VW Undercuts the Budget EV Crowd With a Surprisingly Plush Little SUV

Volkswagen is betting that affordable electric SUVs don't have to feel cheap, and the production ID. Cross is the proof. Closely mirroring last year's concept, this new five-seater arrives in Europe come autumn 2026 with a starting price around €28,000 (roughly £24k/$32k), yet it's stuffed with tech and comfort features that punch well above that figure.

Sitting just below the ID. Polo in VW's lineup and sized to take on the Kia EV2 and Renault 4, the ID. Cross measures a touch over 4,150 mm long with a 2,601 mm wheelbase. Those numbers suggest a tight cabin, but Volkswagen insists clever packaging gives it an edge over rivals in usable space. There's 475 liters of boot room out back plus a 25-liter frunk up front for stashing charging cables, a combination that reportedly beats not just the EV2 and Renault 4 but also VW's own gas-powered T-Roc.

Under the skin, buyers get a choice of three power outputs built around a single front-mounted motor and two battery sizes. The base setup mates a 114-hp motor to a 37 kWh pack, while stepping up gets you either a 133-hp motor on that same battery or a range-topping 208-hp version paired with a larger 52 kWh pack.

That flagship variant is the headline act, offering up to 271 miles of WLTP-rated range — beating the Renault 4's 247 miles, though still trailing the EV2's 281-mile claim. Opt for the smaller 37 kWh battery instead and range falls to 196 miles, landing neatly between the Kia (197 miles) and the Renault (190 miles), and only slightly behind the lighter ID. Polo running the same battery.

Charging speeds won't set records: the small battery tops out at 90 kW DC, the bigger pack at 105 kW, with VW quoting roughly 24 minutes for a 10-80% top-up either way. It's a few minutes quicker than what rivals typically manage, and vehicle-to-load capability means owners can also use the car's battery to run external gadgets or equipment on the go.

Where the ID. Cross really tries to separate itself from budget-EV expectations is inside. Borrowing heavily from the ID. Polo and its MEB+ platform siblings — the Cupra Raval and Skoda Epiq — the cabin ditches the touch-heavy, cheap-feeling layouts that plagued earlier Volkswagen EVs. Fabric-wrapped dash panels and honest-to-goodness physical buttons return, both on the steering wheel and beneath the 12.9-inch central touchscreen.

Depending on trim, shoppers can add 12-way power seats with massage functions, matrix LED headlights, a panoramic glass roof, adaptive cruise control, and a 10-speaker Harman Kardon sound system — features you'd more typically expect on something costing twice as much. If VW can hold that price point through to launch, the ID. Cross could end up being one of the more compelling budget EVs on sale, not just on paper.