VW ID.5 review (UK): price, range, charging, verdict

The VW ID.5 is Volkswagen’s electric coupe SUV, priced from £36,995 in November 2026 as the Pro Essential, with a 77 or 79 kWh battery and 345 or 352 miles of WLTP range. That entry version is the one to buy: it has the big battery, qualifies for the £1,500 Electric Car Grant and gives more range per pound than any rival in our table. UK testers like the ride and efficiency but rate the cabin below its price and the VW ID.4 electric SUV as the more practical buy. EV Compared has not driven the ID.5; this review rests on Volkswagen’s figures and the UK reviews named below.

Verdict: who should buy the VW ID.5 and who should not

Buy a VW ID.5 if you can charge at home, cover long distances and want something sleeker than a boxy SUV. The Pro Essential pairs the 77 or 79 kWh battery with the lowest list price in the range, £36,995, and after the £1,500 grant it costs £35,495. Each mile costs about 1.5p on an overnight tariff on our sums, and the testers below find the ride comfortable on every road surface.

Do not buy one if you regularly carry tall adults in the back, because the sloping roof costs some rear headroom, or if cabin quality matters to you: Auto Express and Carbuyer both criticise the interior materials, and Auto Express the touch-sensitive controls. Skip the dearer trims too. The Match Pro, Black Edition Pro and GTX Edition cost £8,905 to £16,750 more than the Pro Essential, and none goes further on a charge.

If space matters more than the roofline, the ID.4 is the same car with a taller back. The rest of the range, from the ID.3 hatchback to the ID. Buzz, is in our guide to Volkswagen electric cars in the UK.

How much is the VW ID.5, and what trims are there?

The VW ID.5 costs from £36,995 to £53,745 in November 2026, across five trims and four battery sizes. Volkswagen’s UK site lists the Match Pure from £41,090, the Match Pro from £45,900, the Black Edition Pro from £47,680 and the GTX Edition from £53,745, and Carwow lists the Pro Essential at £36,995.

Version	List price (Nov 2026)	Usable battery	WLTP range	Power	Drive	Electric Car Grant	List price per mile of range (EV Compared)
Pro Essential 77kWh	£36,995	77 kWh	345 miles	210 kW	Rear	Band 2	£107
Pro Essential 79kWh	£36,995	79 kWh	352 miles	210 kW	Rear	Band 2	£105
Match Pure 52kWh	£41,090	52 kWh	227 miles	125 kW	Rear	Band 2	£181
Match Pure 58kWh	£41,090	58 kWh	272 miles	140 kW	Rear	Band 2	£151
Match Pro 77kWh	£45,900	77 kWh	344 miles	210 kW	Rear	None	£133
Black Edition Pro 77kWh	£47,680	77 kWh	341 miles	210 kW	Rear	None	£140
GTX Edition 4MOTION 79kWh	£53,745	79 kWh	327 miles	250 kW	Four-wheel	None	£164

Two pairs share a price because Volkswagen updated the ID.5 in April 2026. Auto Express reported on 9 April that the Pure battery grew from 52 to 58 kWh at no extra cost and the Pro battery from 77 to 79 kWh, and Volkswagen’s grant page still lists both old and new batteries. If you are ordering, ask the retailer which battery your car has, because the 79 kWh Pro Essential goes 7 miles further for the same list price.

The odd one out is the Match Pure. It costs £4,095 more than the Pro Essential yet has a smaller battery, less power and at least 73 miles less range. Volkswagen lists 19-inch alloys, LED headlamps, ambient lighting, navigation and a heated steering wheel on the Match Pure, but none of that makes up for the range gap.

Electric Car Grant. Volkswagen lists the Pro Essential (77 and 79 kWh) and the Match Pure (52 and 58 kWh) as Band 2 cars, worth £1,500 off. The final price, including options and retailer discounts, must stay below £42,000, so a heavily optioned Match Pure can lose it. The Match Pro, Black Edition Pro and GTX are excluded. Full trim-by-trim figures are on our VW ID.5 price, specs and trims page.

What equipment and interior does the ID.5 have?

The ID.5’s cabin is modern and well equipped but not plush, UK testers agree. Its 12.9-inch touchscreen has wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and Auto Express found it loads quickly, though it found the touch-sensitive steering wheel controls awkward and easy to press by accident, and the materials “rather average”, with too many hard plastics.

Volkswagen’s UK site lists these highlights as you move up the range:

• Match Pro: rear-view camera, keyless entry and start, matrix LED headlights and an electric tailgate with a virtual pedal
• Black Edition Pro: black 19-inch alloys, a panoramic glass roof, black mirror housings, power-adjustable front seats with memory and massage, and microfleece upholstery
• GTX Edition: 20-inch alloys, electrically folding heated mirrors, massaging lumbar support, a panoramic roof and an area view camera system

The April 2026 update brought physical buttons back to the steering wheel in place of the haptic pads, added vehicle-to-load and bidirectional charging with optional adapters, and introduced an optional 230V socket, according to Auto Express and EV Fleet World. Electrive reports an updated optional heat pump; Electrifying notes that the heat pump costs over £1,000 extra, which it sees as a drawback when some rivals fit one as standard.

How far does the VW ID.5 go on a charge?

The ID.5 goes 227 to 352 miles on the WLTP cycle, depending on battery and trim. The Pro Essential with the 79 kWh battery has the highest figure at 352 miles, and the 77 kWh version manages 345 miles. That is about 4.48 miles per kWh for the 77 kWh car on EV Compared’s sums: we divide the WLTP range by the usable battery and ignore charging losses, as set out in our methodology.

Real-world range is lower, as it is for every electric car. Auto Express averaged 3.7 miles per kWh in its test car, which it estimates is good for about 285 miles from the 77 kWh battery. Electrifying’s testers estimate about 260 to 320 miles from a Match and 240 to 300 miles from a GTX, depending on conditions, and note that range always falls in winter.

The four-wheel-drive GTX Edition trades range for performance: 250 kW and 0 to 62mph in 5.4 seconds, but 327 miles of WLTP range, 25 miles short of the best Pro Essential. Our VW ID.5 real-world range and charging guide covers the range by season and speed.

How long does the VW ID.5 take to charge?

On a 7 kW home wallbox, a full charge of the 77 kWh ID.5 takes about 11 hours on our sums, so it fills overnight. Every ID.5 accepts up to 11 kW on AC, which only helps on a three-phase home supply or an 11 kW public post; Electrifying says that cuts a full charge to under 8 hours.

Volkswagen’s UK site does not publish DC rapid charging speeds, so these come from Auto Express. It lists peak DC rates of 145 kW for the 52 kWh battery, 135 kW for the 77 kWh battery and 185 kW for the 79 kWh battery, and says 10 to 80% takes under 30 minutes from a fast enough charger. In its Black Edition test, Auto Express quoted 28 minutes for 10 to 80% on the 77 kWh battery. Confirm the charging speed for the exact battery you order with the retailer.

Where you charge	Price per kWh	Full charge, 77 kWh (EV Compared)	Cost per mile (EV Compared)	Cost of 8,000 miles (EV Compared)
Home, Intelligent Octopus Go off-peak	6.5p	£5.00	1.5p	£116
Home, standard tariff at the Ofgem price cap	26.32p	£20.27	5.9p	£470
Public rapid charger, Zapmap October 2026 average	82p	£63.14	18.3p	£1,464

These figures are for the 77 kWh Pro Essential and its 345-mile WLTP range. The off-peak rate is Intelligent Octopus Go’s 6.5p/kWh, the standard rate is Ofgem’s 26.32p/kWh average for 1 October to 31 December 2026, and the rapid rate is Zapmap’s October 2026 average of 82p/kWh. On those prices, a mile on a rapid charger costs about 12 times as much as a mile charged at home overnight.

The GTX Edition uses more energy: 1.6p per mile at home and 19.8p on a rapid charger, or £126 and £1,585 for 8,000 miles. The 58 kWh Match Pure is the most efficient version, at 1.4p per mile at home. To get the home figures you need a wallbox and a smart tariff, and Best Chargers covers choosing and installing a home EV charger.

What does the VW ID.5 cost to run?

The ID.5 is cheap to run on home charging, and every version except the GTX avoids the road tax supplement. These are the main costs in November 2026.

Road tax. From the second year an electric car pays the £200 standard rate, according to GOV.UK. Electric cars with a list price over £50,000 pay a £440 a year expensive car supplement for five years, so the £53,745 GTX Edition pays £640 a year. The £47,680 Black Edition Pro and everything below it stay under the threshold.

Company car tax. Every ID.5 sits in the 4% benefit-in-kind band for 2026 to 2027, the rate GOV.UK sets for 0 g/km cars.

Insurance. Auto Express lists insurance groups 25 to 41 for the ID.5, against 23 to 39 for the ID.4.

Warranty. The car has a three-year warranty and the battery eight years or 100,000 miles, Auto Express says.

List price per mile of range. The 77 kWh Pro Essential costs £107 of list price for every mile of WLTP range on our sums, and the 79 kWh version £105. The GTX Edition costs £164 a mile, which shows how much of its price pays for performance rather than distance.

Is the VW ID.5 bigger than the ID.4, and how practical is it?

The ID.5 is 15 mm longer and 13 mm lower than the ID.4, and the same width. It measures 4,599 mm long, 1,852 mm wide and 1,618 mm tall, against 4,584 mm, 1,852 mm and 1,631 mm for the ID.4. Both are five-seat family SUVs, and our ID.4 vs ID.5 comparison sets them side by side.

The boot is where the ID.5 surprises. Auto Express measures 549 litres, against 543 litres in the ID.4, and 1,734 litres with the rear seats folded. Electrifying found it a few litres short of the 570 litres in the Skoda Enyaq Coupe.

The cost is rear headroom. Auto Express found slightly less of it than in the ID.4, though it says there is still plenty on offer. Electrifying found two adults “very comfy” in the back and six-footers fitting if the rear seats slide forward, and Carbuyer said tall adults will be “happy enough”. The sloping roof also hurts the view out: Auto Express notes there is no rear wiper and a trim piece crosses the rear window.

Towing. Auto Express lists a braked towing limit of up to 1,000 kg for most versions and up to 1,800 kg for the GTX. If you tow, confirm the figure for your exact car with the retailer.

Is it an estate? No. The ID.5 is a coupe SUV with a hatchback tailgate, and its sloping roof is the main thing that separates it from the ID.4.

Is the VW ID.5 safe, and has it been recalled?

The ID.5 has a five-star Euro NCAP rating. Volkswagen announced on 3 March 2022 that it scored 93% for adult occupants, 89% for child occupants, 76% for vulnerable road users and 85% for safety assist. Those results are now more than four years old.

Volkswagen’s high-voltage battery safety recall, codes 93MV and 93MF, covers the ID.3, ID.4 and ID.7 with batteries from a specific supplier built between 2022 and 2025. Volkswagen’s recall page does not list the ID.5. Our report on the VW battery recall and what UK owners should do explains the 80% charge limit for affected cars. Owners can check any car’s registration against DVSA’s recall records on GOV.UK.

What the testers say

UK reviewers agree that the ID.5 is comfortable, efficient and roomy enough, and that its cabin quality and value against the ID.4 hold it back. Here is what four published reviews found; none of these findings are EV Compared’s own.

Auto Express, 3.5 out of 5 (March 2026). Dean Gibson and Ellis Hyde found the ride comfortable on all road surfaces, helped by tall sidewalls on the 19-inch wheels, and still comfortable at higher speeds. The handling is neutral, but the car “still feels like a heavy car in corners”. They criticised the hard plastics and touch controls and concluded that “you’ll have to do a lot of miles before the benefits of its greater efficiency cancel out the price difference” with the cheaper ID.4.

Auto Express, Black Edition, 3.5 out of 5 (November 2025). Dean Gibson found the Black Edition better value than adding options to a Match, but said the ID.5’s core weaknesses remain, and he would rather buy the cheaper ID.4, which is also sold as a Black Edition.

Electrifying (April 2026). Mike Askew called the ID.5 “a comfortable, smooth driving family car that does most things well”, with neutral, planted cornering, but found that even the GTX “never feels eager to be hurried through corners”. His verdict: “it’s hard to argue its case against the ID.4 and Enyaq, which offers more space and a lower price.”

Carbuyer, 3.9 out of 5 (April 2025). Charlie Harvey found the ID.5 “more compelling than when it first launched”, with a comfortable ride even on the biggest wheels and a boot that loses less to the coupe roof than expected. He criticised the unintuitive touchscreen and said there is “no denying its lacklustre interior quality”.

How does the VW ID.5 compare with its rivals?

The ID.5 Pro Essential has the biggest usable battery and the longest WLTP range in the table below, at almost the same list price as every rival.

Model and version	List price	Battery	Range (WLTP)	Drive
Leapmotor C10 69.9 kWh	£36,500	69.9 kWh (gross)	263 miles	Rear
Ford Capri Style 58kWh RWD	£36,985	58 kWh	286 miles	Rear
Volkswagen ID.4 Pure Essential 52kWh	£36,995	52 kWh	222 miles	Rear
Volkswagen ID.5 Pro Essential 77kWh	£36,995	77 kWh	345 miles	Rear
Jeep Compass Electric Altitude 157kW 74kWh FWD	£36,999	74 kWh	285 miles	Front
BMW iX1 eDrive20 Sport	£37,065	65 kWh	321 miles	Front
BMW iX2 eDrive20 Sport	£37,065	65.2 kWh	319 miles	Front

On our list price per mile of range figure, the 77 kWh ID.5 Pro Essential costs £107 for each mile of WLTP range. The BMW iX1 costs £115, the BMW iX2 £116, the Ford Capri £129, the Jeep Compass Electric £130, the Leapmotor C10 family SUV £139 and the entry ID.4 £167.

VW ID.4. The entry ID.4 Pure Essential costs the same £36,995 but has the 52 kWh battery and 222 miles of range. Its appeal is the taller roof and extra rear headroom, and both Auto Express and Electrifying prefer it overall.

BMW iX1 and iX2. For £70 more, the BMWs go 321 and 319 miles. With the Ford Capri they are the most efficient cars here on our sums, at 1.3p per mile at home. Both are front-wheel drive, and their boots, 490 and 525 litres, are smaller than the ID.5’s.

Ford Capri. The Style 58kWh costs £36,985 and goes 286 miles, and it charges at up to 105 kW, with 10 to 80% in 26 minutes.

Leapmotor C10. The C10 is the cheapest car here at £36,500, but its 263 miles of range is 82 miles short of the 77 kWh ID.5.

Jeep Compass Electric. At £36,999 the Compass goes 285 miles from a 74 kWh battery and is front-wheel drive.

Is the VW ID.5 being discontinued?

Volkswagen has not announced an end date. Autocar reported in August 2025, citing Volkswagen insiders, that ID.5 production would end as Volkswagen trims its range, and EV Powered relayed the report with production stopping ahead of the 2027 model year. Volkswagen declined to comment, calling it speculation. In November 2026 the car is still on sale in five trims, and Volkswagen updated it as recently as April 2026.

The ID.4 is due to be replaced by the ID. Tiguan, Auto Express says, and our report on the ID.Tiguan’s UK range and price covers what is known about it.

Should you buy a VW ID.5?

Yes, if you want the Pro Essential. For £36,995, or £35,495 after the £1,500 grant, you get a 77 or 79 kWh battery, up to 352 miles of WLTP range and a ride Auto Express, Electrifying and Carbuyer all praise, and on our sums it gives more range per pound than any rival in the table above. It suits a driver who charges at home, covers long distances and prefers the coupe roofline to the ID.4’s taller back.

No, if you carry tall adults in the back, care about cabin materials, or are looking at the Match Pro, Black Edition Pro or GTX Edition, which cost thousands more without going further. Most families who do not mind the look will be better served by the ID.4. EV Compared has not driven the ID.5; this verdict rests on Volkswagen’s published figures and the four UK reviews above.