Volkswagen ID. Buzz launches with up to 600km of range

The 2022 Volkswagen ID. Buzz has been launched in Europe (you can read our first drive review here, ahead of the official world premiere on March 9) and the Kombi-chanelling electric van and people-mover could arrive in Australia as soon as next year.

Senior Volkswagen product executives at the international launch in Hamburg, Germany told carsales the battery-powered VW ID. Buzz would be available Down Under in both short-wheelbase 77kWh and long-wheelbase 111kWh forms, giving Australians the choice between 400km and 600km of electric range.

However, Volkswagen Group Australia is yet to confirm the local release of any EVs including the VW ID.3 hatch, ID.4 medium SUV, ID.5 coupe-crossover and ID.6 large SUV, although it has previously expressed most interest in the ID.4 and ID. Buzz and says an announcement will be made soon.

“Buzz is actively sought by Volkswagen for its Australian portfolio, as are several key ID models. Those discussions are ongoing. Customers are keenly awaiting IDs and we hope to announce firm dates shortly,” said VGA general manager corporate communications Paul Pottinger.

While all of Volkswagen’s ID models are based on the same dedicated electric MEB platform, the next-generation T7 Multivan people-mover and Transporter van – now underpinned by the VW Group’s ubiquitous MQB platform – are also expected to be launched in Australia, where the ID. Buzz’s closest rival would be the Ford E-Transit electric delivery van due around mid-2022.

Volkswagen’s electric nod to the iconic Kombi has been launched with five seats in the short-wheelbase version, or eight seats in the longer ID. Buzz, and a commercial Cargo version will be in the line-up from the start.

The German car-maker is even planning high-roof Cargo models, while a California camper version with a bed, kitchenette, sofa and table has also been confirmed.

The short-wheelbase ID. Buzz’s 77kWh lithium-ion battery will recharge at up to 170kW, taking it from just a five per cent charge to 80 per cent in half an hour, claims Volkswagen.

Base pricing has been announced at €63,000 ($A99,000) in Germany, or about €6000 more than the hybrid version of the upcoming T7 Transporter.

First previewed in concept form way back at the 2017 Detroit motor show, the Volkswagen ID. Buzz is the biggest model to appear on VW’s modular electric matrix EV platform.

That means a skateboard layout with a lithium-ion battery pack in the floor and a rear-mounted electric motor and transaxle, plus multi-link rear suspension with up to 21-inch wheels and tyres.

It also means it will adopt the latest tech packages from its hatch and crossover siblings, including Swarm technology that learns the driving behavior of the cars closest to it on the road.

There is just one confirmed output level for the ID. Buzz so far: 150kW of power and 310Nm of torque from the brushless APP 310 permanent-magnet unit.

And there are no acceleration claims, though Volkswagen limits the top speed to 145km/h to preserve the range.

The short-wheelbase ID. Buzz, which will be the first version on sale in Europe from this autumn, will stretch to 4172mm long, with an enormous 2988mm wheelbase.

That makes it 427mm – almost half a metre – shorter than the ID.5, despite having a wheelbase that is just 222mm shorter, so the overhangs are tiny.

It’s bigger in other dimensions though, with 1980mm of width to the mirrors and 1938mm of height, so it won’t suit every garage.

The big-daddy version of the ID. Buzz will add 250mm to the wheelbase, taking it to 3238mm, and adding the same to the overall length, allowing Volkswagen to squeeze in a third row of seats and 30 percent more battery capacity.

The rear-mounted electric motor allows the enormous Buzz to turn around in the same circle as the Golf hatch, adding a level of practicality that should be useful in daily life, plus it can ‘learn’ how and where to park from the owner.

The Volkswagen ID. Buzz will be offered in three different equipment levels in Europe, all of which will include LED headlights as standard (Matrix LEDs are optional).

The interior can be packaged with captain’s chairs up front, a full-length chromatic panoramic roof, seven USB sockets, 30 ambient lighting colours and a 12-inch multimedia display, but there are no fixed entertainment options for the rear seats.

Electric sliding doors are optional and there is a single solid paint colour, one pearl colour, four two-tone paint schemes and five metallic hue.

The Cargo commercial version of the ID. Buzz has clearly been as high up the priority list as the passenger variant for Volkswagen.

Even the standard wheelbase version has been designed to swallow two standard pallets, line astern, with 1.23 metres of space between the wheel-arches.

The initial production run of ID. Buzz Cargos will be fitted with the stock 77kWh battery pack and, paradoxically, Volkswagen will then deliver a version with a smaller battery pack, so operators can carry heavier payloads.

Volkswagen has not confirmed the weight or payload of the ID. Buzz, but says the Cargo in its standard form can carry around 700kg without crossing any licensing lines.

While even the stock ID. Buzz can carry 3.9 cubic metres of luggage, the Cargo itself carries a lot more than that, with a 2.2-metre load length.

It can swallow a load that is 1.25 metres high as well, and 1.7 metres wide.

The Volkswagen ID. Buzz Cargo also comes with stiffer rear springs and dampers, a solid partition behind the two front seats, scratch-resistant cabin materials, different interior panels, six tie-down points and an optional load floor.

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