VW ID.Buzz driving test: electric bus for the wealthy
After countless studies, the ID.Buzz is now on sale. It has been long awaited, but it will not be an electric bus for everyone. A first drive.
(Hier finden Sie die deutsche Version des Beitrags)
If it is indeed the case that waiting increases desire, the ID.Buzz should be a huge success. At countless trade fairs, VW repeatedly made potential customers' mouths water, only to put them off again until sometime in the future. Now the electric bus is finally going into series production, but it will certainly not be a model for everyone. Rather, it will be reserved for those who can go along with a decidedly self-confident calculation.
The ID.Buzz starter model, which is comprehensive but by no means fully equipped, costs 64,581 euros, and with a few clicks in the configurator it quickly rises to more than 70,000. There's nothing to sugarcoat: Only the very well-paid part of the prospective buyers will be able to afford the E-bus. How does the ID.Buzz drive?
Quiet and emphatic
Unspectacular: this word best describes the driving experience. The bus starts moving quietly and emphatically, just like the other models based on the Modular Electric Toolkit. Including the 75 kg standard driver, the ID.Buzz weighs at least 2.5 tonnes, so there is no miracle of driving dynamics on the road here, but no one will probably have seriously expected that. VW has opted for a comfortable suspension design, and rightly so. Little comes through from bad roads or transverse joints.
It stops at 145 km/h, which is less annoying in the rather comfortable bus than it might seem at first. Anyone who wants to cover long distances on the motorway quickly is fundamentally wrong here. For everything else, however, the ID.Buzz is excellently equipped, because its drive has enough reserves to propel even a loaded bus quickly. It makes a difference whether an engine first has to be brought up to the right revs for an acceleration request or whether the power can simply be called up spontaneously at any time.
VW ID.Buzz (4 Bilder)
Only with 77 kWh battery
The battery is currently the largest that Volkswagen offers on this basis: 82 kWh gross, 77 net. The WLTP specifies a range of 420 km for the base model, and consumption is said to be 18.9 kWh/100 km. As a reminder: consumption, energy content of the battery and range cannot simply be calculated for an electric car using a rule of three. We have explained why in this article:
Charging power
The peak charging power was recently increased for all models based on the MEB, and the ID.Buzz benefits from this charging acceleration right from the start. VW states 170 kW in the bus, how long this is available under which circumstances must be shown in a test. The advantage that Hyundai has with its 800-volt voltage level cannot be compensated for by Volkswagen with half that. The Koreans are clearly ahead in this respect. At least the ID.Buzz is capable of Plug&Charge: activate the charging station, plug in the cable and off you go - a very convenient solution. In addition, the traction battery can be used as external storage.
Plenty of space
With a length of 4.71 m, the bus is about as long as a VW Tiguan Allspace, but the proportions are of course completely different. The wheelbase in the ID.Buzz measures 2.99 m, which means plenty of freedom of movement in the front and rear. The luggage compartment holds a minimum of 1121 litres, which is almost unrivalled in this traffic area. If the available space is too tight: An ID.Buzz with a longer wheelbase is due to come onto the market from 2023. Two sliding doors are standard, which can be operated electrically as an option.
VW ID.Buzz (6 Bilder)
The rear seat can be moved by 15 cm - a variability you expect from a bus but miss in many other cars. The seats are comfortable both in the front and in the back; VW's experience in this area is evident. The seating position is a little higher than in the VW ID.4, but far from the throne of a classic VW bus. The feeling behind the steering wheel is more reminiscent of a passenger car than a van.
Less expensive versions
It remains exciting to see whether a sufficiently large number of customers will go along with the ambitious pricing. If not, VW will have to follow up quickly, and the groundwork has already been laid. The ID.Buzz Cargo is a less poshly equipped version, so far only available without rear windows. It is not difficult to imagine a version with a simple lining but a second row of seats and windows in the back. Add to that a smaller battery, which VW has in its range on this basis, and you have a basic model that could be offered for less money. Considerations in these directions are almost certainly already underway, but VW will first cater to those who absolutely want the ID.Buzz and can also pay for it in its current form.
In the future, the price will probably not only go down. A version with more power, all-wheel drive and a larger battery is certainly in the pipeline. After all, the behaviour of existing customers indicates a certain willingness to pay. The Skoda Enyaq (test), for example, is mostly ordered with a large battery. It stands to reason that some customers would pay more for an even larger battery, if Volkswagen could deliver one. This is even more likely to be the case with the ID.Buzz, which is considerably more expensive.
(mfz)