2025 VW ID Buzz

The VW ID Buzz is interesting in that it looks like the old VW Microbus of the ’60s and ’70s but is nothing like it.

This has its good – and bad – points.

What It Is

The ID Buzz is a kind of visual reincarnation of the Microbus of the ’60s and ’70s that’s entirely different in just about every other way. It has working heat and AC, for openers. And it does not take 60 seconds to get to 60. It has a battery pack and powerful electric motor(s) rather than a struggling an air-cooled four in the back. It also weighs nearly three times as much as an old Microbus – and costs about three times as much, too.

The base Pro S trim, which is rear-drive and has a 282 horsepower all-electric drivetrain powering the rear wheels (the one functional commonality it shares with the original, Beetle-based Microbus) comes standard with three rows of seats, standard dual-sliding doors, a nine-speaker audio system, heated steering wheel and a 12.9 inch touchscreen stickers for $59,995.

The Pro S trim ($63,495) adds a better 13 speaker sound system, hands-free operation for the side doors and liftgate, a surround-view camera and the option to upgrade to a more powerful (335 horsepower) dual-motor system that VW markets as 4Motion, which is bundled with other upgrades that include a heated windshield and second-row captain’s chairs.

A top-the-line Ist Edition lists for $65,495 with the rear-drive EV drivetrain (and 282 hp) or $69,995 with the dual motor set-up and 4Motion AWD. The 1st Edition gets a unique-to-this trim two-tone paint job, roof rack and panorama glass sunroof.

VW says the Buzz has a best-case range of about 234 miles on a fully charged battery.

What’s New For 2025

The ID Buzz is VW’s latest model – based (at least insofar as how it looks) on the classic VW Microbus.

What’s Good 

As distinctive-looking as the original Microbus, which is a huge departure from everything else (that looks pretty much like everything else).

Does’t take 60 second to get to 60.

Has cold AC and heat that works.

What’s Not So Good

Modest range is a problem compounded by the time it takes to recharge.

VW charges  almost $700 extra for a home-charge cord.

Front quarter windows don’t open, so you pretty much have to use the AC to stay cool – which saps range. Ditto the heat.

Under The Hood

The ID Buzz doesn’t have a hood – another point-in-common with the classic Microbus. The latter had its engine mounted in the rear, over the rear wheels. The ID Buzz has an electric motor mounted back there, directly driving the rear wheels (the Microbus came standard with a four speed manual transaxle).

This motor makes about four times as much power (282 horsepower) as the air-cooled four cylinder engine that powered the Microbus made – and it’s a necessary thing, given the ID Buzz weighs just shy of three tons (5,968 lbs.) which is just shy of three times as much as the classic Microbus weighed (about 2,500 lbs.). So even though the Buzz is extremely heavy – chiefly due to the weight of the massive energy storage device; i.e., the battery pack – it can still get to 60 in just over 7 seconds. An original Microbus gets to 60 . . . eventually.

With its optional dual-motor set-up, the 0-60 time falls to about 6 seconds. That’s very quick, especially for something that was designed to recall the Microbus, which was infamous for being slow.

On the other hand, driving range with either the single or dual motor set-up is about 234 miles, which isn’t as far as the old Microbus could go on a full tank of gas. The more relevant thing, though, is arguably how long it takes the Buzz (like all EVs) to recharge. Some say the 15-20 minute wait for a partial charge at a public fast charger isn’t very long to wait.

But it can ruin your plans if you hadn’t planned for it. Or if the charger isn’t working. Or won’t let you charge. This latter happened to me after I’d discovered the first place I wanted to charge the Buzz was “undergoing maintenance.” The second place would not accept my credit cards. Plural. I tried several. No charge..

You can, of course, charge at home – where the wait isn’t so bad because you are home and so can do other things (like sleep) while you wait for the Buzz to charge up. But in order to be able to do that, you’l have to spring for the extra charge charging cord. This is a $646 option, if you can believe it. But you pretty much have to spring for it because without it, you have to stop (and wait) at public fast charger stations and plan around that. Also, you are entirely dependent upon the sometimes iffy public fast charger network.

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Why VW chose to charge extra for an essential piece of equipment is a hard thing to understand. Well, it’s not hard in the sense that VW wants to increase its profits on each Buzz sale. But it’s pretty cheeky to do it this way. A charge cord for an EV being as essential an item as a fuel-filler in a gas engined car. Also, this is a very expensive car to begin with. VW is likely to discover that people who spend just shy of $60k on an EV like the ID Buzz expect not to have to pay extra for a charge cord.

On The Road

On the plus side, the Buzz is quick. It easily keeps pace with traffic, something the classic Microbus struggled to do. It is also quiet and rides like a Cadillac, two other attributes the classic Microbus lacked. Also, the AC blows ice-cold and the heat is both hot and doesn’t include fumes.

The Buzz does not feel fragile and out of its depth on any road where traffic is moving at faster than 45 MPH.

When you first sit down in the driver’s seat, you feel almost as if you’re behind the wheel of a tour bus because the windshield is so huge – both tall and wide. There are also fixed quarter windows on either side, which is a shame – in that they don’t open – because if they did, you could use them to cool off the interior without running the AC (and thereby conserve some range).

On the upside, VW can provide you with a battery powered, hand-held fan that you can use to avoid using the AC.

An interesting thing is you do not sit on top of the front axle, as in the old Microbus – though from the outside, it looks as though that’s where you’d sit. VW did a very clever designing job on that score. The cab forward design of old Microbus would never pass muster with today’s Safety Cultists.

The chief downside is that the Buzz hasn’t got much driving range. The touted 234 miles isn’t much to begin with – equivalent to about half a tank of gas, in terms of the range of just about any current car or (for a closer comparison) minivans, which if you take away the retro look is what the Buzz is.

A current-year Chrysler Pacifica minivan – which is about the same overall size and has dual sliding doors, etc. – has a highway driving range of more than 530 miles and even in stop-and-go city driving, touts a range of 361 miles. Granted, it is not as distinctive-looking as the VW, but the point stands.

And 234 miles is best-case.

It assumes light-load conditions so not uphill and not driving fast and definitely not using the AC full tilt on a hot day (or the heat on a cold day). All of those things can greatly reduce the actual driving range you will get. If there’s say a 20 percent difference between the best-case and the worst case, you’d only have about 188 miles of range and you’ll probably want to always leave at least 20 miles in reserve because it is common to find that the public fast charger you were planning to use isn’t working and then you’ll have to drive to the next one.

The iffy nature of EV charging infrastructure is arguably more the problem than the relatively short range of most EVs. If people could safely assume that there fast charger kiosks pretty much everywhere and that they’d be working then range anxiety wouldn’t be as much a thing. A V8 Dodge Charger Hellcat doesn’t have much range, either. But it doesn’t matter because it’s so easy to get more gas.

The VW’s range is actually fairly impressive given its weight. This thing is only slightly lighter than a Ram 2500 dualie pickup. The old Microbus, in contrast, was light enough that a couple of Hippies could push it down the road.

At The Curb

The Buzz’s looks have created a Buzz. Like the New Beetle did, when VW brought it back back in the ’90s. Many people – as in millions of them – have fond memories of owning and driving classic VWs such as the original Beetle and the Microbus. That nostalgia exerts a powerful pull.

But can it sustain sales?

The ID Buzz may look like a classic Microbus, but have a look at the MSRP. This is a bus for affluent elderly hippies, chiefly – because there are not many people in the Woodstock age range. When VW was still making the original Beetle (last offered in the late 1970s) and the original Microbus, both were very affordable relative to other cars. That is why they were people’s cars. Models like the Buzz are affluent people’s cars and that’s fine, if you can afford it.

Most can’t.

There’s also an underlying issue there in that VW is not considered a luxury brand, irrespective of how luxurious the vehicles it sells may be. The Buzz is certainly that. It is even available with massaging seats. It’s as “luxurious” as any price-equivalent Audi or Mercedes. But (like the Phaeton of the ’90s) it is not an Audi or a Mercedes and that’s a problem for VW, probably.

In this case, it is a problem that chiefly arises from the fact that the Buzz is an EV and there is no way known to make an in expensive EV that isn’t also a slow and small one (like the Chinese make).

The dual sliding doors have mini-windows that can be opened, but there are no window switches for the driver to open them with.  VW offers an optional storage bin system for the rear cargo area that’s helpful for organizing (and hiding from view) small items. The main instrument display is small and not-distracting; the large secondary touchscreen can be aggravating to use and you pretty much have to use it to operate the sound system and the climate controls.

The Rest

In addition to the extra-cost home charging cord, be aware that you will probably need to have an electrician come out to your house to wire up a dedicated 240V outlet (and circuit) somewhere in your garage, if you want to be able to home-charge in faster than overnight. This is a cost worth the expense, though – and not only because it enables you to charge at home in a reasonable amount of time. It is generally much less expensive to recharge an EV at home than it is at commercial fast charger kiosks, where it can be nearly as expensive to charge up as it costs to gas up.

The Bottom Line

Nostalgia is always fun. But how many can afford it?

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