How Volkswagen's MEB Platform Works and Why We Need Sports EVs

All cars are based on platforms that contain the basic DNA of the product. The MQB became Volkswagen go-to platform post-2012. Almost all of its cars have used this architecture in some form, from small urban vehicles in Europe to the chunky Atlas crossover in America and beyond.

In 2016 (at CES), Volkswagen unveiled the MEB, designed specifically for EVs. While the German brand had previously offered electric cars, they were derived from the underpinnings of ICE (internal combustion engine) models, such as the e-Golf and e-Up!.

The biggest difference between the MEB and the MQB is in the floor design. Looking like a futuristic version of the classic Beetle, an MEB car gets a lot of its rigidity from its thick floor, where the battery cells are located. However, there are many more variations.

Our favorite has to be the engine layout. While a Golf or Jetta has an engine between the front wheels, the new VW electric cars will mostly have them at the back. This completely changes the shape of the car, allowing the passenger cell to stretch forward and improving the turning circle of the car.

There are, however, exceptions to what we said. Many of these new EVs will be available with performance powertrains where a second engine is added over the front axle. Also, a third battery pack can be found right at the back. More on that later.

A platform is designed to reduce development costs and time. Parts shared between different cars may include but are not limited to the suspension, steering mechanism, axles, and drivetrain components. Obviously, the batteries are a big thing here.

The battery is like a chocolate bar... that you shouldn't bite into. For the ID.3, which is the first VW to use the platform, the medium 58 kWh battery pack fills up the whole floor with cells, but the base 45 kWh setup doesn't. They are also working on a 77 kWh long-range model that has another cell at the back.

The technology can give you up to 12 modules of battery, each module consisting of 24 individual lithium-ion cells, similar to the ones you'd find in laptops. They have an operating voltage of up to 408V and support fast charging at up to 125 kW. The "modular toolkit" part means Volkswagen can also stretch the wheelbase of the MEB, something the carmaker is already doing with the ID.4 crossover.

So what about power? Well, the cars VW and its sister brands have announced make 148 hp, 201 hp, and 302 hp. Recent concepts have also boasted about 250-270 hp. So think of them as your base Toyota Corolla, an Elantra Sport, a Focus ST, and a Golf R in terms of output. Of course, these aren't hot hatchbacks, but they will accelerate decently fast.

Most of the body designs that will go "over" this battery have already been shown or previewed though concepts. After the ID.3 launch, Volkswagen will also introduce the longer ID.4 that's shaped more like a crossover. But both will also have sister models from other brands. Spanish carmaker SEAT is working on a re-badged hatchback while Skoda has begun testing for its own crossover. Audi, meanwhile, was expected to have a production version of the Q4 e-tron by the end of this year. However, testing may have been delayed.

But that's where we think the problems start. Volkswagen has set up factories all over the world, but from what we can tell, the MEB cars are designed to appeal to Europeans first and foremost. It's kind of the same story as with the Golf/Rabbit or Beetle, as Americans began to like them purely as anti-statements to their muscular sedans. But if you don't like a Mustang or a Charger right now, there's always Tesla.

That's why we propose Volkswagen develop something cool, something exciting for the keen car buyers. It's got to be Autobahn-themed, capable of some unique tricks and baked with abundant levels of quirkiness. We want the MEB sports car.

To its credit, Volkswagen did set a whole bunch of records with the ID.R, an all-electric prototype capable of embarrassing a McLaren supercar. Going forward, all its motorsport efforts will be electric or electrified, and that's supposed to include more exotic brands it owns, like Porsche and Bentley.

The nomenclature also has to change. Some of the most iconic Volkswagens were named after winds, while the Beetle allowed for so many plays on words and marketing exercises. Meanwhile, "ID.4" just sounds like file encryption software.