The VW ID Every1 Is More Proof That Friendly Car Design Is Back

The little orangey-gold bundle of joy you see above you is the new VW ID Every1 concept. That name isn’t a reference to the mindset of an overzealous Wetherspoons bouncer who refuses to acknowledge that you’re clearly 25, but a pretty clear indicator of where it’s supposed to sit among VW’s ID electric cars.

When it goes on sale in 2027, it’s going to cost from around €20,000, or about £16,750. That’ll make it one of the cheapest electric cars in Europe, its pricing set to be very close to the new Renault Twingo, and not too far below things like the Fiat Grande Panda and Hyundai Inster.

There’s something else all these cars have in common, too. Just look at the ID Every1 upright stance, its big, wide-eyed stare, its wheels pushed out to all four corners. It’s cute.

Cute cars never really went away – just look at the reborn Fiat 500 and BMW Mini – but in recent years, car design’s only been getting more and more aggressive. Obviously, this can work well on sports cars and big SUVs, although it’s very easy to take things too far (looking at you, BMW XM).

But it’s spread across the whole industry. Why does the current VW Golf, for instance, have such a menacing frown? And just look at the latest Hyundai i10, with its angry headlights and fang-like LEDs. It’s a teeny tiny city car – what exactly is it so angry about?

Thankfully, as more and more old-guard car companies seek to reassert themselves among all the new manufacturers coming from places like China, they’re leaning more into one of the only things they have to set themselves apart: heritage.

It’s why Renault’s revisiting three ultra-friendly cars from its past – the 4, the 5 and the original Twingo. It’s why the Fiat Grande Panda puts an eight-bit twist on the looks of the ultra-utilitarian original. These fun, carefree designs are also being backed up by bright, vibrant colours, and we can only hope the people buying these cars opt for them and help enliven the endless parades of grey and silver on the roads these days.

And now there’s the ID Every1. Its front end has plenty of original Golf about it, and its glassy rear hatch and big, pert rear bumper have clear lineage with the Up, one of the best (and friendliest-looking) city cars of more recent times. And best of all, when a production version arrives in two years’ time, it should look pretty darn close to this concept.

There’s undeniably a place for aggressive car design, but when it starts to pervade every corner of the market, and whatever’s sitting in your rear view mirror looks like it wants to swallow your car whole, it can get a bit tiresome. The ID Every1 is just the latest piece of evidence that our roads might soon start to become a friendlier, more colourful place.