The rear-wheel-drive Volkswagen ID. Buzz, equipped with an 82 kWh battery, achieved a pretty good result in Bjørn Nyland's 1,000 km challenge.
It's not a surprise actually, as the earlier range test already indicated relatively high efficiency (for a van), good range, and very good fast charging capabilities (over 180 kW peak).
The Volkswagen ID. Buzz (RWD, 82 kWh) was able to complete the distance of 1,000 km (over 621 miles), at an average temperature of 12°C, in 10 hours and 30 minutes (after some time deductions).
The first thought is that it's a very similar result to the Volkswagen ID.3, Volkswagen ID.4 and (Skoda Enyaq iV) models, equipped with an 82 kWh battery. The difference is ±10 minutes. Let's note that the ID. Buzz has lithium-ion cells from a different supplier than other MEB-based EVs (which initially caused some issues).
During the test, the car was charged a total of six times along the way (5-6 is a typical number of stops for the challenge). After the initial 208 km (129 miles), the average distance between charging stops was 132 km (82 miles).
The 1,000 km challenge is a unique test (optimized for time rather than convenience), which expands our empirical knowledge about EVs and gives us glimpses of what is physically possible by an experienced driver in a country with dense DC fast charging infrastructure.
The average energy consumption of the Volkswagen ID. Buzz amounted to 299 Wh/km (481 Wh/mile), which is almost identical to the Audi e-tron 55 SUV. Not very efficient, but efficient enough for a van.
The key characteristic of the ID. Buzz during the test was its fast charging capabilities - above 180 kW at peak, and pretty high power even at high state-of-charge (SOC). Let's recall that according to the specs, the van can recharge from 5 to 80% SOC in 30 minutes (as long as an ultra-fast charging stations is available).
Test conditions (according to Bjørn Nyland):
- Start: 100% State of Charge (SOC)
- Temperatures: 9-14°C (12°C on average)
- Total time: 10 hours and 30 minutes
- Average speed (total): 95.2 km/h (59 mph)
- Average energy consumption: 299 Wh/km (481 Wh/mile)
- Number of stops for charging: 6
- Average distance between charging stops:
Total: 143 km (89 miles)
Excluding the initial segment: 132 km (82 miles) - Date / Notes: 15.10.2022
Charging stops:
- after 208 km (129 miles)
- after 360 km (224 miles)
- after 508 km (316 miles)
- after 658 km (409 miles)
- after 765 km (475 miles)
- after 882 km (548 miles)
