LOOKS
Normally I say that looks aren’t the most important part of a vehicle, but on the ID.Buzz they really set the tone for the return of this iconic microbus in a new EV form, delivering an attractive and inviting design.
The two-tone design of the ID.Buzz offers buyers a variety of options, matching white with a variety of loud, bright colors that will get attention even at great distance. Color shades offered include: Energetic Orange, Pomelo Yellow, Mahi Green, Blue Charcoal, Metro Silver, Cabana Blue and Indium Grey.
Without a doubt, of all the vehicles I’ve ever tested over the years, the ID.Buzz was the biggest conversation starter I have ever driven. Literally every person who saw the ID.Buzz asked me questions about it and wanted to know more. It’s that unicorn of a vehicle that truly is like nothing else on the road.
Almost all the comments were positive, and one person told me it “looked like a concept car” due to its unique design compared to other vehicles on the roadways.
In terms of size, the ID.Buzz is a very large vehicle — even when compared to other large EVs and minivans. It’s long and especially tall, and keep in mind you’ll likely need to park farther away in lots so you’re not crammed up so close against other vehicles.
Measurement numbers on the ID.Buzz include:
— Wheelbase: 131.1 inches
— Length: 195.4 inches
— Width: 78.1 inches
— Height: 76.2 inches
The ID.Buzz is easy to climb into and out of, due to a large door opening. It features minivan-style sliding doors, which is why it is offered compared to minivan offerings. There’s also a gigantic rear hatch on the ID.Buzz.
Other design features on the ID.Buzz exterior include:
— 20-inch alloy wheels with all-season tires
— Automatic LED headlights, daytime running lights, taillights
— Adaptive front lighting system with dynamic cornering
— Poor Weather Lights (improve visibility in harsh weather)
— Illuminated front VW logo, front light bar, illuminated door handles
— Power-folding, heated, power side mirrors, with position memory and puddle lights
— Rain-sensing, variable intermittent front wipers
Moving inside the ID.Buzz, the theme that emerges is roominess and plenty of space for all your needs, as well as versatility.
From the moment the doors open, the ID.Buzz looks and feels larger than most traditional minivans and SUVs.
The amount of headroom and legroom that passengers in all three rows receive is simply massive, and larger than what you’ll find in other three-row EVs.
The ID.Buzz’s third row is especially impressive, as it’s truly spacious and capable of holding not just children, but adults of all sizes. At six feet tall, I felt comfortable in the third row, which is a rare occurrence. There are charge ports and cup holders in the third row, and it’s easy to fold second seats to allow access for passengers to enter the third row.
Seating is also quite versatile, with the third row being fully removable if so desired, and the front row center storage console also being fully removable if you need the space. The front row cup holders also fold out and can be hidden if needed. Front seats feature adjustable armrests, and there are tables that fold out of the backrests for use by rear-seat passengers.
Surprisingly, Volkswagen has included a massage function on the ID.Buzz. It’s not the best massage system I’ve experienced, but still gives a solid performance and it’s a bit of an Easter egg I did not expect when I got into the vehicle.
The overall materials used on the ID.Buzz are of high quality, but not quite as luxurious or upscale as you’ll find on the Kia EV9 three-row electric SUV.
The leatherette seating looks and feels great, and is comfortable for passengers in all three rows. Door panels get a two-tone design that is sharp, and the front passenger gets a lengthy shelf in front of them for their keys, wallet or other small items.
An optional panoramic glass roof is offered in the ID.Buzz. Operation of the sliding doors can be done from the front seat or second row. Seating options in the ID.Buzz include setups for either 6 or 7 passengers, depending on whether the middle row has Captain’s Chairs or a bench seat.
Key interior features include:
— Leatherette seating surfaces
— Three-zone automatic climate control
— Heated, adjustable steering wheel
— Heated and ventilated front seats; Heated second-row seats
— Multi-color adjustable ambient lighting
— Illuminated, carpeted cargo area
— Flexboard adjustable storage system
A pair of unique, square second-row windows can be controlled electronically by a panel on the ID.Buzz’s driver door.
Cargo space is another key facet of the ID.Buzz that will help it draw interest. Official numbers are a solid 145.5 cubic feet with both second and third rows down, 75.5 cubic feet behind the second row, and 18.6 cubic feet with all seats up.
HOW’S THE RIDE?
A pair of electric power plants are offered on the 2025 Volkswagen ID.Buzz — a single-motor, rear-wheel drive version; and a dual-motor, all-wheel drive option.
The single-motor option provides 282 horsepower, and 413 pound-feet of torque, and can go 0-to-60 in just over 7 seconds. The dual-motor option comes in at 335 horsepower and 512 pound-feet, and goes 0-to-60 in around 5.5 seconds.
The ID.Buzz features a four-wheel independent suspension, and all ID.Buzz trims come with a 91-kWh lithium-ion battery pack.
Drive modes include Sport (quick and lots of fun), Comfort (smooth and responsive drive) and Eco (your slowest but greenest option).
The ID.Buzz can tow up to 3,500 pounds (with AWD) or 2,600 pounds (with RWD).
For such a large vehicle, the 0-to-60 speeds are impressive, and it also handles better than you would expect from a microbus-sized vehicle. Be aware though, that despite solid handling, you will feel bumpy roads more than you would with traditional SUVs and minivans.
I also liked the way the driver feels higher up, even moreso than in an SUV or most trucks or minivans. It offers a great view of the road through the massive windshield, which features bus-style wipers.
Regenerative braking will come into play when you lift off the accelerator, but you’ll still need to hit the brakes to stop completely.
TECHNOLOGY, SAFETY
The ID.Buzz is a tech-savvy vehicle, operated mainly through a 12.9-inch center touchscreen, as well as some controls on the steering wheel.
The center screen is attractive and well-designed, but the concerns I had with it involved how it is operated. Controls on the center screen and steering wheel are touch-sensitive, take time to master, and the lack of physical buttons can make using these controls distracting while you drive.
Voice commands worked effectively, which can limit your requirement on these physical controls, but I would hope VW can adjust the tech controls to be more user-friendly on future editions of the ID.Buzz.
Other tech features on the ID.Buzz include 8 USB-C ports throughout the vehicle (including some in unique positions like the second-row doors and rearview mirror), wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay connectivity for phone mirroring, and wireless phone charging.
You also get Bluetooth connectivity for streaming calls and music, and a Harman Kardon premium audio system with 13 speakers and subwoofer.
Safety systems on the ID.Buzz worked well, including Travel Assist — a limited self-driving system which is easily controlled from the steering wheel and handles curvy roads well, keeping you in the lines and slowing for traffic ahead when needed.
Helpful warnings are also given when you back out of a driveway about any oncoming traffic, via the Rear Traffic Alert.
Much of the ID.Buzz safety support comes from the IQ.Drive collection of features, which comes standard and includes:
— Adaptive cruise control (maintains distance to the vehicle in front)
— Lane keeping assistance (steers the ID. Buzz back into its lane if it begins to drift)
— Blind-spot warning and intervention (steers the ID.Buzz back into its lane if a car is in its blind spot)
— Forward Collision Warning with Automatic Emergency Braking, including Pedestrian and Cyclist monitoring
VW’s Advanced Airbag Protection System features 7 airbags. And a Head-Up Display is also offered on the ID.Buzz, to help keep your eyes on the road.
RANGE, CHARGING
Official fuel economy numbers on the RWD version of the 2025 Volkswagen ID.Buzz come in at 90 MPGe city/75 MPGe highway/83 MPGe combined.
Moving up to the AWD version moves those numbers to 87 MPGe city, 74 MPGe highway, and 80 MPGe combined.
These are solid overall numbers, but slightly behind the Kia EV9, Hyundai Ioniq 9, and Rivian R1S — the few direct competitors the ID.Buzz is facing.
More importantly, let’s get into range, perhaps the most important measure of an EV. My single-motor test vehicle had 234 miles of range, while the dual-motor version clocks in at 231 miles of range.
Even if you are able to stretch that to 250 or more, these numbers lag behind other large EVs, and it would be much better if they were approaching the 300-mile mark to better support longer road trips — which would be the perfect fit for a microbus. By comparison, the Kia EV9 gets around 300 miles of range and Hyundai Ioniq 9 gets up to 335. The Rivian R1S gets over 400 (but is much more expensive).
In terms of charging, doing a full charge of the ID.Buzz at home will take you 9 hours with a Level 2 Charger, so you can charge overnight.
In public, if you find a suitably fast DC rapid charger, it'll take around 30 minutes to top up the battery from 10-80 percent capacity.
When I had the ID.Buzz, I charged it from around 45 percent to 100 percent at a public charger. That charge took about 45 minutes. Like all EVs, home charging is the best option to use unless you are on the road, to save you time and money.
PRICE
The ID.Buzz that I tested was priced around $66,000, and the base price starts around $60K.
Trim levels on the ID.Buzz include Pro S, Pro S Plus, First Edition, Pro S Plus AWD and First Edition AWD, with the highest trims topping $70K.
That number may cause concern for some potential buyers who were hoping for a lower entry point, but it’s in line with the few large three-row EVs that are currently available. Both the Kia EV9 and Hyundai Ioniq 9 are also priced in the $60K range.
Other vehicles that might be cross-shopped include the Chrysler Pacifica plug-in minivan (starts around $53K), Toyota Sienna hybrid minivan (starts around $41K), and the Kia Carnival hybrid minivan (starts around $42K).
The price tag will likely be the biggest stumbling block for sales of the ID.Buzz, as $60K to $70K is a lot of money for a non-luxury ride, even if it is an EV, and it’s significantly more costly than the hybrid minivans for sale today.
Volkswagen is likely hoping that the uniqueness of the ID.Buzz will be enough to get buyers interested enough that they’ll overlook the price tag and still decide to buy one.
In terms of warranties, the ID. Buzz gets:
— Volkswagen’s New Vehicle Limited Warranty (4 years/50,000 miles)
— Powertrain Warranty (4 years/50,000 miles)
— Battery/electric components warranty (8 years/100,000 miles)
Scheduled maintenance is covered at 1 year/10,000 miles, and 2 years/20,000. And you get 3 years/36,000 miles of 24-hour roadside assistance.
BOTTOM LINE
The long-awaited 2025 Volkswagen ID.Buzz is more than an eye-catching novelty vehicle that plays on nostalgia.
It’s a legitimate, practical and capable alternative to traditional SUVs and minivans, and a unicorn in the EV world at the moment.
The ID.Buzz’s biggest negative marks come on the tech setup and overall mileage range, but other than that it’s a remarkable achievement for Volkswagen, and I would hope they can improve those areas in future editions.
The ID.Buzz may not do gangbusters in sales right out the gate due to its high price tag. But I hope it sticks around for a while, as it's nice to have alternative vehicle options for families to consider.
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AutoTechReviews.com can be found on Twitter @AutoTechReview, or stay updated at the AutoTechReviews Facebook page. Follow AutoTechReviews on Instagram at @Autotechreviews or on TikTok at @AutoTechReviews.. Matt Myftiu can be found on Twitter @MattMyftiu.