The battery-electric revival of the traditional VW microbus is lastly here. The Volkswagen ID.BUZZ idea debuted at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit in January 2017. Almost 8 years later on, the production designs are only simply now reaching United States clients and customers.
Volkswagen is wagering that consumers have a long memory, evaluating from their choice to echo the styling of the first-generation VW bus of 1949-1987. On American streets, the ID.BUZZ's throwback styling is polarizing, however the portions are sturdily in favor of the style, with the love/hate ratio about 75/25 percent. Sensations were strong both methods, however if individuals enjoy the neo-hippie bus's style by 3:1, that's a slam-dunk win for the VW styling department.
Unfortunately, a chauffeur's next impression originates from the experience of pulling on the door deal with. The ID.BUZZ, unlike numerous EVs, has physical door deals with rather of electrical door release buttons. That's fantastic, however when the manage is launched, the door produces a tinny drumming noise in the disappointingly cheap-sounding way of a lot of Nissan automobiles.
I had the good luck to get a preview for Popular Science 2 years back when I invested an afternoon in a five-seat, two-row European market ID.BUZZ, with its much shorter wheelbase and somewhat various specs from this 2025 US-market ID.BUZZ. The basics I kept in mind at that time stay in location: My evaluated Cherry Red/Metro Silver three-row, seven-seat ID.BUZZ stayed high and bouncy, though as hoped, the United States design's longer wheelbase supplies a somewhat much better trip than the Euro design.
Now, as then, stiff springs supporting a heavy battery pack integrate with a high automobile to stress body movements. EVs are susceptible to intensifying movement illness due to the fact that of the abrupt velocity and deceleration and the ID.BUZZ's bounciness makes this even worse.
If the ID.BUZZ provided a high level of regrowth when the chauffeur takes off the accelerator for real golf cart-style one-pedal driving this issue would be even worse, so it is most likely great that its regrowth is reasonably light.
Step on the accelerator– it is the one marked with the ideal arrow to appear like a “play” button– and the ID.BUZZ can use as much as 335 horse power through all 4 wheels to speed up to 60 miles per hour in 6.0 seconds. The evaluated ID.BUZZ Pro S Plus was a 282-hp rear-drive, single-motor design whose velocity was … fine.
Rear-seaters feeling troubled by movement illness will have a hard time for relief by opening the window for fresh air, as the style-first VW bus does not have regular windows that move down into the door. Rather, there's an inset window section that moves sideways in the way of a pickup's moving back window. This most likely will not offer the advantage a motion-sick guest looks for.
The rear moving doors avoid standard windows for inset windows that move sideways to supply a little opening. Image: Volkwagen SAM DOBBINS
Opening the windows is likewise an annoyance since of Volkswagen's usage of a dreadful capacitive-touch switch to pick whether the 2 physical window turns on the motorist's door run the front-door windows or the rear-door windows.
