Volkswagen ID. Buzz 2022 Review

It is more than conceivable that the standard Volkswagen ID. Buzz will cross the $100,000 threshold when it lands here, probably in early 2024.

And it might not stop there.

With little by way of EV subsidies in Australia, there’s not much to stop transaction prices of above the $125,000 mark for the entry-level ID. Buzz, and that’s going to limit the market for the two-row van, regardless of how cute anybody finds it.

After all, the 2022 Volkswagen ID. Buzz starts at €64,581 (before taxes) in Germany, which directly translates to about $95,000 here, before luxury tax or other charges are added on.

Mercedes-Benz plans to land the EQV eight-seater here later this year, but it hasn’t given an indication of the cost of the three-row van yet.

So the Mercedes-Benz EQV will be a rival, but it will cost a lot more, for sure, because its interior is a lot more premium.

Of the ID. Buzz’s other potential rivals, perhaps its biggest threats will be wearing the same badge, such as a full-electric version of the commercial-based T7 Volkswagen Multivan people-mover, which is already available overseas with a plug-in hybrid powertrain.

Naturally, the 2022 Volkswagen ID. Buzz is a big unit inside, but it’s not that big outside, with its overall length (4712mm) coming in 261mm shorter than the T7.

It’s also shorter in the wheelbase, by 135mm, though 2989mm is a fair slab of space by most standards.

The first ID. Buzz will be a two-row affair (with an extra 250mm of wheelbase coming later for the three-row capacity), while the ID. Cargo version dispenses with the 60/40-split rear bench seat altogether.

It’s all about the space in an ID. Buzz, and it boasts 1121 litres of luggage capacity, even with bums in all the seats, and that boosts to 2205 litres with the rear seats folded down.

The second row of seats has a 150mm fore-aft range to add either luggage space or legroom and they’re comfortable enough, especially for two people.

Up front, the ID. Buzz’s two individual seats have 245mm of length range and 61.5mm of height range, and there is a 5.3-inch digital instrument cluster and a 10-inch multimedia touch-screen display that feels altogether too close to the people using it.

That’s because the ID. Buzz has an enormous dashboard, thanks to the quirks of the MEB modular EV architecture Volkswagen uses, and the angle of the A-pillars, and the touch-screen seems to intrude into the passenger area.

The dash of the ID. Cargo seems shorter, and the screen position seems more intuitive, and it even has USB sockets in the groove in the dash (which is meant to hold paperwork etc).

There are options to give the ID. Buzz seven USB ports, up to 12 inches of multimedia display for the dashboard and multiple cubby holes scattered throughout the cabin.

One of those is a very clever inductive-charging hole for smartphones, angled into the dash so they can’t fall out.

The sliding doors open to 757x1162mm, the rear tailgate leaves a 1275x1096mm hole and there is 1204mm space between the ID. Buzz rear wheel-arches and 1230mm in the ID. Cargo.

But while the ID. Buzz feels like it should carry anything you want, the 2471kg unladen mass means it can only carry 529kg, while the stripped-out ID. Cargo manages 648kg.

Both the 2022 Volkswagen ID. Buzz and the ID. Cargo use the family’s 150kW/310Nm brushless APP 310 permanent magnet electric motor, mounted on the rear axle and helping it to claim a tighter turning circle than the Golf hatchback.

And even when the Mercedes-Benz EQV arrives, the ID. Buzz will still be more efficient, and will charge quicker, too.

While the EQV will boast the same power and 56 more Sir Isaacs (Nm), its 90kWh battery will only deliver a claimed range of 356km. The ID. Buzz squeezes between 402km and 423km (depending on options, like wheels, which range from 18 to 21 inches) out of a much smaller 77kWh pack.

Benz claims the EQV will recharge from 10 to 80 per cent in 45 minutes, charging at 110kW on a DC outlet. The ID. Buzz will go from zero to 100 per cent in just 30 minutes, pulling in 170kW of power. It’s even quicker than its rival on alternating current, taking 7:30 hours on an 11kW wallbox.

It’s also bidirectional, so it can be used to power a house or office in a blackout.

The single-speed transmission on the ID. Buzz will spin the rear wheels up to a limit of 145km/h, and it gets to 100km/h in 10.9 seconds, so it’s no bullet (though bigger batteries and stronger motors, including a dual-motor layout, are on the way).

Its chassis is based around a four-link rear suspension and a strut front-end, with the solidly encased battery pack doing plenty of the work to hold them together in the middle.

The Euro-spec 2022 Volkswagen ID. Buzz uses LED headlights as standard, though they can be swapped out for Matrix LED options, and its nose carries by far the biggest Volkswagen badge in current production.

It also runs a range of rims, from 18-inch items up to 21-inch units.

The ID. Buzz takes the latest-generation software – as found in the Volkswagen ID.5 – to deliver full-time connection to the internet, and the ability to receive over-the-air updates.

One of the great benefits Volkswagen claims is the ability to join in to ‘Swarm’ technology, allowing the Buzz to ‘talk’ to other cars and infrastructure from up to 800 metres away.

It apes bird murmuration techniques to learn from and pay attention to the nearest six or seven cars on a highway to minimise its chances of hitting them. And if the other cars, too, have similar ‘swarm’ technology, they can all do it together.

One of its best new features is the ability to do all of its communications directly with the charging point, rather than needing apps or credit cards, with payment happening at the back end.

So you just turn up at the charging point, charge, then drive away.

Fortunately, the production versions of the 2022 Volkswagen ID. Buzz are considerably better resolved than the pre-production versions we drove some months ago.

Then we criticised the ride, especially from the rear-end, and the interior materials, as well as the stepped floor in the rear.

Well, the ID. Buzz still needs criticism for the stepped floor, but Volkswagen now offers a removable false floor to flatten it out, and it’s strong enough to sleep on or sit on, while delivering a little cubby hole underneath.

And there’s still plenty of space.

While there is still some road noise from the front-end of the ID. Buzz, the rest of the ride and handling package has taken a leap forward.

Where the prototypes were given to bucking up at the rear – especially the ID. Cargo – the production version has moved on to another level of organisation and now only bronco kicks under extreme provocation on large, flat-topped speed bumps.

The body control sees an admirable step forward, with none of the longitudinal squatting and pitching from the ID. Cargo or the ID. Buzz that there was in earlier versions.

The interior noise levels, too, have been reduced, with road noise well damped and the resistance to booming in such an enormous cavern is a pleasant surprise.

At its best in stop-start urban traffic, rather than the long, languid searches for the best waves of its predecessor, the ID. Buzz feels right at home with the driving mode set to maximum regeneration.

It’s not one-pedal driving, exactly, but it doesn’t have the uncomfortable head toss that comes with it, either, and it still recuperates enormous slabs of energy.

Its steering still is not massively communicative, but it’s light and the turning circle is astonishing, given the overall length.

The rear seat cushions remain harder and thinner than we expected, but they ride well nonetheless, while the optional front captain’s chairs will surely be a universal take-up.

The removable centre console turns it into a walk-through cabin, too, and while the materials are no match for the EQV, they are an improvement on where the car was six months ago.

The dash plastics, in particular, are still too brittle-feeling for a $100,000-plus car, though they’re not as bad as they were, and the ID. Cargo’s dash looks more convincing and practical than the standard unit.

Infotainment remains a Volkswagen bugbear, and now they’ve made all the touch-screen tiles the same colour, so they’re almost impossible to use intuitively, without taking a good, long look at them.

There’s a preponderance of practicality in the 2022 Volkswagen ID. Buzz that will convince just about anybody who steps inside it.

Well, unless you’ve already got a T7 Multivan – which isn’t yet available in Australia but, in Europe at least, weighs 349kg less, tows 600kg more (at 1600kg) and, as we’ve mentioned, also comes with a plug-in hybrid.

There’s now more initial charm about the ID. Buzz, too, with the greater resolution of its ride and handling and refinement from its prototype tests, and the advantages it has in charging over the incoming Mercedes-Benz EQV are not to be sneezed at.

There is versatility, strength, comfort and mind-bending practicality at play here, and it never feels strained or fussed. It’s the sort of machine you use to do ridiculous things and it just swallows whatever you want to put in it.

It’s more than strong enough in daily traffic, surging usefully and purposefully into the fray via its powertrain and then staying there easily thanks to its technology and its stupendous vision from the driver’s seat.

There are still areas of improvement needed – especially in the infotainment system and some of the interior materials – but the ID. Buzz is going to be the centre of enormous curiosity when it lands in Australia, and it will deserve to be.

How much does the 2024 Volkswagen ID. Buzz cost?
Price: $120,000-plus (estimated)
Available: Early 2024 (estimated)
Powertrain: Single permanent magnet synchronous motor
Output: 150kW/310Nm
Transmission: Single-speed reduction gear
Battery: 77kWh lithium-ion
Range: 402-423km (WLTP)
Consumption: 20.5-21.7kWh (WLTP)
Safety rating: Not tested