VW ID.4 test drive

I test drove a Model Y a while ago and liked it. I had been to a dealership to check out the Mach-E but didn't get a chance to test drive one. I've read a lot of negative reviews for the Mach-E (very low ground clearance comparable to a Mustang GT, only one key fob, complicated cooling system likely to cause problems as the car ages, etc.). I had seen a lot of good press for the ID.4 and had been wanting to try it. The nearest dealer is 25-30 min away in heavy traffic so I really needed to set some time aside to go in for a test drive. I finally made it in last weekend.

The demo car the dealer had was a RWD Pro S with Gradient Package (20" wheels).  Here are my thoughts on the car and also some comparisons to my 2019 Acura RDX and the Tesla Model Y.

Things I liked:

• Ride quality. Soaks up road imperfections really well. Better than RDX for sure and also better than the Model Y I test drove.
• The steering feel is great. The RDX steering has a bit more of an artificial feel to it especially when making low speed turns.
• The seat padding and overall seat comfort was excellent. I want to say I liked the seat padding better than the RDX's.
• The exterior and interior design. Simple, tasteful and functional.  
• I like the normal door handles better than the fancy-but-likely-to-pinch-if-not-careful handles that Tesla uses on the Model 3 and Y.  (Tesla uses different handles on the S & X.)
• The quality of materials is about as expected for this class.
• It drives like a normal car unlike the Tesla which uses very aggressive regenerative braking.
• The visibility is excellent, unlike both the RDX and the Model Y.

Things I didn't like:

• Road noise is pretty bad. I didn't even take it on the highway and I found it quite noisy even at 50 mph. It felt noisier than the RDX, and the RDX does a pretty bad job when it comes to noise.
• The range of seat height adjustment is a tad less than I would like. Because of back issues, I prefer to sit as high up as possible.
• The center armrest has a split design which felt kind of cheap.
• The location of the wireless charger is such that you'd have trouble seeing the phone's display when it's there.  Model Y really shines in this regard.
• I would have liked an opaque shade for the panoramic glass roof.  The Model Y doesn't have a shade.  The ID.4 has one, but it's a sort of fine mesh type of material and so it's not 100% opaque. I also don't think the glass that VW uses does as good a job at rejecting heat as the Model Y.  It was pretty nippy outside and yet I could feel a lot of heat through the glass and shade.
• There are some weird design quirks like no dedicated buttons for the rear windows--they use the same buttons for fronts and rears with a selector, difficult to decipher controls, etc.

I didn't really push the car in terms of acceleration. And I didn't play with the infotainment at all (the infotainment is a low priority item for me).

Overall, I was quite impressed with the ride quality. I thought it soaked up road imperfections much better than the Model Y and also much better than the RDX on 19" wheels. The dealership is surrounded by really bad roads and both on the drive in and out I could tell my RDX did much worse.   However, I still don't think I liked it enough to want to get one.  If it came down to a choice between the Model Y and the ID.4, I think I'd pick the Model Y.