We can't get enough of the Volkswagen ID.4. It's one of our favorite new electric vehicle offerings in 2021. Although we've already done some DC fast charging tests, we had the opportunity to repeat the test on an ID.4 First Edition, so we drained the battery down to zero and charged it up to 100% on an Electrify America 150 kW DC fast charger. 

The ID.4 has an 82 kWh battery, of which 77 kWh is usable. Its peak charging rate is supposed to be 125 kW, but we were able to touch 131 kW. In fact, the ID.4 charged at 123 kW or more all the way up to the 30% state of charge point, and it took only 12 minutes to do so.

In 16 minutes we reached 40% state of charge and at that point, we added back 100 miles of driving range - if you use the EPA's 250-mile range rating. If you use the InsideEVs 70-mph range test results, it takes one more minute and adds back the 100 miles in a brisk 17 minutes. 

Volkswagen ID.4 graphs

The ID.4 then achieves 50% state of charge in 20 minutes, and after 40 minutes, the vehicle is at 80% state of charge and has taken in 67 kWh. While the vehicle was charging from 0% to 80%, the average power it took in was 110 kW, which is nearly 90% (88%, actually) of its stated peak charging rate. That's a very good result. Quite often we see electric vehicles hit their peak charging rate for only a short period and quickly drop down to much lower charging rates. 

At 80% state of charge, the ID.4 has replenished 200 miles of driving range, according to the EPA range rating. However, using our range test results, the vehicle needed 5 more minutes of charging to reach 85% state of charge (in 45 minutes) and add back 200 miles of range.

Volkswagen ID.4 graphs

As with all EVs, once the state of charge reaches 80% the charge rate drops off considerably, and it goes from taking in 69 kW at 80% SOC, to only 41 kW at 90%. At the one-hour mark, the ID.4 is at 97% SOC and then takes another 5 minutes to top off to 100%. 

One unusual thing I noticed was that the screen on the charging station was reading 99% when the session stopped, but when I turned on the ID.4, the car's display did say it was indeed 100% charged. 

Repeating these DC fast charge tests

Why perform the test if we've done it before? For a couple of reasons. First, Kyle Conner and I like to duplicate each other's tests, just for double verification. Also, the first time I recorded an ID.4 DC fast charge test I only captured 2% to 90%, and I wanted a complete recording. 

If you're looking for even more ID.4 charging analysis, our own Mark Kane has put together an excellent ID.4 DC fast charging deep dive using data from Kyle and me, as well as other YouTube-sourced ID.4 charging DC fast charge recordings.

While the ID.4 isn't the absolute best charging EV, it's definitely one of the best, especially when you consider the starting price of $39,995 in the US. Kyle recently drove an ID.4 from Florida to Colorado and was extremely impressed with how quickly it charged - and he's the most experienced EV road-tripper that we know of. 

Join the conversation over at the InsideEVs ID.4 Forum

As good a charging EV as the ID.4 is, it may get even better very soon. That's because we have heard that Volkswagen may soon increase the ID.4's maximum charge rate from 125 kW to 175 kW through an OTA software update. However, we don't know how long it will charge at that rate, and as we've said many times, the average power delivery is much more important than the peak power rate. If that does happen, we'll be sure to grab another ID.4 and record the charging session. 

So check out the video and let us know what you think. Do you agree that the ID.4 is a very good charging EV? If not, would upping the maximum rate to 175 kW change your mind? Please let us know in the comment section below. 

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