Volkswagen starts taking orders for the ID.7, priced from $66,800

It was only a few days ago that Volkswagen celebrated the official start of production for its ID.7 model, and promised to start taking orders for the car in Germany before the end of this month. And today it's done just that.

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If you're in Germany, you can order the ID.7 from today, and it will cost you at least $66,770 before any incentives or subsidies offered by your local government. Only one trim level is available right now, called Pro.

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This has a single motor driving the rear wheels and developing 210 kW (286 PS) with 402 lb-ft of torque. Combined range from the 77 kWh usable capacity battery is quoted at 386 miles according to the WLTP test cycle. Average fuel consumption stands at 10.1 miles to 8.8 miles.

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Charging takes 28 minutes to go from 10% to 80% when connected to a 175 kW DC charger. An alternative way to look at the charging situation is knowing that ten minutes on such a charger will give you about 127 miles of extra range. The car can accelerate from 0 to 62 mph in 6.5 seconds, and its maximum speed is 112 mph. Its turning circle is 35.8 ft.

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The ID.7 is 195.3 inches long, 73.3 inches wide without mirrors (and 84.3 inches wide with mirrors), 60.5 inches tall, and has a wheelbase of 117 inches. Empty weight is 4,788 lb and towing capacity is 1,653 lb unbraked and up to 2,646 lb braked. The trunk has 18.8 ft³ capacity, and that can reach up to 56 ft³ with the second row of seats down.

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Inside, you get intelligent electronic air vents, a large optional panoramic sunroof switchable between opaque and transparent modes, the new IDA voice assistant, and a new menu structure in the infotainment system - hopefully a better one than before, not just a different one. There's also an augmented reality head-up display, and a few optional interior packages for an extra cost.

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These can add things like 30-color background lighting, better front seats with memory, adjustable thigh support, and pneumatic lumbar support, a Harman Kardon sound system with 13 speakers, a subwoofer, and a 16-channel amplifier, and seat climate controls. Also for extra money you can get LED matrix headlights, tinted rear windows, a sensor-controlled trunk opening and closing function, progressive steering, and adaptive chassis control including driving profile selection.

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So, ladies and gentlemen, the new Passat is here, it's electric, and it's about twice as expensive as its ICE counterpart was before car prices started going crazy a few years ago. It promises better software in the infotainment system than previous IDs had to contend with, but will it be successful? Only time will tell, of course.