New electric Volkswagen ID Polo to cost from £22k

On sale 2026 | Price from £22,000 (est)

Remember the iPod shuffle? When it was launched, it opened up the MP3 player to a much wider audience, thanks to its compact dimensions and affordable pricing – and the Volkswagen ID Polo is aiming to do much the same for electric cars.

Previously expected to be call Volkswagen ID 2 and previewed by the ID 2all concept model, the compact electric car will adopt the historic Polo name as part of VW's new naming strategy that applies the badges of its bestsellers to its new electric range.

The ID Polo will sit below the VW ID 3 in Volkswagen’s electric car line-up when it arrives in dealerships in 2026. It will be smaller as well as cheaper than the ID 3, but the aim is still to maximise interior space. The ID 3 is due to gain a successor in 2028 or 2029, and under the new naming strategy, it will very likely be known as the ID Golf.

Rivals for the ID Polo will include the MG4 EV – which was named Best Small Electric Car at our 2023 Car of the Year Awards – and the Peugeot e-208.

Using a shortened version of the ID 3’s underpinnings, the ID Polo will be available with two battery options. At the lower end of the spectrum is a 38kWh unit that’s good for a range of around 220 miles, while a larger, 56kWh battery will deliver an official range of up to 280 miles. That’s similar to the MG4, which can officially cover 218 miles in SE form and 288 miles with the Long Range.

Unlike the ID 3 (which is rear-wheel drive), the ID Polo’s electric motor drives the front wheels. Two power options will initially be available: 180bhp for the smaller battery and 223bhp for the larger one. The latter model is said to be capable of a sub 7.0sec 0-62mph time.

If you have a hankering for more speed, you might be pleased to know that the ID Polo will also spawn a GTI hot hatchback variant shortly after its initial launch. Based on VW's ID GTI concept from last year, it will be the first EV to be badged GTI, pumping out 223bhp. That'll make it punchier than the Alpine A290.

As for charging speed, Volkswagen says a 10-80% top-up of the bigger-battery ID Polo will be possible in as little as 20 minutes at the car's 125kW maximum charging speed. That’s significantly faster than the ID 3 and MG4 Long Range, both of which take about half an hour to go from 10-80%. As with any electric car, though, charging from a home wall box charger will take significantly longer.

On the design front, the ID Polo gets a look that moves away from the theme seen on other electric Volkswagens, including the ID 3 and the VW ID 4. Instead, its design is more reminiscent of its namesake, in that it has a fairly traditional hatchback shape.

Inside, the interior of the concept is fairly minimalist, featuring a head-up display that projects key information onto the windscreen, plus a 10.9in digital driver’s display and a 12.9in infotainment screen.

However, unlike the ID 3 – which uses touch-sensitive sliders for the climate and media controls – the ID Polo concept gets physical buttons. We think this is a big forward step, because physical buttons are much easier to operate while driving. This move also applies to the steering wheel, which gets thumbwheels on the left and right sides that double up as buttons.

For the infotainment system, there’s a new layout with bigger icons to help improve usability, while the driver’s display is configurable. On the ID 2all concept, you can change the layout of the driver’s display to match that of the original Beetle or Golf, although this is unlikely to make it to production in the ID Polo.

Despite being a similar size to the combustion Polo, the ID 2all concept’s interior space is far more generous, thanks to its longer wheelbase (the gap between the front and rear axles). With the electric motor being located at the front of the car (instead of above the rear wheels like on the ID 3), the ID Polo gets a much bigger 490-litre boot than the combustion Polo. In fact, it’s even bigger than the MG4’s (363 litres) and ID 3’s (385 litres). 

If you need to carry longer items, the rear seats fold in a 60:40 configuration and the backrest of the front passenger seat can also be folded forwards. In the boot, there’s an additional 50-litre storage area under the floor and the rear seat bases double up as lockable storage boxes. The latter is said to have been designed specifically for items such as the charging cables, a first aid kit and breakdown equipment.

While full specifications are yet to be confirmed, the ID Polo will be available with high-end features offered on larger ID models (such as our 2023 Car of the Year – the Volkswagen ID Buzz). These include Matrix LED headlights, electrically adjustable massage seats and a panoramic glass sunroof.

When it goes on sale in 2026, the ID 2 will cost around £22,000 for the entry-level 38kWh model. That’s a lot less than similarly-sized rivals, including the e-208 and the Vauxhall Corsa Electric (which cost from £30,150 and £26,280 respectively). For the 56kWh model, we expect pricing will move up to around £25,000, which is in-line with the MG4 SE.

It’s worth noting that because Volkswagen is part of a wider group of brands, the ID Polo will be joined by closely related electric models from other brands: the Cupra Raval and Skoda Epiq, as well as an upcoming Seat model.

The ID Polo is the smallest ID-badged model to be revealed so far, but VW officials have confirmed plans to launch 10 new electric models by 2026, including a smaller ID 1 – likely to take the ID Up name. It's expected to cost from around £17,000.

Joining the ID range will be a new ID Cross (pictured above), the concept for which is due to be revealed at the 2025 Munich motor show. It'll be positioned as an electric counterpart to the VW T-Cross, and it's expected to be priced at around £25,000. From teaser images, we can see that it'll get chunky, upright SUV styling, with a protruding rear spoiler. Inside, it should get all the same treatment as the ID Polo.

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