On the surface, the Volkswagen ID Buzz fits into the lineup of minivans now sold in the US. After all, it will include three rows of seats, power sliding doors, and numerous cupholders. However, this isn't really a direct shot at vehicles like the Chrysler Pacifica and the Toyota Sienna. It's electric, for starters. It has rear-wheel drive as well. And it appears cool. As in, during our drive of a Europe-spec Buzz, folks in Copenhagen were breaking their necks to stare at it. Minivans are typically thought of as being unfashionable, but this one is blatantly fashionable, a concept car made real in two-tone candy white and lime yellow.
ascending the ID. Buzz makes you want to quit your job and work as a surf instructor in Hermosa Beach, go through Peru on a hiking trip, or raise alpacas to manufacture organic wool carpets for your commune's residents. Minivan as status symbol and halo vehicle for a complete brand is uncharted ground.
It's amazing that it took this long for Volkswagen to use the same strategy for the Bug's incense-scented cousin, the Bus, given their success in leveraging Beetle nostalgia for a few additional decades' worth of sales (or, as VW affectionately calls it in Germany, the Bulli). It was much simpler to rebadge a Dodge Grand Caravan as a Routan than to design some sort of front-drive, cab-over-engine people hauler, so bringing back the Bus with anything close to the original snub-nosed proportions was never really feasible with VW's internal-combustion platforms. However, the ID.Buzz may adhere faithfully to the design of its adored, agonizingly slow forebear thanks to VW's MEB platform for electric vehicles: rear motor, rear-wheel drive. Even though the vents on the D-pillar are false, at least they match the motor's actual location.
The ID.Buzz shares many mechanical components with the ID.4 SUV, including a single motor that produces 201 horsepower and 229 pound-feet of torque, a 77.0-kWh battery that provides 263 miles of range, according to the WLTP methodology, which would translate to about 220 miles on EPA test cycles in the United States. (For comparison, the EPA estimates the range of the rear-drive ID.4 Pro at 275 miles.) According to VW, the Buzz will accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) in just 10.2 seconds, making it comparable to the 1967 Bus of modern electric vehicles. Given that the 295-hp all-wheel-drive ID.4 took 5.4 seconds to accelerate from 0 to 60 mph, an all-wheel-drive U.S. version should be much faster. VW states that the two-row ID.Buzz weighs 5448 pounds, while our measurement of 4698 pounds from an equivalent ID.4 contradicts this.
The only surprise on the specification sheet is the rear brakes, which are drum brakes. Volkswagen likely reasoned that the rear axle doesn't need require six-piston Brembo brakes because the powertrain can create about 0.3 g of deceleration only through regeneration. That's most likely accurate, especially given that the launch model's wheel shape largely conceals the brakes in any case. Even though the brakes on the ID.4 scored a respectable 166-foot stop from 70 mph, drums and all, the rear end will still look silly if you put some narrow five-spokes on it.
The ID.Buzz is delivered carbon-neutral (which means VW pays for offsets proportional to the carbon footprint of its production), and part of the interior materials are recycled, keeping with the flower-child image of its long-ago ancestors. The Buzz Box center console, which is located between the front seats and has a bottle opener and an ice scraper on top, may be removed if you're the type of person who likes to carry their center console around like a handbag. The infotainment controls are modern VW components, therefore there are many capacitive touch sliders and few buttons. When you teach an automated parking system how to park in a specific location, you can either manually activate it (after it has learned the maneuvers) or have it automatically provide its aid when the GPS indicates it is in the appropriate location. If you need to use the brakes or the navigation system indicates a turn is coming up, a stylish LED light bar across the bottom of the windshield will flash red.
Since the ID.Buzz we drove in Copenhagen differs so greatly from the model sold in the United States, it's difficult to make too many assumptions about what we'll see there. The power-deployable tow hitch that slides out from under the back bumper is one of the features on this short-wheelbase, two-row variant that we'll never see. With three rows of seats and an additional 10.6 inches of length, our version is likely to be more passenger-centered. The Europe variant appears to be a cargo van with basic rear seating (similar to the Mercedes-Benz Metris), but there is also a cargo version with a payload capacity of 1429 pounds. In addition to the stretch, we anticipate that the Buzz will go through some people-moving optimization prior to its U.S. debut in 2024.
The second row of the ID.Buzz with European specifications is a bench seat without armrests. Since there is no back HVAC to manage, there are no rear HVAC controls. The vans at the launch were equipped with an optional raised platform for the cargo area that creates a flat load floor but also wastes a significant amount of interior space because you can't access more than a few feet under that false floor without a croupier's stick. The rear seats fold but are not removable. (VW apparently didn't consider another option—removable second-row seats—to get a flat floor while maintaining maximum cargo room.)
Although we might presume Volkswagen will add captain's chairs and air conditioning to the rear seats, certain other sacrifices appear to have been built into the design. For instance, we mistakenly believed that the Buzz used the ID.4's absurd driver-side power window switches, which work by toggling between front and rear windows using two physical switches. As it happens, the ID. Only two windows are open, therefore Buzz only has two switches (the front ones). Although it has a sleek appearance and a surprising low coefficient of drag of 0.29 for a van, the flush glass in the back doors cannot roll down. Will VW deliver us a van with back windows that simply don't open or remodel the rear doors with inset roll-down windows? They might be able to pop out and slide back while maintaining the flush design, but it would require significant reengineering.
It's also challenging to understand how the ID works. A third row that slides into the floor is compatible with Buzz, a minivan that is common in our area. Where would the third row fit with its rear-mounted powerplant and hardly any overhang behind those large wheels (21 inches on the vehicle we drove)? Volkswagen's dedication to the concept-car look and its steadfastness over the ID must be admired. Buzz's appearance imposes necessary drawbacks because form follows function.
That also encompasses the horizon. The ID.Buzz provides a broad perspective of the road ahead thanks to its enormous front quarter windows. However, the elevated seating and upright windshield transform the vehicle's roof into a huge baseball cap that is pulled low over your eyes. It took us a while to realize we needed to lean forward in the seat and look up to view an overhead light in Denmark, where traffic lights are frequently set on six-foot posts. You wouldn't be able to see U.S. traffic lights that are closer than the neighboring county if you flipped down the sun visor.
Any of this going to hurt ID.Buzz sales? Most likely not, and VW is perhaps making a shrewd wager that our market wants a vehicle that moves in a whole different way rather than another minivan that is benchmarked to the strengths of the current crop. The ID.Buzz comes into focus when viewed as more of a lifestyle statement than a ruthlessly designed vehicle for family transportation—more of an SUV than a minivan. Already, we have four minivans committed to maximum utility. Having someone who is merely living the dream is acceptable.
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