VW adds an estate to its ID. line-up: the ID.7 Tourer

Hardly any other VW model is as synonymous with the company car as the Passat estate, often called Variant. Recently, the new ICE Passat was announced, and Volkswagen confirmed it would only bring it as an estate version because of its popularity in the professional car world.

But just now, Volkswagen also showed the first (camouflaged) photos of the ID.7 Tourer, which has the ambition to take the Passat Variant’s place with electric power in the future. The Passat features the latest-tech PHEV versions, but soon, fleet buyers will also have the choice of a fully electric… variant called ID.7 Tourer.

Up to 700 km range

The ID.7 Tourer builds on Volkswagen’s incoming electric flagship, the ID.7. The near five-meter saloon will feature a new drive system and battery size trimmed for range and comfort intended for European Passat clientele. 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.

Estates are usually similar to hatchback cars but feature an extended rear end, which provides additional loading space. Volkswagen used to call such models Variant, but for the I.D. 7, the brand chose Tourer, possibly wanting to refer to the extended range. The first all-electric estate is due to debut in 2024.

The few official press photos of a camouflaged prototype only reveal the outline with the obligatory hatchback in the side view flanked by short overhangs and a long wheelbase.

Volkswagen considers the design as 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 to 1 714 liters with the rear seats folded down when the cargo floor measures almost two meters in length. This is slightly less than in the Passat but better than the ID.4.

Volkswagen also emphasizes the Tourer’s aerodynamics and claims a drag coefficient of 0,24, compared to the 0,23 of the sedan version.

MEB platform

Like all ID. models until now, the new body shape of the ID.7 is based on the MEB platform of the Volkswagen Group. Like the ID.7 sedan, 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 and China. There, the VW joint ventures will build and sell the ID.7 sedan as usual; in the States, the ID.7 will probably not get the $ 7500 subsidy because it is produced in Europe.

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, and the same goes for the ID.7 Tourer.

In Europe, however, there will probably be two versions, one with 77 kWh (82 kWh gross) and a range of around 600 km (WLTP) and a Pro S version with an 85 kWh (92 kWh gross) battery pack promising a 700 km range.

The latter will undoubtedly have the new 210 kW driveline; it is unknown if the other version will also have the same power. There’s a possibility that a basic version of the ID. Tourer will come with the 150 kW electromotor version already registered in China.

If, later on, there will also be a twin-engined GTX version (with more than 550 hp) of the ID.7 Tourer is not sure. The Tourer is aimed at business people and companies, and they usually have no money to spend on such frivolities for their road-covering employees.