Volkswagen ID Life Concept is a Peek at an Affordable City Electric Car

author: Vineeth Joel Patel   

At the 2021 Munich Auto Show, Volkswagen unveiled the ID Life concept. The tiny concept may not seem like much, but it previews a very important vehicle for the brand. Sitting on a scaled-down version of the MEB platform, the concept is expected to cost roughly $24,000. That would make the real-life version of the ID Life concept the smallest and most affordable electric car in Volkswagen's lineup.

An Urban EV For Europe

Because of its size, the ID Life concept was made with Europe in mind. The boxy little vehicle is reminiscent of the Honda E and will fit below the compact ID.4 and subcompact ID.3 that's similar in size to the Golf. In terms of size, it's similar to the Polo, but offers roughly 10 percent more cargo space thanks to the way the electric components are packed into the vehicle.

The way the components are packed into the ID Life concept also result in a reconfigurable cabin that's similar to a modern home. There's a yoke-style steering wheel, which VW should thank Tesla for, and a bare dash. Instead of an infotainment display or multiple screens taking up real estate on the dashboard, the ID Life has a little place for owners to place their phone or tablet to handle the infotainment system. Both the front and rear seats can mold to an owner's needs.

The latter part is especially interesting when you hear that the ID Life concept has an integrated projector and projection screen that pops up out of the dash. Every concept has to have something wonky and this is the ID Life's most outrageous feature. The screen extends from the dash and, with the seats in their movie theater-like position, provide owners with a comfortable place to watch a movie or play video games.

Concept To Become Real

On the performance front, the ID Life concept utilizes a 57-kWh battery pack that has an estimated range of 250 miles on the WLTP cycle. VW fitted the concept with a 230-horsepower electric motor on the front axle, making the ID Life front-wheel drive. The vehicle is the first EV that utilizes the MEB platform to be front-wheel drive.

The ID Life may be a concept at the moment, but the vehicle is well on its way to actually being a real vehicle that Volkswagen sells. It has a rough price tag and an on-sale date of 2025 in select markets. It's possible that Volkswagen would actually name the vehicle the ID.2 to keep things succinct in its lineup. So, it sounds like VW is actually going to bring the concept to life. Unfortunately, Volkswagen won't be bringing the vehicle to the U.S.

U.S. consumers prefer to have larger electric vehicles with at least 200 miles of range. It's a similar issue with the Honda E, despite that vehicle's appealing features. The same issues that make the ID Life a poor vehicle for the U.S. are things that have us believing that the Mazda MX-30 won't be a competitive electric car.

Vineeth Joel Patel

Joel Patel has been covering all aspects of the automotive industry for four years as an editor and freelance writer for various websites. When it comes to cars, he enjoys covering the merger between technology and cars. In his spare time, Joel likes to watch baseball, work on his car, and try new foods