Currently reading: Volkswagen previews small £25,000 electric SUV based on ID 2
Electric T-Cross replacement will launch in 2026 with up to 280 miles of range – and possibly a new name

Volkswagen has given an early look at the SUV version of its upcoming ID 2 supermini, due on sale in 2026 at less than €30,000 (£25,800).

It will serve as an electric replacement for the Volkswagen T-Cross, much as its lower-slung sibling – previewed earlier this year by the ID 2All concept (below) - replaces the Polo.

Based on the same shortened MEB Entry platform as the ID 2, it will be built alongside that car – as well as the Cupra Raval and an equivalent Skoda model – in Spain. 

Volkswagen is expected to reveal the car in concept form in 2024 before showing the production car the following year, a few months after the ID 2. 

The brand has yet to confirm a name for the Jeep Avenger rival, but it is likely that the current numerical naming pattern will be phased out over the coming years in line with CEO Thomas Schäfer's commitment to making VW a "love brand" again.

He has already confirmed plans to retain the Golf, Tiguan and Passat nameplates, suggesting there is potential for every model in the VW line-up to have its own name - but possibly retaining 'ID', like the ID Buzz.

The crossover is set to be offered exclusively with a single motor on the front axle, giving 223bhp, and a choice of 38kWh and 56kWh batteries, the latter giving a range of around 280 miles.

Volkswagen has earlier said that the larger battery will be capable of topping up at 125kW to take capacity from 10-80% in just 20 minutes. 

The smaller-battery car is set to be one of the cheapest electric SUVs on the market when it lands, in line with Volkswagen's ambitious strategy to reduce the production and list price of its EVs.

The ID 2 supermini is planned to be available from £22,000, only slightly more than today's Polo, so the equivalent SUV should go on sale at the £25,000 mark. 

Back to top

A preview image of the baby SUV suggests a sharp, assertive design that's markedly cleaner-cut than the current range of curvaceous ID models. 

VW ID 2all SUV preview image

Recently appointed Volkswagen head of design Andreas Mindt called it a "safe, confident, bold" design that is "simple, like the ID 2 All" - referencing how that concept apes the clean, simplistic cues of previous Golf and Polo models. 

Indeed, the resemblance to the supermini is obvious, though the higher-riding SUV will have a more upright silhouette with bulkier wheel arches, a distinctive vent-style motif on the C-pillar (which could be glass on the production car) and a chunky rear spoiler. There will be no obvious visual links between this new SUV and today's ID 4 and ID 5, as Mindt looks to usher in a whole new brand image. 

It will measure around 4.1m long, have a wheelbase of 2600mm and offer more than the ID 2's 490 litres of boot space - no doubt with the same 50-litre lockable box under the boot floor for charging cables and valuables. 

Inside, it is expected to be all but identical to the ID 2, with a 12.9in infotainment screen and 10.9in digital driver display - while adopting physical switches for the audio and climate controls. Volkswagen is aiming to eradicate all glue and hard plastics from its next-generation interiors, in line with a pledge to boost material quality while reducing its cars' environmental impact. 

Felix Page

Felix Page
Title: Deputy editor

Felix is Autocar's deputy editor, responsible for leading the brand's agenda-shaping coverage across all facets of the global automotive industry - both in print and online.

He has interviewed the most powerful and widely respected people in motoring, covered the reveals and launches of today's most important cars, and broken some of the biggest automotive stories of the last few years. 

Join the debate

Comments
3
Add a comment…
Deputy 14 December 2023

Great little suburban car.  Short and narrow to park but high up and chunky for visibility and potholes!  Shows that SUV driving position doesn't need a 5m long and 2m wide monster!

LP in Brighton 14 December 2023

What's the strategy? I don't see the point of leaking all these details of wonderful forthcoming products when the brand is struggling to sell what it currently has. Maybe VW is so scared about what competitors are about to release that it feels it has no choice.

Whatever the reason, I think it'sbest to be patient and see what actually does materialise. 

Anton motorhead 14 December 2023
Agree LP, but if VW can make this at the predicted price, with that range and suggested look, VW have a winner at hand. The ID3 and 4 and to some extent the ID7 do not have the same visual appeal and the appalling quality of the first ID3s may have deterred some potential customers from buying an EV until something smarter, better and cheaper turned up - like this.