VW Debuts All Electric Tesla Rival At ‘Auto Shanghai’ – The I.D. CROZZ Concept

Apr 19, 2017 | by Iqtidar Ali

Just like Honda adapted to the electric revolution last week at the New York International Auto Show, Volkswagen has also now revealed their electric future, the I.D. CROZZ Concept crossover mini SUV.

VW unveiled their plans of creating an all-electric series at the Auto Shanghai 2017. According to the German automaker, production of the I.D. CROZZ will start by 2020 and until 2025 their electric fleet will go fully autonomous.

According to Volkswagen their autopilot will be ‘next-level’ as the steering wheel will retract into the dashboard and blends with the digital instruments panel (Active Info Display). This means there will no longer be any need of the steering wheel while the car is in ‘I.D. Autopilot’ mode.

Let’s look at the teaser video below presented in anticipation of 2017 Shanghai Auto Show for a sneak peak at the VW I.D. CROZZ Concept.

This direct attempt at creating an electric crossover instead of a sedan seems to be targeted at Tesla’s future crossover the Model Y. Tesla CEO Elon Musk has recently announced on Twitter that Model Y has to wait a few years before being unveiled to the public.

Volkswagen’s I.D. CROZZ design seems to be promising at the moment and the timeline also is feasible for them to present a production ready car easily. Also they have set the time-frame for going full autonomous by 2025 it makes sense to believe in the automaker’s promises.

But the question is where will the competition like Tesla Motors be standing in 2020? Also 2025 seems enough time for Tesla to create a few more models other than the Y or even Roadster with full autonomy in many continents with heaps of learning data in it’s neural-net.

Let’s look at the Volkswagen’s Auto Shanghai presentation of the I.D. CROZZ !

The I.D. CROZZ has an impressive range of 311 miles (500 kilometers) which has been tested on the European Driving Cycle. As we have seen the main issue with BEVs is their ability to travel long distances on a single charge other than the cars from Tesla.

300 miles of travel on a single charge is sufficient for even a long distance trip in Eruope/North America by today’s standards at least. The car is can also be topped to 80% charge on a 150 kW DC fast charger in as low as 30 minutes which should give the travelers another 240-250 miles of range.

Volkswagen has not created this crossover for and drag races or any races for that matter because it only has a top speed of 112 mph (180 kph). Urban travelers and off-road adventurers should be fine with the top-speed, it’s as much as it’s needed.

In the above picture we can see that the steering wheel is retracted in the I.D. Pilot (VW’s term for Autopilot) mode for full autonomous driving. In addition to the Active Info Display & Infotainment Tablet there is Augmented Reality Head-Up Display (HUD) for driver assistance.

Autopilot and Augmented Reality might seem a bit ambitious at this point in time but with a team of dreamers it can be done as we have seen in history.

Volkswagen's Modular Electric Drive Matrix (MEB) for I.D. CROZZ Concept
Volkswagen's Modular Electric Drive Matrix (MEB) for I.D. CROZZ Concept. Click To Zoom-in

I.D CROZZ is based on VW’s Modular Electric Drive Matrix (MEB) architecture, which as far as I understand is a set of pre-made modules that can be integrated together when needed to achieve efficiency in production and after sales support.

In the above picture we can see that the I.D. crossover concept vehicle has a dual-motor setup with the battery pack as the floor. These and other modules and components if integrated in a modular approach will achieve greater flexibility in production and afterwards.

The front electric motor i.e. 75 kW (101 hp); 103 lb ft and the rear electric motor i.e. 150 kW (201 hp); 229 lb ft are powered by an 83 kWh battery pack to achieve a top-speed of 112 miles. No information on 0-60 mph in seconds is currently provided by the manufacturer.

Technical Data

Length:182.1 in
Width:74.4 in
Height:63.3 in
Wheelbase:109.2 in
Front track62.7 in
Rear track:62.8 in
Wheels/tires:245/45 R 21

Drive system/range

Front electric motor:75 kW (101 hp); 103 lb ft
Rear electric motor:150 kW (201 hp); 229 l ft
Total power:225 kW (302 hp)
Battery energy capacity:83 kWh
Range (EU; NEDC):311 miles
Charging power:150 kW (DC)
Charge time up to 80 percent SOC:circa 30 minutes
Top Speed:112 mph

I.D CROZZ Concept’s Interior:

Besides performance and next generation autonomous driving the I.D. CROZZ Concept features a great deal of interior beauty and space. From pictures (below) it might look futuristic but it also is dynamic and plenty.

If the 10.2 inch-tablet in front is not enough for  you, you can see the sky through the illuminated panoramic glass roof to sooth your eyes.

Being a crossover the CROZZ is not less in space inside, Volkswagen claims you can fold the seats to accommodate your bicycle if you happen to not have the bike rack at the moment. The CROZZ interior space is equal to that of the 2018 VW Tiguan, which has 40/20/40-split folding rear seating and an optional 3rd row and seating for 7.

Also the gears, levers and knobs are replaced with more intuitive digital solutions like the upcoming Tesla Model 3.

There are also features for the rear seat passengers according to VW;

Information and controls that have previously only been available to the driver and front-seat passenger are now available to rear-seat passengers, thanks to the digital door panels. These white, partially transparent control islands are ergonomically mounted in the four door trims, where they appear to be suspended in mid-air. The door panels are used to operate the electrically actuated doors, the central locking system and the electric windows. Each passenger is also able to individually regulate their climate zone. The panels are operated via capacitive buttons and sliders.

I.D. CROZZ Concept Gallery:

Click/Tap photos to zoom-in for HD version with download & sharing options. Don’t forget to share with your friends.

Iqtidar Ali
[email protected]

Iqtidar Ali is a long time web developer and now writing for his childhood passion 'cars' further boosted by the advent of electric vehicles especially Tesla.


Warning: count(): Parameter must be an array or an object that implements Countable in /home/iqtidarali/public_html/wp-includes/class-wp-comment-query.php on line 405
No Comments

Post A Comment