2024 Volkswagen ID.Buzz review

CarExpert

If you're desperately in need for a people-mover/van, but don't want the typical options that are around, Volkswagen is about to drop the all-electric 2024 Volkswagen ID.Buzz in Australia. Paul Maric test drives it to see if it's any good.  More Volkswagen content: https://www.carexpert.com.au/volkswagen More Volkswagen ID.Buzz content: https://www.carexpert.com.au/volkswagen/id-buzz  Skip Ahead: Intro: 00:00 Exterior: 00:49 Interior: 03:05 Cargo: 05:52 Charging: 06:44 Driving: 07:08  We review every new car on the market, bust car myths, cover the latest car tech and answer your burning questions.  Whether you need new car advice, purchase validation or simply love learning more about new cars and technology, we are your car experts.  Subscribe to Car Expert: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7DvMhvy3H7ntEgn9n3xQcQ?sub_confirmation=1  You'll find us dropping new video content three times a week. If you'd like to ask a question about one of our videos, simply leave us a comment. If you'd like to give us any feedback on our content, feel free to email us, or alternatively, hit us up on social media.  Finally, we want this channel to grow with your support and feedback. If there's anything you don't like or would like to see us change, we'd love to hear from you!  Follow us on social media to see what we're up to and to ask any questions!  CarExpert: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CarExpertAus Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/CarExpertAus Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carexpert.com.au  Paul Maric: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PaulMaric Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/PaulMaric Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/PaulMaric  #volkswagen #vw #idbuzz #review

Transcript

00:00 G'day, I'm Paul. This is probably one of the coolest new cars to launch recently. It's

00:05 called the Volkswagen ID.Buzz. It's a fully electric van, or people mover, I don't know.

00:10 It's just a little bit of everything all thrown into one. We're over in Germany to test drive

00:14 this before it arrives in Australia late next year. We don't know pricing just yet, but

00:19 I'm tipping it'll be around the $100,000 mark, so it's going to be an expensive little thing

00:23 when it does finally arrive in Australia.

00:25 So today, I'm going to take it for a brief drive. I'll give you a little bit of information

00:28 on what it's like inside the cabin, and then when it does finally launch in Australia,

00:32 I'll give you a far more detailed review. If you do want to skip ahead to other parts

00:35 of this video, you can use the time codes that are on the screen, or if you're on YouTube,

00:39 you can scroll down and use the chapters below. And if you haven't done so already, subscribe

00:42 to our channel, press the bell icon, and that way you'll find out every single time we drive

00:47 a big black bus.

00:50 So let's talk about the design. Probably one of the coolest things about this, it's available

00:53 in short wheelbase and long wheelbase. Short wheelbase is five seats, long wheelbase actually

00:59 adds an extra row of seating, gives you a little bit more room to play with. While the

01:02 Australian line-up hasn't been confirmed yet, there's a good chance this is going to launch

01:05 in Australia both as a people mover and also a cargo van, so you do have a number of options

01:10 to pick from there. I'll walk you through the drivetrains a little bit later on when

01:14 we go for a spin, but let's talk about the design first. I just love the way this looks.

01:18 It is so unique out on the road, and I think people movers are making a resurgence. People

01:22 that don't want an SUV but can't live with a wagon because it's not too far off the ground

01:27 are going to go for stuff like this, and it's part of the reason the Kia Carnival is so

01:30 popular. It is the perfect platform to stick a whole bunch of kids in, your luggage and

01:34 all that sort of fun stuff. This serves that same purpose, but it's fully electric, and

01:38 we also think that they're working on a California version of this, which is fitted out with

01:42 a whole bunch of kitchen accessories and other fun things as well.

01:45 So down the front here you've got a big Volkswagen logo, you've got an LED light that connects

01:50 this whole front section together, full LED headlights as well. Beneath here it's really

01:55 cool, you've got a little washer fluid chamber and then other sort of bits and pieces, and

01:59 then the rest of this is all just nice and flat with cooling down the bottom here. Come

02:03 around to the side with me, I'll show you the wheels. Now down here, 21-inch alloy wheels,

02:07 so you've got a machined finish up the top there and then piano black down the bottom.

02:12 21-inch alloy wheels are a bit dangerous because you are working with a pretty low-profile

02:17 tyre and given this is a vehicle that's going to be carrying people around, it is probably

02:21 something worth considering, but we'll see how it goes. This actually shares a platform

02:25 with passenger vehicles, so it should in theory not drive like a typical commercial vehicle,

02:30 but we'll hit the road and see what that's all about.

02:33 Now also, you get powered doors on both sides, so you just grab the door handle, that then

02:38 whips open, and over here is your charging port, which I'll run you through in just a

02:42 second, but let's go to the back of the car first. Now around the back here you've got

02:45 LED tail lights, big Volkswagen logo, ID Buzz in white lettering, shark fin aerial up the

02:51 top, and I love just some of these design elements down the side too, it really is just

02:55 a really cool looking vehicle. Now let me know what you reckon in the comments section

02:59 below, do you think it looks good? Would you pay this kind of money for it? I'm keen for

03:03 your feedback, so let me know.

03:05 So we're inside the ID Buzz, this looks unreal. So you think to yourself, this is a van, a

03:11 people mover, but what they've done here with the interior is, again, just made it look

03:16 cool. Why does a people mover need to look boring? And I think the Care Carnival was

03:20 the first one that kind of kick-started that resurgence, but this is what I'm talking about.

03:25 I love this look over here with the faux sort of wood grain along the dashboard, you have

03:29 the brushed aluminium. There is barely any piano black here in sight, which is fantastic

03:35 news to my ear. All these surfaces are gripped as well, so if you do load things in, they're

03:38 all going to sit there and they're not going to move around, which is really good news.

03:41 You've got air vents down here as well to keep you nice and cool. Also, unlike the other

03:45 ID models that have infotainment systems that are tilted towards the driver, this is central

03:50 because it understands that you are going to have a passenger potentially using that

03:54 infotainment screen as well. Being an electric vehicle, it is important to know your range

03:58 and battery status and that sort of thing, so they've integrated this screen here on

04:01 the steering wheel, and that's static with the steering wheel, so when you do move it

04:04 up and down, that moves up and down with the steering wheel. Unfortunately though, on the

04:08 steering wheel it does have those haptic feedback buttons, and they can be just a little bit

04:12 clumsy. You sometimes bump them when you're driving and touch things when you don't really

04:16 want to. Other Volkswagen products have moved to physical buttons on the steering wheel.

04:20 Hopefully, they're going to end up doing the same thing here with the ID Buzz as well.

04:23 I love the armrest too, knowing that you are probably going to be relaxing while you're

04:27 cruising along in this. Now, some other clever features, you have a couple of little nooks

04:31 and crannies here. So, this section pops down to reveal a couple of cup holders. You've

04:35 got a wireless phone charger built into here with two USB-C ports. This whole centre section,

04:40 in addition to having a little cubby holder down the front there, the whole thing actually

04:43 comes out if you need it to come out, so it gives you easier access to the second row,

04:48 and then you have generous storage there with the glove box as well. So, it's a really nicely

04:52 laid out cabin, feels very airy as well, which is good news.

04:55 Now, let's jump into the second row. I want to see how much room there is and whether

04:58 you can actually fit an adult back there. Okay, so, second row, what is it like? Let's

05:03 have a look. There's a button up here to close the door as well. Decent amount of leg room.

05:07 Have a look at that. So, knee room is good, toe room is great, headroom is excellent.

05:11 There is no glass roof. I don't know if it's an option or whether it will be an option

05:15 when it does arrive in Australia, but you can see cutouts here, so hopefully it does

05:18 eventually get a glass roof as well. A little tray table for your odds and ends, which is

05:23 very nice. A little bit of storage down here as well, and then you have another storage

05:27 nook here too, which is fantastic. It's like an actual bin that you can put things in,

05:31 which is good. Now, I can't see any USB ports here, which is interesting. Oh, no, they're

05:36 in the door. There you go, they've thought of that as well. So, this is obviously only

05:40 two rows, and the issue with that is that, you know, a lot of people are buying these

05:44 to have a three-row set up. There is a long wheelbase version coming, but there might

05:48 actually be a third row version coming as well. We'll jump into the boot and I'll show

05:51 you what I mean.

05:52 Okay, let's sort cargo space. Let me show you what I was talking about first. So, powered

05:58 tailgate, which is good because it looks heavy. Only downside with this type of powered tailgate

06:03 is you can't stop next to or in front of a wall. You've got to leave enough distance

06:07 there. Over here, it looks like they will eventually be offering a third row because

06:12 you've got armrests here, cup holders, provisions for USB outlets. So, I think it will come

06:16 eventually, but there is a payload limit of around 520 kilos. So, third row may not actually

06:23 be all that useful. Nothing else to mention here. The whole vehicle has a flat load floor,

06:27 which is good. You have over 1100 litres available here in this space. So, it is an enormous

06:32 space. That increases to over 2000 litres if you drop the second row as well. You've

06:37 got a 12-volt outlet plus some hooks there too. So, pretty impressive space and I like

06:41 the way they've been able to package all of this.

06:44 Now before we go for a spin, let's chat about charging. So, you have AC and DC charging.

06:49 AC comes in the form of three phase up to 11 kilowatts. DC charging will peak at around

06:55 170 kilowatts, but average about 110 kilowatts. This is a 77 kilowatt hour battery with a

07:01 driving range of just over 400 kilometres and it averages around 21 kilowatt hours per

07:06 100 k's.

07:09 So we are in the ID Buzz going for a drive. This thing is so cool. I don't know, it looks

07:15 cool in person, but it is so interesting to drive because you sit high up like an SUV,

07:21 but it doesn't feel like a van. It's quite hard to describe. I really like the way that

07:27 it feels here behind the wheel. You kind of feel like you're in a carnival, but sitting

07:31 higher up. And it is also interesting in terms of viewpoint. When I look down the front of

07:35 the car, they've actually moved the AEB equipment down to the bottom of the bonnet there, or

07:41 some of that equipment, and you get this little hump down the bottom. It's quite clever because

07:45 it would have actually intruded quite a lot into your viewpoint up the top here.

07:49 Now in terms of what is driving this, so this is available currently as a single motor,

07:54 so rear wheel drive. It produces 150 kilowatts of power and 310 newton metres of torque.

07:59 There is an all wheel drive version of this that they're working on. I don't know whether

08:03 we'll actually get that in Australia when this does launch, but if it does, that actually

08:07 produces over 200 kilowatts of power. And I think that they're gradually improving these

08:12 things to really just crank up the amount of power and torque they're able to get out

08:15 of them as they learn.

08:16 In terms of charging as well, that software update that they're rolling out on these allows

08:21 it to charge a little bit faster too, which is also good news.

08:25 Now on the economy front, this one's a little bit tricky. So being a bigger vehicle, it

08:30 has the 77 kilowatt hour battery, but it weighs almost two and a half tonnes. And as a result

08:34 of that, the economy isn't fantastic. So they've gone with a smaller battery so that it doesn't

08:39 weigh too much, but you do come at a compromise of economy. Driving range then is around 400

08:44 kilometres. We're currently averaging around 17 kilowatt hours per 100 Ks, which is a really

08:49 good figure, but a lot of it has been downhill. The average is over 20 kilowatt hours per

08:54 100 Ks. So that is worth keeping in mind. The more you load this up with people and

08:57 stuff, it is going to become more and more inefficient. It has a payload of around 500

09:03 kilos. So that gives you an idea of what you can actually put in here after you've put

09:07 passengers and stuff like that in.

09:09 Now what does all that feel like behind the wheel? Give this a little stab. Look, it's

09:14 not the world's quickest car. Zero to 100 in over 10 seconds. Being the rear wheel drive,

09:20 that is probably going to be its Achilles heel. The all-wheel drive version would no

09:24 doubt be faster than this. It's not going to be a three second to 100 vehicle, but I

09:28 think you probably do want a little bit extra in there, especially if you're loading this

09:32 up with passengers and stuff. 10 seconds to 100 just with a single passenger is probably

09:36 going to feel a little bit slow.

09:38 One thing I am noticing is there is a fair bit of road noise. We're only travelling sort

09:42 of 80 k's an hour here and there is a lot of road noise that's permeating into the cabin.

09:46 It is definitely louder than both the ID.3 and the ID.5, which we've driven over the

09:51 past couple of days. So that seems to be an inherent thing here with this platform, which

09:57 is a little bit disappointing because if you do have a family and stuff like that in the

09:59 car and you're on a course-chip country road, it is going to make a lot of noise inside

10:03 the cabin. And that's why I'm keen to actually drive this back home in Australia to see what

10:08 it's like on some of our roads, because I think the course-chip roads with this wheel

10:11 and tyre package are probably going to unearth a little bit of that.

10:14 Okay, so what's it like once you get stuck into it? We've got a beautiful twisty section

10:20 of Alps here. Let's see how it goes once we punt it through a few corners. I quite like

10:25 the regen mode in the sense that it gives you the regen that you need, but it's not

10:30 overly intrusive. There is no, as far as I can tell, no one-pedal driving feature, and

10:35 as a result of that you kind of have to be riding the brake every now and then as well.

10:38 But just from a confidence point of view, it is surprising how nimble this is for such

10:45 a big vehicle. It does do this weird thing though, when you are off the throttle and

10:50 then you try and get back onto it, there is a brief dead spot there before it lets you

10:55 have the throttle again. And often these types of vehicles will do this, electric vehicles

11:00 that are rear-driven, because stability control is just constantly trying to make sure it

11:05 doesn't spin an inside wheel, and as a result of that it will limit your torque until it's

11:09 ready for you to go back onto it. And I do notice that here as we're sort of driving

11:13 along. But what does surprise me is just how sort of friendly this is to drive, and just

11:17 how responsive it all is. You just don't expect a van that weighs two and a half tonnes to

11:22 be as agile as this is, and as eager to be thrown around. And I think it helps that it

11:28 is a rear-wheel drive platform, and it gives you that feedback behind the wheel. So, very

11:33 impressed with this from a driver's point of view, especially given what it is. I'll

11:36 be very keen to see what this is like with the all-wheel drive setup when that launches,

11:41 because I reckon it could be like a, I don't know, like a good Nürburgring attempt potentially.

11:46 So that has been your first look at the Volkswagen ID.Buzz. Do you agree with me that this is

11:52 the coolest looking car that's launched this year? Let me know in the comments section

11:55 below. Just a couple of things worth pointing out. It is worth noting that your payload

11:58 is only over 500 kilos, so you can fill that pretty quickly if you have just adults in

12:02 the vehicle. Likewise with adults plus cargo in the back, so that is worth keeping in mind.

12:08 And I also think it just needs to be a little bit punchier. It does feel a little bit slow

12:11 with this combination that's on offer here. That's all going to be fixed when they go

12:15 down the path of all-wheel drive though, but I think that it is a pretty cool vehicle,

12:19 and I can't wait for it to finally arrive in Australia at some point next year. Now,

12:24 if you did enjoy this video, please make sure you like it and you share it with your mates,

12:27 and if you haven't done so already, subscribe to our channel and press the bell icon. But

12:30 Until next time, take it easy.

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