Volkswagen ID.Buzz Review

Introduction

Like the latest Minis or the current Fiat 500, the Volkswagen ID.Buzz is one of those retro-styled vehicles that is, to a point, trading on the fame of its predecessor. As Fiat and Mini have shown us, it’s a solid business model, but Volkswagen has taken the modernisation of its classic Type 2 ‘Bulli’ to a whole new level with the new ID.Buzz.

As keen students of the VW range will doubtless have noticed, the Buzz name is prefixed by the ID. moniker, which denotes Volkswagen’s electric models. Because under the skin of this fresh, futuristic MPV is much the same running gear you’ll find in the ID.4 SUV. The electric family SUV has already performed well, but will its vital organs work under the skin of a retro electric van? We went to find out.

At a Glance

Even if you aren’t familiar with the ID.Buzz concept, one look makes it pretty clear what the new VW is trying to be. With that massive badge on the nose and the bluff front end, it’s very obviously inspired by the old Type 2, but it still manages to look modern. There’s a fresh cleanliness to the design and something slightly futuristic about the stance.

Inside, the Type 2’s influence is somewhat less apparent, because the cabin is straight from the 21st Century. You get a choice of colour schemes, but all come with a clean and stylish dashboard that includes some attractive trim and a little shelf for storing small items. The touchscreen means buttons are more or less non-existent, and the simplicity of the electric powertrain means VW has been able to produce some clever storage solutions such as the removable central stowage box.

Speaking of the electric powertrain, the ID.Buzz’s propulsion system is effectively lifted from the tried-and-tested ID.4 electric SUV, so there’s a big battery under the floor that provides a sensible 250 miles of range. In the real world, that figure is likely to fall quite a bit, and something in the region of 200 miles is probably more realistic, but that’s still fine for medium-length journeys, and the electric motor gives the ID.Buzz plenty of refinement and punch.

Key Features

Unsurprisingly, much of the ID.Buzz’s appeal comes from its eye-catching design. We think it looks best with the two-tone paintwork, but even in single-town guise it’s a looker. There’s no mistaking its inspiration, and it follows the modern Minis and Fiat 500s in taking retro design cues and bringing them bang up to date. Were cars leased solely on the basis of design, we’d expect the ID.Buzz to sell out immediately.

There are other major considerations, however, and the ID.Buzz’s powertrain is one of them. Some will adore the electric motor, which is at its best when used for largely local journeys, but those who want adventures further afield might prefer to have a petrol, diesel, or plug-in hybrid option. That said, the ID.Buzz has reasonable range, and the electric motor ensures the big MPV feels smooth and powerful at any speed.

Range & Batteries

At present, the ID.Buzz is available solely with the 77kWh battery also found in the ID.4. With that hiding under the floor, the official statistics suggest you’ll manage about 250 miles on a single charge, but our test found something in the region of 170-220 miles would probably be more accurate. Naturally, some of that depends on how you drive the car, and those doing lots of motorway miles will achieve less distance on a charge than those who spend most of their time pootling around town. After all, the ID.Buzz’s shape is hardly aerodynamic.

Performance & Drive

Just one electric motor is currently available to ID.Buzz customers, but with 204hp it’s more than potent enough. As with the equivalent powertrain in the ID.4 SUV, the motor drives the rear wheels via a single-speed transmission, giving the ID.Buzz a 0-62mph time of just over 10 seconds and a top speed of 90mph.

That may not sound like much, and for those who regularly visit Germany, the top speed might be an issue, but the performance is more than sufficient for use in the UK. That’s partly down to the nature of electric motors, which provide all their torque – the stuff that gives you a shove in the back when you accelerate – instantaneously at any road speed. That means there’s no waiting for turbochargers to kick in and there’s no need to change down a gear – the ID.Buzz just goes.

In practice, that means there’s plenty of go whenever you want it, and the ID.Buzz darts around in urban traffic, scooting from A to B remarkably quickly. And even on the motorway, when you’re approaching that 90mph top speed, there’s still enough about it to get you out of trouble or join fast-moving traffic. For a van, it’s particularly impressive.

Of course, there is more to driving than just performance, but the ID.Buzz’s powertrain continues to serve it well. Because the battery, which accounts for much of the 2.5-tonne weight, is effectively a massive slab under the floor, most of the ID.Buzz’s bulk is positioned low to the ground. That means, despite the height of the vehicle, it doesn’t roll around too much in corners and nor does it pitch too much under braking.

It rides quite well, too, with suspension that feels well tuned for the weight of the vehicle and manages to soak up the worst of the bumps. As is so often the way with electric cars, it’s better at higher speeds, but it isn’t too jarring around town. And when you are in urban areas, you also benefit from the good levels of visibility at the front and the standard-fit parking sensors and reversing camera at the rear. You get a good driving position, too, and the steering doesn’t feel too heavy or too light, which helps the ID.Buzz feel stable yet manoeuvrable.

Charging

Although the ID.Buzz isn’t especially fast on the road, it is at least very quick to charge. Assuming you can find a charger that’s powerful enough, it’s capable of 170kW charging speeds, allowing it to get from 5% to 80% in just 30 minutes. However, that time will grow if you use the somewhat more common 50kW fast chargers.

Both Select and Volkswagen, however, recommend charging at home for the most part, where filling the battery takes a little longer, but it puts less load on the cells and the electricity supply. It’s usually easier on the wallet, too. If you have a three-phase electricity supply and an 11kW ‘wallbox’ charger, it’ll take you about seven-and-a-half hours to completely refill the battery from empty, and while that time would undoubtedly be extended using a more conventional domestic single-phase electricity supply, a 7kW wallbox should still be able to charge the vehicle overnight – particularly if you’re starting with a part-filled battery.

Running Costs & Emissions

For those who live the right lifestyle, the ID.Buzz could prove incredibly cheap to run. Assuming you can take advantage of some off-peak charging rates and you can charge the vehicle at home, topping up the battery is unlikely to be too ruinous. However, for those who regularly charge away from home, a good charging membership is a must. With a mediocre range from a big battery, the ID.Buzz could be expensive to charge on a public rapid charger, particularly if you’re just tapping your credit card to pay. Invest in a membership scheme, however, and the prices come down noticeably.

Happily, though, the zero-emission ID.Buzz qualifies for all the same incentives as any other electric vehicle, and that means company car tax rates are very low indeed. However, beware that the high purchase price might mean it isn’t quite as cheap to run as some more budget options.

Interior & Technology

While Volkswagen has kept some retro cues on the ID.Buzz’s exterior, the cabin is purely modern. There’s a clean, spacious cabin, with a near-vertical windscreen that feels a long way from the driver. Despite the classic view out, the driving position is relatively car-like, with the steering wheel at a more conventional angle than in an old Bulli.

There’s plenty of tech on display, too, with a big central touchscreen joined by a smaller digital instrument display behind the steering wheel. The technology is all taken from the ID.3 hatchback and ID.4 SUV, which is something of a mixed blessing, because although it looks great, it has a few usability issues. Chief among these is the fiddly and over-complicated menus, but that isn’t the only problem.

For some reason, VW has decided to centre the entire user experience around the touchscreen, using it to house the climate control and a host of other vehicle functions, including safety systems. As a result, the company has elected to effectively do away with buttons, preferring to use the screens and aid them with a selection of touch-sensitive sliders that don’t really work very well. Add in some weird haptic buttons on the steering wheel and the ID.Buzz is hardly a shining example of German ergonomics.

That said, it’s clean and well built, with typical VW fastidiousness in the way everything fits together. And although the ID.Buzz is also being sold as a van, the cabin plastics are surprisingly car-like, too, and there’s a neat fold-away cupholder low down in the dash. Mixing all that with the clean design, leaves you with a pleasant place to spend a journey, but the ergonomic issues make operating it occasionally frustrating.

Practicality & Boot Space

Naturally, the ID.Buzz’s size makes it a very spacious thing, with a huge boot that measures 1,121 litres in capacity. That’s ample space in anyone’s book, and with folding seats and a false floor in the luggage bay, it’s an enormously reconfigurable space to play with. Whether you want to carry suitcases or mountain bikes, camping gear or sports kit, the ID.Buzz will swallow it all up with ease.

However, there is a very good reason why the ID.Buzz is so spacious, and it isn’t down to the packaging. Because while the powertrain is compact, the ID.Buzz is also a bit short on seats. VW is currently only offering the ID.Buzz with five seats, and though a seven-seat version must surely be under development, there’s no confirmation of it yet.

That won’t be a problem for customers who value boot space over seating, but some MPV customers might be put off by the Buzz’s inability to carry more passengers than, say, a Golf.

That said, the ID.Buzz’s passengers will travel in relative comfort. Headroom is predictably plentiful and there’s ample legroom for those in the back, while those in the front get a pair of very comfortable seats. There’s a choice of interior colour schemes available, and while the pale colours may not be great for kids, they do make the ID.Buzz feel even lighter and more spacious than it already does.

Safety

The ID.Buzz was crash-tested very recently, which means it faced some of the most stringent Euro NCAP rules yet. Happily, it achieved a hugely impressive rating, scoring 92% for adult occupant protection and 87% for child occupant protection. Add in a 90% score for safety assistance technology, and the ID.Buzz fully deserved its five-star overall rating, which makes it one of the safest large MPVs on the market.

But it also comes with plenty of technology to help reduce the likelihood of calling on that safety prowess. Even basic ID.Buzz models come with a reversing camera, parking sensors and an autonomous emergency braking system, which can step in if the driver fails to respond to a hazard. There’s lane-keeping assistance technology, too, and LED headlights help to illuminate the road ahead.

Options

The ID.Buzz is offered in a choice of two different trim levels: Life and Style. Both are surprisingly well appointed, with all the features you’re likely to need included as standard across the range.

That means even the cheapest Life versions come with 19-inch alloy wheels and a touchscreen infotainment system, as well as two-zone climate control, a digital instrument display and a reversing camera. A heated windscreen and heated front seats feature as standard, too, while the Apple CarPlay and Android Auto smartphone integration systems are also thrown in.

Moving up to the Style model gets you larger 20-inch alloys and a power-operated tailgate, as well as several new lighting features. Not only does the Style come with automatic LED matrix headlights, which can dip the beam solely in the direction of an oncoming vehicle to avoid dazzle, but you also get a 30-colour adaptive ambient lighting system for the vehicle’s cabin.

Naturally, there’s a selection of options available for customers, but we expect the two-tone liveries to be among the most popular. There are four two-tone options, all of which combine a body colour with Candy White paint above the belt line and on the stubby little bonnet. Lime Yellow is the obvious choice, but the two-tone scheme is also available with Bay Leaf Green, Starlight Blue and Energetic Orange paintwork.

Rival Cars

Because the ID.Buzz is a bit different, it doesn’t really have much in the way of natural rivals. Nothing else offers the same level of retro styling and electric power, while also offering a similar amount of space and versatility at the same price point and quality level. However, that’s not to say the market is devoid of alternatives.

For a kick-off, there’s the closely related Peugeot e-Rifter, Citroen e-Berlingo and Vauxhall Combo-e. All three use the same platform and, to a certain extent, the same bodywork, but they get some bespoke details and slightly different interiors. All three are smaller than the ID.Buzz, though, and they feel much more like vans, even if they have some creature comforts to play with. And while they’re good at what they do, none has the style of the big VW.

Alternatively, then, you could look at some more conventionally powered alternatives from big brands. There’s the slightly larger Ford Tourneo Custom and the slightly smaller Ford Tourneo Connect, both of which have more seats than the ID.Buzz, but still feel more van-like than the Volkswagen.

Or you could go for another Volkswagen. The Multivan is a good choice, particularly if you want to travel long distances, because it’s bigger than the ID.Buzz and it’s available with a plug-in hybrid powertrain for those who still want to feel eco-friendly. Or you could go for the Tiguan Allspace, which is a seven-seat SUV that’s considerably cheaper than the ID.Buzz and better to drive, while also offering the flexibility of an internal combustion engine.

Verdict & Next Steps

In many ways, the ID.Buzz is a difficult choice to justify. It only has five seats, it doesn’t have particularly brilliant range and the technology is troublesome. However, despite all its issues, the ID.Buzz remains a really likeable MPV that exudes charm and style while still doing the grown-up stuff well. It’s very roomy, it’s pleasant to drive and it’s a conversation starter – passers-by always want to know about it. Of course, that might wear off, but even when it does you’ll be left with a wholly competent family bus that oozes retro style.

Where to next?

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_{*Score based on Select’s unique meta score analysis, taking into account the UK’s top five leading independent car website reviews of the Volkswagen ID.Buzz MPV}

_{**Correct as of 20/02/2023. Based on 9 months initial payment, 5,000 miles over a 24 month lease. Initial payment equivalent to 9 monthly payments or £6,167.97.}  Ts and Cs apply. Credit is subject to status.