VW ID. BUZZ
Forget the disappointing ID.3 and 4 – this is a chance for VW to bring some magic to the world of EVs, by tapping into its funky history
The 300-mile test
NEW CAR MEETS REAL WORLD
J amiefrom New Jersey wants to buy this thing so bad he’s offering five grand in cash for an early 2023 delivery. Here are my contact details, bro, and no, EU-spec is not an issue. Do I look like a car dealer?
Harald and Britta from I-for-get-where bring a notepad and a fold-ing rule to check out the exact boot size, different seating configurations and their effect on rear legroom.
Anna the receptionist from the Nyhaven Hotel begs our photographer to take a couple of flattering smartphone pics of her posing in front of the white-over-sage ID. Buzz in the morning sun.
Every second person who starts a conversation with us asks the same three questions. Is it any good? What’s the starting price? When can I get one? The responses make their smiles even wider. Yes, the new Volkswagen is a decent piece of kit. If you order now, European dealers are quoting a mid-2023 delivery, but come next month the waiting list may already be stretching into 2024. Prices start at £57,115.
The ID. Buzz prototype I drove in the April issue was a disappointment. The partly camouflaged car just wasn’t there yet in terms of perceived quality, chassis fine tuning, vehicle dynamics and software integration. Six months later, we’re chuffed to discover a much more complete vehicle. Our test car is still burdened by a bunch of digital flaws, but the driving experience puts a smile on our faces from the word go.
We’re in Copenhagen, a busy city which strictly enforc-es a 30km/h (18.6mph) speed limit. Cars, buses and taxis as well as cyclists use bespoke lanes. The limit on many bigger roads – arrow-straight and as flat as a salt lake – is 50mph. Trying to find a photogenic corner within a 15-mile radius of the Danish capital is futile.
But that’s okay since the ID. Buzz is not about chasing g-force around bends or frantic motorway speeds. Like its great ancestor, the original Beetle-based T1 microbus, the latest fully electric metamorphosis still has its motor strapped between the driven hind legs. At 201bhp it is over eight times more potent than the original effort, which maxxed out at 53mph, but at a portly 2510kg it exceeds the T1’s kerbweight by a factor of 2.5.
In line with the other ID models, its rear motor-trans-mission layout will under no circumstances be persuaded to succumb to power oversteer – there is not even an ESP Off button. The safe, stoic handling balance is cemented by the impeccable weight distribution and the road-hug-gin
