2023 Volkswagen SUV Lineup: Cheaper ID4 Electric Coming and More
The EV crossover also gets an updated interior, while the Taos, Tiguan, Atlas, and Atlas Cross Sport receive tech updates.
If you've been eyeing an ID4 but have been turned off by the price, good news. For 2023, a more affordable model for the U.S. market with a smaller capacity battery will be coming out of Volkswagen's Tennessee plant. Otherwise, technology and wheels are common threads for VW's SUV lineup upgrades, and the automaker plans to offer USB-C charge ports on all lines later in the model year. In at least a couple cases, VW is cutting trim levels.
Each model in the 2023 lineup was introduced, redesigned, or refreshed in the previous two model years, so VW is working with a comparatively young range. Here's what's new and different with every 2023 Volkswagen SUV.
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2023 Volkswagen Taos: What’s New
A new addition to the Volkswagen lineup for 2022, the Taos subcompact SUV returns for 2023 with more fresh features at every trim level. That's great news, as it's one of the things we criticized about the entry-level crossover after it first arrived. Automatic emergency braking, blind-spot monitoring, and rear cross-traffic monitoring are now standard active safety technologies across all three trim levels, filling a hole that used to be in the base model. The entry-level AWD Taos S 4Motion gets standard 18-inch wheels to replace last year's 17s. Finally, the SEL top grade picks up a standard panoramic sunroof, which was previously available only as optional equipment.
2023 Volkswagen Taos: Pros and Cons
2023 Volkswagen Tiguan: What’s New
How do you improve your best-selling model the year after giving it a midcycle refresh? Give it new rims. Actually, only one of the compact Volkswagen Tiguan SUV's four 2023 trim levels is getting fresh wheels, the sporty-looking Tiguan SE R-Line Black model. Volkswagen equips it with standard 19s boasting a new design.
2023 Volkswagen Tiguan: Pros and Cons
2023 Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport: What’s New
The 2023 Atlas Cross Sport SE with Technology model ditches the 8.0-inch gauge cluster screen it had last year for the lineup's 10.3-inch configurable display. Volkswagen also retired the SEL R-Line trim level, the second in as many years. Originally making its debut for 2020, the two-row, sloped-roof midsize SUV may benefit from a midcycle refresh in the next couple years.
2023 Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport: Pros and Cons
2023 Volkswagen Atlas: What’s New
Just a year after getting the 8.0-inch digital gauge cluster, the Atlas SE with Technology model upgrades to the 10.3-inch configurable display. Like the Atlas Cross Sport, the three-row 2023 Atlas SUV also loses a trim level , the SEL R-Line. There's no lack of variety, though, as the 2023 Atlas is still available in five different grades.
2023 Volkswagen Atlas: Pros and Cons
2023 Volkswagen ID4: What’s New
Volkswagen isn't finished updating its fully electric SUV, the ID4 . For 2023, production of U.S. models moves to the automaker's factory in Chattanooga, Tennessee. There it gets a more Americanized center console (early variants of the EV were built abroad), as well as a lower-priced model. The entry-level ID4 will use a new 62-kWh battery. Range isn't as much as ID4 with the larger 82-kWh battery (estimated to be 208 miles vs. the larger pack's max range of 275 miles) but the MSRP of the base model has come down to under $40,000.
A 12.0-inch infotainment touchscreen is now standard across the range, as is a semiautonomous parking system and cyclist detection for the SUV's automatic emergency braking system. Outside, the 2023 sports a new-look front bumper with highlights, three new wheel designs, and a lighted rear VW badge for S models. There are fresh colors and fabrics for the cabin, and a three-zone climate control system and heated outer rear seats are new on S Plus models.
2023 Volkswagen ID4: Pros and Cons
2024 Volkswagen ID Buzz: Future Buzz
Volkswagen's hippie bus is back for the EV age, wearing the name ID Buzz and getting its 82-kWh battery and 201-hp drivetrain from the ID4 electric crossover. The automaker says its van will be a 2024 model (for the U.S. market) and can charge from 5 to 80 percent in about 30 minutes when connected to a DC fast charger, with capability for up to 170 kW of charging power. The ID Buzz also has a turning circle of just over 35 feet, which should help the commercial-van version execute tight U-turns in markets where that model is offered.
Open one of the dual sliding side doors, and the ID Buzz will welcome passengers with a five-seat configuration; a seven-seat variant will also be available. With all the seats up, the rear offers 39.6 cubic feet of cargo space, and the floor of the trunk can be raised to create a level load surface. The 2024 ID Buzz also boasts a standard 10.0-inch infotainment touchscreen with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto (a 12.0-inch unit will also be available) and VW's capacitive touch controls. It's almost time to get your Buzz on.
2023 Volkswagen SUV Lineup: What’s New
My dad was a do-it-yourselfer, which is where my interest in cars began. To save money, he used to service his own vehicles, and I often got sent to the garage to hold a flashlight or fetch a tool for him while he was on his back under a car. Those formative experiences activated and fostered a curiosity in Japanese automobiles because that’s all my Mexican immigrant folks owned then. For as far back as I can remember, my family always had Hondas and Toyotas. There was a Mazda and a Subaru in there, too, a Datsun as well. My dad loved their fuel efficiency and build quality, so that’s how he spent and still chooses to spend his vehicle budget. Then, like a lot of young men in Southern California, fast modified cars entered the picture in my late teens and early 20s. Back then my best bud and I occasionally got into inadvisable high-speed shenanigans in his Honda. Coincidentally, that same dear friend got me my first job in publishing, where I wrote and copy edited for action sports lifestyle magazines. It was my first “real job” post college, and it gave me the experience to move just a couple years later to Auto Sound & Security magazine, my first gig in the car enthusiast space. From there, I was extremely fortunate to land staff positions at some highly regarded tuner media brands: Honda Tuning, UrbanRacer.com, and Super Street. I see myself as a Honda guy, and that’s mostly what I’ve owned, though not that many—I’ve had one each Civic, Accord, and, currently, an Acura RSX Type S. I also had a fourth-gen Toyota pickup when I met my wife, with its bulletproof single-cam 22R inline-four, way before the brand started calling its trucks Tacoma and Tundra. I’m seriously in lust with the motorsport of drifting, partly because it reminds me of my boarding and BMX days, partly because it’s uncorked vehicle performance, and partly because it has Japanese roots. I’ve never been much of a car modifier, but my DC5 is lowered, has a few bolt-ons, and the ECU is re-flashed. I love being behind the wheel of most vehicles, whether that’s road tripping or circuit flogging, although a lifetime exposed to traffic in the greater L.A. area has dulled that passion some. And unlike my dear ol’ dad, I am not a DIYer, because frankly I break everything I touch.
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