After a hatchback and a trio of SUVs, Volkswagen's ID. lineup will expand in a couple of months to include a hotly anticipated van (oxymoron?) The ID.3 hatchback and ID.4, ID.5, ID.6 high-riding models are bound to be joined by a box on wheels that will try to revive the spirit of the Microbus. The Wolfsburg-based company has teased the Buzz to death, and the latest preview has now served as a foundation for what must be a realistic rendering.
Don't go into thinking the production version will be a spitting image of the namesake concept from 2017 since that won't be the case. We've been reading comments posted on the previous ID. Buzz articles and most of them have been rather negative, with people expressing their disappointment about the different styling the final version will adopt. As always, to each his own, but we are still genuinely eager to see the real thing.
Gallery: 2023 Volkswagen ID. Buzz rendering
Will it look like this? Quite possibly if you take into account the still very much unofficial rendering takes after VW's ID. Buzz showed recently with a thin and colorful body wrap. The digital design exercise shows the passenger model, but the German brand has already confirmed a commercial derivative as well as a California camper van.
The ID. Buzz won't be the company's only people mover since the T7 is already out and about, complete with a plug-in hybrid powertrain for the first time. Should you want to forgo the combustion engine, the modern-day Microbus will come with a choice of one or two electric motors to mirror the electric SUV offerings. Base models are going to have a rear-wheel-drive setup, while the more expensive trim levels will adopt AWD.
VW Commercial Vehicles will assemble the ID. Buzz in Hanover, Germany and plans to have the electric van on sale in North America for the 2024 model year. The US-spec variant will come only in the passenger-oriented flavor and quite possibly with the longer wheelbase. As for range, MEB-based EVs are offered with multiple packs, including an 82-kWh battery that seems like a good fit for the new zero-emission groovy van.
As for the aforementioned California derivative, it won't go on sale until after 2025.
