I must confess, rarely has a new car left me as conflicted as the Volkswagen ID.Buzz. The anticipation for Volkswagen’s revival of the iconic Microbus was immense, fueled, perhaps unrealistically, by a vision of modernizing that classic charm. Even without indulging in hazy hippie nostalgia, the original VW Microbus represented something significant: a remarkably practical design that, against all odds, became endearing and distinctive, brimming with character, utility, and a spirit of cheerful rebellion. It was a vehicle that consistently brought a smile to my face, and every journey, whether as driver or passenger, remains a cherished memory. Therefore, expecting any new vehicle to recapture that exact magic is probably setting the bar too high. Yet, here we are with the Volkswagen ID.Buzz, the electric successor to the beloved Bus. While it possesses numerous appealing qualities, a critical flaw casts a long shadow, making it truly disheartening.
It seems almost obligatory that every time I discuss the ID.Buzz, I must recount its protracted launch history. This vehicle has endured one of the most extended and drawn-out introductions in automotive history. My initial encounter with the ID.Buzz was back in 2022, driving the European short-wheelbase version. Subsequently, in 2023, I witnessed the unveiling of the US-market long-wheelbase variant at a grand event. Finally, last October, I had the opportunity to drive the long-wheelbase ID.Buzz at yet another “launch” event. Volkswagen consistently hosts impressive events, which is certainly not a complaint, but the two-year buildup for a car release feels extensive.
Alt text: Volkswagen ID.Buzz launch event video frame, highlighting the long-awaited arrival of the electric van.
In reality, the anticipation stretches back approximately 24 years, to Volkswagen’s unveiling of the concept for a completely reimagined Microbus in 2001:
Recently, I had the ID.Buzz for a week-long test drive. Knowing this opportunity, there was one essential experience I needed to undertake, something I hadn’t done during the previous drives: a genuine road trip. This meant extended highway driving, navigating real-world conditions without the seamless support of VW’s press trip staff and meticulously planned routes. My aim was to assess the ID.Buzz’s performance at highway speeds in the messy reality of everyday driving.
The ID.Buzz Road Trip Challenge
This road trip test was crucial to validate my growing concern from previous ID.Buzz experiences: that while it’s on the cusp of being exceptional, the decision to make it purely battery-electric has significantly hampered its potential. This concern stems not from the vehicle’s weaknesses, but rather from its strengths. The ID.Buzz boasts remarkable packaging efficiency. This sleek, boxy design yields an expansive and incredibly versatile interior space. Every row, even the third row at the very back, offers generous legroom and headroom, providing overall spaciousness.
Even with all rows of seats in use, luggage space remains commendable. Folding down the middle row and removing the rear seats unveils cavernous cargo capacity. My point is that the ID.Buzz is inherently designed for road trips. Consequently, I embarked on one!
It wasn’t an epic cross-country journey, but a respectable trip from central North Carolina to the charming, Spanish moss-draped city of Savannah, Georgia. A drive of approximately five hours, or so it should be. It was a relatively undemanding road trip, with just two occupants and minimal luggage. The ID.Buzz, of course, is built to handle much more.
The Achilles’ Heel: Range Anxiety in the ID.Buzz
But here lies the fundamental issue: the ID.Buzz, a phenomenal road trip vehicle, is unfortunately burdened with what is essentially a city car’s driving range.
The official range rating for the rear-wheel-drive version, the model I tested, is 234 miles. However, this figure represents a combined driving cycle and doesn’t accurately reflect real-world road trip range. During my tests, conducted in generally cold weather requiring heater use, and with the battery capacity increased from the standard 80% to 90%, driving at typical highway speeds of 65 to 75 mph, I consistently achieved only 170 to 190 miles of range, and often less. This is partly because the navigation system proactively directs you to charging stations well before you reach critically low range levels, like the anxiety-inducing 10 miles remaining.
Realistically, this translates to charging stops approximately every 150 to 160 miles, roughly every two hours. This frequency is simply inadequate for comfortable long-distance travel. Furthermore, the charging process is far from the convenience and speed of refueling a gasoline car.
This isn’t a fault inherent to the ID.Buzz itself, but the vehicle is nonetheless constrained by the current state of charging infrastructure in America. And in the context of road trips, home charging, often touted as a solution by EV advocates, becomes less relevant. While home charging is ideal for daily commutes with a Level 2 charger, mitigating the frustrations of public charging, road trips present a different challenge entirely. The public charging infrastructure becomes paramount.
Road trips necessitate locating the fastest possible chargers, as slower chargers are incredibly time-consuming, potentially requiring overnight stops. Upon returning from my trip, I attempted to find a local charger and encountered one providing a mere 15 miles of range per hour. Starting at a 20% charge, fully recharging would have taken an impractical eight hours or more.
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However, faster charging options do exist, including some unexpectedly Mercedes-Benz branded chargers:
Despite the branding, it was a standard ChargePoint charger, and no Mercedes vehicles were in sight. Most charging sessions during my road trip occurred for around half an hour behind a Walmart, often adjacent to stacks of shipping containers – hardly an ideal or scenic experience. And charging is not inexpensive. The average cost per charging session for the ID.Buzz ranged from $40 to $45, requiring at least two charges for the round trip, and possibly an additional charge in between. The overall cost was surprisingly higher than what gasoline would have cost for a comparable combustion engine vehicle.
Charging, in general, leaves much to be desired. While electric vehicles offer numerous advantages, the charging experience is certainly not among them. Occasionally, you encounter malfunctioning chargers, akin to a crashing work computer:
The Tesla Supercharger adapter, anticipated to become available for vehicles like the ID.Buzz, might improve the situation somewhat. However, it still falls significantly short of the ease and effortlessness of gasoline refueling, which remains the benchmark, whether entirely fair or not.
The Source of Frustration with the ID.Buzz
So, what is the fundamental purpose of the ID.Buzz then? In its cargo configuration, the platform is undeniably ideal for local deliveries. It excels in that role. However, the passenger ID.Buzz, in both form and spirit, is inherently designed to be a road trip machine. It’s meant to convert energy into freedom – the freedom to explore, to travel with loved ones, and to bring along everything needed for the journey!
And we must remember, the ID.Buzz starts at approximately $60,000. It is not an inexpensive vehicle.
And it excels at being a comfortable and enjoyable space for travel. The model I drove featured a darker interior motif, which I personally prefer less than the lighter, more vibrant color schemes. Nevertheless, the cabin is exceptionally roomy and comfortable. The multi-zone climate control operates flawlessly, the audio system delivers impressive sound quality, creating an environment where you and up to seven companions can have a fantastic time for extended periods!
Except, regrettably, a significant portion of that time might be spent stationary, waiting at a charging station, possibly behind a Walmart.
The ID.Buzz possesses so many commendable attributes. It drives remarkably well. Seriously, the acceleration is phenomenal – unimaginable if you’re comparing it to the original VW Bus, as I often do. Highway driving is smooth and stable, the low center of gravity thanks to the battery pack contributes to excellent roadholding, and the handling, for such a tall vehicle, is surprisingly agile. The brakes are outstanding, a fact I can personally attest to as the front of the bus remained deer-free during a recent close encounter, a different outcome if the brakes were less effective.
Visually, it’s a standout. The two-tone paint scheme undeniably contributes significantly to its appeal, but who cares? It works! It doesn’t resemble every other vehicle on the road. People notice it, turn to watch it pass, and smile. And it’s still fundamentally a minivan! A cool minivan! Volkswagen has achieved something truly remarkable simply by accomplishing that.
It’s quick, spacious, practical, stylish, comfortable – it’s nearly everything you could want! Except for one critical flaw: its limited usability for its intended purpose. It’s perfectly adequate for city driving and local errands, but that feels like a missed opportunity. Again, this vehicle is inherently a road trip machine. It’s so close to perfection in that role, yet it ultimately falls short of truly fulfilling it.
It’s profoundly frustrating. It’s akin to cloning Leonardo DaVinci, perfectly replicating his appearance and voice, but then discovering he’s incapable of painting or drawing. Apart from that, behold, DaVinci!
A Practical Solution: The Range-Extended ID.Buzz
What intensifies the frustration is that this core problem is potentially solvable. If the ID.Buzz were offered as a hybrid or with a range extender, it would be transformative. An ID.Buzz equipped with a range extender – perhaps similar to what VW is implementing in the new Scout – would elevate it to an absolutely exceptional vehicle.
And it’s technically feasible! Consider this:
The battery pack could be slightly reduced in size, freeing up space to accommodate a combustion engine. Perhaps an inline engine laid flat or a horizontally-opposed flat engine. The fuel tank could be positioned at the front – does this configuration sound familiar?
Indeed.
The concept of a range-extended ID.Buzz is not far-fetched, especially given VW’s commitment to range-extended EVs with the Scout. A range-extended Buzz could function perfectly as an all-electric vehicle for daily use, and then, when road trip season arrives, it could effortlessly cruise with the same freedom and spontaneity as any gasoline-powered car.
But this is not the current reality. Partly due to the lingering repercussions of Dieselgate, the ID.Buzz, in its current form, is a remarkable vehicle constrained by external factors, politics, and circumstances. Converting it to a range-extended EV/hybrid would resolve these limitations. However, as it stands, the ID.Buzz evokes a sense of disappointment.
Disappointment not only for what it could have been, but for what it almost is. Volkswagen needs to critically reassess the Buzz and complete the task, in the right way. They possess all the necessary elements; they simply need to assemble them correctly. They are so close to achieving something truly special, and I genuinely hope they will.
