MOTORING REVIEW: VW’s ID. Buzz is an expensive head turner

VOLKSWAGEN'S ID. Buzz is a battery electric minibus inspired by the brand’s original Transporter van and built on the German carmaker’s dedicated battery-electric MEB platform which they use for all their various brand’s EV models. It is offered as an all-electric passenger car and cargo commercial van. The name ‘Buzz’ was derived from the word ‘bus’ acknowledging its van origins.

ID. Buzz is guaranteed to bring a smile to your face, particularly so in the optional two-tone white/yellow colour combination. My car looked a bit bland by comparison with its Candy White exterior. It was the Max 5-seater passenger car version that measures 1937mm in height, 4712 in length and 1985mm in width so it is wider than Volkswagen's Transporter-based camper van. The wheelbase stretches to 2,988mm.

This is a large, robust, well-built vehicle. Boxy in shape, with a flat roof and sliding side doors for easy access. The 21-inch alloy wheels drew some unfavourable comments such as they looked like dinky-type wheels and didn’t suit this sturdy big car at all.

You have to climb up high to access the driver’s seat. The interior is extremely spacious, with huge head and legroom for all occupants. It’s also bright and airy with so much glass front and rear while the cream, black and grey interior with very nice materials (recycled materials, so no animal leather), looked really welcoming. The upright windscreen is set very far back which takes a bit of getting used to, but the huge A-pillar windows greatly aid visibility. Each front seat has its own narrow armrest. These seats can be heated, come with lumbar support controls and two memory settings.

The dash is dominated by a stand-alone 12-inch infotainment touchscreen display. Many functions including climate controls are operated via this screen which is perhaps not the most user-friendly around, while the 5.3-inch instrument panel high up on the dash shows your current speed in digital form, the gear you are in and the range remaining. Alas, you have to tap touch sensitive sliders on the dash for temperature and volume controls which can be frustrating while on the move.

Sliding side doors are power-operated and provide easy access to the rear seats. There are trays on front seat backs and a small pocket above them for small odds and ends. Storage areas include a decent glovebox with an open shelf above, a large storage area between the front seats, enormous door bins and a flip lid compartment on the lower dash with two big cupholders.

The power tailgate opens really high (which could be a problem for some not so tall people when they want to close it again) to reveal a boot capacity of a huge 1,121 litres which will swallow up multiple suitcases or fit camping gear even with middle seats still in use.

Grades are Life, Family, Tech and Max which was my car’s grade. A very good selection of useful features come as standard; dual zone air conditioning, two C-USB small ports in the front and four in the rear, a leatherette-wrapped multifunction steering wheel that can be heated, set for for Apple CarPlay and Android Auto (wired and wireless), and a good navigation system that includes a media and internet package. Driver Assistances systems include Blind Spot Assist (which I eventually found through the screen and which shows up on the inside of the side mirrors), Adaptive Cruise Control, Park Assist, and ‘Front Assist’ auto emergency braking with pedestrian and cyclist monitoring. My car had a great reversing camera and parking sensors - all needed when trying to park this big ‘un into an average sized car park as it will extend way over the end line.

The powertrain is a 77 kWh battery combined with a 204bhp motor that drives the rear axle, matched with a single speed automatic transmission — the selector is on a steering wheel-mounted switch, and includes a setting for maximum battery recuperation and 'one-pedal' driving. Torque is 310Nm. Power consumption for my top Max grade is a claimed 21.3 kWh/100kms.

I found the Buzz surprisingly easy to drive offering a smooth, very quiet drive with good acceleration. It is capable of a 0-100km/h time of 10.2 secs. I liked the not too heavy nor too light steering which offered good feedback and the car’s very impressive turning circle of just 12.5m.

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The official electric range is 417kms. When I collected my car it was 50pc charged and good for around 168kms - which is not even close to the official figure. The range really isn’t so attractive given families will want to take it for longer trips at weekends with our unsatisfactory number of public charging points. Volkswagen claims you can charge the battery from 5pc-80pc in around 35 minutes using a fast DC (Ionity) charging meter.

The ID. Buzz was awarded a five-star rating in crash tests by Euro NCAP in 2022.

My car was priced at €65,584 excl of the SEAI grant of €3,500. With the optional trailer hitch the total OTR price was €66,704 incl VAT. Annual road tax is €120.