Volkswagen ID.5 GTX Review: Improved and Sharpened

What we like:

Better efficiency

Better power

What we dislike:

A little too clinical to be a GTX product

Like the Volkswagen ID.5 Pro we reviewed recently, the ID.5 incorporates major improvements compared to the previous GTX version.

41 PS has been added, bumping up system power to 340 PS (from 299 PS previously), put to the road via a dual-motor setup that is primarily rear driven, with the front motor supporting as required. This upgrade comes at a great time, just when sales of the ID range comes in full swing. Any earlier and you might be wondering why you didn’t wait just a little bit longer.

The changes give the ID.5 GTX a 0-100 km/h sprint time of 5.4 seconds, a full 0.8 seconds quicker than before, although the GTX was never lacking in power to begin with. It feels nauseatingly quick, dispatched in a cold ‘on-off’ switch fashion that could do with a little more finesse. Besides the extra power though, the driving experience is not dissimilar to the slower Pro model. Overall, it feels practical and fairly easy to get along with, but the ride can be a tad harsh.

With all that extra power and the temptation to make use of it, it’s useful then that DC charging capacity has also improved from 135 kW to 175 kW, allowing an additional range of 178 km in around 10 minutes. With the same enlarged 77 kWh battery as the Pro model, range is a very respectable 533 km (combined WLTP) despite having an additional electric motor. In the real world, I got 18.5 kWh/100km, which is on the higher end of VW’s official figures, but still within. Given the amount of power on tap, this is a fairly efficient figure.

In the looks department, the GTX feels sufficiently differentiated. There are red seams and piping around the interior, while black accents adorn the exterior elements like the roof, C-pillar, side mirrors and diffuser. With a sloping roofline, the ID.5’s shape is a tad more interesting than the ID.4’s, but I wish the car was less slab-sided and more distinct.

With superior range, decent efficiency and good practicality, the ID.5 GTX is a capable electric vehicle. I’m just not very sure how much of the GTX badge transpires to the driving experience.

Photos by James Wong

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