MILTON KEYNES, UK – Before climbing in VW ID.Buzz for the first drive in Volkswagenreincarnated and the bus electrified, let’s turn back the clock to see how we finally got to this point. And admit that Americans will have to wait even longer.
In 1950, the first Volkswagen buses were imported into the United States. History doesn’t remember exactly when these rattle air-cooled trucks first became a symbol of American counterculture, but for the 1969 Woodstock Festival, they were parked in a farm field. Bethel comes complete with “Make Love Not War” and “Ban the Bomb Slogans” painted on the sides.
During the 1970s, Gilbert Shelton’s Bizarre brothers with amazing hair riding on a VW bus, and in 1995, when Jerry Garcia, the head of The Grateful Dead, passed away, Volkswagen America ran a simple line drawing. advertisement of the first generation van with a single drop of water escaping from a headlight.
Cheap and frugal, and unlike anything else at the time, the VW bus was the antidote to the huge V8 engines of the time. These are the trucks we stopped working for The Man and tweaked and ditched before departing for San Jose or Big Sur to meet the girl or boy of our dreams. Or so we thought at the time. As of 2014, the original VW bus was still made in Brazil and still appreciated by surfers and campers around the world, which is truly a piece of evidence for the original concept.
In 2001, I saw some of these special relationships when VW introduced Charles Ellwood’s design for a Reborn Bus (or Bulli as the Germans reverently call it) at Detroit Auto Show. This is seven years after Concept first design for a reincarnation Beetles was also shown in Detroit, and was well received by the press and baby boomers in the US who were calling for it to be built.
The response was so strong that next year, VW confirmed that it would put the Microbus into production complete with matte rubber floors and a cute first-generation front end. It was later cancelled.
But this is an itch that VW won’t stop scratching. In 2011 there are Bulli’s concept (upper left), in 2016 we were treated Budd-e (above right), and then in 2017 we saw the concept version of this van, the ID.Buzz (below).
We should be seriously honest here and tell you that VW still produces descendants of VW vans in the form of commercial T6 and T7 hybrids, bearing a striking resemblance to the ID.Buzz, but they are. not run on electricity. In fact, the electric advertising market is said to expand rapidly. The Ford E-Transit will go on sale early this year, with an electric Ram ProMaster then later in late 2022. Amazon-backed Rivian meanwhile has a contract to build 100,000 electric delivery vans, while GMBrightDrop’s is supplying Walmart and FedEx with electric trucks.
The foundation of ID.Buzz is of course the MEB electronic architecture, which underpins a new generation of VW batteries Electric Car: VW ID.4 and ID.3, plus Skoda Enyaq and Cupra Born are sold in other markets.
VW is planning two versions of the ID.Buzz: the bus, which will be called the ID.Buzz and will cost around £50,000 when it goes on sale (about $67,000); and ID.Buzz Goods van version, will cost around £42,000 ($56,000). Production starts this spring, with sales starting this fall in the UK and Europe.
In the near future, there will be a longer wheelbase version with a larger and more powerful size the battery. That’s the car the Americas will have in 2025, and there will also be an ID.California camper, though that will be expensive.
Currently, trucks and buses share the largest battery version of VW’s MEB chassis with a total capacity of 82kWh and a usable lithium-ion battery of 77kWh. The mobility package sits in a 117.8-inch wheelbase, and the van/bus rest is 185.5 inches long, 80 inches wide, and 76.3 inches tall.
To provide some context, ID.Buzz is significantly shorter than . 19.7 inches in length Honda Odyssey, but essentially the same wheelbase. It’s also about 2 inches shorter in height. It is almost the same size of the existing VW Caddy and Transport Trucks. Roomy interior volume, but its 1,278-pound payload is significantly less than existing European cars commercial truckcloser to 2,200 pounds.
Like ID.4The ID.Buzz is rear-engined and therefore rear-wheel drive with 201 horsepower and 229 pound-feet. Top speed is limited to 90 mph and range is reported to be around 250 miles, but that’s on the European driving cycle and can’t be compared with speeds in the US, including range. 260 miles of ID.4. The Buzz won’t go that far, and when we climbed into the bus, its trip computer recorded an average performance of about 2.6 mph/kWh over the previous 500 miles, bringing the total range to about 200 miles. .
While the paint job looks like a return to hippos, it was in reality a European tour camouflage wrap for the car and we drove in Milton Keynes in the Midlands of the United Kingdom. We shouldn’t have reviewed the interior, but a sneak peek reveals quite lovely upholstery in pale cream and terracotta, with interior door trims to match. The separation system features wooden slats with pleasant openings, double shelves facing the passenger, and a trash can in the middle. All have a vintage feel and are well finished.
As with ID.4, it has VW’s new dual-screen infotainment. Poor reception system, including here Automatic logand ID.Buzz shows no sign of solving its problems.
The driving position is a bit awkward for a full-size SUV, although forward visibility is good and the mirrors allow you to place the ID.Buzz precisely on narrow roads.
Unlike the original air-cooled Type 2 trucks, where the driver sat mostly on the front wheel, there was a large gap between the driver and the windshield. The rear view through the rearview mirror was partially obscured by the headrests and that vinyl wrap.
The gear lever is the right-hand steering column stalk. Drag it down to let Drive and the truck move intelligently, gathering speed with some elevation, although most modern trucks are designed to get out of the way quickly. traffic lights.
The steering is light and the gearshifts are good, though at 30 to 40 mph there’s a bit of a worry about handling. This appears to be a result of the long wheelbase and weight, plus the driver’s distance from the front of the vehicle. However, the 36-foot spin is brilliant and makes the ID.Buzz feel highly maneuverable during low-speed revs.
The brakeIt also doesn’t respond well on the first push, and the progression between friction and regenerative braking isn’t very good. You can opt for a higher regen with the B setting on the gearshift, which helps in urban environments.
There’s a choice of driving modes for Sport, Eco and Comfort, and although there’s no adaptive damping, all it does is change the algorithm on the throttle, steering and brakes. Honestly, if you’re running this bus as a family carrier, you’ll always have it in Eco.
We didn’t have much time with the bus, so didn’t have much time in the back, but the rear triple bench seemed comfortable enough. The rear load area with its curious raised false floor seems to be more than enough.
The VW bus story is long and real. This is more than just a car, and that probably explains why so many people feel invested and interested in this vehicle. Maybe that’s why, in this short drive, the VW ID.Buzz is a real disappointment. Even though it’s wrapped in a beach towel, it doesn’t feel too different from ID.3 and ID.4. The ID.Buzz needs something smarter in the interior and perhaps longer driving for longer periods of time will help get used to it.
Who knows, this could be an example of when the long wait was worth it, as VW uses the next few years to build more speciality and heart into its bus. Perhaps by 2025, VW’s bus will be the right vehicle for a new era of love and peace?
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