Volkswagen’s Giant SUV For China Is A Rolling Screen Fest

The company's first range-extending production model is a vast departure from typical VW interiors.

Volkswagen ID. Era 9X

Photo by: Volkswagen

Adrian Padeanu

By: Adrian Padeanu

Mar 3, at 2:53am ET

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THE BREAKDOWN

The ID. Era 9X's interior apparently blends 'German aesthetics with Eastern charm.'
It has a dual 15.6-inch screen and a 21.4-inch rear display that folds down from the ceiling.
There are acres of ambient lighting inside the vast six-seater cabin.

With the upcoming ID.2 Polo, Volkswagen is pledging to bring back buttons, but physical controls won’t return everywhere. Ralf Brandstätter, the firm’s boss in China, said last year that while Europeans are longing for the days of analog switchgear, Chinese buyers prefer something entirely different: “AI-first, connected vehicles, with seamless voice control and smart cockpits.”

With the ID. Era 9X, Chinese customers are getting what they want. The company’s new three-row SUV for the world’s largest car market has an interior you wouldn’t necessarily recognize as a VW if it weren’t for the badge. The six-seater behemoth has very few old-school controls, with buttons kept to a minimum. Instead, the dashboard is dominated by a dual 15.6-inch setup.

That’s not all. There’s a 21.4-inch screen that folds down from the ceiling for rear-seat entertainment. Passengers seated in the second-row captain’s chairs also receive door projectors displaying various multimedia content. The digital instrument cluster has been replaced by a head-up display, although we imagine the giant displays next to it will grab most of the attention.

Photo by: Volkswagen

VW has fitted acres of ambient lighting throughout the cabin, spanning 42 feet (12.8 meters) and extending onto the ceiling to flank a panoramic sunroof. The interior adopts a completely flat floor since we’re dealing with an electric vehicle. Not just any EV, but the company’s first to feature a range-extending gasoline engine.

Coinciding with the interior images is news from SAIC Volkswagen about the start of production of the range extender. It’s a turbocharged, four-cylinder, 1.5-liter unit from the long-running “EA211” family with 141 horsepower on tap. VW claims the new engine uses the Lambda One combustion method “under all operating conditions,” where λ represents the air-fuel equivalence ratio.

When λ = 1, air and fuel are perfectly balanced, meaning there is just enough air to burn all the fuel completely. This results in efficient combustion, maximizing energy output and minimizing harmful pollutants. Mazda is striving to do the same with its upcoming Skyactiv-Z engine, debuting next year in the CX-5, featuring an in-house hybrid setup. Porsche’s T-Hybrid system has also been engineered for the ideal 14.7:1 air-fuel ratio.

Photo by: Volkswagen

The ID. Era 9X comes in rear- and all-wheel-drive flavors with single- and dual-motor setups, respectively. It’s a beast of an SUV, measuring 205 inches (5207 mm) long, 78.6 inches (1997 mm) wide, and 71.2 inches (1810 mm) tall. The generous 120.8-inch (3070-mm) wheelbase accommodates a 51.1-kWh battery or an optional 65.2-kWh pack, with the latter fitted as standard on the all-wheel-drive version. The bigger battery is good for 249 miles (400 kilometers) of electric range, albeit under China’s more relaxed CLTC testing cycle.

As you can imagine, this is one of the heaviest models VW has ever developed. The dual-motor variant can weigh as much as 5,952 pounds (2,700 kilograms). It also ushers in a new design language better tailored to Chinese tastes, complete with fresh colors like Fairy Green and Desert Gold. The screen-filled interior apparently “blends German aesthetics with Eastern charm.”

Volkswagen ID. Era 9X

Source: Volkswagen

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Motor1's Take: The ID. Era 9X isn’t your typical VW, and that’s exactly the point. The intent here is to launch a truly China-centric product rather than take a global model and stretch its wheelbase, as has been the case since the company set foot in China decades ago. It’s the first of more than 20 New Energy Vehicles (NEVs) coming to the local market by 2027, where NEVs refer to purely electric and plug-in hybrid models.

Whether VW’s product offensive in China will pay off remains to be seen, given the fierce competition. Early signs show that Audi’s new AUDI brand is already struggling, less than a year after launching, without the iconic Four Rings.

VW Is Bringing Back Buttons:

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