Volkswagen: First kilometers with the ID.Buzz 🎥

Hardly anyone can resist the charm of the electrified new edition of the van icon - even if for quite a few it will probably just be a matter of watching. At prices starting at 67,860 Swiss francs, even the E-Bulli is not affordable for every family.

Of course, this does not apply to the first 10,000 customers who ordered the car blind. This means that two thirds of this year's production will be gone before the first delivery in October.

Spacecraft with contemporary propulsion
With the combination of multifunctional space vehicle with contemporary electric drive and refreshed design icon, VW has put a programmed bestseller on its wheels. The striking front end in the style of the legendary T1 with a V-shaped hood, the friendly looking LED headlights and the model's largest brand logo is particularly effective in the (optionally four) two-tone paint finishes, in which the upper area is always white.

The crisply short overhangs give the compactly shaped body a modern, almost futuristic touch. The appealing exterior corresponds with good aerodynamics of cW 0.29 - for electric cars, the decisive factor for power consumption and range alongside weight.

Same length of 4.71 meters for bus and van
Right from the start, there will be a five-seater bus and a two- or three-seater van version. Both are an identical 4.71 meters long, with the wheelbase stretching to just under three meters (2.99 meters).

In terms of height, the E-bulls are a few centimeters shorter than their combustion engine brothers, depending on the equipment and version (1927 and 1951 millimeters). On the other hand, they are a good eight centimeters wider at 1985 millimeters.

Command position with good superiority and prudence
Climbing into the e-bulli also means climbing up into the familiar command position with good over- and around-sight. The fact that there is still plenty of space between the windshield and the driver despite the electric architecture is probably due to crash and pedestrian protection. At least VW cleverly conceals it with a multi-level layout and, depending on the equipment, tastefully used chrome and wood trim.

Cockpit with free-standing 5.3-inch digital display
Completely new, although now familiar from the ID 3, ID 4 and ID 5, is the cockpit layout with the free-standing 5.3-inch digital display behind the steering wheel and the 10-inch touchscreen positioned centrally on the dashboard. With the optional Discover Pro navigation system, the multimedia display even grows to 12 inches. It can be operated intuitively right from the start.

Special removable center tunnel box
The USB ports are also well placed - there are up to eight of them in total in the bus version, although none of them conform to the USB-A standard, which is still the majority standard - to the right of the steering wheel with smartphone slot including inductive charging function. Like all ID models, the new ID.Buzz as a bus also has the interactive ID Light.

A removable center tunnel box with a practical storage compartment in the upper area, including ice scraper and bottle opener, was developed especially for the ID Buzz. A water bottle fits in the 1.4-liter folding compartment on the front side, and plenty of automotive odds and ends in the five-liter drawer opposite.

The three-seater bench can be moved
The five-seater bus comes in the standard version with two comfortable individual seats including armrests, in the higher trim levels also with a second one and in the top version completely electrically adjustable and with a massage function. In the rear, there is a three-seater bench seat with fully or asymmetrically folding backrests that can be moved by 15 centimeters in the same way. The two sliding doors are also standard.

Up to 100 km/h in just under ten seconds
To date, Volkswagen has only offered the 150 kW (204 hp) electric motor that is widely used in the Group and is already in service in all other ID models. The synchronous machine also provides the E-Bulli with a maximum torque of 310 Nm, which it converts from a standstill into the usual, almost noiseless and instantaneous thrust and allows it to reach 100 km/h in just under ten seconds.

It is always coupled with the currently largest battery in the ID range, which is specified with 82 kWh gross, but cannot deliver more than 77 kWh net. This should enable ranges of 423 kilometers according to WLTP, with a consumption of 21.7 to 20.5 kWh measured in the same way.

The turning circle is just under eleven meters
What is immediately noticeable after the first few kilometers is that the ID.Buzz has excellent suspension and hides the battery pack in the floor of the vehicle, which gives it a combat weight of two and a half tons, better than its corporate peers, even on bumpy terrain. The low center of gravity also ensures that the car remains steady even during sudden lane changes.

Despite its dimensions, it is extremely easy to handle and maneuver. The rear-wheel drive - which is emphasized by its sports car-typical mixed tires - and compactly built front axle enable a relatively small turning circle of just under eleven meters. This means that narrow streets and tricky parking maneuvers lose their terror.

Travel Assist and Park Assist Plus on request
But nowadays there are also electronic assistants for the latter. In addition to the standard VW systems such as Front Assist (environment monitoring with emergency braking function), proactive occupant protection or lane departure warning, the ID.Buzz is now available for the first time with Travel Assist using swarm data for independent lane guidance with only one lane limit and automated lane change from 90 km/h.

What's more, with Park Assist Plus with memory function, the e-bulli can also automatically execute a parking maneuver that has been driven and saved once over and over again - for example, to pull into the garage or carport. Now nothing can go wrong.

volkswagen.ch