Volkswagen ID Buzz Review (2022-present)

What is the VW ID Buzz?

The Volkswagen ID Buzz is a large electric vehicle that unmistakably evokes the style and ethos of the iconic, original T1 VW Camper. At 4.7 metres long and just under 2 metres tall, the electric ID Buzz is just about compact enough to fit into your average multi-storey car park, yet it is also vastly roomier than comparable SUVs such as the Tesla Model Y, Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Ford Mustang Mach-E.

This is the largest vehicle in the VW stable to be based on the modular MEB platform that also underpins the Volkswagen ID.4 and Audi Q4 E-tron, amongst others. At launch, the ID Buzz will get a 77kWh usable (82kWh total) lithium-ion battery, complete with rear-wheel drive and a WLTP range of up to 258 miles. It will be offered as a five-seat passenger car, and as a commercial van with the option of either a three-seat bench or two individual seats up front.

The VW ID Buzz range will expand in coming years with the addition of a long-wheelbase seven-seat version that will also have a bigger battery and longer range, and there will also a Campervan variant and four-wheel drive options.

The design of the ID Buzz is one of its real star qualities. There are four different two-tone options, with a vivid, metallic green, yellow and orange, and a more subdued dark blue, all harking back to heritage colours of the original T1 VW Campervan, and all looking brilliant. But, the two-tone finish is an £1,800 option, even on higher spec Style versions. In fact, only a straightforward metallic silver paint is standard – every other paint finish is a hefty £1,000 and up. Even more depressing given that the VW ID Buzz is hardly a cheap car, starting at just over £57,000 for the ID Buzz Life, and around £62,000 for the Style.

How practical is it?

The ID Buzz is extremely practical. In fact, while it’s likely the style kudos that’ll attract most buyers to consider the ID Buzz, the interior space and versatility is just as likely to be what clinches the deal.

The boot is a particular highlight, with a whopping 1,212 litres of space with all five seats in place making this truly van-like in its roominess. You can also add an optional raised boot floor (standard on the Style model), which creates a huge hidden space for charging cables and much more, and means that the boot floor is flush with the folded middle row of seats. You can even get a double mattress in there if you do drop those rear seats.

However, the raised floor is a mixed blessing because it also makes for a very high load lip, and it’s only one third of the ‘upper’ floor that raises on hydraulic arms. The rest of the floor is fixed, and will require spanners if you want to remove it.

Still, boot space is vast regardless, and you’ll need another van-like option, such as the Citroen e-SpaceTourer, to get anything like the cargo capacity that the ID Buzz offers.

The rear seats slide and recline in a 60/40 format, and the flat floor means that even a middle-seat occupant will be comfy. For some context, there’s usefully more rear leg- and headroom than you get in something like a VW ID.4 or Skoda Enyaq iV, and even the Tesla Model Y, and the sliding doors that you have on both sides of the vehicle make for fantastic access even in a tight parking space.

Up front, the dashboard is a really lovely combination of textures and colours, and a huge step up from the VW ID.4 in terms of interior finish and design. The ‘Buzz Box’ is a large centre console that’s full of useful storage and also slides or can be removed.

What's it like to drive?

The driving position is good; high set and complete with adjustable centre armrest. You do step up into the ID Buzz more than you do a conventional family SUV, and the lofty position and big glass area all contribute to the unmistakable sense that this is a ‘bus’ and not an SUV. All good, then. The materials and colours make it feel special yet quirky and cheerful, too. This is an expensive car, but VW has done a good job of making this halo model feel worth its chunky, premium price tag.

Once on the move, the ID Buzz is a seriously comfortable, quiet and serene way to get about. The steering is light and rather devoid of any real sense of connection, but it weights up well enough to give you confidence whether you’re wheeling through town or settling in for a long motorway run. The turning circle of 11.1-metres is useful, too, and is more what you expect from a family hatchback than a large van.

There’s very little motor whine, and while the 20-inch wheels on our test car did churn up a fair bit of tyre noise over certain surfaces, the ID Buzz is impressively quiet even by EV standards. It’s really comfortable, too. Yes, you get a sense of how heavy the ID Buzz is when it thumps over a sunken pothole, but the damping and body control keep it from feeling wallowy, yet it also soaks up all but the worst intrusions in the road surface.

It’s not terribly fast; the 201bhp rear-mounted electric motor whirring VW’s electric ‘bus’ up to 62mph in 10.2sec, but it feels more than fast enough for sprightly getaways into fast-moving traffic.

Regenerative braking is very straightforward; in normal Drive, it’s barely noticeable so you won’t feel unsettled by it even if you’ve never experienced an EV before. You can increase the brake regen’ by toggling to ‘B’ mode, which brings heavier braking but is still way off the one-pedal driving mode that you get in the Hyundai Ioniq 5.

Overall, the ID Buzz has its strengths in being a delightfully comfy yet well-controlled and confident car; exactly what you want from a large family and ‘active lifestyle’ vehicle.

Technology and equipment

The VW ID Buzz may be a retro remake of the classic Campervan, but VW is also pitching the Buzz as a technical extravaganza.

Naturally, the Buzz gets a big digital driver’s display and a 10-inch colour touchscreen with nav, Apple CarPlay, Android Auto and voice control. A 12-inch screen is standard on Style trim.

The infotainment system is just fine, then. The big problem is that the touch-sensitive buttons on the steering wheel are rather too easy to hit by accident, and the touch-sensitive temperature and volume control bars beneath the screen are also way too easy to hit when you were aiming for the screen. At least the software is said to have been upgraded again to deliver far better reliability and response, to avoid the infamous screen-freeze that the VW ID.3, VW Golf and others suffered from at launch.

There’s also 10-way ambient lighting (30-way in the Style), and an ‘ID Light’ that runs along the far edge of the dashboard to subtly indicate what direction you need to take for your next nav turn, or what the status of the charging is. Wireless phone charging and USB-C charging points dotted around the cabin are also only to be expected of a car that pitches itself as the ultimate outdoor lifestyle transport.

Adaptive cruise control with stop-and-start, lane-keep assist, a reversing camera and traffic sign recognition are standard equipment, as are LED headlights. You have to go for Style to get the fully automatic Matrix LED lights, though. An optional £1,425 Assistance System Plus brings lane-change assist, 360-degree parking camera, and an automatic parking system with memory function that remembers your regular parking spot and how you like the car to manoeuvre into it.

A powered tailgate and electric seat adjustment for the front seats are also standard on Style, but you’ll pay extra for electrically sliding side doors and keyless entry. Every ID Buzz gets heated seats and a heated steering wheel.

It’s annoying that you have to pay £410 for a three-pin plug on the base of the front passenger seat so that you can plug in your laptop or other devices; at this price it seems reasonable to expect that as standard.

Ultimately, while standard equipment is fairly generous, it’s still too easy to spend a lot of extra cash on options.

Other tech highlights include ‘vehicle-to-home’ charging, which means that you can use your ID Buzz to power your home or to feed power back into the grid, but you do need a compatible home charger and they’re only just coming on to the market. There are also over-the-air software updates, and even ‘swarm technology’, which allows the ID Buzz to use information from other vehicles to improve its safety and semi-autonomous driver aids.

VW has also ensured that the ID Buzz can run all of its ancillaries – climate, radio etc – while the vehicle is off; the 12V battery is supported by the high voltage battery when necessary.

How much does it cost to run?

As we’ve already mentioned, the ID Buzz isn’t a cheap car. However, it is something of a unique prospect that is far roomier and more versatile than any large SUV alternative, and many would argue that it’s also just a lot cooler. So while the prices are a bit eye-watering, they’re not at all difficult to justify in the context of its potential rivals and alternatives. The VW Caravelle is usefully cheaper, mind you, as is the Citroen SpaceTourer, so there are cheaper alternatives – both electric and otherwise.

However, you do get your first MOT (due after three years) free on the ID Buzz, together with free health checks, and it’ll be much cheaper to fuel than a petrol or diesel equivalent. Even with the price of electricity rising alarmingly in the UK, electric cars remain roughly half the price of efficient combustion engine cars to fuel. We’d expect the ID Buzz to cost around 10p/mile, or you could cut that down to as little as 3p/mile if you use cheap off-peak tariffs.

Is it reliable?

The ID Buzz is too new to have been gauged for reliability by owners, but it comes with a three-year, 60,000-mile warranty, while the battery is covered for eight years and 100,000 miles. Volkswagen as an overall brand came a middling 20th out of 30 brands included in the 2021 What Car? Used Car Reliability Survey, and it managed 18th out of 29 brands included in the 2022 Driver Power new car owner satisfaction survey.

As for battery longevity, data from the last twelve years and more of mainstream electric cars shows that you can expect to lose around 15-20% of the car’s potential maximum driving range over 100,000 miles. Ultimately, modern lithium-ion batteries are proving to last longer than the cars themselves, but you should consider that you will lose some of the car’s potential range over the years. Avoiding routine rapid charging, and only charging to 80% when you don’t need the full range (which you can set in the car’s menus) will help to keep your battery in good health.