VW’s ID Roomzz concept is almost a living room on wheels
Volkswagen showed off another piece of its electric vehicle future with the ID Roomzz concept that will debut at the 2019 Auto Shanghai show. The Roomzz is a three-row crossover and a production version will go on sale in China in 2021 followed by sales in other markets. This follows the ID hatchback and ID Crozz coming in 2020, along with the return of the Microbus in the form of the ID Buzz a year later.
The ID Roomzz is styled similarly to other members of VW’s ID family of electric vehicles. Chief Volkswagen designer Klaus Bischoff described the ID Roomzz as a “monolith, appearing to be seamlessly machined from one solid block.” It also features a driverless mode that VW calls the IQ.Drive system.
The interior is said to be “variable,” with multiple seating configurations suited to passenger wishes and even the driving modes. Autonomous concept cars going back to the 1950s have often featured driver’s seats that pivoted to face other passengers while in self-driving mode. The seats in the ID Roomzz can be individually rotated inward by up to 25 degrees, for a more “lounge-like” atmosphere. Considering how big American sedans used to be characterized, it looks like a German company may be the first to offer an actual living room on wheels. And while the silhouette is a typical SUV shape, the sliding doors on the concept suggest a minivan (in a good way).
The dashboard has a full-width glass panel with full digital instrumentation. The ID Roomzz has an actual steering wheel, albeit with its own digital screen integrated with the instrument panel (it remains to be seen if this could be a production piece with a working airbag). In manual driving mode, the dash display appears to hover in front of the driver. It’s not clear if the steering wheel will retract in autonomous mode.
The ID Roomzz is being pitched as environmentally sensitive for more than just the battery powertrain (which, of course, is only as clean as the electricity source). Seats are upholstered in renewable artificial leather that uses 20 percent vegetable matter, and sustainably-processed wood is used for trim.
Powered by a 82-kWh battery pack, the ID Roomzz will have a range of up to 280 miles on the global WLTP cycle, which roughly translates to more than 200 miles on the U.S. EPA test cycle. Fast-charging 150-kW DC chargers can recharge those batteries to 80 percent of their power capacity in about 30 minutes.
An electric motor on each axle provides the 4MOTION all-wheel drive system with 301 horsepower combined. VW claims a 0–62 mph time of 6.6 seconds, with a top speed of 111.8 mph, notably just under the mandatory 112 mph limit the European Union wants to impose on cars.
