[UPDATE] Video above removed from YouTube.  -  If any publicity is good publicity, then Volkswagen of America's whole "Voltswagen" debacle did manage to make people talk about the company. However, at the same time, it cast a shadow over a couple of new ads for the ID.4. One of them came out around the same time when that incomplete press release about the name change "leaked" onto the Internet, diverting attention from VoA's new electric SUV.

The 30-second clip is about how the ID.4 is "better for your family" and how the SUV's electric powertrain remains silent, thus allowing people "to take in the sweet sounds of nature." That's all fine and dandy until a Subaru Outback makes a brief appearance with its internal combustion engine disrupting Mother Nature's music.

VW is passively-aggressively criticising Subaru Outback owners, especially those with "I Love Nature" stickers, for not caring about the environment. The gist of the ad is how the ID.4 is good for protecting our fragile nature whereas a traditional vehicle equipped with a petrol engine is not only bad for the environment, but it's also noisy.

Another detail that caught our attention was the contrast between the VW ID.4's squeaky-clean appearance and the Outback's dirty body, further alluding to the differences between EV and ICE. That said, lest we forget the ID.4 joins the Tiguan, Atlas, and Atlas Cross Sport in VoA's lineup. Combined sales of SUVs powered by internal combustion engines reached nearly 58,000 units in the first quarter of 2021.

Granted, Subaru sold nearly 139,000 petrol-fuelled SUVs (including the Outback estate) in the same interval and is late to the electric party. It's teaming up with Toyota for a zero-emissions SUV potentially called "Evoltis" whereas VW is investing heavily in new ICE-less models. The ID.5 and ID.6 are coming out this year in some markets, followed in 2022 by the ID Buzz (modern Microbus), entry-level ID.1 in 2025, and the Trinity saloon in 2026.