VW Reveals Full US Spec ID. Buzz and Suddenly the Minivan Is Cool Again

• Volkswagen finally showed off its long-delayed, much-anticipated ID. Buzz “microbus” in US specs and it looks promising.

• With a 91-kWh battery and your choice of RWD or AWD, the estimate for an EPA range was only 260 miles. Only 260? Are we spoiled by 500-mile Lucids?

• No price was listed, but it could be in the low-60s, maybe.

Get ready for minivans to be cool again: Volkswagen has revealed the full US-spec version of its long-awaited ID. Buzz microbus, even though it’s not so micro anymore.

Problem is, even though you’ve been waiting 20 years already (the time since the last US-spec Eurovan went away) you will have to wait another year and a half, until the fall of 2024, before you can even think of taking delivery of one.

And pricing? There is no official word at all on pricing. By scotch-taping together all the various hints, suggestions, denials, smirks, grimaces, and nervous twitches we got over the course of a day and a half spent with various VW execs and employees, we think it might be between $60,000 and $65,000 to start. Again, that is just our own guesstimate. But consider the smaller ID.4 AWD PRO S Plus crossover, with a smaller battery, tops out at $55,000. And remember this ID. Buzz will be well-loaded, has a larger battery and more size, and, well, that’s our pricing logic. It could be waaaaay off. Argue amongst yourselves.

The rest of the ID. Buzz is largely very promising.

It’ll come in two drivetrain configurations: rear- and all-wheel-drive. Both will get power from a 91-kWh battery. The rear-drive version gets a 282-hp, 406-lb-ft permanent magnet synchronous electric motor sitting at the rear axle powering the rear wheels. The AWD model gets two electric motors, one on the front axle and another on the rear. Volkswagen says the AWD model will get 330 hp, without offering any more details. (The two-row, Euro-spec ID. Buzz is already on sale over there with an 82-kWh battery.)

The ID. Buzz rides on the largest version yet of Volkswagen’s MEB electric drive platform. It’s 192.4 inches long, 127.5 inches of which are wheelbase. It’s 77.9 inches high and 74.6 inches wide. VW says that’s roughly the size of the VW Atlas, except that the Buzz is five inches taller.

Access comes via two traditionally forward-hinged front doors, two power-sliding rear side doors, and a rear tailgate that lifts up in one piece just like the last Eurovan to be sold here in 2003.

The interior is highly modular. Between the two front captain’s chairs is a center console that can easily be lifted out and stored away somewhere else, in case you need to store something else there or get to the back seats to discipline the children. The middle row of seats can be either two more captain’s chairs (that do not come out) or a 60-40 sliding bench seat that folds flat for hauling.

The all-important third row seat accommodates another two passengers, and also slides back and forth. Both back rows fold flat, while the third row bench can be easily removed just by yanking a loop of webbing and pulling the whole thing right out the back. Behind the third-row seats is some very handy storage space, with a removable parcel shelf that sits atop two nice VW-logoed grocery bins, also removable.

I sat in all the seats and had plenty of room in all of them. They were more firm than they were coddling, but it seemed like it’d be easy to live with them. The standard 12-way power driver’s and front passenger seats get those traditional fold-down armrests like the old Eurovan. The second- and third-row seats were surprisingly roomy—yes, even the third row.

Second-row seats can be slid fore and aft as much as 7.9 inches and can be raked rearward up to 16 degrees. The only complaint I had was the rearmost seats’ head restraints got in the way of my cervical vertebrae. But most third-row occupants will be small children or middle school carpool participants not liked by the other children, so no problems there.

Looking up, there is an optional ginormous fixed sunroof: 67.4 inches long and 40.8 inches wide (5.6 x 3.4 feet). You could land a Messerschmidt on that thing. Solar gain, you pre-whine? Not with this roof’s polymer-dispersed liquid crystal layer integrated into the glass. Simply adjust the electric current coursing through the roof and the opacity changes, like those sunglasses the smart kids wore in junior high. Second- and third-row windows are tinted, too, but not with PDLC.

Volkswagen knows that infotainment systems are the number-one cause of owner dissatisfaction. That dissatisfaction shows up in the quality surveys people cite as a reason to steer clear of Volkswagens. VW ranked 24th out of 32 manufacturers in JD Power’s 2023 Vehicle Dependability Study, for instance. Infotainment dissatisfaction across all manufacturers is the number one complaint. So VW says it made sure infotainment and HMI (human-machine interface) were good on this new ID. Buzz, though we didn’t get to play around with them.

The ID. Buzz gets a 5.3-inch screen in front of the steering wheel for speedo and other information, while a 12.9-inch infotainment screen hovers over the center of the dash with everything else in easy proximity. Here’s how VW describes this increasingly important feature:

“Operation has become simpler, more intuitive and more customizable,” VW promises about infotainment and general HMI, before going into greater detail. “The top bar of the display now has a new direct-access function on the left, which opens the main menu with an overview of all apps with just one click. Next to it is a button for the new Car Control Center, which offers direct access to the most important vehicle functions, which can be configured individually. The main menu and the Car Control Center can be opened at any time without having to exit the active app. This significantly simplifies operation. The new home screen in the middle combines the content of the most important apps on tiles of different sizes. In addition to classic content such as navigation and radio/media, the tiles also offer new functions such as suggestions from the voice assistant. The home screen can also be individually configured by the user.”

As Butch said to Sundance, “Well that ought to do it.”

The interior also sports those colored light strips you see on Mercedes and BMWs. Maybe it’s a German thing. This light show comes with 30 colors, enough to delight, or drive insane, anyone. It runs below the windshield and not only entertains, but also signals various things, like when the car is ready to drive, or where to turn left or right with the NAV, when to stomp on the brakes, and it evens signals that it’s listening to you when you’re delivering voice prompts.

This US-spec reveal was only a brief guten tag for the ID. Buzz, but there was nothing in it to discourage anyone from buying one of these. It might even encourage someone to hold off on buying something else and wait for an ID. Buzz, if they don’t price-gouge the heck out of these things next year.

There was some discussion about price gouging when we spoke to VW of America CEO Pablo Di Si. He said he was going to try and stop it, though when asked how, he didn’t offer anything specific. So brace yerself, Geisela, pricing could be steep, at least at launch. Considering that the ID. Buzz will only be made in Hannover, Germany, a plant with a capacity of 100,000 a year for global demand, many buyers will face an even longer wait than fall of 2024.

Is the VW ID. Buzz the battery-electric vehicle you have been waiting for? Please comment below.