Review: Volkswagen’s new, retro electric ID.Buzz is in a class of its own, but it isn’t cheap

The new ID.Buzz and an original VW minibus next to each other in Nick’s Cove, 100 kilometres north of San Francisco, Calif.Mark Richardson/The Globe and Mail

Admit it: as soon as you saw the photo of the Volkswagen ID.Buzz, you knew what it was. So let’s just get the iconic references out of the way before we talk about the practicalities of the thing.

Volkswagen built its first rear-engined bus-slash-camper-van in 1950 and it was sold for more than half a century, through several generations and numerous iterations. It found favour in the 1960s and 70s as a hippy van, before minivans began catering to families, and those temperamental originals are now highly valued by nostalgic and patient buyers. Images of VW buses are everywhere these days, on posters and coffee mugs and fridge magnets; my wife has three Lego models that I lovingly assembled and gave to her as gifts. They symbolize peace and love and freedom and travel and exploration, and a day of surfing at the beach.

The German maker saw the bus’s resurgence and now, after a 20-year absence in North America, there’s an entirely new, all-electric version that will be in dealerships by January. Canadians will get two options: rear-wheel drive with a middle-row bench that seats seven people, or all-wheel drive that seats six. Both are well equipped, and neither are cheap. The RWD starts at $79,995 when you include the destination charges but before taxes, and the AWD starts at $85,495. These are vehicles for people with money, or at least access to good credit. Impoverished hippies need not apply.

Canadians will get two options: rear-wheel drive with a middle-row bench that seats seven people, or all-wheel drive that seats six.Mark Richardson/The Globe and Mail

(Americans do get a cheaper pair of versions called the Pro S and Pro S Plus, which offer fewer features and start at US$61,545 plus tax. The company doesn’t plan to make many of them, however.)

Volkswagen won’t sell millions of Buzzes, at least not at those prices, but it will surely be a popular vehicle. It’s called a halo model, something to aspire to that will be a status symbol and offers the best of what’s available in its market.

Exactly what that market is, nobody is quite sure. The Buzz has more space for passengers than any other vehicle that’s not officially a bus. It’s classified in the U.S. as a minivan because of its size and weight, but Volkswagen says only 3 per cent of interested prospective buyers currently own minivans – most own large SUVs. While it has the seating space and comfort of a small bus, the Buzz has the practicality of an SUV because both rows of seats fold flat to create a huge cargo area. The third row can easily be removed and stowed somewhere. Its actual footprint is comparatively short, however, thanks to not having an engine in the front. In Europe, there’s an even shorter version, but North America will only get the 4,962-millimetre, long wheelbase edition.

Volkswagen Canada expects to sell a two-row-only version in a year or so, still on the longer wheelbase, which will cater to those who want to carry mountain bikes and the like without needing the extra seats. This is not being considered for the U.S. market. And a factory-installed camper edition is “still under consideration.”

The greatest contradiction for the Buzz is its driving range. It has the largest battery of any Volkswagen, but its size, weight and 0.29 drag co-efficient limits the range to around 370 kilometres on a warm day. (That’s a lot more aerodynamic than the 0.44 Cd of the original 1950 Type 2.) Such a range is more than enough for a people-mover in the city that recharges every night at home, but for a vacation road trip with freedom and exploration, there may not be much peace and love when the driver is searching for an available fast charger beside the highway several times a day.

The Buzz should be able to use the Tesla Supercharger network as well as other public chargers, which will expand the choice considerably – the agreements are signed between Tesla and Volkswagen for 2025, as they are for a number of other automakers, but until it’s actually operational, nobody is holding their breath. As more electric vehicles take to the highways, the network of fast chargers must keep pace with their exponential growth, and it’s not there yet.

Tech specs

The Buzz has the largest battery of any Volkswagen, but its size, weight and 0.29 drag co-efficient limits the range to around 370 kilometres on a warm day.Mark Richardson/The Globe and Mail

Base price/as tested: $77,495/$86,495, plus $2,500 for freight and predelivery inspection, plus taxes
Motor/battery: Single or dual motor/91 kilowatt-hour
Horsepower/torque (lb-ft): RWD: 282/413; AWD: 335 / 512
Drive: Rear-wheel drive or all-wheel drive
Power consumption (NRCan ratings, kilowatt-hours/100 kilometres)/Charging capacity: 25.3/200 kilowatts
Curb weight (kilograms): RWD: 2,707; AWD: 2,811
Range (claimed and observed in kilometres): RWD: 377; AWD: 372
Alternatives: Kia EV9, Chrysler Pacifica PHEV, Toyota Sienna, Volkswagen Atlas, Mercedes-Benz Sprinter, converted school bus

Looks

There’s absolutely no doubt that this is a Volkswagen minibus, thoroughly updated to the present day. The large VW logo illuminates on the front, and the privacy glass beside the second row slides backward to open the windows. The rear doors slide open like a minivan, but this is taller and shorter than most of its competition. The two-tone paint on my tester was a $1,500 option, though even without the white roof, you’ll never have a problem finding a Buzz in a crowded parking lot.

Interior

The all-electric MEB platform, stretched and adapted from the platform that underpins VW’s ID.4 crossover, allows a completely flat floor for greater space, though it’s a hike to climb up onto it. The seats themselves are about 12 centimetres taller than the Volkswagen Atlas SUV, so you’re up there with the pickup trucks that block everyone else’s view ahead. The interior is fairly minimalist and nicely presented.

I stopped near the Golden Gate Bridge and chatted with a guy who drove an original VW minibus as part of a tour company, and his bus was cramped inside and looked uncomfortable. He said his company already has a Buzz on order. His tourist passengers had sought out the old bus as part of the San Francisco experience, but they were thoroughly impressed with the new ID.Buzz when I invited them to sit in it. They kicked out their heels in the third row, which has almost 10 centimetres more legroom than the closest competitor, the Toyota Sienna.

“I want one!” said Jennifer Chambers, visiting from Kansas City with her husband Brian Henry. “I love orange, and I love electric, and I love the space in it. It’s very cute and functional.” She wasn’t deterred by the price or the range. “How often do I drive that far?” she said. “I need to carry furniture, and we have two kids still at home. This will be perfect for us.”

Performance

Well – it’s a bus. There are selectable drive modes for Sport, Eco and Comfort that adjust the steering, suspension and climate control, among other things, though most owners will probably just leave the setting on Comfort. Acceleration from zero-to-100 kilometres an hour happens in about six seconds, which is respectable for a vehicle this size.

It should be mentioned that I drove with a colleague on an exceptionally winding and twisting road to Nick’s Cove, 100 kilometres north of San Francisco, and I spent some of that time in the rear seats. It didn’t take long before I became quite nauseous and, despite swallowing a Gravol, had to stop along the way to give my churning stomach a break. How much of this was the Buzz and how much the road I can’t tell, but until the Gravol kicked in, I wasn’t feeling the peace and love, that’s for sure.

Technology

There’s plenty of clever stuff that comes standard in the ID.Buzz. All models get a hidden trailer hitch, which can tow 2,600 pounds with the rear-wheel drive, and 3,500 pounds with the all-wheel drive. The heat pump that comes standard on Canadian models is not even an option in the U.S. My tester came with a huge panoramic glass roof that can be dimmed or lightened at the swipe of a button that costs an additional $2,000.

The all-wheel drive version, which Volkswagen expects to account for most of the Canadian sales, benefits from a second, small motor on the front axle that produces an additional 99 horsepower. It only kicks in when needed, of course, which is why the official drive range is not much less than the single-motor RWD version.

Cargo

Huge. The seating is flexible, with a second row that folds flat for storage (or leg rests) and tips forward for easy access. Behind the second row, there’s 2,138 litres of well-designed space. When the third row is removed, together with the false floor in the rearmost cargo area, there’s 4,120 litres of luggage space behind the front seats. That’s more than any minivan and even the Chevrolet Suburban, which is almost 80 centimetres longer.

The verdict

Buyers will love the Volkswagen ID.Buzz, if they can afford it. It has the status and symbolism of the original bus, even if it doesn’t have the driving range. The novelty may well wear off in a couple of years, but in the meantime, it really is in a class of its own.

The newest version of a Volkswagen bus was unveiled at the 2017 Detroit auto show, but is it a ploy to draw attention away from the diesel emissions scandal?

The writer was a guest of the automaker. Content was not subject to approval.

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