Fans can hardly wait: the electric bus ID.Buzz from Volkswagen is here

Great retro design, high driving comfort, quiet: The ID.

Fans can hardly wait: the electric bus ID.Buzz from Volkswagen is here

Great retro design, high driving comfort, quiet: The ID.Buzz is a beautiful, happy, (environmentally) friendly vehicle. With many strengths, but also some weaknesses. In one discipline it even falls behind the T 7, which is technically quite old but still available.

But the fans were made to wait quite a long time: almost six years have passed since Volkswagen presented an ID.Buzz at the Detroit show. The enthusiasm was great even back then, so it's good that VW has managed to retain the basic charm of the study in the production vehicle. The electric bus, which can now be ordered but has long waiting times, manages to look modern and at the same time visually reminds of the first Bulli of the 1950s (T1).

Our test car underlines this with a beautiful, cheerful two-tone paintwork in mint green/white for a mere 2642 euros extra - if you're really upset about the current basic and surcharges for new cars, you should probably grab a good book at this point. Well, the Buzz just looks "good", optionally also "cute", as many people told us again and again during the test at petrol stations, parking lots, in city traffic or when talking to neighbors.

The ID.Buzz, built by VW Commercial Vehicles in Hanover, collects further plus points with its high driving comfort and its surprising maneuverability, which is on a par with a Golf. Thanks to the electric drive, it is quiet and powerful when accelerating. The developers have not designed this for unnecessary dynamics. Good this way. The bus, which is based on the Group's electric platform MEB, needs a moderate 10.2 seconds for modern cars to reach 100 km/h. And at 145 km/h it's over, which doesn't bother you at all in this vehicle. Rather, we enjoy its design-related strong acceleration, 310 Newton meters of immediately applied torque prove to be completely sufficient in practice.

In the ID.Buzz you sit on chairs of such mediocre quality, but very relaxed because the seating position, which is somewhere between the combustion engine bus and a car, fits well. The light interior with lots of storage space and clever details also fits into the picture of a practical and family-friendly vehicle. We don't take it personally that the double cup holder attached to the front of the tunnel got stuck several times when exiting and simply blame it on early teething problems.

Of course, when assessing the vehicle, one does not take an ID.4 as a benchmark, although there is a modular relationship here, but automatically the T 7, which is technically quite old but still up-to-date. It plays the automotive role of the old white man, so to speak , and the ID.Buzz has a few things ahead of it, above all, of course, the more environmentally friendly drive. When it comes to variability, however, the more modern bus has to give way to the older bus. The electrician doesn't have much more to offer than a rear seat that can be moved by 15 centimetres, which can also be folded down in a 60:40 ratio, as with any small car. seat rail? none. This is disappointing.

And while we're at it: The navigation system is really not a quick calculator - and once it has decided on a route, it will guide us blindly and despite alternatives into long traffic jams.

The journey itself is always fun in the ID.Buzz, not only because of the many smiling faces and thumbs up on the side of the road and with the neighbors at the traffic lights. In addition to acceleration and turning circle, the high level of driving comfort is also convincing - at least for a bus. The five-seater takes bumps and potholes more calmly than a combustion bulli. Speaking of five-door. In the course of the coming year, Volkswagen will also launch a seven-seater version with an extended wheelbase, making the ID.Buzz a handball team-friendly family bus.

So, last chance to stop reading here and grab a book. We come to the prices. Even the basic version comes at a steep price of just under 64,600 euros (Pro equipment). The surcharges are no less. We already talked about the two-tone paintwork.

Any other examples? If you want the lame navigation system, you will find this together with a voice assistant, inductive charging and a few other little things for 1517 euros as an infotainment package plus in the options list. Oddly enough, matrix LED headlights are hidden in the design package and cost 1726 euros there together with stainless steel pedals and other light effects. The Assistance Plus package is definitely recommended. It includes things like the automatic distance control ACC Stop for a proud 2374 euros

More than 70,000 euros quickly accumulate here, from which 4785 euros can then be deducted in the new year as a state bonus (3000 euros) and dealer bonus (1785 euros gross). Still, that's likely to blow most family budgets. Which is a pity, because the ID.Buzz is deprived of its most natural environment consisting of parents/children. Volkswagen will still find more than enough buyers who want to quiet the first electric Bulli.

ID.Buzz Pro - Specifications