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Am I too concerned about ID4 poor infotainment reviews and faffy charge timer?

3622 Views 29 Replies 13 Participants Last post by  GenerationGav, 
DannyKudos
Sorry for the sort of double post..(for those of you who also check the ioniq 5 forum)
My wife's tesla 3's lease ends at the end of Oct and we are looking to buy a replacement EV,

As you can imagine, we are currently chasing around order cancellations.

We have found an ID.4 cancellation (Life Pro edition in Grenadilla Black Metallic with Hamar alloys)
and one Ioniq5 (premium with matte shooting star grey). Price on both very similar (less than £1K between them).

We test drove the ID4 and really liked the drive. Felt premium and unfussy.
We test drive the ioniq on Saturday. I have sat in the car. Lots of wow factor..but possibly a bit flash for me...(I quite like some understatement)

As I mentioned in my post in the Ioniq forum, I am concerned that the Matte paintwork on the Ioniq might be high maintenance. At the very least I will probably have to spend more ££ for some sort of ceramic coating.

My main concern about the ID.4 are the poor reviews of the infotainment system. Almost all the reviews I have watched complain about this.... poor controls, voice activation that doesn't really work, not being able to see the climate control controls in the dark...

Is this as bad as they say, or are there generally work arounds?
Will it drive me nuts?
Is the Life pro not going to get many of the V3 features? (I would have looked for a higher trim, but we are limited to what is available in cancelled orders).

Thanks for any real world guidance.

Cheers,
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LS99
I've had an ID.4 for 18 months, 28k miles. My thoughts :-

  • The ID voice control is bad / don't bother using it, and yes the buttons on the infotainment should have been lit, when I first took delivery the infotainment system would regularly "lock" and stop working, after 6 visits to the dealer - this now hardly ever happens.
  • The Audio on the Infotainment system is ok/good - but noticeably "clips" at high volumes (it's like the Amp Can't cope), this is reported by other users who also notice it.
  • Timed Charging (forget it), it looses settings, doesn't start charging, so I've given up on it, instead relying on my OHME, a promised upgrade last year was meant to fix timed charging, this didn't, it's claimed VW have fixed it in the latest upgrade - lets see.
  • Android Auto is Good / Very Good - works well with my Samsung Note, reliable, connectivity good.
Overall the car is nice to drive, very large inside (I use it for work) and very comfortable for long journeys/traffic. Based on the EV's I've compared (clients have alot on their fleet's now), I think the ID.4 build quality is good/un-fussy (as the OP mentions), but it's certainly a slight "step-down" in level of "robustness" compared to my Golf.
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LS99
I find the ID voice control like a primitive word processing/dictation system from 20 years ago - it can't understand what's being said, asking for the instruction to be repeated or inputting addresses or instructions it just seems to "make up" (I have "clear" London accent, which colleagues in India - when I've set up projects there - described as easy to understand and like a BBC world news presenter) - if the ID voice can't understand mine - what hope does it have for someone who's got a regional dialect/accent !

I just use Google assistant via Android Auto - which understands everything about 98% of the time.

I'm waiting to book my 2.4, and some other warrantee issues to be addressed - door handle wobble on 2 doors and the back light needs re-aligning to stop creaking (which is known about by VW) slightly hesitant (after the 6 dealer visits last year), and my dealer doesn't have a loan available until late September - I'm taking the approach - they can practice on some other ID's with the upgrade and then mine should be more seamless ! lol

My general issue with the charging is - I rely on the car for work - and VW timer charging is so un-reliable, I would put the car onto charge, needed it for work - would wake up, but as it hadn't charged, I would then have to make a stop at a Rapid, pay premium £ before I could travel and be late. So after this happening numerous times - I've now settled on using the Ohme.
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LS99
It's good to hear that the timer charging is more reliable on v3 - (although I would need alot of convincing to use it instead of my Ohme) - given how it's messed me around in the past.

I'm use to the touch sensitive controls - easy to wipe/keep clean. Just not convinced about all the shiny plastic that shows up finger prints/dust (around the centre console / door handles)

An anomaly worth mentioning (seeing if other owners have noticed?), when you're overtaking or being overtaken, if the air-vents are just open (no a/c or blower on), at the point a large vehicle passes the ID.4 - there's a sudden "rush of air" through the vents, where clearly the aero-dynamics of the car seem to "direct" the air-flow through the ventilation in-takes. It was a little weird/disconcerting at first - but now "sort of" use to it.
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LS99
DannyKudos said:
I need to see if I can get Octopus to fit an Ohm for me. I have a dumb charger (Chargemaster). It seems difficult to get a quote when you dont need the whole thing installed... just the box changed.
Click to expand...
If your existing supply is suitable and you can find a competent electrician (who can ensure the earthing meets regulations for an EV charger and your existing CU / Breaker is suited) go for the Ohme Commando version, your electrician just removes the commando socket and terminates into an IP rated junction box and re-uses your existing supply.

Ohme

Welcome to the home of innovative smart charging for electric vehicles. Our solution helps you charge at the cheapest rate. Sounds good, right? Simple.
ohme-ev.com ohme-ev.com
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LS99
Ambassador Spock said:
I'm still annoyed the 1st edition didn't come with a wireless charger....
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Ali-express do some retro fit wireless charging options.
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LS99
scratchyman said:
The software ain’t great in the ID cars. I have an ID3 with 2.3 version and, for me, it’s fine. Biggest gripe is boot up time and even then it’s probably OK. We all expect instant everything these days and just cos the boot up takes maybe 20 seconds, we think it’s bad. I have become used, after 1 year, to its foibles, but it just works as a car when I get in it. VW are indeed a mess when it comes to technology but otherwise we’d all be driving Teslas.
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I'd agree - VW can "produce a car, but they certainly aren't/weren't good at the software - side of things" - although with updates from VW - it is improving steadily. Time to boot, glitches which require the car to "rest or reset-itself" still occur every couple of months !

I find it disappointing that VW didn't adequately prepare for the launch of the ID platform, prior to the ID.3 launch/Dev stage - by either taking on a good team of IT professionals and get them producing a good "solid software platform" or buy out a company which already have level of app skills/knowledge and then use it as a base for the ID s/w platform at the time.

Admittedly things are significantly better now with the ID platform than they were 18-24 months ago.
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