The Volkswagen ID. Era 5S, unveiled in China, is an unexpected format for the German brand: a mid-size plug-in hybrid sedan (PHEV) with rich equipment starts at $13,000 (about 6 million tenge), while the top version is priced at around $17,000 (about 7.8 million tenge), reports infohub.kz.
The new model is equipped with a 1.5-liter naturally aspirated gasoline engine producing 110 hp, an electric motor with 170 hp, and a battery with a capacity of 19 kWh. The fuel tank holds approximately 50 liters. Notably, the internal combustion engine operates without a conventional gearbox. "The car simply has no traditional transmission," explains automotive blogger Sergei Gilevich. According to him, this design saves on construction, and with regular battery charging, the gasoline engine can be used much less frequently.
The car is primarily tuned for comfort. Gilevich noted the soft suspension and good sound insulation, although at speeds of 120–140 km/h, the body, in his opinion, begins to feel less confident. "The sound insulation for this price is truly surprising," says the blogger. He also positively assessed acceleration—about seven seconds to 100 km/h—and strong regenerative braking allows the car to noticeably decelerate after releasing the accelerator pedal.
The main surprise of the ID. Era 5S is not its dynamics but its equipment. "In the top trim for $17,000, you get massage, ventilation, and heating for the front seats. The rear seats are heated," Gilevich noted. Additionally, the car features a separate menu for the fragrance system, automatic parking, cameras, a voice assistant, a 50W wireless charger, and extra functions for rear passengers. For the second row, there is a separate tablet through which some car functions can be controlled.
However, cost-cutting is still noticeable: the cabin features hard plastics and inexpensive materials, and the blogger did not like the six-speaker audio system. On the other hand, he rated the white Nappa leather-like trim elements as quite decent for the price.
So far, the Volkswagen ID. Era 5S has been shown specifically in the Chinese context, but for Kazakhstan, the model has a potentially interesting feature—the plug-in hybrid powertrain. In an exclusive interview with Kursiv Avto, Robert Cisek, CEO of Volkswagen Brand China and Executive Vice President of Volkswagen Group China, previously said he sees direct potential for plug-in hybrids in Kazakhstan. Against this backdrop, the appearance of the ID. Era 5S on our market in the foreseeable future seems quite possible, although no deliveries of the model to Kazakhstan have been announced yet.