VW ID. Buzz | Back To The Roots
The Volkswagen ID. Buzz, a new generation of the original and well-known Volkswagen Transporter aka the T1. I never expected that VW would make a futuristic-looking full electric transporter and when I first heard the rumours of the Buzz I thought It would've stayed a concept car. But then the ID. Buzz was released for real! As a kid I was in love with the “Hippie Busses”, so taking this one home for a week was a childhood’s dream coming true. The big question, was the ID. Buzz a dream coming true or did it become my worst nightmare?
The Futuristic T1
The looks of the VW ID. Buzz are truly amazing, it’s a cute and cartoon-like van that steals your heart from the moment you make eye contact. Come and join my tour around the car. As usual, we start the tour at the front. When looking at the nose, it reminds me so much of the original T1, yet it’s so renewing and different. The two-toned bodypaint (Candy White and Energetic Orange) gives the Buzz the same vibe as it did with the classic one. The first thing you will notice is the gigantic VW logo in the center of the front. From there a continuous LED strip will light up the front until it reaches the full LED Matrix front lights. In the beginning, I wasn’t a big fan of a LED strip on the front of cars but I have to admit I did like the strip on the Buzz. The lights will also be turned on once you’re close enough to the car. Another thing I like about the front is the grille which isn’t completely closed like other EVs. Let’s move to the side of the ID. Buzz. You’ll notice how practically built this car is, with that I mean the sliding doors in specific. It’s so practical to get in and out of the car when parked between two cars. They can also be electronically opened and closed with one press on the car key. So this car is amazing for people with children who would slam the rear doors against a wall or another car. The other thing that catches the eye when you look at the side of the car are the 21” Bromberg rims. They look very good on this car but still I’m not a big fan of the almost completely closed EV rims, but these were quite “okay”. We’re still looking at the side of the Buzz and one thing typically “Bus” are the windows. There are just a lot of windows on this car, and that’s a good thing. It will provide you with a perfect view of your surroundings and it also reduces the blind spots to a minimum.
The VW ID. Buzz always looks like it’s moving, one way or another it makes the car really playful. The outflow of the lights and the 3 little fins behind the rear windows give this car a feeling of motion. When it’s parked it still looks like it's driving forward, like you would see in a cartoon. All of these little details make this car just that little bit more special than other ones. When continuing our tour we will arrive at the back of the car, also our last stop. Nothing too special here when comparing it with the front of course but still very pretty for a van. The trunk door is enormous and houses an even more surprisingly big trunk of 1121 Liters. The trunk door opens and closes fully electronically and can also be opened with a kick move of your feet underneath the bumper. That’s not an unnecessary luxury with a door that big. The continuous rear light brings back the same feeling you get when looking at the front and it will light up animated, you can choose up to 3 different animations. The exterior of this car is so playful, cute, and adorable. Who can even hate the looks of the Volkswagen ID. Buzz?!
Interior Of Tomorrow
Let’s get inside this car. Volkswagen has taken the two-tone colors into the interior of the car. It’s one of the most colorful cars I’ve ever seen and it gives you an instant feeling of happiness. There’s the choice between a black or a white display frame and steering wheel. This one has the black one and I loved it. The white is gorgeous too, but just too much for me. The only thing I’m not a big fan of are the buttons on the steering wheel. They're touch-sensitive with haptic feedback and not actual physical buttons. That’s not something I dislike in this specific car, I don’t like that in general. Except for the colors, the next thing that’s really great are the seats. They are really comfy and ideal for longer trips. You will also definitely notice that big 12” touchscreen which will make sure you’ll clearly see everything that the infotainment system has to offer you. Modern-day tech and functions are available in the ID. Buzz. For example the digital cockpit, internet connection, mobile online services, and integrated voice control. Also, Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are supported. A cool thing and never seen in a car before, from my own experience, is the USB-C port integrated into the sensor and camera cover behind the rear mirror. Very practical for powering your dashcam. Wrapped up, the whole interior experience of the ID. Buzz is really great. The infotainment works amazingly well and fluently and this maximises the whole experience when driving this car.
The car itself feels very spacious and practical, not only because it’s really big but also because of the open feeling you get. For example, there’s this “ID. Buzz Box” in between the two front seats, which can be removed whenever you want it to. This box is some extra storage space which fills the open space between the front seats in a very handy and clever way. In addition to storage compartments with plenty of storage space, the mobile ID. Buzz Box also features a bottle opener and an ice scraper integrated into the top layer. One thing you will notice when driving this car is that the front window is very far away. It gives the feeling it’s attached to the VW logo at the front. It felt so weird the first time I noticed, but it gives this car just the right vibe and spacious feeling.
Driving The New Oldschool
Driving this car is as much fun as looking at it. With its 204 hp (150 kW) and 310 Nm, this car drives smoothly and playfully. The 77 kWh battery can take you as far as 423 km (WLTP), which adjusts to around 350 km on winter days. It can charge pretty fast from 5% to 80% in approximately 30 minutes, depending on the charger of course. But that's not the only fun part when driving the ID. Buzz. It comes with a lot of standard driving assistance systems like lane assist, adaptive cruise control, and blind spot detection for example. Also, The ID. Buzz can park completely autonomously, as well as leaving the parking spot.
Another cool feature is Car2X, it gives cars the ability to communicate with each other. Car2X technology significantly extends the range of the vehicle's sensors by processing data from other road users and infrastructure. By using this software and electronics, safety is pushed to new heights. The most important assistance system on this car is the travel assist with swarm data. This gives the car a lot of new options like adaptive lane assist, which keeps the car in the middle of the lane of your choice or tracks just a little more to the right or left if you want it to. It also comes with forward-looking speed control and cornering assistance. This looks at the road ahead of you and automatically adjusts the speed of the car when coming close to a corner or a crossroad. This only works when driving on cruise control of course, but when driving normally, you’ll get a pop-up on your screen or head-up display when enabled. Even the lights will work for you in a smart way when going into the corner. It will light up the corner before you are in it. With more than 30 driver assistance systems and the ability to communicate with other vehicles, the ID. Buzz is ready for the mobility of tomorrow.
The Buzz Wrapped Up
Volkswagen did an amazing job on this car. It has the nostalgic feeling of the original Volkswagen Transporter T1 and all of the innovative modern-day tech you need in 2023. With a price starting at €68.607 (BE), it’s not the cheapest but still a good price for the extraordinary car you’re getting. It’s spacious, yet super practical and it looks and drives great. I’ve enjoyed every second of this iconic car, so thank you Volkswagen for making the ID. Buzz. For me, this is the real car of the year (BE)!
