Volkswagen ID.7 EV Charging Cable

The biggest pack Volkswagen puts in a car

The ID.7 Pro holds 77 kWh usable for about 372 miles WLTP. The Pro S and the GTX hold 86 kWh usable from a 91 kWh pack, quoted at roughly 440 and 377 miles. The Tourer estate carries 77 kWh usable for about 365 miles.

Those range figures have a flip side, which is the time it takes to put them back. The 7.4 kW ceiling is the house, not the cable: three phase ratings only mean something where three phases arrive. At 7.4 kW an 86 kWh Pro S is a thirteen hour job from empty, so this is a car you plug in the moment you arrive and leave alone, rather than one you charge when you remember to.

How long a full charge takes

Figures are calculated rather than quoted: battery divided by power, 13 per cent for losses, quarter hour rounding. Range added per hour assumes a year round 3.5 miles per kWh rather than a best case figure. Columns are the Pro and Tourer at 77 kWh usable and the Pro S and GTX at 86. The eight to nine hour figures Volkswagen quotes assume 11 kW across three phases.

Take the three pin row as a warning rather than a plan. A 13 amp socket needs well over a day and a half to fill the Pro S, so it belongs in the boot for hotels and nowhere near a charging strategy.

The Tourer, and why the range figures are believable

The ID.7 Tourer is the estate, carrying 77 kWh usable for about 365 miles, which is only a handful of miles behind the saloon on the same battery. That is unusual: estates normally give up more than that, and it says something about how slippery the standard car already is.

It matters here because efficiency is what turns a long charge into an infrequent one. An ID.7 needs thirteen hours on the Pro S to fill from empty, but it also goes a very long way between fills, so most owners plug in once or twice a week rather than nightly. The cable spends more time coiled than connected, which is an argument for buying one long enough to use without thought rather than one you have to wrestle.

Which length for an ID.7

Rear offside flank, and at 4.96 metres as a saloon and a little more as the Tourer, this is about the point where five metres stops being a safe default. A car this long in a single garage often cannot be reversed in at all, which forces nose-in parking and puts the inlet at the far end from the door.

So the question to ask is where the cable has to start and finish once the car is parked the way your garage or drive forces you to park it, rather than the way you would choose. On most ID.7 layouts that answer is ten metres, and a long drive or a shared bay is where the fifteen and twenty metre versions earn their place. Measure from the charge point to the inlet as the car actually parks, then add two metres of slack.

How these cables are built

It is a CE marked IEC 62196-2 cable, IP55 against the weather, rated to work between -30C and +50C.

The three pin version is an IEC 62752 unit, CE marked and IP67 sealed, specified -30C to +60C. Backed by a two year manufacturer's warranty, with free next working day delivery and a 30 day return window.

Looking at another Volkswagen? Start with the Volkswagen ID.3 EV Charging Cable, or browse every model in Volkswagen charging cables. For a wall box or public post the lead is the Type 2 to Type 2 charging cable.

Volkswagen ID.7 charging cable questions

What cable does an ID.7 need?

A 32A single phase Type 2 to Type 2 cable, and on a car this long we would take 10 metres unless you reverse onto the drive with the charge point on the right.

How long does an ID.7 take to charge at home?

About eleven and three quarter hours for the 77 kWh Pro and thirteen for the 86 kWh Pro S, from empty at 7.4 kW.

Why are Volkswagen's figures shorter?

Because they are quoted on an 11 kW three phase wallbox. A single phase British house cannot reach 11 kW, so the real times are roughly half again as long.

Where does an ID.7 plug in?

The rear offside flank, on the right of the body, the same position as every other ID model.