
Driving feeling: It runs very quietly with little tire noise.
Safety: The ID.4X got the highest score in the C - IASI test. Isn't it safe? The car body is rigid and definitely resistant to collisions. It has forward active braking and also active braking when reversing. Once, when I was reversing up a slope at a high speed and almost hit the wall, the active braking detected that I didn't step on the brake hard enough and automatically stopped the car. After it stopped, there was only 10 cm between the car and the wall. It's awesome. When reversing, it can detect oncoming vehicles from both sides. If it judges that your braking force is insufficient and there is a risk of collision, it will stop the car for you. This automatic stop is just right and also helps you develop better reversing habits, that is, braking slowly.
In the first month, there was abnormal noise from the right - front wheel brake, but the after - sales service said it was normal, and then the noise gradually decreased and finally disappeared. The braking is comfortable, without obvious head - nodding and no dizziness.
It has good charging compatibility. It can be charged quickly at NIO, XPeng charging stations and the State Grid charging stations at highway service areas. A charging pile has been installed in front of the store. The electricity costs 0.7 yuan per kilowatt - hour. I usually charge the car from about 30% to 90% with slow charging, and there is no problem.