The $40,000 Volkswagen ID.4 is the perfect electric SUV for people hesitant to ditch their gas cars

• The Volkswagen ID.4 is an all-around-solid electric SUV, with good range and a comfy interior.
• It's also approachable enough to snag first-time electric-vehicle buyers.

Tesla has dominated electric-vehicle sales for years — not only because it's been the main option out there, but also because its promises of neck-snapping acceleration, television-sized touchscreens, and spartan, buttonless cabins that have captivated hordes of tech-savvy consumers.

But what about people who don't want any of that? What about buyers who are curious about going electric but don't need a smartphone on wheels and have no desire to overhaul the way they interact with their vehicle?

What about people who want a mostly regular, reasonably priced SUV that just so happens to run on pure electricity instead of nasty fossil fuels?

The new Volkswagen ID.4 has them covered.

It's an approachable electric SUV that delivers a healthy amount of range, plenty of room for people and stuff, some EV quirks, and very few downsides — all for $40,000 to start. A weekend with the excellent ID.4 showed me it's a great choice for anyone looking to make the switch from gas power, but not interested in making too big a leap from their conventional SUV.

An accessible electric SUV for the masses

With its first electric SUV for the US market, Volkswagen is aiming straight for the heart of American car buying: the crossover SUV. People buy more of these compact, high-riding vehicles than anything else, and Volkswagen intends for the ID.4 to rival the most popular ones on the market. Online, Volkswagen lists the ID.4's competition as the Toyota RAV4, Honda CR-V, and Subaru Forester — not the Tesla Model Y, Ford Mustang Mach-E, or Hyundai Kona Electric.

In both size and horsepower, the base ID.4 is a near-perfect match for the RAV4 and CR-V, the two crossover kings. Volkswagen evidently wants buyers to hop out of their gas crossovers and into an ID.4, and not find anything off-putting about making the switch.

Aside from the sold-out First Edition model, the ID.4 comes in two flavors: the $39,995 Pro and the $44,495 Pro S, which adds features like a panoramic sunroof, faux-leather seats, and a bigger touchscreen. Roughly $3,700 buys you all-wheel drive, which also adds about 100 horsepower by virtue of a second motor. The AWD Pro S model Volkswagen loaned me came out to just over $50,000.

What stands out: A comfy, usable interior and some electric flair

The ID.4 may be aiming for the mainstream, but that doesn't mean it's bland. It delivers many of the advantages that make EVs appealing, like a spacious interior, striking looks, and a quiet, punchy ride.

Even after spending days with the ID.4, I for the life of me couldn't pin down whether it looks futuristic or conservative. After much thought, I've decided it's both. The SUV's closed-off grille and distinctive light bars in front and back give off electric-car vibes, but its jelly-bean shape and familiar proportions mean it fits right in with the sea of other crossovers out there. It's not exactly hard data, but the ID.4 did turn a few heads.

Stepping inside the ID.4 doesn't feel like walking into an Apple store — it feels like a car. Decked out in black and brown synthetic leather, the interior of the Pro S I had felt well-built, high-end, and pleasant to sit in. There's ample headroom and legroom in front and back, and my tester's sprawling sunroof gave the cabin an even airier feel. A standard wireless charging pad in the center console came in handy more than once.

Compared with the Teslas and Mustang Mach-Es of the world, the ID.4 gets a modest 10-inch touchscreen, which grows to 12 inches in the Pro S trim. Moreover, the ID.4's screen doesn't handle as many basic tasks as the displays in some other EVs, which some buyers will surely appreciate. In the ID.4, you can adjust the cabin temperature or volume using buttons — flawed buttons, but more on that later.

One neat trick: there's a light strip running the width of the ID.4 between the windshield and dashboard that emits various cues about what's going on in the car. It pulses green when the SUV is charging, flickers to tell you it's listening to voice commands, and swipes left or right to reflect upcoming turns in the navigation system.

It's definitely a bit gimmicky, but it's a fun touch.

You notice another quirk when you sit down to drive. To start moving, you don't need to press an "on" button, much less turn a key. Instead, you just tap the brake to wake up the ID.4, shift it into gear, and go. After a drive, you simply put the car in park and get out — no need to turn it off. This gave me the nagging feeling that I was doing something wrong, but I got used to it after a few trips. Still, VW included a stealthy start/stop button on the steering column for people who simply can't stomach not shutting off their car.

Driving the ID.4

When you step on the accelerator, the ID.4 doesn't leap forward quite as aggressively as some other electric cars, which, by their nature, can send power to the wheels nearly instantaneously. Still, with 295-horsepower and 339 pound-feet of torque, the AWD Pro S offers all the acceleration you need to swiftly complete a merge or pass a truck at speed.

It comfortably and quietly glides down the highway, and it'll put a grin on your face if you stomp the "gas" hard enough, especially if you switch on Sport mode first. I haven't driven it, but people say the rear-wheel-drive ID.4 feels underpowered.

The ID.4 doesn't disappoint when it comes to range, the perennial problem with owning an EV in a country where charging infrastructure still has a long way to go. The Pro S AWD can travel 240 miles on a full battery, according to the EPA. That's fairly competitive with other electrics around the same price point, but there are certainly EVs that can go farther. That includes every Tesla along with the base ID.4, which is rated at 260 miles.

What falls short: Lacks some of the things people love about EVs

The ID.4 goes without some unique features that make electric cars fun to own, which could disappoint EV fans.

Some electric cars have a front trunk that makes use of the space normally occupied by a gas engine. But under the Volkswagen's hood, you'll find mechanical components rather than a nifty extra storage space.

Most electrics offer one-pedal driving, a neat setting that lets drivers bring their vehicle to a halt simply by lifting their foot off of the accelerator — no brake pedal necessary. You won't find that in the ID.4 either. Volkswagen says it was important that the crossover coast like a regular SUV so as not to "confuse drivers of conventional combustion engine vehicles."

The ID.4's interior relies heavily on touch-sensitive buttons that I found difficult to use while driving. The perfectly smooth climate control and volume buttons blend into the piano black background and don't offer feedback, so it's tough to tell what you're tapping without looking. Strangely, the driver gets only two window switches instead of the usual four. If you want to operate the back windows, you need to tap a button marked "Rear" first, which feels like a design flaw.

Our Impressions: An EV people actually want to buy

It's too early to tell whether the ID.4 will take a significant bite out of RAV4 and CR-V sales in the long run. But the quirky crossover certainly offers something that's sorely needed in the EV market: an electric car people actually want to buy.

Americans are crazy about crossovers, but up until recently, the non-luxury electric options out there didn't fit that mold. Now, at long last, you can choose from a few, like the Chevy Bolt EUV, Mustang Mach-E, and Kia Niro EV. Volkswagen's ID.4 brings another appealing option to the table — one that checks a lot of boxes for SUV buyers and has major potential to convince EV skeptics to go electric.