Preview: VW ID.7 Tourer may become the company’s next Passat, only electric

Only some previews are worth reporting, particularly when the car's camouflaged, but with Volkswagen showing its incoming ID.7 Tourer, we make an exception. Hardly any other VW model is as synonymous with the company car as the Passat Estate, and the ID.7 Tourer has ambitions to take the Passat's place with electric power.

Already, the company has decided to discontinue the Passat saloon in favour of the estate variant, but that is a side note. More importantly, the ID.7 Tourer builds on Volkswagen’s incoming electric flagship, the ID.7. The near five-metre saloon will feature a new drive system and battery size trimmed for range and comfort intended for Passat clientele in Europe – the 700 km range of what will be VW’s biggest battery to date in the Pro S variant could also be a convincing argument in the US and China.

But back to the ID.7 Tourer. Estates are usually similar to hatchback cars but feature an extended rear end, which provides additional boot space. Volkswagen used to call such models Variant or Shooting Brake, but the brand chose Tourer – possibly also referencing the extended range – to describe its first all-electric estate, due to debut in 2024.

Press photos only reveal the outline with the obligatory hatchback in the side view flanked by short overhangs and a long wheelbase. Volkswagen considers the design an “elegant full-sized hatchback version” with added roominess and plans to publish the final design “in the coming months”.

More detailed data remains sparse. The manufacturer mentions a “particularly generous sense of space” taking actual form in a larger trunk with a volume of 545 or 1,714 litres with the rear seats folded down when the boot measures almost two metres. This is slightly less than in the Passat but better than the ID.4.

Volkswagen also emphasises the Tourer’s aerodynamics and claims a drag coefficient of 0.24. By comparison, the saloon car has a cd value of 0.23.

Like all ID. models, the new body shape of the ID.7 is based on the MEB platform of the Volkswagen Group. Like the ID.7, VW will manufacture the ID.7 Tourer at the Volkswagen plant in Emden, making it the second MEB model to be made in northwest Germany.

When announcing the VW ID.7 and ID.7 Pro S in April 2023, Volkswagen also expected to offer the new flagship in North America – however, as an import from Europe, meaning the ID.7 could miss out on the EV tax credit of up to $7,500.

The situation is different again in China, where VW joint ventures will build and sell the ID.7 as usual. So far, Volkswagen has registered only one ID.7 variant with the authorities in China – with a 150 kW engine and a 77 kWh battery from FAW-CATL. It is unknown whether the new 210 kW motor with the larger battery will also come to China; the same goes for the ID.7 Tourer estate car.

volkswagen-newsroom.com