AION V vs VW ID.4

The AION V is £545 cheaper to buy. Running costs are almost identical - about £152 a year either way, at 8,000 miles on an off-peak home tariff. Add 5 years of charging and the AION V comes out roughly £505 cheaper overall. These figures cover list price and home charging only - insurance, servicing, tyres and depreciation will move the real total.

EVcarsguide estimates a real-world motorway range of about 264 miles for the AION V and 293 miles for the VW ID.4 - both below their WLTP figures, because sustained high speed is the hardest case for an EV. The VW ID.4 goes roughly 29 miles further between charging stops. Both rapid-charge to 80% in a similar time, around 25-29 minutes.

The two are within 2 mm on width, so neither is meaningfully easier to thread into a tight space. In a standard 2,400 mm bay that leaves about 548 mm of total clearance for the VW ID.4 and about 546 mm of total clearance for the AION V. The VW ID.4 also turns in a 1.0 m tighter circle, which helps with U-turns and multi-storey ramps.

Over a 8-year ownership window EVcarsguide's degradation model projects roughly 90% battery health for the AION V and 84% for the VW ID.4. That gives the AION V a modest edge in retained real-world range. The AION V's LFP-type pack tolerates daily 100% charging, while the VW ID.4's NMC-type pack lasts longest kept to about 80% for everyday use.