After the ID Concept sedan at the Paris Motor Show (October 2016) and the ID Buzz Concept van inspired by the Combi at the Detroit Motor Show (January 2017), it was at the Shanghai Motor Show that Volkswagen decided to present the ID Crozz Concept crossover. If you hadn't already understood it, this trilogy of ID concept cars heralds the big boost that the German brand intends to give to its range of electric vehicles in 3 years.
After the diesel gate scandal two years ago that revealed how a discreet software handled pollution figures during tests, Volkswagen had to face the facts: diesel is not a very civic fuel. As a result, the German group has redirected its investments towards electric vehicles, by designing the MEB platform dedicated to this architecture. We have seen the first results in recent months with a burst of concept cars.
So, here is the ID Crozz Concept, an electric crossover based on the 5-door SUV Coupe. Technically, it therefore takes over this new MEB platform once again, by installing two engines with a total power of 306 hp (102 hp at the front, 204 hp at the rear). A 83kWh battery, 80% rechargeable in 30 minutes, provides a theoretical range of 500 kilometres. The maximum speed is self-limiting at 180 km/h.
With its muscular bodywork and large wheels, the ID Crozz looks impressive. What it is not (length 4.48m). But its wheelbase (2.77m) allows it to offer a beautiful habitability in the rear seats, access to which is facilitated by the absence of a middle foot and the presence of sliding rear doors. The trunk has the correct capacity: 515 litres.
As a concept car, you can imagine that the ID Crozz respects all the required figures: no exterior mirrors replaced by cameras, full-lighting, absolutely no homologable full-height lighting, no conveniences or buttons on the dashboard, tactile door steering wheel and armrests, 3D and augmented reality information projected on the windscreen, light blinds for the glass roof. And of course, the icing on the cake: the damn autonomous driving that all the manufacturers in the world have felt obliged to impose on us for the last year or two. It's painful, but it's the future, I hear.