Used Volkswagen ID 4 2021-present reliability

On the whole, the ID 4 is a solid and sensible family car, usually bought by people who look after their cars well. Check the interior for signs of wear and tear and alloys for any kerb damage.

As of writing, the ID 4 has had one recall, for a possible missing bearing bush in the area of the steering worm gear. Check with your local dealer that this has been carried out.

Owners have been reporting issues with the infotainment systems and active safety systems on the broadly similar and slightly older sibling to the ID 4, the ID 3, such as adaptive cruise control and speed-controlling functions.

Overall, it appears that the electrical features on the early ID cars are prone to bugs and issues. That said, VW and other brands within the Volkswagen Group are introducing software upgrades to remedy the issues, so these faults are likely to get ironed out in time. Worth keeping an eye out for anything similar with your ID 4 though.

The ID 4 didn't feature in our most recent What Car? Reliability Survey because there were too few respondents. However, its smaller sibling the ID 3 did, and it finished seventh out of 12 electric cars polled with a great score of 96.4%. That put it behind the MG ZS EV (first), the Kia E-Niro (second) and the Tesla Model 3 (third), but ahead of the Renault Zoe (eighth) and Hyundai Kona Electric (ninth).

As a brand, Volkswagen finished 22nd out of 32 manufacturers. Its score of 90.2% put it above rivals like Audi, Mercedes, Renault and Vauxhall, but below BMW, Ford, Skoda and Volvo.

To give you peace of mind, Volkswagen gives you a three years/60,000 miles warranty from new. That’s fairly average in the class but doesn’t come close to the generous seven-year offering that Kia gives you. Buy your ID 4 second-hand from a VW main dealer and you should get the benefits of its splendid used warranty.