Volkswagen's new Chinese sedan breaks protocol by using a combustion engine and debuts technologies that promise to include the brand in the autonomous car game
Volkswagen presented the new ID. Era 5S sedan in the Chinese market — a vehicle that breaks with the global logic adopted by the brand for the ID family. Developed locally by the joint venture between local SAIC and VW, the model changes the company’s route by debuting with a plug-in hybrid engine, contrary to the market premise that the acronym ID. would be exclusive to fully electric cars.
The sedan’s great asset is its powertrain. The plug-in hybrid set ensures up to 160 kilometers of range in purely electric mode. When the engines operate together, the combined range exceeds the 2,000-kilometer mark, according to the local CLTC measurement cycle. Volkswagen emphasizes the efficiency of the project: even operating with a discharged battery, the average homologated consumption is 2.82 liters per 100 kilometers, equivalent to an expressive 35.4 km/l.
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The sedan boasts 4.83 meters in length and 2.76 meters in wheelbase, dimensions that put it in direct dispute in the segment of large cars of this type of body. The design incorporates the automaker’s latest visual identity, betting on clean lines, LED headlights interconnected by luminous fillets and a slightly more conservative profile compared to the bodies of other electrified models of the company.
Both at the front and at the rear, the horizontal light bars refer to the style adopted in the SUV ID. Era 9X. A prominent technological detail is the rearview mirrors equipped with blue LEDs, whose function is to alert pedestrians and other drivers about the activation of autonomous driving systems. According to the manufacturer, the ID. Era 5S will be Volkswagen’s first sedan capable of operating with advanced semi-autonomous assistance in complex urban environments.
Although definitive images of the cabin have not yet been released, the automaker has confirmed that the model will be equipped with an intelligent cockpit fully connected to the cloud. The interface follows the Asian market’s trend of centralizing digital services and real-time driving assistance data.
