Volkswagen ID. CROSS Concept Review

Introduction

Although what you're looking at is a concept car, this new VW ID. Cross Concept pretty close to what you will see in your local VW showroom in the late summer of 2026. Maybe take the wheels down an inch or two and you’ll be pretty much there.

I think it looks great. We know VW designers got their fingers burned a little by the radical looks of the ID.3 which were too much for some of the more conservative buyers. And then they went too far the other way and made the ID.2 concept a bit, well dull.

This seems to be a happy medium, don’t you think? Volkswagen says it’s a new design language which is called 'Pure Positive', and it’s made up of a 3D light signature, which is supposed to be smiling. 

You can see that in the light bar stretching across the front which has an enigmatic grin. The vertical LED strips will be kept for performance versions and the odd little illuminated goatee beard won’t make production. 

The shape of the bonnet which looks a bit Range Rovery to me, with tall corners which make the car look bigger and more imposing.

Because it’s an SUV there are the big bits of black plastic on the wheel arches which have a texture which adds a quality feel. And the concept is wearing 21-inch alloy wheels – which are called Balboa apparently. That might give them a Rocky start.

I have to mention the colour too – it’s called Urban Jungle Green. Reminds me of that lovely colour they made Mk2 Golf GTIs in, but it has a hint of gold in some lights. 

At the side, there are three illuminated slots on the c-pillar, a bit like stripes on your trainers, which is a feature borrowed from the ID. Buzz. The production car’s won’t light up, but there will be clip in parts you can change if you get bored of the style. 

At the back, there’s the light strip we’ve seen on the ID.7 and the illuminated VW badge, and clever 3D tail lamps, which are called whiskey glasses as they look like solid lumps of glass. I like their spirit. 

Range, battery and charging

There is no official word on the battery size for the ID. Cross, but the forecast range is 420 kilometres - or 261 miles - which I would say makes it about 56kWh, and a smidge bigger than the obvious rivals. Charging speeds should be around 125kW, which would be good for a 100 mile top-up in around 20- to 25. minutes.

Expect a smaller battery option to be offered too, giving a cheaper entry price. 

My only issue is that the charging port is on the front wing of the ID. Cross, and that annoys me. This sort of thing can be a matter of preference, but I really favour having the charging port at the back of an EV as I like to reverse into parking spaces. It's much easier! If you disagree (or agree) you can always leave a comment on Nicola's video, but I'm hoping that the ID. Cross' charging port is on the rear wing of the car when it goes into production - like it is on the ID.3 and other current ID models. 

Interior and technology

It might not look too revolutionary, but there is BIG news, and more proof that VW has been listening. The ID. Cross has proper buttons! There are some below the touchscreen, and there are four electric window switches - rather than two, with another one to switch from front- to rear, as you get in the ID.3. The ID.Cross' setup is so much nicer.

VW describes this as an interior oasis, which doesn’t have anything to do with the Gallagher brothers. Unless the upholstery material is wonder wool maybe? It means there are plant motifs on the screens and real plants in the centre console. Oh yes. Not even the Nissan Leaf has a real leaf. Say Aloe to the in car plant. Don’t be palmed off with anything less. 

It also means the colours have been made to exude calm. Even the seat belts are made in a hue which seems to make the world seem a little bit less hectic, and the infotainment screen is free from bright colours or “visual Smarties” which the designers say are normal or these.

If you want to change them tapping the leaves on the screen swaps between pre-configured ambient light, sound and climate modes called Atmospheres.  

Practicality and boot space

In the back seats there's a decent amount of head- and knee room, but the floor will feel unnaturally high for long-legged adults, so if you're thinking of getting an ID. Cross to ferry your lanky teens about, you may want to wait until they can try out the back seats. Leaning in to faff about with a car seat should be fine, though, and the quality of the materials in the rear is a real step change for VW electric cars though. It’s lovely back there, so I'm really hoping that these materials make it unchanged to the production cars.

Volkswagen also says the seats can be folded down completely to create a reclining area in the style of a VW Bus, but we weren’t able to see this working on the concept.

Open the boot and there’s an impressive 450 litres of space – that’s more than the MINI Aceman and Renault 4 but can’t match the mighty Puma. You do get a couple of additional bits of space though, under the rear bench seat (38 litres) and a frunk (25 litres) under the bonnet. The ID. Cross is quite wide for this size of car, so that means it’s quite a usable space. 

Motors, performance and handling

There is no electric motor under the boot floor of the VW ID.Cross, like you’d find in an ID.3. That’s because the ID.Cross will be front-wheel drive, using a new platform which will also be used in the ID.Polo, Skoda Epiq and Cupra Raval. In this car it has an output of 211hp, which should be plenty enough for punchy performance. There aren't any official figures yet, but I'd be surprised if the VW isn't competitive with the likes of the Renault 4 on performance, so I suspect it'll do 0-62mph in around 8.0 seconds. 

You can check out Nicola's drive in the ID.Cross Concept - that's right, she actually drove the concept car! Driving impressions are a bit limited, though, as concept cars cost millions, and VW were a bit unsure about letting Nic out for a drive on public roads... Anyway, our brief sojourn in the ID.Cross suggests that it'll be fast enough, and should be a nice thing to drive. I reckon the Ford Puma Gen-E and Renault 4 E-Tech will be hard to beat for balance of fun dynamics and decent ride comfort, as they're both really good to drive. We'll have to wait and see how the final production car does, when we get to drive it in 2026! 

Verdict

What do you think? Does the ID.Cross make you happy? Are you pleased that switches and proper names are making a comeback? Will you be putting plants in your centre console? Or do you think Volkswagen should take a different root? 

If you want a little more visual excitement, then Volkswagen has the Cupra Raval in the group's portfolio, while the Skoda Epic will offer another choice. The ID.Cross isn’t a revolution but it would seem to offer exactly what VW buyers want and has fixed many of the criticisms buyers had of the brand’s earlier electric efforts. It’s sure to be a hit. 

Like the VW ID.Cross? Try these...

Ford Puma Gen-E Review

Kia EV3 Review

Skoda Elroq Review

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