The successor to the Volkswagen Passat turned out to be a liftback, and it has two options: ID.7 and ID.Next

However, two versions with different designs are planned only for China, but there will be one model for the global market. The novelty will go on sale this year.

The premiere of this member of the electric Volkswagen ID family lasted for several years: back in 2018, the Germans showed the ID.Vizzion show car with all the “husks” inherent in concepts; and in 2022, the ID.Aero prototype debuted with an almost serial body. And finally, in China, on the eve of the opening of the Shanghai Motor Show, they declassified a commercial “electric train”, and it brought a surprise: before it was believed that the electric car would be a sedan, in fact, the novelty turned out to be a liftback. The global version was named ID.7 and will be put on the assembly line of the VW plant in Germany. The Chinese model was demonstrated at the same time, and it has two variants.

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The fact is that for the Celestial Empire, two different joint ventures will be engaged in the production of electric cars: FAW Volkswagen will be responsible for the production of an electric car that copied the “world” version, this model was called the ID.7 Vizzion; the second option will be “registered” at the SAIC Volkswagen plant, this “electric train” is still presented in the form of a disguised ID.Next concept.

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Like the rest of the ID models, the five-door is built on the MEB platform. The length of the global liftback is 4961 mm (ID.7 Vizzion is slightly shorter), the width is 1862 mm, the height is 1538 mm, the wheelbase is 2966 mm. Thus, in terms of size, the “seven” has surpassed both the European and Chinese VW Passat sedan. Well, the distance between the axles of the electric car is comparable to the Mercedes E-Class and BMW 5 Series. Trunk volume ID.7 — «more than 500 liters» (European media, who managed to get acquainted with the model, write about 532 liters).

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Outwardly, the liftback echoes other electric trains of the brand: it has smooth features (the drag coefficient is “about 0.23, depending on the configuration”), laconic headlights, united by a luminous strip, and taillights made in the form of a single die. The sales incarnation of ID.Next for China will have original optics and bumpers.

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In the cabin there is a tiny tidy screen (the role of the dashboard is assigned to a projection display with augmented reality, it is already “in the base”), a steering wheel with touch buttons and a multimedia system with a 15-inch tablet. The model also has a panoramic roof with “smart glass” (it can be made opaque), “smart” climate control (deflectors are able to change the direction of air flows themselves, plus the electronics can turn on the “climate” in advance by recognizing the key from the driver approaching the liftback ), front seats with ventilation and massage function, a remote parking system and many other electronic assistants.

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For Europeans, the Volkswagen ID.7 will be available with a 286 hp electric motor. (550 Nm), at the base liftback it is installed on the rear axle. Most likely, the all-wheel drive — that is, the twin-engine — version will also be pulled up later. In the Old World, they will offer two battery options to choose from: with a capacity of 82 or 91 kWh. In the first case, on a single charge, the “five-door” will be able to drive about 615 km, in the second — about 700 km (according to the WLTP cycle). In China, the filling is different: local specialized media write about a 204 hp electric motor. and a 77 kWh battery.

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Volkswagen sales start in Europe and China ID.7 is scheduled for the fall of this year, in North America it will appear in 2024. By the way, in the global market, the electric car, in fact, will replace the four-door VW Passat. The Passat itself will still receive a new generation, and it is expected that this will be the last «hydrocarbon» generation — and only in the station wagon body.