The Passat sedan is dead in markets like Europe, but the new Volkswagen ID.7 will serve as a replacement of sorts.
After having been previewed in camouflage, we can now see what the ID.7 looks like sans disguise thanks to images published by the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.
Interestingly, one image shows both ID.7 and Vizzion badges on the boot lid. ID. Vizzion was the nameplate given to a sedan concept revealed in 2019, which was followed by the ID. Space Vizzion wagon concept in the same year.
The ID. Aero concept, revealed in 2022, more accurately previewed the production ID.7. As the stubby rear indicates, it’s actually a five-door liftback like the Arteon, if rather more upright in appearance.
It still boasts a slippery drag coefficient of just 0.23, however.
It’s unclear if Vizzion will simply be a Chinese-market name. The ID.7 will be built both there and in Germany.
It may not come here, with Volkswagen Australia telling CarExpert late last year it’s not a priority for the brand locally.
“We’re not in the project at the moment. We have looked at it a few times, but currently it’s not on our list of ones that we’re trying really hard to bring in,” said Michelle Rowney, head of product for Volkswagen Passenger Vehicles in Australia.
A single, rear-mounted 210kW/545Nm electric motor will be available, as will a dual-motor all-wheel drive set-up. According to the Chinese filing, ID.7 models there will also offer a 150kW rear electric motor.
The ID.7 will offer claimed range of up to 615km with the 82kWh (77kWh usable) battery pack, with an available 91kWh (86kWh net) battery bumping that to 700km.
It rides the familiar MEB underpinnings used in every other current Volkswagen ID. model plus other electric vehicles from Audi and Skoda.
The ID.7 measures 4956mm long, 1862mm wide and 1537mm tall on a 2965mm wheelbase, with a kerb weight of up to 2122kg.
That’s 201mm longer than the defunct Passat sedan, 30mm wider and 76mm taller, on a 204mm longer wheelbase. That actually puts it much closer to the old short-wheelbase Phaeton in terms of dimensions.
Volkswagen has previously revealed the interior, which features a tiny digital instrument cluster, an augmented reality (AR) head-up display, and a 15-inch touchscreen infotainment system.
The sheer size of the screen has allowed Volkswagen to include toolbars at the top and bottom that feature shortcuts to key functions like the climate control.
That’s handy, as the minimalist dashboard has essentially no physical switchgear.
Volkswagen says the ID.7 can detect when the driver is approaching based on their key and will already start to cool the interior on hot summer days or heat the interior on cold days.
