Few vehicles are as iconic or as instantly recognizable as the Volkswagen Bus. The funky German people-hauler features a unique upright shape and cavernous interior space for carrying passengers to music festivals far and wide. Volkswagen hasn’t sold a van here in the U.S. for several years now, as the last family carrier it offered was the Routan. That’s about to change, and in a big way. The ID. Buzz – a seriously quirky electric van is on its way, and promises to be a compelling zero-emissions vehicle.
VW promises 201 horsepower and 229 pound-feet of torque. Range figures are expected soon.Volkswagen
The van premiered at the Detroit Auto Show in 2017, and VW has used it as an EV ambassador since. Though it looks like a frumpy people hauler, Volkswagen says the MEB platform upon which the ID. Buzz rides makes it agile. Like many EVs, its 82-kWh battery is located beneath the load floor, which helps give the van a low center of gravity and improve handling. It’s paired with an electric motor mounted on the rear axle that provides 201 horsepower and 229 pound-feet of torque.
The ID. Buzz offers five seats and 39.6 cubic feet of cargo space. An available ID. Buzz Cargo carries a petition behind the front seats and offers a total cargo capacity of 5.1 cubic yards (137.7 cubic feet). Both versions of the van are 185.5 inches long and ride on wheels ranging from 18 to 21 inches in size. The relatively compact dimensions give the van a turning radius of just over 35 feet.
The ID. Buzz is on a final European quality check tour before entering production. Volkswagen
VW says a fleet of pre-production vans is touring Europe working out final kinks before full-scale production begins. VW will start building the ID. Buzz in the second half of 2022 and the van will launch in Europe in fall. The vehicle we see here in the United States will ride on an extended wheelbase, but no other region-specific specs are available.
