I’m not good. I’ll admit that earlier than I drove the 2025 Volkswagen ID Buzz, I used to be fairly skeptical of it primarily based solely on the value. As an auto journalist, this isn’t actually what you’re purported to do earlier than driving a automobile, however what can I say? I play quick and unfastened. I imply, are you able to blame me? $61,500 to $71,500 for a Volkswagen minivan looks like a hell of a value to pay. Nonetheless, after spending the higher a part of a day with the ID Buzz, I get it, and I get its value… for essentially the most half.
The 2025 ID Buzz begs the query, “How a lot would you pay for folks to love you?” VW’s reincarnated bus makes up for lack of inside high quality and effectivity by being some of the fashionable and well-liked automobiles available on the market, and it’s fairly rattling sensible besides. Should you’ve bought about $70,000 to spend on a automobile that’ll make you tons of buddies — and to hell with the whole lot else — the ID Buzz is a compelling bundle
Full Disclosure: Volkswagen flew me out to San Francisco, fed me and put me up in a really good lodge all so I might drive the 2025 ID Buzz.
I do know styling is a subjective factor, nevertheless it’s onerous to disclaim that the ID Buzz shouldn’t be a stunning piece of design. It’s bought all the good throwback touches you’d anticipate from a retro-inspired automobile, nevertheless it additionally has sufficient modern parts to make it really feel completely at house in a contemporary world. Up entrance, you’ve bought the traditional snub-nose and large emblem from the unique bus, alongside the perimeters you’ve bought three strakes within the rear pillar that harken again to the air vents on these unique VW busses, and a few actually nice trying 20-inch wheels that function a throwback to the hubcaps you’d discover on the unique bus. There are some extra modern-looking rims obtainable, however it is best to actually simply skip these. Up high, you’ve bought an unlimited greenhouse that makes your entire van really feel extraordinarily ethereal.
It additionally helps that there are a bunch of various two-tone shade schemes (eight to be precise, with three extra stable grayscale colours) that make this factor appear like nothing else on the highway. Should you’re forking over about $70,000, you’re doing it due to how good the ID Buzz seems. It’s very uncommon {that a} idea automobile (albeit, an outdated one at this level) seems so just like the completed product. It’s even a reasonably respectable dimension. At 195.4 inches lengthy, it’s not precisely small, nevertheless it’s about 9 inches shorter than a Pacifica or Sienna.
My solely actual concern with how the ID Buzz seems is its headlights. I perceive Volkswagen wished to maintain its company ID face for the bus, and which means it has cat-eye headlights, however I might have actually preferred to see a extra round design. Possibly that will be an excessive amount of. I additionally don’t love how the second-row home windows don’t retract into the door. As an alternative, they’re little sq. cut-outs that slide inwards. I really feel like this was one thing that was acceptable on vans within the Nineteen Nineties, however we’ve discovered tips on how to make a minivan with roll-down home windows at this level. These are each fairly small gripes, however gripes nonetheless.
Sadly, my actual points with the ID Buzz lie on the within, the place it’s onerous to justify the hefty price ticket Volkswagen is asking for its newest mannequin. Quite a lot of the supplies inside the ID Buzz merely should not adequate for a folks’s automobile that’s priced like a luxurious automobile. That is very true for the higher door panels, dashboard and a number of the switchgear. It’s a number of the least expensive plastic I’ve been capable of finding in a automobile outdoors of a rental-spec Chevy Trax. It’s onerous. It’s scratchy. It’s low-rent. It’s dangerous. It’s particularly dangerous if you take a look at the $70,540 (together with vacation spot) as-tested value of the ID Buzz I drove. Be mindful, you possibly can nonetheless spend much more cash than that, however I’ll get to costs later.
Materials points apart, the remainder of the ID Buzz’s inside is fairly stable. It isn’t practically as retro-inspired as the outside, which is a little bit of a disgrace if you happen to ask me. I really feel like VW’s designers might have had a bit extra enjoyable. Regardless, Volkswagen clearly spent a variety of time fixing its infotainment system. The 12.9-inch middle show and 5.3-inch gauge cluster display screen, normal on all fashions, each work moderately nicely. They’re fast to reply and all the data they maintain is laid out sensibly and legibly. Certain, it might be good to have a bodily quantity knob and HVAC switches, nevertheless it’s not too annoying to make use of. Each Buzz additionally will get wi-fi Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a wi-fi charger, eight USB-C ports, a 30-color ambient lighting setup, a leather-based heated steering wheel and three-zone local weather management. Not too shabby. There are another niceties you get with the higher-trim Professional S Plus and 1st Version fashions, like a 14-speaker Harman/Kardon stereo (which is fantastic), automated sliding doorways and trunk, massaging seats and a head-up show.
Total, there are three inside colours for the U.S., and thank God none of them are black or grey. You may select from Copper (a terracotta shade), Dune (white/cream) and Moonlight (darkish brown). The leatherette on the seats and armrests really feel pretty premium, particularly compared to the plastics and wooden veneer. Sadly, the U.S. doesn’t get the European inside shade schemes that match the assorted two-tone paints.
As a result of the ID Buzz is a minivan at its coronary heart, you gained’t be too shocked to study it’s bought a metric shit ton of house — that’s an official measurement. Volkswagen says that if you happen to take out the third row of seats and fold the second row down (they don’t fold into the ground due to the battery), the ID Buzz can match 145.5 cubic toes of cargo. With all three rows up, there’s nonetheless 18.6 cubic toes of cargo house behind the third row, and because of VW’s nifty flex board, you’ve bought two ranges to fill together with your stuff. Becoming folks is simply as spectacular. At 6-foot-1, I used to be capable of match into all three rows extraordinarily comfortably with tons of head- and legroom to spare. I ought to word the Buzz comes as both a six- or seven-seater relying on the drivetrain you select. Rear-wheel-drive fashions get seven seats and all-wheel-drive ones get six with two captain’s chairs within the center row.
Because it stands, there are two drivetrain choices you may get in the 2025 ID Buzz. There’s both a rear-motor, rear-wheel-drive setup or a dual-motor, all-wheel-drive configuration. VW says the RWD energy unit places out 282 horsepower and 413 pound-feet of torque and has an EPA-estimated 234 miles of vary from its 91-kWh battery. In the meantime, the AWD Buzz makes a mixed 335 horsepower. VW isn’t publishing a mixed quantity for torque, nevertheless it says the entrance motor places out 99 lb-ft, and the rear motor places out an an identical 413 to the RWD mannequin. I can’t communicate for the RWD automobile, however the AWD Buzz was fast sufficient (VW doesn’t quote a 0-60 time). It’s not going to set your hair on hearth, however 335 horsepower is greater than sufficient for what this automobile can be used for. Any greater than that and I really feel it might be a bit too highly effective for the multi-link entrance and rear suspension. The AWD Buzz’s vary is quoted by the EPA at 231 miles from that very same battery. Each variations include an 11-kW AC onboard charger, and the Buzz can DC fast-charge at as much as 200 kW.
I’ll be trustworthy, I don’t love these vary numbers, particularly out of a automobile that prices this a lot. That’s simply form of the character of Volkswagen’s MEB structure, although. It’s not deeply environment friendly, and that’s taking into consideration that its drag coefficient of 0.29 isn’t half dangerous. Throughout some admittedly spirited driving, I used to be capable of get about 2.5 miles per kWh. That’s middling at greatest. One thing just like the Kia EV9 — the Buzz’s closest competitor if you happen to’re utilizing your head — can crack 3.5 and even 4 miles per kWh if you happen to take it simple.
Middling is the way in which I’d describe the general driving expertise of the ID Buzz. Which may sound a bit harsh on its face, however we’ve to recollect this can be a 5,300-ish-pound minivan in any case. (1,230 kilos come from the battery, alone.) It was by no means going to be a nook carver, nevertheless it’s not dreadful by any means. You may inform the recent dual-motor Buzz I used to be driving was rather more comfy cruising round city or driving down the freeway than taking the corners of the Pacific Coast Freeway at pace. The electrical rack-and-pinion steering system is fairly properly weighted, however like most electrical vehicles, you get zero suggestions. I do know the wheels are up there, however I’ve bought no thought what they’re doing. Additionally barely stunning is the ID Buzz’s penchant for understeer. Although extra energy comes from the again, this factor likes to push, however if you happen to’re making an attempt to hustle your ID Buzz down a canyon highway, maybe it’s good to reevaluate your self.
Braking was the one truly suspect a part of driving the ID Buzz. Up entrance, it has 15-inch vented discs, however the rear is saddled with 13-inch drum brakes. I do know that it isn’t a giant deal to have drums on an EV, but when I’m not mistaken that is the costliest drum-brake geared up automobile you should purchase. Take that nevertheless you want. It has regenerative braking, however there’s just one mode and isn’t very aggressive. It’ll sluggish you all the way down to about 3 mph, nevertheless it gained’t carry the automobile to a cease. Volkswagen actually doesn’t consider regen braking is the reply, for higher or worse. Total, brake really feel is form of poor. It’s very spongy and also you don’t get a variety of confidence that this rig goes to return to a cease if you happen to’re driving onerous. Don’t fear, although — you’re not going to drive it onerous.
I’ve alluded to it a couple of instances, however I suppose now could be time to carry up the ID Buzz’s value. There are three trim ranges: Professional S, Professional S Plus and 1st Version. The Professional S is RWD solely, and the 2 latter trims have AWD as an choice AWD. The Professional S begins at $61,545, and there are not any choices obtainable. Subsequent up is the RWD Professional S Plus, which begins at $65,045, and fork over $69,545 and also you’ll get the Professional S Plus AWD. You may add two-tone paint ($995) and an electrochromic panoramic glass roof ($1,495) to both of these. Lastly, you’ve bought the limited-time-only 1st Version that comes with the whole lot. RWD variations of that van begin at $67,045, and the AWD 1st Version will set you again $71,545. All of those costs embody $1,550 for vacation spot.
To be trustworthy, I don’t hate the pricing of those vehicles, although I do want there was a less expensive strategy to get into the AWD mannequin. You may’t get AWD for something lower than as-near-as-makes-no-difference $70,000, and that’s some huge cash. I’m conflicted, although, as a result of I don’t thoughts the ID Buzz being costly in principle. If VW needs to cost $70,000 for a slice of nostalgia with a improbable design, then it ought to go forward. I simply want the inside supplies matched the value.
The ID Buzz asks its consumers two easy questions: how a lot are you prepared to spend on type, and the way a lot would you like folks to love you? I don’t thoughts that in any respect, truthfully. It’s OK to have some vehicles exist purely to make folks glad, usefulness be damned. You’ve bought to be prepared to disregard some fairly sizable points if you wish to be ok with the value. I don’t know if I might do it, however I’m additionally not the audience for this automobile.
Then once more, perhaps I’m. I’ve pushed a complete lot of vehicles in my time at Jalopnik, and none have garnered a lot constructive consideration. All over the place I went, folks have been giving me thumbs up and asking concerning the ID Buzz. It’s the anti-Cybertruck, in a method. It’s a automobile that instills a large amount of pleasure in folks by the actual fact they’re able to see it. Should you like consideration as a lot as I do, then this can be a large constructive. I simply don’t know if my have to be preferred ought to price me $70,000.
