Why Volkswagen skips flush handles and camera mirrors on EVs
Volkswagen's pragmatic EV aerodynamics: skipping flush handles and camera mirrors
Why Volkswagen skips flush handles and camera mirrors on EVs
Volkswagen favors real-world EV efficiency over flashy trends, skipping flush door handles and camera mirrors. See how ID.7 aerodynamics favor body geometry.
2025-08-27T15:55:03+03:00
2025-08-27T15:55:03+03:00
2025-08-27T15:55:03+03:00
While many automakers chase a futuristic look for their EVs, Volkswagen takes a more pragmatic route. The company has passed on flush door handles and digital mirrors, even though they’ve become fashionable among competitors.The chief reason is real-world efficiency. According to the brand, up to 42% of energy use on the highway is lost to aerodynamic drag. Yet wind-tunnel tests showed that neither integrated handles nor camera-based mirrors deliver a meaningful advantage. On top of that, cameras draw power to run, cost more, and don’t suit every driver.Volkswagen is betting on body geometry and details that genuinely shape airflow: wheel arches, the underbody, the roof contour. Even small features, like a subtle step at the A-pillar, are kept on purpose—they shed water and cut turbulence. As the new Volkswagen ID.7 shows, strong results are possible without radical solutions.This approach reads as a distinctly German brand of conservatism. Flush handles and camera mirrors may look striking, but in winter they often prove finicky and they drive up repair costs. So in the standout cars of 2025, everyday practicality may well matter more than a fleeting wow factor.
Volkswagen, EVs, EV efficiency, aerodynamics, flush door handles, camera mirrors, ID.7, body geometry, A-pillar, wheel arches, underbody, roof contour, wind tunnel tests, winter reliability, 2025
2025
Michael Powers
news
Volkswagen's pragmatic EV aerodynamics: skipping flush handles and camera mirrors
Volkswagen favors real-world EV efficiency over flashy trends, skipping flush door handles and camera mirrors. See how ID.7 aerodynamics favor body geometry.
Michael Powers, Editor
While many automakers chase a futuristic look for their EVs, Volkswagen takes a more pragmatic route. The company has passed on flush door handles and digital mirrors, even though they’ve become fashionable among competitors.
The chief reason is real-world efficiency. According to the brand, up to 42% of energy use on the highway is lost to aerodynamic drag. Yet wind-tunnel tests showed that neither integrated handles nor camera-based mirrors deliver a meaningful advantage. On top of that, cameras draw power to run, cost more, and don’t suit every driver.
Volkswagen is betting on body geometry and details that genuinely shape airflow: wheel arches, the underbody, the roof contour. Even small features, like a subtle step at the A-pillar, are kept on purpose—they shed water and cut turbulence. As the new Volkswagen ID.7 shows, strong results are possible without radical solutions.
This approach reads as a distinctly German brand of conservatism. Flush handles and camera mirrors may look striking, but in winter they often prove finicky and they drive up repair costs. So in the standout cars of 2025, everyday practicality may well matter more than a fleeting wow factor.
