Volkswagen has decided not to let its electric offensive rest. Three months after launching the ID.Polo, the Wolfsburg brand presents the ID.Cross, the urban SUV that translates that same mechanical base into the higher-bodied design that European buyers still prefer.
It should come as no surprise; the market for compact electric SUVs already has established occupants, from the Peugeot E-2008 to the Kia e, through the BYD Atto 2, and Volkswagen could not stay out with only a passenger car.
Like a Polo, but in SUV form
The ID.Cross measures 4.15 meters in length, barely one centimeter longer than the gasoline T-Cross, but it gains 5 cm in wheelbase: 2.60 meters that translate into real space for rear-seat passengers. The boot capacity grows to 475 liters, twenty more than its combustion sibling, and it adds a frunk of 22 liters under the hood designed to store the charging cable.
Under the skin, the platform is shared with the ID.Polo. It features front-mounted engine in three power levels: 116, 135 and 211 HP and 290 Nm of torque. There will be no GTI version nor all-wheel drive in this model; the architecture does not include a motor on the rear axle, although Volkswagen does not rule it out if demand justifies it.
Versions with 116 and 135 HP use an LFP (lithium-iron-phosphate) battery with 37 kWh usable capacity, while the top-spec 211 HP gets one with 52 kWh usable capacity using NMC chemistry (nickel-manganese-cobalt). The range suffers compared with the ID.Polo due to the more favorable aerodynamics of SUVs in general: 316 km with the smaller battery and 426 km with the larger one, the latter being the only option currently available in Spain.
DC charging power also varies by chemistry: up to 90 kW for the LFP battery, enabling a 10–80% fill in 27 minutes, and up to 105 kW for the NMC, handling the same stretch in 24 minutes. On AC, it comes with an 11 kW on-board charger, sufficient for domestic charging without issues.
On board, the ID. Cross resumes the dashboard layout of the recent ID.Polo, with a 12.9-inch touchscreen (nearly 33 cm) and a 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster (26 cm) without a visor. The brand’s designers continue the current trend of removing any visor from this instrumentation, though it’s useful to ensure good readability when the sun is directly ahead or to avoid reflections on the side window at night. Only tests will allow evaluating this aspect.
However, the German brand returns to a more conventional ergonomics by reintroducing physical buttons for quick access to functions such as air conditioning. Touch-sensitive temperature controls that forced you to take your eyes off the road are a thing of the past. Even the
The ID.Cross is already on sale, though at present only the top-of-the-line variant with 211 HP and a 52 kWh battery is available. The starting price is €34,345 for the Life trim and €37,930 for the Trend trim.
The rest of the range will arrive in the second quarter of the year, with an entry price expected to be around €28,000 for the 116 HP version with a 37 kWh battery. The model is manufactured in Pamplona, at the same plant as the ID.Polo, and it is a candidate for European battery subsidies if the battery is finally assembled at the Valencia plant from 2027.
With the ID.Cross, Volkswagen does not invent a new segment nor does it promise an autonomy that leaves the competition behind. But it fine-tunes the ergonomics, brings back physical climate controls, and offers a cabin that performs beyond its size.
Find your ideal electric car
If you’ve been thinking about buying an electric car, this will interest you. We have created the personalized Electric Cars Recommender where, in addition to seeing models that fit your needs, you’ll also get answers to the questions that worry you most, such as price, range, or nearby charging points.
¿Buscas tu próximo coche eléctrico y estás sobrepasado con tanta opción? Es normal.
Más de 45.000 lectores ya lo han probado. ¿Y tú?
Advice offered by the brand
