When you’re rolling in Volkswagen’s new seven-passenger electric van, the future seems to float overhead. This is how it feels, at least, when you’re driving in a model of the 2025 ID. Buzz with the optional, largest-ever glass roof in Volkswagen history. The ceiling is a huge piece of photochromic glass that, with a touch-sensitive controller, can darken or lighten the skylight that glows above all three rows of seats. The effect feels like a lot more than a parlor trick. When combined with 30 ambient colors that accent armrests and shine around the cabin’s perimeter and across the dash, it feels a bit like the future.
This is what Volkswagen is betting on with the Buzz. A big, bold electric vehicle whose design (perhaps more than performance or engineering) will shepherd in a vision of the next wave of electric cars.
Sizing Up The Future
The first thing you notice when getting into the ID. Buzz is how roomy it is. No other EV on the market is this spacious, yet so relatively compact — not to mention nimble and easy to live with. From this perspective, the ID. Buzz stands alone. It has more cargo room (146 cubic feet) than just about anything else like it, including a similarly priced KIA EV9, which is the most obvious rival because it also has three rows of seats. But that KIA, though very good, boasts a mere 82 cubic feet of cargo volume. All three rows of this VW van also have excellent, almost absurdly spacious knee and headroom. Any similarly scaled SUV isn’t comparably capacious.
The ID. Buzz is not a minivan. It’s closer to an SUV, but it really sits in a category of its own. It’s a full foot shorter than any rival gas-fueled minivan, such as a Toyota Sienna, and has a step-in height lower than any comparable three-row truck-ish option.
There’s no way around it — the VW ID. Buzz is a head-turning vehicle.
The 12.9-inch central info display is backlit and easy to read even in direct sunlight, and although the organizational structure (think: browser-with-lots-of-open-tabs logic) takes a beat to adjust to, there’s a pinch, swipe, tap process that is smart once you get the hang of it. There are also eight — count them, eight — USB-C ports with up to 45 watts of power, as well as a wireless charging slot for your phone. And there are three zones of climate controls, a rarity for any brand, let alone one that’s not known for luxury.
Where The Rubber Meets The Road
As for the driving experience, this is a remarkably fun (if not sporty) van. You’d expect a seasick-making head toss because of the ID. Buzz’s height, but relative to something like a typical three-row SUV, there’s far less side-to-side wobble through corners, and while steering feel is a little numb, you adjust quickly and there’s enough through-your-hindquarters sense to be able to point the ID. Buzz precisely, both in traffic and on backroads.
There are two powertrains: an RWD version with a rear motor and AWD models with motors at each axle. The RWD version produces 282 horsepower and the AWD, 335 hp, and the latter will scoot to 60mph in six seconds. (Context: Type-2 micro-buses from the 1960s would get to 60mph … never.)
Volkswagen has happily prioritized the rapidity of DC fast charging. The ID. Buzz will shotgun electrons at a rate of up to 200kW to take a recharge from 10-80% in just 26 minutes. That’s very quick — a lot of EVs need nearly double that amount of time.
Inside, the VW ID. Buzz is spacious, refined, well lit, and downright exciting.
Now, for a slight Buzz-kill: First, the range isn’t great. The ID.Buzz gets 234 miles for RWD, and 231 miles for the AWD models. A KIA EV9 base model will only go 230 miles between charges, but a comparably priced (to the AWD ID.Buzz) version can roll 280 miles on a charge. Next, the starting price of what Buzz is $60,000 — a lot for any vehicle, but putting it in competition against the EV9, and starting only a little cheaper than the Rivian R1S.
Finally, unlike the O.G. Type 2 or Type 4 buses, Volkswagen isn’t offering any in-house camper conversion. Companies like Peace Vans are happy to take that business instead, but this feels like a miss when Rivian realized early on that it could engender brand loyalty through its accessories library and nurture a kind of community based on customer demands and desires.
The accessory market is essential for the Buzz. After all, the VW bus is a staple for camping, dirt-bagging, living off-the-grid, and customizing your van like it’s your home — as it will be for short or long stretches. This is a little bit of a problem when the Buzz can’t even keep the power on overnight. Rivals have figured out how to make their EVs run in an accessory mode continuously, for instance, to power your entire home during a blackout. Volkswagen didn’t come out of the gate with solutions but hinted that it was being discussed and Volkswagen officials said they’ve already heard that feedback and have a plan. Hopefully, Volkswagen will act fast here.
Electric Vibes
More than anything, the VW ID.Buzz is a vibe. During my test drive around San Francisco and north up the coast, I bumped into plenty of folks hauling surfboards out of the ocean, parking their old Audi Allroads and customized #vanlife rigs (or Rivians), who practically sprinted over to see the new ID.Buzz.
The reason is clear: Just look at this thing.
Rivian might have a unique and brilliant look, but this van has a history — and Volkswagen has packed the nostalgic boxy van into a streamlined and futuristic design. It’s also offering a colorful package. Inside, there’s a two-tone cabin color hierarchy, in addition to “American” leatherette in darker shades that all pop. And on the outside, well, you can choose from 11 exterior colors including 3 single-tone colors and 8 two-tone colors. All go well with that photochromic roof — and a hand-painted peace sign, naturally.
