VW ID.3

ID.4 1st Max owner here, I'll try to answer what I can

The 4 is definitely a bit more of a brick on the roads from what I've heard. It's got no shortage of power but probably doesn't feel as nimble as a 3

The main selling point of the 4 is more space, if you need it then go for it, otherwise the a 3 Pro S is another option. Resale on the 4 might be better, the Pro S seems to be taking a beating on depreciation

The extra range makes a big difference in Ireland I find, often turns a midpoint charge and destination charge into just a destination charge

The HUD is cool, but pretty much a gimmick. I ended up turning it off

The Travel Assist (I assume that's what you mean by advanced lane assist) is brilliant. It makes motorway driving so much simpler and less stressful.

I've never found it ping ponging between the lines like some folks mention about the basic Lane Assist. In fact it'll generally try to hold the same position as when it's started, in contrast to some others which will fix themselves to the middle of the lane no matter what

I would say the Travel Assist is only really useful on motorways and fairly straight N roads. I tried it on a fairly rural road once and needed a change of underwear afterwards

It's still worthwhile I'd say, for example do Dublin - Galway on Travel Assist, then if you're heading further do most of that manually

You won't fall asleep, the car will start beeping at you if you let go of the steering wheel.

The emergency stop system is actually pretty slick, if the car doesn't detect your hands on the wheel it's start beeping and then will tap the brakes a couple of times to try and wake you up

Failing that it'll bring the car safely to a halt and start beeping the horn and turn the hazard lights on. At the same time it dials emergency services using the SOS system, the idea being that if you're still unconscious after all that it's because you can't wake up (i.e. you've had a heart attack or something)

During all this the ACC and lane assist keep working so you shouldn't drift off the road if you're on a motorway

Thankfully I haven't had occasion to test it but there's plenty of demos on YouTube

To give some context, I did a 9 hour drive across the UK two years ago using a lot of Travel Assist on motorways. I honestly don't think I'd have managed it driving manually, I would have needed a midpoint stop for a rest. As it was the two charging stops provided good opportunities to take a break

I think a lot of the early ones were staged as well, influencers trying to figure out ways to defeat the driver detection.

Apparently a wedge of lemon or something around the steering wheel was enough to make the older teslas think there was a hand on the wheel

Frankly you can bypass any safety system if you try hard enough. Don't want seat belt alarms? Just get a buckle from eBay and plug it into the recepticle. Of course what's the point of the seat belts then if you won't wear them

There's always a degree of personal responsibility as well, the safety systems are there but you need to let them do their job