Volkswagen ID Buzz concept review

Fitted with a large 111kWh lithium ion battery mounted low in the floor, Volkswagen claims the ID Buzz has a zero-emissions range of up to 372 miles on the European test cycle.

Driving the Volkswagen ID Buzz concept

A swipe of your finger on a starter button within the touch-sensitive steering wheel is all that’s needed to prime the electronics and ready the ID Buzz to move off.

The one-off concept has been in use all morning by the time I get my turn in the driver’s seat, and there are concerns about the level of energy remaining within the lithium ion battery.

Although designed with an augmented-reality head-up display unit within the windscreen, there are no obvious instruments to reveal the battery charge. As a result, my drive is curtailed to a couple of runs of about a mile along 17 Mile Drive, a picturesque tourist road on the Monterey Peninsula in California.

While only a brief encounter in a concept with the single motor and rear-wheel-drive layout likely to power entry-level versions, it nevertheless provides a good indication of what we can expect when the production version arrives in 2022.

The ID Buzz gets under way with surprising vigour as I call up D (for drive) with a swipe of my finger across the steering wheel. This early concept might not possess the full quota of reserves promised by the twin-engine spec, but the Volkswagen e-Golf-based driveline and rear-wheel-drive set-up is sufficiently sorted to zip away from standstill with instant response. It hits cruising speeds with engagingly flexible properties when the traffic allows.

Volkswagen says the boxy concept weighs close to 2000kg, though it gives the impression of being a lot lighter. Like most electric vehicles, the strong torque ensures it feels eager. 

With a coasting function aiming to maximise efficiency, it freewheels with very low frictional losses when you come off the throttle, rolling along with the electric motor disengaged from the drive process until you pick up the power again or nudge the brake pedal to wipe off speed. Drivetrain refinement is quite impressive; there’s no trace of whine from the electric motor mounted in the back.

Volkswagen intends equipping its new Microbus with contemporary autonomous driving technology. With a steering wheel that retracts back into the dashboard and a driver’s seat that swivels through a full 180deg to face the rear, it has been properly conceived to support hands-off driving. The concept, though, runs a more conventional set-up that relies purely on the driver.

The steering is light but slow to respond and not very direct at all – but with four years of planned development before it is due to reach showrooms, Volkswagen will surely ensure it matches the impressive levels of steering response and directness shown by recent new models.

The electro-mechanical system, whose rack is mounted forward of the front axle line, can manoeuvre the ID Buzz around a Pebble Beach car park without much trouble, although it requires a good deal of twirling the steering wheel to engage much lock. Once up to speed, it improves with greater weighting and more feel. Among the functions Volkswagen is touting is a rear-wheel steer system offering a turning circle of less than 11 metres.  

The ride is firm and quite noisy. Most design-based concepts ride like shopping trolleys, and with the ID Buzz riding on 22in aerodynamically optimised wheels shod with prototype 235/45 tyres, there’s little in the way of proper wheel travel or comfort-inducing compliance.  

But these particular facets of the ID Buzz’s driving characteristics are not really representative of what we can expect of the finished product. When it's launched in 2022, it will use the MacPherson strut front and multi-link rear suspension set to be used by all MEB-based Volkswagen models. They’re taken from the company’s existing MQB-based models, and for the most part they all handle and ride with pleasingly direct and refined driving traits.

Further likely developments include adaptive damping and self-levelling rear air springs to control ride height when loaded with passengers and/or luggage. This, and the fact that the MPV’s inherent layout provides it with a very low centre of gravity, is reason enough to suggest its dynamic qualities should meet the heady expectations already being heaped upon it. 

Initial impressions of the ID Buzz

This basic concept provides a sound basis for the return of one of the motoring world’s most iconic machines.

Sliding rear doors and a fully flat floor show the ease of entry and generous accommodation we can expect from the future Microbus. Positioning the driver so far forward creates sufficient room to accommodate up to eight, and the interior is designed to support a multitude of different layouts. There are two separate luggage compartments, at the front and rear.

One of the factors that have allowed Volkswagen to realise its long-held plans of resurrecting the Microbus is the packaging advantages provided by the MEB platform structure. With the electric motors placed down low, the frontal area has been dedicated almost entirely to crash deformation. The only components housed up front are power electronics for the drivetrain and air-conditioning compressor. Everything else resides underneath the flat floor.

The engineering brief, as it stands today, calls for it to be sold exclusively with electric drive and offer a choice of standard and long wheelbases.

Four years is a long time to wait, but if the promise shown by the ID Buzz concept during our brief drive is reflected to any degree on the production version, it will be well worth it.