Volkswagen ID Buzz

Tell me about it

There aren’t many cars that have had quite so long a build up as the ID Buzz. Volkswagen enthusiasts – and there are quite a few of them – have been clamouring for a reborn version of the original ‘bus’ for decades now.

After a lot of teasing, the bods in Germany have finally pulled their finger out and given us this: the fully-electric ID Buzz. It’s based on the same tried-and-tested platform as VW’s other electric cars like the ID 3 and ID 4, and plenty of retro touches inside and out.

It’s not a replacement for the regular Transporter or Caravelle (now called Multivan) though: those will stay on for now at least, with the Transporter in particular remaining more of a workhorse.

Exterior

Let’s be honest, a lot of the appeal here is in how the ID Buzz looks on the outside – and VW has nailed it. Using an electric platform underneath means those engineers in Germany were finally able to make a new ‘bus’ that’s shaped (vaguely) like the original – a petrol-powered Buzz would’ve needed a stubby bonnet to house an engine and gearbox, much like the Multivan.

Volkswagen has resisted the urge to make it a total pastiche of the original, mind, so there’s no friendly round headlights here. Instead it gets a face similar to the rest of the ‘ID’ range of electric cars, albeit with a much bigger VW badge in the centre.

It’s still instantly recognisable though – no doubt helped by optional two-tone paint, which terminates in the classic bus V-shape across the bonnet. There are some properly fun colour options available too, in addition to the usual boring black, white and silver.

What’s immediately obvious in the flesh is the sheer size of the thing. It’s not as long as you might imagine – in fact it’s 20cm shorter than the smallest Multivan – but it’s surprisingly wide, with only half a centimetre between it and a full-size Range Rover.

You’ll be thankful of those two rear sliding doors to help you escape tight spaces, but an enormous top-opening boot lid makes putting things in the boot tricky if there’s another car parked behind you.

Interior

If you liked the outside, you’ll be pleased to hear that VW has spread some of that retro vibe across the ID Buzz’s interior too – with a few caveats. Depending on the exterior colour choice, you can equip your Buzz with terracotta, blue, jade green, or even ‘lime yellow’ accents splashed across the seats and dash.

It all looks fantastic, and helps to inject a bit more fun into what is fundamentally a big, square electric MPV. That said, how durable these – and the corresponding white interior plastics – will be in a family car remains to be seen.

They’re also only standard on the posher ‘Style’ trim level, or an expensive option on base-spec ‘Life’ models. The alternative is a rather dour, but very practical, black and grey ambiance instead.

Practicality is more of a mixed bag. The Buzz is cavernous inside, with almost comical levels of leg room for both front and rear passengers, and an enormous boot as well. However, it doesn’t seem to have used all this space to its advantage.

It feels like there’s more than enough room in the ID Buzz for an extra pair of seats in the boot, but VW is holding these back for an even larger long wheelbase model that arrives this year. Similarly, those rear seats are one big bench and don’t do anything particularly clever – nor are they removable to turn the Buzz into a fully-fledged van.

Frustratingly for larger families too, only two of the rear seats have ISOFIX mountings – a bit of a misstep when even the smaller Citroen e-Berlingo manages to wedge in three.

Technology and equipment

Volkswagen has faced some criticism for its slightly questionable in-car tech lately, and while it’s (gradually) addressing the issues in newer models, the ID Buzz isn’t one of them. You’ll find the same 10-inch screen as the ID 3 here, which can look a bit lost against the Buzz’s much bigger dashboard. Thankfully this can be upgraded to a 12-inch version at a small cost.

Most of the software problems have now been ironed out, but it can still feel frustratingly laggy to operate. More irritating are the touch controls for adjusting the cabin temperature: bafflingly these aren’t backlit, and so impossible to see and use once the sun’s gone down.

At least you get a lot of kit bundled in for your cash. Even base-spec models get a lot of luxuries as standard: heated front seats and steering wheel, CarPlay and Android Auto functionality, sat nav, a wireless phone charger, adaptive cruise control, 10-colour ambient lighting and rear view camera are all thrown in.

‘Style’ models get some extra niceties – ‘dynamic’ high beam control for the headlights, a power opening and closing tailgate, larger alloy wheels and some posher interior bits and pieces – but nothing you couldn’t live without.

Safety and security

The ID Buzz managed an impressive five star EuroNCAP crash test rating back in 2022 – the only fly in the ointment being for pedestrian safety, no doubt because of its big brick-shaped front end.

Plenty of active safety gear is included across all ID Buzz trims, including autonomous emergency braking, ‘swerve support’, front cross traffic braking support and more. Blind spot monitoring is an option on all trims though, included only as part of a £1,400 ‘Assistance Package Plus’.

When it comes to security there’s the usual alarm and immobiliser combination, along with something VW calls an ‘Online Anti-Theft Alarm’. In other words, the car can tell you – via VW’s ‘We Connect’ app – if it’s detected a break-in. As usual, this is subject to an extra subscription cost.

Engines and performance

Part of what links the ID Buzz back to the original VW Bus is its rear-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout. In the case of the Buzz of course, this is simply an electric motor mounted under the boot floor – as in VW’s other ID range of electric cars.

For now you can only choose a single, 201bhp motor, but a four-wheel-drive model with two motors is likely to appear soon. The current one isn’t bad – it’s far from rapid, but does a decent enough job of hauling the decidedly heavy, blunt-nosed Buzz around.

0-60 is taken care of in 10.2 seconds, so it’s noticeably slower than the average electric car, but helpfully quicker than rivals like the Vauxhall Vivaro-e. Perhaps more importantly, it’s quicker than the average VW Transporter – and noticeably quieter than trying to make progress in a diesel-powered van.

There’s only one battery choice right now, a 77kWh unit shared with the ID 4 and 5 with a claimed range here of 257 miles. VW says it’ll accept rapid charging up to speeds of 170kW, meaning a theoretical 5-80% charge time of around 30 minutes.

Ride and handling

If you’re used to something more van-like – such as the Transporter – the ID Buzz might feel like a bit of a revelation to drive.

The most apparent difference is in how solid it all feels. Where a Transporter quakes and vibrates over every lump in the tarmac, the Buzz feels exceedingly well held together – much more like a normal car than a commercial vehicle.

It still feels van-like in terms of driving position and sizing, of course, so it’s not a vehicle you want to throw too quickly into corners – for fear of falling out of your seat if nothing else. But both around town and on long motorway journeys – rather than country lanes – the ID Buzz feels very much at home.

Ride comfort is at the same level as any other of VW’s electric car range, which is to say, pretty reasonable. It does a decent job of gliding over rubbish road surfaces, and is by no means as bouncy as some of its van-based rivals.

Should I buy a Volkswagen ID Buzz?

If you’re considering an ID Buzz, it’s likely to be for its looks rather than any other reason. Thankfully though, there’s plenty of other positives about this reborn VW Bus to make it worthy of consideration too.

It rides and handles well – for what it is, at least – and has a comfortable, vast interior in which to carry five people. However, the lack of properly configurable seats is a disappointment – as is the omission of a seven seat option in the ‘regular’ short wheelbase version.

There are more soberly-styled, van-based rivals that offer more interior configurability for less cash. If you want the space of a van without the looks of an airport taxi though, the ID Buzz is your best bet.