The ID.4 GTX is a warmed-up electric SUV

The first of what are likely to be many GTX models – the intention is to make the moniker a sporty sub-brand – is the first hot version of the ID.4 compact SUV. The more Golf-sized and shaped ID.3 hatch remains without a go-faster model in the range, a little surprising but then VW has always said it expects the ID.4 to be the bigger seller.

You will be disappointed if you are expecting a rocketship. The ID.4 GTX is all-wheel drive but certainly no performance rival for the current top performing R models, and with 0-62mph in 6.2 seconds it can only just outsprint a conventional petrol Golf GTI (6.3 seconds).

It can call on a lot more power than your GTI though, with 299PS (220kW) available. The power is delivered by electric motors on both front and rear axles – the first ID model to get this dual-motor option. For normal driving only the rear motor spins, but put your foot down and the front motor wakes up, adding grunt and traction – something VW demonstrated at the unveiling by driving it up a 20-degree slope.  

The ID.4 GTX is quite a bit quicker than your everyday ID.4 which, with just a single 204PS motor at the rear, requires 8.5 seconds for 0-62mph. The ID.4 is limited to a top speed of 100mph and the GTX is likewise reined in, but to 112mph. The days of 155mph top speeds – achievable by virtually all combustion-engined performance cars today – are rapidly coming to an end as battery-electric car makers shift the emphasis to maximum cruising range instead. The ID.4 GTX, with 77kWh battery, should be able to go almost 300 miles without stopping, if conditions are right. 

It remains to be seen how much more rewarding to drive the first GTX model is, but the aim, as VW chief executive Ralf Brandstätter says, is to show that “electric mobility and top sporty performance are not mutually exclusive.” Expect driving modes to include a Sport setting, optional adaptive dampers and a Sport pack that lowers the body a little.

The GTX body makeover can best be described as subtle – this is no extrovert head-turner. Spot the GTX by its GTI-style running lights up front and rear LED lights in the form of an X. There are the inevitable reprofiled bumper sections, high gloss black grille inserts and roof spoiler, and a black roof. Plus lots of GTX badges and, inside, a few more nods to the GTI in the form of red seat accents – but no tartan trim.

The cabin layout is high-tech minimalism personified, with features such as an augmented reality head-up display available but also more time-honoured sporty features such as well bolstered seats.

It’s all just enough to mark it out from the cooking ID.4 in that quiet but well-judged way that VW always does things. But with GTX today as with the GTI 45 years ago, the real test will come in the driving. Will GTX prove to be the badge on a mere electric appliance… or an engaging driving machine?

Sales start in the summer and while no prices yet by the time you add some optional  toys it will likely be a £50,000-plus car. One thing for sure, while in 1976 the GTI was in a class of one, its electric successor GTX will have no shortage of rivals to keep it honest.