Volkswagen’s ID.Buzz was the first all-electric microbus & panel van from Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles. It’s built on the MEB Platform that also features on Volkswagen’s ID car range. It was designed with a nod to the Type 2 VW Microbus from the 1950’s & 60’s, so it looks like nothing else out there & conjures up for me anyway, California sun & surf. Volkswagen updated the Buzz recently so we took not to the Pacific Coast Highway, but the good old M6, M5 & M40 for a road trip of our own.
What’s new ?
It’s primarily larger batteries with improved range & power. A 79kWh battery is offered on SWB versions, whilst the LWB a more recent addition now comes with an 86kWh battery pack.
Model choice
Three; Life & Style both 2WD with a 282bhp electric motor or 4WD GTX which features two electric motors & offers 335bhp. And SWB 4,712mm long or LWB, 4,962mm long lengths. SWB versions come with 5 or 6 seats, either 2 front & 3 rear or 3 front & 3 rear seats. The LWB version can be taken with 7 seats so rows of 2, 3 & 2 respectively & is only £500 more to buy.
Rivals
One, the multi-brand Stellantis offering, Vauxhall Vivaro Life Electric, Citroen e-Space Tourer or Peugeot e-Traveller. All cost less but are much less stylish, refined or offer as long driving range as the Buzz.
Battery & range
The new 79kWh battery comes with a driving range of 283 miles, whilst the larger 86kWh offers up to 291 mile of range. Both versions are heavy, the SWB comes in at 2,454kg, the LWB 2,669kg. Both though offer significantly better range than the launch models 255 miles.
Over our first few days driving locally in a mild November, we were seeing as high as 3miles/kWh for the Buzz so around a 240 mile range.
Performance
Top speed on RWD models is now 99mph with a 0-62mph time of 7.6 seconds, with the LWB hitting 62mph in 7.9 seconds, a marked increase over the launch version. Maximum power has also increased to 282bhp or 335bhp on GTX versions.
Charging
The charge ports located on the rear right of the Buzz & the cables are stored in handy covered boxes at the rear of he boot. You’re never going to run your Buzz range down to zero before you charge at home, so expect to add 37kW of range if you charge for 5 hours overnight when electricity rates are at 9p a kWh. Two nights will add 74kW so that should give you some idea of what you can add & how quickly. Plainly if you use a public fast charger, it’s much faster. Taking advantage of SWB’s 185kW charging speed or the LWB’s 200kW speed, expect a 20-80% charge in as little as 30 minutes.
More good news is an upgraded battery management system, with new functions such as being able to programme in up to 10 charging stops en route, allowing the battery to be ready to accept the maximum rate of charge from the get go.
Exterior
It’s a cutie with narrow headlights on each front corner, a large centre front VW logo,V shaped bonnet, hidden wipers & lower down a beehive grille.The rear features a slender horizontal light bar with prominent VW badge, roof spoiler & ID BUZZ lettering, whilst the sides are flat with three sporty strips in the rear quarter. Our test model Style also came with 20″ alloys.
Interior & equipment
It’s funky inside too, with our Style featuring the exterior colour way inside in this case Candy White/Bay Leaf Green/Jade Green/Mistral & a white steering wheel. The light coloured seat fabric is made from recycled materials & really looks the part.
A heated steering wheel heated & heated front seats are now standard across the range, plus you get on all models, 30-colour ambient lighting & footwell lighting, stainless steel pedals, a multi-flex board,VW App-Connect including App-Connect Wireless for Apple CarPlay &‘ Android Auto’, a Digital Cockpit, DAB+, Discover Pro Nav & infotainment, voice control, wireless phone charger, 2 x USB-C ports in dashboard, 1 x USB-C charging socket in front passenger area, 4 x USB-C charging sockets, the removable Buzz box, a heated windscreen, 2-zone Climatronic, 11kW AC charging, a power tailgate & LED matrix headlights.
Safety
The Buzz is very well stacked for safety features with Adaptive Cruise Control, Autonomous Emergency Braking Front Assist with Pedestrian and Cyclist Monitoring, Lane Assist, Park Assist Plus including Park Distance Control, Proactive passenger protection system, a Rear-view camera, Side & curtain airbags for driver & front passenger centre airbag, swerve support & oncoming vehicle braking when turning.
Practicality
ID. Buzz comes with electrically operated open & closing sliding side doors, making access to the back seats easy. Roof height means loads of headroom & there’s also plenty of legroom all around as well. The 1m height from floor to roof wil allow small children to stand up & the flat floor allows you to enter or exit the second row of seats through either side.
Up front there’s a pop out drinks holder, a good sized glove box, double door pocket space & a small ledge in front of the front passenger seat.. Door USB C inputs are located in the rear doors- just unplug before you open them- with rear seat trays for a laptop or iPad. To access the rear the seats can be pulled via a handy lever & the large boot area, 1,121 litres on our SWB test Buzz.
Fold the back seats down & the load areas a whopping 2,469 litres, whilst adding the Multiflex floor makes the floor completely flat. Behind this & covered up were a couple of useful storage boxes on our test Buzz, in which you can hide the charging cables.The second row of seat’s also split 60:40.
Whilst the tailgate is massive if you park too close to a wall or your own garage door, you can’t open it. At least the electric opening function automatically stops when the boot won’t go any higher. You can automatically open & close both sliding doors from the car key or from three dashboard buttons which is really useful.
Infotainment
The Volkswagen ID. Buzz gets a larger 12.9” infotainment system over the standard 10” system that came before. Like Volkswagen’s passenger car ranges, the operating of this has got better with straightforward menus & useful short cut buttons underneath for driving mode, assist, climate & a general menu so not everything goes through the touchscreen, which is good. Wireless iPhone connecting was quick & easy & the system works well too. All models feature navigation & connected services, so you can utilise the cars battery conditioning feature whilst on the go.
Driving
In town the Buzz’s size seems insignificant as it’s’ nimble & very easy to park, with an 11.1m turning circle & the standard Park Assist Plus with self-parking function. This manoeuvre’s the ID. Buzz in or out of spaces automatically & a reversing camera is also included. Because you sit quite high you get a commanding view of the road ahead which also helps. As far as comfort goes the large battery weight is quell hidden & even on poor road surfaces it rides pretty well & probably better when fully loaded.
Four driving modes are offered. Eco, Comfort, Sport & Individual. As with the VW car ID range, the gear lever is located to the top right of the steering wheel, Simply twist to select from Drive, Neutral or Reverse. There’s also a B regeneration function, so once your’e in Drive, twist once more to engage this. It works really well, making the Buzz slow down when you remove your foot off the accelerator, great for downhill stretches & of course for extending your Buzz’s range.
The drivers seat is supportive & comfortable, the steering wheel multi-adjustable & a good driving position is easy to find. Reaching & selecting the gears is easy & the clutter free dash is a design dream.
On the motorway you simply set Adaptive Cruise Control & away you go. The Buzz east up the miles in comfort & a quiet cabin adds to the ambience. Beware though, even at a constant 70mph the Buzz’s range drops faster than you’d expect. We drove to Warwickshire & back a trip of 220 miles & we needed to plug-in at Warwick Services as the trip there used 140 miles of range, with the data showing just 2.2 miles/kWh as our average economy. Stick to Eco & utilise three B regeneration in town & you will see this rise considerably to over 3 miles/kWh.
Pros
There’s nothing else like it. The updates have increased the standard spec. All versions feature the latest on board tech & connectivity plus all of the safety features you could wish for. Relaxing & easy to drive with comfortable ride. Owning one will make a statement.
Cons
With prices north of £60,000, t’s an expensive vehicle to buy outright so better to lease one. Winter & motorway driving reduce the battery range.
Verdict
Love it or loathe it one things for sure the ID Buzz once seen will not be forgotten. We fall into the latter camp & absolutely love it. Both inside & out it’s incredibly stylish & the nod to Volkswagens of old is all most welcome. It’s easy to drive, to park & to fit five adults & their luggage in. The larger batteries have added a bit more driving range even if it doesn’t go quite as far as VW claim. That & a steep asking price really are the only negatives. When compared to the cheaper but blander alternatives, there really is only one winner.
