I’m not excellent. 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 presupposed to do earlier than driving a automotive, however what can I say? I play quick and free. 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. Nevertheless, 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 probably the most fashionable and well-liked autos available on the market, and it’s fairly rattling sensible in addition. In the event you’ve received about $70,000 to spend on a automotive that’ll make you tons of associates — and to hell with the whole lot else — the ID Buzz is a compelling package deal
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, however it’s laborious to disclaim that the ID Buzz will not be a stunning piece of design. It’s received all the great throwback touches you’d anticipate from a retro-inspired automotive, however it additionally has sufficient up to date components to make it really feel totally at house in a contemporary world. Up entrance, you’ve received the traditional snub-nose and large emblem from the unique bus, alongside the perimeters you’ve received three strakes within the rear pillar that harken again to the air vents on these unique VW busses, and a few actually nice wanting 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 prime, you’ve received an unlimited greenhouse that makes your complete van really feel extraordinarily ethereal.
It additionally helps that there are a bunch of various two-tone colour schemes (eight to be actual, with three extra strong grayscale colours) that make this factor appear to be nothing else on the highway. In the event 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 automotive (albeit, an previous one at this level) seems so much like the completed product. It’s even a reasonably first rate dimension. At 195.4 inches lengthy, it’s not precisely small, however it’s about 9 inches shorter than a Pacifica or Sienna.
My solely actual difficulty 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’d have actually favored to see a extra round design. Possibly that might be an excessive amount of. I additionally don’t love how the second-row home windows don’t retract into the door. As a substitute, they’re little sq. cut-outs that slide inwards. I really feel like this was one thing that was acceptable on vans within the Nineties, however we’ve found out how you can 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 laborious to justify the hefty price ticket Volkswagen is asking for its newest mannequin. Loads of the supplies inside the ID Buzz merely aren’t ok for a folks’s automotive that’s priced like a luxurious automotive. That is very true for the higher door panels, dashboard and a few of the switchgear. It’s a few of the least expensive plastic I’ve been capable of finding in a automotive exterior of a rental-spec Chevy Trax. It’s laborious. It’s scratchy. It’s low-rent. It’s unhealthy. It’s particularly unhealthy while you take a look at the $70,540 (together with vacation spot) as-tested value of the ID Buzz I drove. Take into account, you’ll be able to 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 strong. It isn’t almost as retro-inspired as the outside, which is a little bit of a disgrace in the event you ask me. I really feel like VW’s designers might have had a bit of extra enjoyable. Regardless, Volkswagen clearly spent quite a lot of time fixing its infotainment system. The 12.9-inch heart show and 5.3-inch gauge cluster display, commonplace on all fashions, each work fairly effectively. They’re fast to reply and the entire info they maintain is laid out sensibly and legibly. Positive, it could be good to have a bodily quantity knob and HVAC switches, however 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 tremendous), automated sliding doorways and trunk, massaging seats and a head-up show.
General, there are three inside colours for the U.S., and thank God none of them are black or grey. You possibly can select from Copper (a terracotta colour), 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 colour 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 be taught it’s received a metric shit ton of area — that’s an official measurement. Volkswagen says that in the event you 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 ft of cargo. With all three rows up, there’s nonetheless 18.6 cubic ft of cargo area behind the third row, and due to VW’s nifty flex board, you’ve received two ranges to fill together with your stuff. Becoming folks is simply as spectacular. At 6-foot-1, I used to be in a position to 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 will 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, however 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 automotive, 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 automotive might be used for. Any greater than that and I really feel it could 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 sincere, I don’t love these vary numbers, particularly out of a automotive that prices this a lot. That’s simply kind of the character of Volkswagen’s MEB structure, although. It’s not deeply environment friendly, and that’s making an allowance for that its drag coefficient of 0.29 isn’t half unhealthy. Throughout some admittedly spirited driving, I used to be in a position to get about 2.5 miles per kWh. That’s middling at greatest. One thing just like the Kia EV9 — the Buzz’s closest competitor in the event you’re utilizing your head — can crack 3.5 and even 4 miles per kWh in the event you take it straightforward.
Middling is the way in which I’d describe the general driving expertise of the ID Buzz. That may sound a bit harsh on its face, however now we have to recollect it is 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, however it’s not dreadful by any means. You could possibly inform the recent dual-motor Buzz I used to be driving was way 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 automobiles, you get zero suggestions. I do know the wheels are up there, however I’ve received no thought what they’re doing. Additionally barely shocking is the ID Buzz’s penchant for understeer. Although extra energy comes from the again, this factor likes to push, however in the event you’re attempting to hustle your ID Buzz down a canyon highway, maybe it’s essential 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 automotive you should buy. Take that nonetheless you want. It has regenerative braking, however there’s just one mode and isn’t very aggressive. It’ll gradual you all the way down to about 3 mph, however it gained’t deliver the automotive to a cease. Volkswagen actually doesn’t consider regen braking is the reply, for higher or worse. General, brake really feel is kind of poor. It’s very spongy and also you don’t get quite a lot of confidence that this rig goes to come back to a cease in the event you’re driving laborious. Don’t fear, although — you’re not going to drive it laborious.
I’ve alluded to it just a few instances, however I suppose now can be an excellent time to deliver 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 aren’t 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 possibly can add two-tone paint ($995) and an electrochromic panoramic glass roof ($1,495) to both of these. Lastly, you’ve received 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 sincere, I don’t hate the pricing of those automobiles, although I do want there was a less expensive approach to get into the AWD mannequin. You possibly can’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 concept. If VW desires to cost $70,000 for a slice of nostalgia with a implausible 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 keen to spend on fashion, and the way a lot would you like folks to love you? I don’t thoughts that in any respect, actually. It’s OK to have some automobiles exist purely to make folks glad, usefulness be damned. You’ve received to be keen 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 automotive.
Then once more, perhaps I’m. I’ve pushed an entire lot of automobiles in my time at Jalopnik, and none have garnered a lot optimistic consideration. In every single place I went, folks have been giving me thumbs up and asking concerning the ID Buzz. It’s the anti-Cybertruck, in a manner. It’s a automotive that instills a large amount of pleasure in folks by way of the actual fact they can see it. In the event you like consideration as a lot as I do, then it is a massive optimistic. I simply don’t know if my must be favored ought to price me $70,000.
