I’ve never been so conflicted about a new car. After all, there are plenty of reasons to be skeptical of the Volkswagen ID. Buzz. It was delayed for too long, and now arrives with carryover, mediocre software and a high price. Its range is on the low end of middling, its user interface isn’t good and it doesn’t feel as practical as a proper minivan.
Yet one look at it and I can forgive any of these things. I just like it, and I’d be happy to have one.
That’s how powerful the ID. Buzz’s design is. It feels fresh and interesting in a world that is optimized to dreariness. The only failing is one of imagination. VW had the killer design; it’s had it for over a decade when we first saw an electric concept for the reborn Microbus.
What came all these years later is charming enough to be a success. But if the company had doubled down on the vision of what the bus could be, it could have created an aspirational icon. Something full of innovation and clever features, enough to charm people out of any EV skepticism they have. A sign that VW’s electric era will give the brand new relevance in the U.S. That’s not what it this van is. The ID. Buzz is simply a solid people mover with a delightful design.
(Full Disclosure: Volkswagen invited me to the Bay Area to drive the ID. Buzz and covered my lodging and travel.)
2025 Volkswagen ID. Buzz
Let’s Start With The Design
I’m not using “delightful” as a synonym for “nice” when I describe the design. It’s a word that can’t possibly describe the majority of cars on the road, which are too obsessed with looking aggressive, and angry. You can tell how menacing modern design has become by looking at the ID. Buzz itself. It looks friendlier than any SUV on sale, yet its brow is still squinting, its eyes still angular. VW’s modern design language just wouldn’t allow for a truly cheerful, rounded design, which is a shame.
As it is, the two-tone paint does a lot of the Buzz’s visual work. VW knows this, which is why the color palette is sensational. The two-tone first editions come in brilliant yellow, bright blue, stunning green, creamsicle orange and a surprisingly perfect red-on-gray. There are also, reportedly, black and gray options, though I’ve tried to forget about those completely. Point is, there are enough great colors that you won’t get bored of seeing the bright ones on the street.
The interior suffers more from being a product of modern Volkswagen. The design is tame, albeit available with sandy beige, copper/brown or dark brown leather and three different faux woods. But the infotainment screen and gauge cluster are plucked straight from the ID.4, removing any sense of whimsy and spoiling the ergonomics. There’s still a touch bar for volume control, there’s still a bunch of buttons on the steering wheel that are too easy to hit while turning, there’s still a chintzy floating driver display and there’s still a confounding array of menus in the infotainment system.
Granted, tons of cars, electric or otherwise, carry over software and interfaces from their platform-mates. But it feels like VW could’ve taken some extra steps with this one, given that it’s supposed to be the flagship, and the ID.4’s UX is its biggest weakness.
At least there are plenty of cubbies spread throughout. The center console doesn’t have the space of a minivan’s, but it’s removable, comes with a cute little bottle opener and ice scraper and can be mounted in the second row if you so choose. The rear seats are spacious enough that you can put a six-foot adult in any outboard seat and they will be comfortable.
But the third row doesn’t fold into the floor. It folds level with a removable cargo tray. Volkswagen says the tray is sturdy enough to hold two adults, and me and Jason Torchinsky confirmed that. So if you can find a way to span your mattress over the gaps between the seats, you can sleep in the back. If you want to maximize space, you have to remove the third row altogether. The second row cannot be removed without—to my eye, at least—a breaker bar, a Torx head, a lot of elbow grease and some unclipped wiring. A cargo van in waiting this is not.
The Specs
For most cars, I’d talk about the specs before I touched on the design. But the Buzz isn’t most cars. It’ll be bought because of how it looks and how it hauls, not its spec sheet. That’s both because the design is good and because the spec sheet isn’t.
The ID. Buzz is available with dual-motor all-wheel drive or single-motor rear-wheel drive. Both configurations use ID.4 motors and are mated to a 91 kWh battery. Power tops out at 335 hp for the AWD one, and 282 hp for the RWD model. I only sampled the RWD version and found that—with 413 lb-ft of torque available to move 5,968 pounds—it was plenty quick. VW doesn’t claim a 0-60 time, but my butt accelerometer says it’ll dust a Sienna hybrid. So power isn’t a problem, but range is.
The RWD ID. Buzz goes just 234 miles on a charge. There’s not much of a penalty for getting AWD, at least, with the dual-motor version rated at 231 miles. But neither figure will be good for road trips. In a city car, you can make do.
But vans are people haulers. A key part of being a people hauler is hauling people, and the ID. Buzz can’t haul them very far. Factor in that on a road trip you’ll mostly be recharging to 80%, and not running below 10%, and you get about 163 miles between real-world stops. That’s assuming no cargo and fair weather. At least the 10-80% time is a relatively speedy 26 minutes.
The good news is that, with one passenger and mild weather, I averaged about 2.7 miles per kWh, putting me in line with the official estimate. That’s hard to square with the price: $61,545 for a base model with monotone paint, $65,045 for the volume Pro S Plus, $69,545 if you want AWD and $71,545 for the AWD First Edition with the cool wheels and captains chairs. Yowch.
In terms of comfort, though, you won’t find a better people hauler. The Buzz has a cavernous third row, infinite headroom and easy access with sliding doors. But while VW proudly boasts that your passengers will have more rear legroom in a Buzz than in a minivan or Chevy Suburban, they better be light packers. There’s about half as much space behind the third row as you get in an average minivan, though about as much or more than most three-row crossovers. If you want something to handle your five-person family road trips, I recommend sticking with a conventional minivan. You get more endurance, cargo space and flexibility, with most models offering fold-flat third rows and removable second rows.
The Drive
I drove the ID. Buzz on the Pacific Coast Highway north of San Fransisco. It’s hard to be cynical on PCH in a VW Bus, though I can’t say the twisties are the best place to try out a 6,000-lb van. Still, the Buzz handles its weight well. There’s plenty of power. Steering is predictable and safe, though unsurprisingly you don’t get much feel. On downhill sections you can feel all of the weight behind you, pushing the vehicle around, but it’s no worse than any other van.
If you—like me—are susceptible to car sickness in large EVs, the ID. Buzz won’t be great for you on anything curvy. Like so many electric SUVs, the combo of high curb weight and low center of gravity makes it feel like you’re riding on the Buzz, not in it. There’s a lot of head toss through corners, but again, that’s not what this vehicle is for. Still, if you have kids, take it extra slow on winding mountain roads.
On more conventional roads, the ID. Buzz is plenty comfortable. It’s a tick firmer than your average minivan or internal-combustion crossover, but far from uncomfortable. It drives mostly how you’d expect an electric van to drive. Plenty of power. Mighty comfortable. A little hefty.
But I’ll give credit here to the highlight of the cabin: The awesome driver and passenger seats, which have big comfy armrests to make long-distance driving an effort-free affair. The seating position is upright and commercial van-like, but you’re not as close to the corners as you may expect from the outside. Forward visibility isn’t actually a strong point here. But it’s easy enough to drive around a city, and great on a highway. VW’s lane-keeping system is pretty good, too, and you get it standard on the Buzz.
Missed Opportunities
Think of the original bus and you probably picture one of a few things. A bargain family hauler. A camper. A surf wagon. Hippie mass transit. Woodstock, peace and love, the whole nine.
Though conceived as a commercial hauler, the imposition of the “Chicken Tax” on commercial vehicles forced VW to sell and market America’s first real large passenger van. Americans responded by buying them in droves, doing all sorts of un-Christian things in the back, living in them and chasing swells up the California coast. Any brand would kill for a product with such a rich history and such deep-rooted cultural importance.
Yet VW didn’t really capitalize on that image. Sure, the Buzz looks like a Bus, and VW will market it as a successor. But the idea of it being a cheap, blank-canvas van unto which you can paint your dreams was never really in the cards. It’s not VW’s fault. Vans are boxy, boxes aren’t aerodynamic and modern haulers weigh a ton. That means you need a big battery, and a big battery needs a big price. No way around it. Other, slightly smaller versions are a bit cheaper even in Europe, but not by all that much.
So being a people’s van was mostly ruled out by sheer virtue of it being electric and big. The next-best option is to make it a true aspirational flagship. Remind Americans what Volkswagen is by offering a product no one else could make. Show that you can innovate with clever, fun details focused on how people actually used VW Buses. Here, VW gets a D-minus.
You can tell they tried. The removable center console with the bottle opener and ice scraper vaguely alludes to the idea that people like to tailgate or camp with vans. But that’s really all Volkswagen did. Take camping mode, available in every Rivian and Tesla on sale, and unofficially usable in GM EVs with a little cheat code. You have a big, giant battery, an efficient heater and air conditioner, and a vehicle that people are going to want to sleep in. Letting you use it while you camp is a no-brainer.
Except VW says it didn’t have time to build it in, and so the software is a carryover from the ID.4. There is no way to keep the climate control on for more than 30 minutes when the car is parked. There’s no pet mode in case people want to bring their dogs in the most famously dog-friendly vehicle on Earth. There’s also, by my count, one household-style 110-volt outlet, and it’s under the front passenger seat. Nothing in the cargo area, and nothing that stays on when the vehicle is off. If you want to run a fridge out of your adventure vehicle, buy a Rivian, or a Lightning. This is infuriating because the commercial version of the Buzz does have an always-on 12v outlet, and they just didn’t offer that in the passenger market version.
I could go on. The most open-air, California-coast car in the world has the world’s worst window switches. It also has tiny panel rear windows rather than full-length drop-down windows like you get in every other van. There are no cool accessories. No dealer-sold awning or roof tent. No cool removable accessories for the interior. No way to lock the keys in the car when you surf. No vision.
Final Thoughts
My problems with the ID. Buzz largely center on what it could be, not issues with what it is. Frankly, many of the issues aren’t VW’s fault. The image of the Bus is linked to cool active young people, surfing every day and living off odd jobs. But that’s not who buys new cars, and certainly not who buys $65,000 EVs. VW is going to sell this thing to nostalgic Baby Boomers, and I think they’ll be happy with their competent, comfortable, stylish van. The counter-culture has become the corporate culture, and that’s ok. It was never meant to last.
The trouble is, this isn’t a brand that needs a reasonably enjoyable product for a niche audience. Volkswagen has not had sustained and serious success in the U.S. since the Microbus was in showrooms. Here, the brand is coasting on its sole remaining icon, the GTI, while it doesn’t seem terribly interested in capitalizing on the success the U.S.-built ID.4 has had.
Sales are growing here, but from a tiny baseline, with a lot of recently redesigned models and nothing too compelling on the horizon. Things are considerably worse elsewhere, with VW bleeding in China and facing a raft of porblems in the EU. So Volkswagen needs a hero. Something to remind Americans, or really anyone, why we all cared in the first place. They need a product no one else could build. The new Tayron is certainly not that vehicle. Unfortunately, neither is the ID. Buzz.
Like the New Beetle, the ID. Buzz was never supposed to be a bare-bones reboot of the original, value-based formula. Without that, though, it needed another mission. The obvious one was as the ultimate vehicle for iconoclastic adventurers who love the outdoors. What VW delivered was a solid van, with a great design. Not a bad product, but one that leaves me asking the same question I’ve been asking about Volkswagen since I first started covering this industry: Where’s the vision?
Contact the author: mack.hogan@insideevs.com
Gallery: Volkswagen ID. Buzz First Drive Gallery
