Volkswagen ID.4 AWD Takes On The Out of Spec Hill Climb Challenge!

Kyle hops in the new all wheel drive ID.4 to run the Out of Spec Hill Climb Challenge for the first time in an electric car! Let's see how the ID.4 can do.
#VW #ID4 #EV

[@KyleConner]

The ID.4 isn’t intended to be an off-roading machine but its AWD system is designed to help in slippery situations. I have no question this system will help in slippery / snowy conditions and I would totally option it over the RWD car. For true overlanding though, probably not the most capable AWD system.

[@francisj4111]

Maybe with an OTA update, the AWD System will work better?

[@nunolp9067]

The problem is the tyres. Never do all terrain with ordinary tyres. Bad choice!

[@megaroeny]

The Subaru Solterra is supposed to be good for this

[@HydraliskX]

@@nunolp9067 There are plenty of reviews of crossovers with their stock tires that are significantly more capable than this particular ID.4. No, it's not what the ID.4 was designed for - but it's good to know what it's capable (or incapable) of from the factory.

[@tommytfaa]

@@nunolp9067 nah it was not sending power to the proper wheels

[@brady783]

"Let's see if this car will do something it was never intended to do." This is proper motoring content. Keep it up! Most AWD passenger cars are for mild inclement conditions and can't transfer torque in real situations.

[@MrComradebuttons]

yes most awd is designed to increase grip ON road hence most have 3 open diffs, of road vehicles tend to inhibit performance ON road when using 4wd

[@dutchdonjuan]

Wow another channel! You are really putting the work in and I'm loving the content!

[@fisheye42]

I appreciate this kind of test, just in case it’s ever needed. Also, at 1:05, props to the brave camera person standing their ground against the 5900 lb torque-vectored missile.

[@eugeniustheodidactus8890]

Want to see more this hill challenge ! You guys do a great job.

[@brandenflasch]

Not bad for being way outside of the intended use

[@jpch8814]

I think it did great for summer tires, and honestly, I feel you're not the best off-road driver 😅😅. Thanks for the informative vid.

[@russwscarrow2330]

This channel is an AWESOME IDEA to push the limits on some EVs. Not a lot of overlanding out there yet... Love it!

[@outofspecoverlanding9649]

We will of course test electric cars but we don’t expect the majority of our coverage to be electric. Thanks for watching!

[@russwscarrow2330]

@@outofspecoverlanding9649 Fair Enough, not a ton of super-capable EVs yet. Thanks for so many creative and enthusiastic out of spec videos, keep it up!

[@0hypnotoad0]

Hey Kyle just a suggestion here, in case you didn't do this - while some have proposed switching tires, obviously that's not really practical, but you might try airing down to a much lower tire pressure if you haven't already, it will improve the grip a fair bit and soften the ride.

[@canyonero2050]

You've been watching to many youtube videos. You dont "air down" low profile p rated car tires unless you wanna blown them out on the first pebble you drive over.

[@0hypnotoad0]

You can safely air them down 5-ish PSI below the stock tire pressures, which probably won't even be enough to trip the TPMS. It definitely does make a difference to the harness of the ride. I wasn't talking about running down them like mud tires, nice job with the presumptions, though!

[@72afam]

Thanks for the video. Loved the test. Would love to see hill challenges with other SUV’s such as Telluride and Pilot.

[@askebendtsen2473]

Well, now you kind of need to do this with all the AWD EVs out there :D

[@FthePump]

Wow! Nice vid!

[@douglaspierce7940]

I'm surprised that this is the first EV that you have used on your hill challenge. - I have an ID.4 AWD on order, so it was interesting to see your results. From watching this video, I'm pretty sure that my 2018 Model X with All Season Tires would be able to handle at least "Phase 1" of your hill climb challenge. Thanks for the entertaining content.

[@kalso69]

everybody who've done off-road adventures knows that tires are very important, its your contact point to the ground. smaller wheel + meatier AT tires + low air pressure will do the trick IMO.

[@spinmouth4114]

Offroad chops are a must.

[@chrissnow6889]

These cars are not meant for the type to test you were doing but, I think the car would have done better with better all terrain tire and a bit more speed in your approach

[@michaelcaudill570]

Best test to date. Now let's see the mach e all wheel drive do the same course

[@kleeenco]

I am digging this new channel but also want to see some towing tests

[@dearbulls]

When you sit on top of that rock maybe use some momentum you can clear the rock under rear wheel?

[@zan5486]

Thx for the great vid and I want to see how it does in winter conditions. The ID4 is my possible future EV and I'm a long time VW owner.

[@peterjorgensen3]

Awesome video! Please do more EVs like this! Gas isn't really exciting anymore. Also I'm curious about how tough the battery tray is? I have a Niro EV and it drags the battery tray all through the dirt if I tried to do this kind of thing. I'm worried about damaging the battery on a rock? Subscribed! Keep up the good work!

[@minivanmaster]

Nobody really talks about battery protection in EVs, I'm sure the Hummer is the only model that actually has full metal skid plates

[@peterjorgensen3]

@@minivanmaster Rivian has protection also, but I'm not sure what kind. The Wrangler Magneto and 4xe also have full skid plates. I'm waiting to see if the bz4x and solterra have anything like that...

[@ejr5480]

Here’s Poindexter with everything you want to know about everything!!

[@GISJIng]

It could also be the tires that the issue not necessarily the AWD system

[@ryanplitt7102]

Will Kyle be brave enough to do this with his upcoming Taycan?

[@ChicagoBob123]

is the HP and speed of the AWD worth the extra money. Also the pro vs pro s are the seats any different in comfort? The Pro S and First Addition seats are the same correct.

[@asavage3654]

If the vehicle can't get up the hill slowly, I would give it a try with some momentum to help get through the tricky sections.

[@mistermister2085]

The only problem with too much speed is the chance of breaking crap goes up exponentially.

[@Aizman87]

Are you gonna test the q4 on the same route? I know its basically the same car but the audi q4 has some other settings it can use here actually.

[@johndoyle4723]

OK, thanks for an entertaining video, but I doubt any ID4 owners will try this, but good to see how far it gets.

[@mrtriathlondude]

Do you have plans to fit some sort of all-terrain tires to the cars you test on these hills? Stock tires are great for general reviews but I would love to see how cars like this perform with proper grip. As an ID.4 AWD reservation holder I'm planning on getting a separate set of tires for snowy and rocky mountain adventures.

[@outofspecoverlanding9649]

It’s unlikely we will be able to source tires for each vehicle we test on this stretch so this is unlikely

[@mrtriathlondude]

@@outofspecoverlanding9649 Totally understandable, it would be a huge hassle with different tires and wheels for so many different cars. Glad to see the test regardless. Keep up the good work!

[@xdrguy3946]

It's a shame you can't install a set of proper all-terrain tires on the test car. The results might be quite improved. Anyway in the future all such testing should be done with stock all-season tires.

[@0hypnotoad0]

Same here, have an AWD pre-order and plan to just run around on Hankook Dynapro AT2 all year round. I think a 3% tire diameter size increase could help a fair bit with ground clearance and approach/departure angles as well, 3% would add nearly a half an inch of ground clearance without throwing off the speedo.

[@scott8919]

The whiny pedestrian warning sound makes it sound like a sad robot dog doing something against its will.

[@MarcAndreGagnonnicemags]

Can you try in the future at the same place ioniq 5 and kia ev6 ?

[@larzlarz7005]

Did you try 2 feet driving to clamp the brakes harder? Or does it cut power when your foot is on the brakes?

[@LucianPurcarea]

Any plans to do the same trail with a Tesla Model Y to see how it compares?

[@JohnSeitz]

I believe it would void the warranty as Tesla doesn’t allow any off roading.

[@oraclexz]

Great testing. Would like to see the car with off-road tires and try again.

[@hkad6252]

Audi eTron next!

[@slyguyaction]

Kinda glad the ID.4 Pro S w/Gradient I ordered is only RWD after watching this. Or, it may have a lot more to do with the tires. I'm wondering if the suspension can be upgraded along with a lift kit and more off-road worthy tires? Hmmm

[@jasonbirch]

Heh, I'm enthusiastic for the arrival of my ID.4, but sad that it doesn't have a hand brake... Will Tanner or Mercedes be joining you for the look at the rally-prepped versions?

[@cypvh74]

Can’t wait to see how the Subaru Solterra does on this hill!

[@GriffinMoores]

In 2023?

[@cypvh74]

@@GriffinMoores it’s supposed to be available mid 2022. Not sure how long it might take Kyle to get ahold one for testing.

[@matthewedmonds8753]

I have a feeling the Subaru will roll up this challenge without any slippage, even on stock tires. Their AWD is solid.

[@matthewedmonds8753]

I’m confused why the rear tires seemed to be doing nothing while the fronts were spinning. It’s almost as though “traction” mode shut off the rear motor. My Subaru would have had all four engaged while balancing the torque as slippage occurred. I have a ProS AWD on order because I seriously doubt Subaru will deliver the Solterra this year.

[@markeggleton2981]

Would like to see the model y try the hill.

[@RyneODonnell]

Can you do this course with an etron?

[@JackEgeberg]

Please test the Jaguar I-pace 🙏🏼 It would be awesome to see how it would perform.

[@alexhaddock4554]

Yeah, even though coming to the end of my lease on mine its been an amazing car and whilst not off roadbed, have done some flooded road wading. Covid lockdowns killed a lot of my plans for the car but be great to see it do this track. Assume the Porsche Taycan CT will be on there soon too.

[@andrewcooke8014]

Would love to see your M3 do this test Kyle.

[@20aegti3600]

I’d prefer the euro GTX spec please and thank you. Overlanding in an ID.4. lol

[@aticus21]

Can't wait to see the r1t do this test.

[@brianoldziewski7588]

I noticed something some review channels misinterpret is the idea that turning off traction control provides more traction in off-roading. Turning off traction control on a trail *can* be good in certain situations with mud or sand where you need to power through without the car worrying about slippage. The rest of the time the traction control attempts to mimic a limited slip differential. It seemed like ESC Sport did worse, and I think that makes sense. The front wheel articulation is impressive (for what it is), the rear meh. The limited breaking capability to manage the wheel slip I think isn't a surprise considering the breaks wouldn't be particularly large or powerful with the expectation you're breaking with regen help. I'm very curious to see what the Subaru Solterra will do, in theory it should be designed for a trail like this.

[@cedrikb7124]

The id4 (I have one) is the last car in the world I would use to do off-road. And what's the use with not using off-road tyres.

[@richardmorton5669]

We have a steep driveway. When it gets covered with snow do you thi k the ID.4 will make it up, and why do you think that?

[@dearbulls]

I think your tire probably matters the most. The standard Bridgestone tire is not really a good winter tire.

[@kens97sto171]

Definitely shows the limitations of brake based torque vectoring. Because it all comes down to the software programming. If they used a mechanical limited slip differential you would get better results. But I would imagine they probably hurt efficiency and add some complexity. Theoretically the brakes should be able to prevent that wheel spin and transfer the torque to the wheel that is not spinning. But they obviously didn't program it to handle that.

[@rtfazeberdee3519]

Maybe try an I-Pace out there

[@allenpickett5307]

I can't wait for you to get your hands on a cyber truck and do the hill climb

[@Cowclops]

I do wanna see a mach-e and a model Y on these tests.

[@cypvh74]

With much lower ground clearance, I think they are gonna struggle to clear some of those rocks.

[@whitewolf8943]

Is it double glazed?Id4?

[@andykphoto]

I can’t wait to hear about the rally cars, and HOW I CAN GET THE OZ RACING RALLY wheels 😅😸

[@andykphoto]

Mainly because Both of the ID4s entered were rolling on the OZ racing wheels, and tire rack says the ID4 is too chonky/heavy for them… but rallying is NOT a low stress/impact environment… 🤷‍♂️

[@cypvh74]

Vehicles I hope you get to test for this: Rivian R1S Rivian R1T Ford F-150 Lightning Toyota RAV4 prime Volvo XC40/C40 Recharge Jaguar iPace

[@carolfischer9935]

I’d also like to see the Audi Q4 50 e-tron

[@graham2890]

It would be fun to see a Mach E do the hill climb. Likely would fail miserably but it would be interesting.

[@1kruxi]

Nice, Model Y next 👌

[@mikaelpettersson5916]

Well it almost got to the starting point! But it was not intended for this purpose. Lets see How other cars perform.

[@EV.Furkan]

Cheers, can now show this if the ID.4 is capable any offroading

[@ejr5480]

Hey Plug In Dude, Watt’s up? 🤪

[@kingragnar423]

You should do the 2023 and 2024 to see if there was any tweaking done

[@drewsmith7726]

I want to see the Subaru Soltera on that trail!

[@nicholasgarber]

I would hate to be the one to crunch the battery pack over some terrain off-road...

[@idocmirk]

It looks like different tires would make a huge difference.

[@z1az285]

I am speaking from personal experience having owned a 2001 VW Passat GLX 4 Motion and a now a Subaru AWD Legacy. The VW 4 motion AWD was good but not perfect and while decent on curved slippery roads, was not effective on inclined surfaces. The Subaru AWD is superb in any situation and in my opinion superior to the Passat even without X mode. As far as tires are concerned I used the Michelin MXV4+ (16") in the Passat and now have cross climate 2 (18") which would account for some difference but I know for a fact the 4 Motion system was not effective on sloped roads in snow or slushy conditions.

[@richardbergeron3351]

Would the Audi Q4 Etron do better?

[@ebidbay3711]

It would be interested to see when you have off-road tires on the vehicle.

[@Wised1000]

Just as badly the fail is not a matter of traction its not being able to apportion torque from side to side. A decent AWD system brakes the spinning wheel an sends the torque to the other side. Utterly cheap.

[@garyo602]

I’m not sure I want to chance bottoming out a Lithium Ion battery pack!

[@GriffinMoores]

In the modified rally cars they put skid plates on 'em, but yeah, that'd freak me out a bit. Slow and steady...

[@seanplace8192]

Not very surprising that it couldn't do it, but interesting to see nonetheless.

[@warartchesdavanijkul1156]

It's obviously open differential. This car is not meant for rough terrain. Look at wheel spin on wheels in the air - the other wheel on the same axle that touches the ground just sat there not moving an inch. Because it's not moving, it's not a grip issue, therefore it's not a tire issue. Swapping tires won't make any different. This car won't go anywhere if you lose one wheel each axle. Not trying to discredit it's just the way it is. and this is coming from a person who has one reserved.

[@louisAudet]

Not sure about those tires… Here up in Québec, I’m pretty sure i will have no problems in snow with the proper tires!

[@schlickit628]

I think it would be interesting to do some of these EV off-road tests comparing identical cars with RWD and AWD. My suspicion is that the RWD could have made it just as far. In my opinion, tires and clearance are bigger factors than AWD.

[@TheJasonaut]

Overlanding?? …oh, looked it up. I’ve never heard of that until now.

[@akejohansson2860]

Off roading is mostly about tyres and technique... But hey i only drive a Duster😊👍

[@matthewhayosh9110]

I think the ID 4, could actually do better if you're climbing at a bit of more speed. with very little power it's definitely going to be hard to climb especially with rocks and such. I personally have the all-wheel drive and have been impressed with it but I don't plan on driving it up a steep road with rocks unless for some reason I have to. I agree that it'll definitely be good in snow and I plan on driving it in mountains.

[@Cowclops]

Coming up as 360p, still processing?

[@Scott-sm9nm]

Same for me right now and your post says "1 hour ago".

[@outofspecoverlanding9649]

KZbin is slow with video processing on new channels

[@Cowclops]

4k now and goooooooooooooooooooooood to go. The off roading prowess is maybe a touch disappointing (or at least, not a pleasant surprise) but this isn't going to affect me in any sort of real world driving scenario.

[@hotrodharmon]

You have to put different tires to do off roading.

[@underdog8896]

Maybe VW needs to adjust their settings. I believe the rear motor is capable enough.

[@MsKewi-NYC]

Good video Kyle per usual. I watched Driving Sports TV with Ryan Douthit driving a rwd model ID.4 Idk if it was experience bravery or willingness to roll the dice but his test experience with a 1st edition performed but than this test. I'm still waiting for a turning radius vs. battle between awd vs. rwd model however rwd might be all I need. Here's the video link: kzbin.info/www/bejne/gV60ZqJva9mmpas All fairness he was on more rocks/dirt at one point than straight few rocks/dirt/ sand like you were which would be up my alley.

[@melondeau6646]

love this test!!! shows what the car is capable of.......i would like to see if tesla Y can do it.

[@rkgsd]

I think Toyota's all wheel drive system in the RAV4 Prime would've been able to handle the test better. Granted neither is designed to be a Jeep.

[@cleanupordie]

You probably would have made it at 12:34 if you hadn't let off the gas. Without real diff locks, the electronic diff locks can take some time calculating what you want to do. With your on/off driving style it doesn't work. Also, those tires are not helping.

[@rudysche]

Honnestly I am convinced that i can do the exercise with a 30 year old citroen 2 cv i i don’t understand that they don’t foresee a simple 4*4 traction on all the wheels for tricky situations of course it’s not made for rocky hill climbing that’s stupid but I am not convinced how it will behave on ice and mud it’s clearly not an Audi Quattro

[@constantinnescu1564]

It is more a tires batle than vehicles.

[@UweNielbock]

hoffentlich war das sein eigenes Auto

[@delcosspdfreek]

AWD is not 4WD but the Ford Lightning might do better with the offroad stuff.

[@cavemankiwi]

You have to define 4WD and AWD. It seems there is no agreed definition. If I use the definition of the words, for a 4 wheeled vehicle they are the same. So what is the definition. For example 4WD may mean. Low range transfer case (not relevant for EV). Center locking diff or no center diff (not relevant for EV). Other locking diffs front or rear. What about LSD is that suffient to be called 4WD?

[@vasjaxx7863]

Just VW technology... LOL

[@christianocampos158]

I Think the Subaru Solterra/BzX4 could do it

[@bluebear6570]

The ID.4 is definitevely not an off-roader, especially with the kind of tires you had on it!

[@allenpickett5307]

Get a running start a bit

[@mk2mike]

In 2021/2022… how are AWD systems still this horrible? I have a lifted MK4 golf FWD with LSD and it makes it through things many new AWD cars get stuck in… it’s pathetic.

[@ilopi8227]

Thank you for the review . I can finally choose not to get this car. As the awd was my intention. EVs maybe not there yet.

[@joobaggs6886]

Rivian or hummer if you want to rock crawl lol

[@chasski4865]

Also bring another $40k for that rock crawler.

[@EM_BER_W]

This isn't the right way to do it. ESC has to be on, so the ESC System can handle the traction. On this way you only will have wheelspin, like the way you grab the car into a hole... The tires either way, this are efficiency tires for low friction... you have to think about the physics in this case. Low friction and now traction control with a car of 2 tons...

[@dowhill1956]

The VW sounds like it is Crying the whole time!

[@g.3046]

Not a TRUE test since there was no other vehicle comparison under the same exact conditions! I would like to see the EXACT conditions you did for the VW ID.4 against, for example, Subaru Forester, Land Rover Defender, Jeep Wrangler Rubicon, whatever. As a Computer Software Tester, your test is what we call - a test to fail. Need comparisons! Also, I’m betting that 99.98% of the people who buy an VW ID.4 are not buying the vehicle to “pass” The Out of Spec Hill Climb Challenge!

[@johnnyzee383]

Its acting like an open end differential..it is not putting power to the wheel that has the MOST grip but putting the power to the wheel/wheels that have the least. Quite dissapointing!

[@iLikeTigerz101]

I’m telling you right now that people who buy the awd id4 are not even going to do half of what you did.

[@straight_intro]

Another approvement that crossovers are not supposed to be out of the road 👎

[@stefan2796]

The whole ID serie is way too expensive! VW macht alles kaput!

[@giuseppevaccaro1934]

It's not build for off road, these tests are not good