Next-generation infotainment system. Volkswagen has made further customer-focused enhancements to the cockpit landscape of the ID.4 and ID.5. The focus here was on intuitive vehicle operation. Against this background, both model series received a new infotainment system with a significantly larger display and a clear menu structure as well as further developed versions of the standard Digital Cockpit (digital instruments) and the optional augmented reality head-up display. The touch sliders for the air conditioning and volume control are now illuminated. Furthermore, Volkswagen has removed and separated the driving mode selector from the housing of the Digital Cockpit and designed it as a steering column switch – like in the ID.7. This creates space for the larger infotainment display. Operation of the ID.4 and ID.5 is additionally made easier by the new IDA voice assistant, which responds even more precisely to natural voice commands. A new Harman Kardon sound system can be optionally installed in both models.
New infotainment system. The central control panel in the new ID.4 and ID.5 is the visually free-standing touchscreen display in 16 : 9 format. The screen diagonal of the display is now 32.8 centimetres (12.9 inches). Previously, the ID.4 and ID.5 had a standard 25.4-centimetre (10-inch) and only an optional 30.5-centimetre (12-inch) display on board. In addition, the new display makes even better use of the screen area for displaying images and operation. The graphic interface and menu navigation have been extensively restructured. The aim was to make operation of all functions as intuitive and customisable as possible. For this purpose, the display has two permanently visible touch bars at the top and bottom edges and a central home screen between these.
Freely assignable direct access functions. The top bar of the display features a new menu button on the left for direct access to all apps. Next to this is a button for the new Car Control Centre, which offers direct access to the most important vehicle functions and can be configured individually by the driver. The main menu and Car Control Centre are always visible and can be accessed immediately without having to close the active app. This makes operation of the ID.4 and ID.5 significantly easier. On the right of the Car Control Centre, there are four additional direct access buttons to which the available apps can be assigned as freely configurable favourite functions. The driver can therefore now control the most frequently used apps with one click. The individually saved favourites can be activated by means of previously created profiles.
Home screen. The home screen in the middle combines the content of the most important apps on differently sized tiles in the overview display. Alongside classic content such as navigation and radio/media, the tiles also offer innovative new functions such as suggestions from the IDA voice assistant. The home screen can also be individually configured by the user. Here, the layout and number of pages can be adapted in addition to the content of the tiles. Compared to the predecessor system, there are significantly more directly accessible functions on the first level – making operation quicker and more intuitive for the driver.
Air conditioning and seat functions on first level. The bottom bar contains the air conditioning and ventilation functions as well as the seat heating (optional). The central home button is also integrated in the middle here – the user can use this to return to the home screen at any time. The air conditioning menu and temperature settings are therefore always directly accessible.
Customer wish implemented: illuminated touch sliders. The now illuminated and ergonomically designed touch sliders are located under the infotainment system display and are used to adjust functions such as interior temperatures and volume.
Newly designed multifunction steering wheel. The enhanced ID.4 and ID.5 and new models like the ID.7 are equipped with a newly designed multifunction steering wheel. The aim here was to simplify and standardise operation across all product lines. Among other things, operation of the steering wheel has been simplified by relocating the frequently used volume control function to the bottom area of the left steering wheel clip. The control panel in the right steering wheel clip now has four arrow buttons (up, down, left, right) and a “View” button – making operation of the Digital Cockpit easier than ever. The bottom edge of the right steering wheel clip has two arrow buttons to allow faster switching between radio stations and songs.
Augmented reality head-up display.The latest version of the optional augmented reality head-up display is used in the ID.4 and ID.5. To supplement the conventional information, the forecast remaining range, current battery charging status and average consumption are additionally displayed. Details such as distance information and the turn arrows of the navigation system are also shown. All the important information is thus on the driver’s visual axis, allowing their eyes to always stay focused on the road. The augmented reality head-up display virtually projects status displays containing information such as the current and maximum permitted speeds into the close range about 3.5 metres in front of the Volkswagen. In contrast, the system virtually projects situation-relevant displays, such as the current direction information of the navigation system, into the far range; they thus appear around 10 metres in front of the ID. model. These symbols are positioned perfectly in line with the real world outside the vehicle – as augmented reality. The standard ID. Light function of the ID.4 and ID.5 provides the driver with additional information that can be perceived intuitively.
IDA voice assistant. With the help of the new IDA voice assistant, it is now even easier to operate many functions of the ID.4 and ID.5 using voice commands. New features include the configuration of a driver profile or ambient lighting and accessing cloud-based information. The latter includes, for example, the weather, flight status of commercial airlines, current status of sports events and share prices or the news. In addition, questions on all kinds of topics imaginable can be asked thanks to the integration of Wikipedia. In general, it is enough to use natural sentences such as “When is LH405 landing?” or “What is the latest news?”. The voice assistant can also interpret what is meant and differentiate between driver and front passenger inputs: both ID. models respond to requests such as “Hello ID., I’m cold” by increasing the temperature in the speaker’s zone by 1 degree Celsius. In response to “Hello ID., show me the stars!”, the vehicles open the sun blind in the panoramic sunroof. The activation word for the voice assistant can be individually determined. Another new feature is the visualisation of the spoken commands – this allows the driver and front passenger to verify the quality of their spoken commands.
Harman Kardon sound system. The ID.4 and ID.5 will also receive another feature from the ID.7: a new, optional 480-watt sound system from audio specialist Harman Kardon. Here, the electric Volkswagen models are equipped with eight high-end loudspeakers plus centre speaker and subwoofer. The 12-channel sound system offers four preconfigured sound settings: Pure (neutral studio sound), Relax (easy listening), Speech (focus on spoken words) and Vibrant (dynamic live sound). The sound can alternatively be individually adjusted according to personal taste by means of an equalizer. In addition, the listening focus can be directed specifically to one or more seats.