45 minutes on the road in a prototype Volkswagen ID.4 electric car

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  Behind the wheel of a preproduction prototype Volkswagen ID.4 electric crossover. [credit: Jonathan Gitlin ]

In late September, Volkswagen unveiled a new crossover called the ID.4. It's one of a number of new battery electric vehicles that the automaker has in the works, and the first destined for this side of the Atlantic. Although the order books are now open, the ID.4 is still finishing its final stage of development, and customer cars won't start arriving on boats until next year. But in advance of that, last week VW let Ars have a quick go in an early pre-production prototype.

It was a much more low-key experience than my last time driving one of VW's electric prototypes. Then, it was the ID Buggy and an original Manx buggy on a sunny day at Pebble Beach. The bright green prototype had an electronic speed limiter but would breach 25mph while coasting down a slight grade, and we even had a photographer in a chase vehicle to record the event.

This time, I met up with VW at an Electrify America charging station a couple of miles from Dulles International Airport in Virginia. Instead of bright sunshine, there were gray skies and the occasional half-hearted drop of rain. There was no vintage car for comparison, and no chase vehicle. In fact, there was no photo shoot at all-VW asked us to keep it to interior pics only. But there was also no chaperone, just a request to be back within 45 minutes.

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