Model 2: the rivals
Europe’s old guard are putting decades of heritage to good use by recreating icons as EVs
Tesla, on the evidence to date, can do it better. And China can do it cheaper. So how do Europe’s car makers compete? By plundering their back catalogue for cute design inspiration while also working flat out to compete on technology and price. If that sounds like a lot of hard work, well, that’s because it is. And in the new Renault 5 and VW’s imminent ID. 2, we’ll see the first fruits of those labours.
There’ll be bigger, more powerful and dearer VWs launched in the next few years. But there won’t be a more important one than the ID. 2. The Polo-sized hatch, likely costing around the magic £25k mark, is central to VW’s biggest product offensive ever. It’ll be joined by a smaller, cheaper ID. 1 as VW aims to generate EV momentum.
‘Design is the most intense bond between manufacturer and customer,’ says VW design chief Andreas Mindt of the ID. 2, shown last year as the ID. 2all and ID. GTI concepts. ‘The key elements of a successful look are authenticity, emotion and a strong identity. This means creating a likeable shape featuring a slim body on top of a wide track, trademark C-pillar graphics and a select few eye-catching horizontal lines relaying strength, solidity and positive tension.’
This DNA has now been translated into an airy and clean interior that abandons those dreaded unlit touchsliders, the overcrowded multi-functional steering wheel and other ergonomic cul-de-sacs. Instead, the cabin of the ID. 2 celebrates (in a few areas) the return of old-school switches and buttons that can be operated blind.
Mindt emphasises that getting the proportions and functionality right is not enough. ‘You also need the secret sauce that makes our cars more likeable and accessible. That can be attractive, feelgood surprise-and-delight surfaces, touches of hidden sportiness that only pop when required, or a new quality of man-machine interaction. We are for instance going to bring the golf ball back for the Golf EV [referencing a classic Golf gearknob], there will be backlit panels and wow-effect ambient lighting; and one can scroll through different instrument graphics from vintage to modern.’
Isn’t the ID. 2 too conservative, especially if it’s meant to be a template for the future? Mindt shakes his head. ‘Believe me, this clean,, pragmatic and unagitated look suits the brand.’
The ID. 2 combines the 4010mm footprint of the Polo with the cabin space of the Golf. The first front-wheel-drive ID model deserves full marks for its huge boot, which swallows 490 litres of luggage with the back seats up, 1330 litres with them folded.
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