Volkswagen would like you to get excited about the new ID. Cross, an electric compact SUV promising premium materials, clever storage, matrix headlights and a range of up to 427km. And you probably would have… sometime around 2023.

Because while VW has been polishing the dashboard with fabric trim and adding a retro Mk1 Golf instrument display, the Chinese manufacturers have been rather busy reinventing what a €30,000 EV should look like. BYD, MG, Geely and Chery aren’t arriving with promises anymore. They’re arriving with better batteries, faster charging, more software features and, crucially, cars you can actually afford.

Volkswagen proudly points out that the ID. Cross has a 25-litre frunk. Wonderful. That’s somewhere to keep the tissues you’ll need after discovering a Chinese rival offers a bigger battery, longer range and ventilated seats for the same money.

The Germans are also very pleased with traffic-light recognition, massage seats and a Harman Kardon stereo. Nice toys, certainly. But the competition has been treating features like these as standard equipment while VW still acts as though illuminated badges are the sort of innovation that deserves a standing ovation.

Perhaps the most revealing number isn’t the entry-level price of around €28,000. It’s the launch price of over €36,500 for the version you can actually order first. That’s uncomfortably close to cars from China that are larger, quicker and loaded with even more technology.

The ID. Cross isn’t a bad car. In fact, it’ll probably be refined, comfortable and built with that reassuring Volkswagen solidity. The problem is that “pretty good” no longer wins this game. Not when Chinese brands are moving at smartphone speed while Europe’s biggest carmaker still behaves like every product launch requires six committee meetings and a commemorative brochure.

The ID. Cross proves Volkswagen knows how to build an excellent electric SUV.

It just hasn’t quite accepted that the benchmark no longer lives in Wolfsburg.