A silent and non-intrusive electric transit pod that most families will want

IF you are a DIY enthusiast or a gardener, you can use Black+Decker multi-tools.

A motor-battery base unit snaps into place and powers a set of heads. Drills, milling cutters, grinders, grinders, trimmers. All from that one electric handle.

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Volkswagen had the same idea with its electric cars.

I drive them ID card 4. It’s a family crossover. But you could also have the ID 3, a hatchback.

There’s also the ID 5, which is kind of a crossover coupe thing.

Or the ID Buzz that was unveiled last month. It looks like a modern reincarnation of the sixties hippie camper van.

Next year they will launch a station wagon tentatively named Aero B.

Like these DIY tools, they all share essentially the same motor and battery units. Also, they share suspension, electronics, instruments and controls.

Supple and cushioned

To be fair, you can’t really buy another body and trade at home. (There you go, VW, you can have this idea for free.)

It’s not just VWs either. The Audi Q4 e-Tron and Skoda Enyaq crossovers use the same assembly underneath as the Cupra Born.

Ford will borrow the same foundations to build two midsize electric cars.

Guess what? The ones we’ve tested so far all feel similar when riding. You choose your body style, you choose your brand.

Then find out how much you’re willing to pay – they range from £38,000 to around double that, options included.

To be fair, the selling price isn’t just a question of the snobbish Audi being higher than the Skoda’s value.

You can also choose between two battery sizes. And between single-engine rear-wheel drive or twin-engine all-wheel drive.

The ID 4 will be the world’s best-selling, starting from five factories in Europe, America and China.

So they’ve made it pretty easy to get ahead with it. It’s really roomy, even for three in the back. The cabin has plenty of storage space and USB ports.

Not that it’s quite like driving a normal car, mind you.

You don’t launch it as such – it just springs to life when you buckle up. You select forward or reverse with a small button next to the speedometer. No handbrake either.

But after the first time it all feels pretty natural. charging too. They do it every 250 miles at a small cost.

The steering is pleasantly precise, the suspension subtly supple and understated.

Acceleration and braking are so smooth they might as well be done by thought alone.

Some people want a car that is more appealing. I do – at least when I’m not carrying my wife and child. I like the sound of an engine, the feel of the road.

The ID 4 is a silent, non-intrusive family transit pod. But for most families in most places, that’s exactly what’s wanted.

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