Volkswagen ID.5 review

Volkswagen’s pricing and trim structures are not always the easiest things to understand, and thus the bigger-battery and higher-power iteration of single-motor ID.5 kicks off the range at £36,995. Odd.

Essentially you've a choice of three powertrains: Pure (52kWh battery, 168bhp motor), Pro (77kWh, 282bhp) and GTX (79kWh, 335bhp dual motors). As we write, both the Pure and GTX offer a sole trim option with the Pro available in Essential, Match and Black Edition trims. Keeping up?

A Pro Match seems to be where the tastiest lease deals start, kicking off from a mite over £300 a month on a three-year deal. The go-faster GTX starts at about £385. Of course, if you’re a company car driver then you’ll benefit from the perky low tax rates for electric vehicles, which will make the ID.5 a more worthy candidate for the shortlist. 

What are the trims like? 

The Essential kicks off the range at the tantalising £36,995 entry which comfortably undercuts a lot of rivals, including the in-house Enyaq and Capri. And you still get 19in alloys plus a heated steering wheel and front seats. They come purely with the 77kWh battery and 11kW AC or up to 145kW DC rapid charging.

Match trim starts at £41,090 with the smaller 52kWh battery, or £45,900 with the 77kWh option - so about £9k more than the entry Essential trim car. Equipment wise, it adds LED lights, an electric tailgate, tinted glass and metallic paint. Not much for such a hefty premium, but leasing prices seem to suck up most of the gap.

The GTX cars are the sportier option and start at £53,745, kitted with a twin-motor four-wheel-drive powertrain for juicier performance. They also unlock 175kW DC charging, get a new Harman Kardon sound system, sports seats, panoramic sunroof, 20in alloys, front and rear parking sensors, a heat pump and a more ‘dynamic’ chassis set-up for driving fun. Which, as we've covered, it doesn't really achieve.