Price: We expect 2024 Volkswagen ID. Buzz pricing to start at around $45,000 when it goes on sale in North America in 2024. The 2024 Volkswagen ID. Buzz Microbus is a brand-new, all-electric minivan with seating for up to seven and a range of about 275 miles. Since the new ID. Buzz will no doubt attract interest as a family vehicle, potential buyers will be caring about the future and how it might look for their kids. Volkswagen is using sustainable materials for the cabin, including recycled plastic retrieved from the sea. So it’s already making the world a slightly better place. The company also employs batteries that do not use cobalt, an element with troublesome sourcing issues regarding environmental impact and working conditions. VW even has a facility that recycles high-voltage batteries after they’re no longer suitable for automotive applications. Based on the same platform as the VW ID.4 and Audi e-tron electric SUVs, the ID. Buzz Microbus pays homage to the old VW bus (the Type 2) while pointing toward the future by using an electric drivetrain. At the time of compiling this review, Volkswagen had yet to release pertinent facts like pricing and range for versions sold in the United States. We do know that the U.S. version will have a longer wheelbase than the 2-row 5-seat European I.D. Buzz. It will have three rows of seats in a 2-3-2 seating configuration. All-wheel-drive (AWD) is a distinct possibility for the U.S. version, which — in base form — will be a rear-wheel-drive model with a rear-mounted motor.
2024 Volkswagen ID.Buzz Pricing
We expect the 2024 VW ID. Buzz Microbus to start in the region of $45,000. We also anticipate some kind of complimentary charging scheme like the one offered with the ID.4 electric SUV, which is three years of unlimited 30-minute sessions on the Electrify America network. A federal tax credit of up to $7,500 should offset the initial purchase price, plus any state incentives. For example, California’s Clean Vehicle Rebate program offers $2,000 to anyone leasing or buying a new electric vehicle.
There aren’t any apples-to-apples rivals, but buyers might also be interested in the VW ID.4 compact SUV, or the Kia EV6 in the same kind of price bracket. You might also consider the Toyota Sienna or the Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid, two proven minivans that effectively leverage electricity to support their internal combustion engines.
Before buying, check the KBB.com Fair Purchase Price to find out what others in your area paid for their new ID. Buzz electric minivan. It’s too soon to talk about resale values.
Driving the 2024 Volkswagen ID.Buzz
Using the European-spec ID. Buzz electric minivan as a reference, we expect the base model to send 201 horsepower and 229 lb-ft of torque — generated by a single electric motor — to the rear wheels. The great thing about the basic design of this electric VW bus is that there’s a lot of floor space, which is exactly where the battery is stored. Having something that weighty set low in the body works wonders for the center of gravity and should make the ID. Buzz stable and agile for its size. A dual-motor version with AWD will be available at some point. In the absence of any official figures regarding range, a reasonable guess would be around 275 miles. The ID.4 SUV shares its 82-kWh battery and 201-hp electric motor with the ID. Buzz, and it can cover 280 miles. KBB had a recent chance to ride in a European-spec ID. Buzz at the South by Southwest Festival in Austin, Texas. While we didn’t drive this 2-row, 5-seat version of the new electric Microbus, we were able to glean a few impressions from our brief 15-minute ride: –The ID. Buzz has a generous amount of headroom and legroom, front and rear. You sit high in the vehicle, and the view out the large windscreen is expansive. That stated, it’s tough to tell exactly how far out the nose of this new electric VW bus extends. Presumably for crash-safety reasons, the driver and front passenger in the I.D. Buzz sit well aft of the front wheels, whereas, in the original VW bus, they sat almost directly above the front wheels. The dash’s architecture looks much like that of the ID.4 — simple and uncluttered, with a digital instrument panel complemented by a large infotainment screen on the center stack. –There’s handy storage throughout the ID. Buzz’s lively 2-tone cabin, in places such as the removable center console and generously sized door pockets. –The ID. Buzz chassis feels drum-tight, even though it has large openings for the power sliding doors on both sides of the vehicle.
–The rear seat slides fore and aft. The seatback, of note, folds forward and flat, which enables the rear of this new electric VW van to be used as a bed. This is made possible by an available cargo-area platform that aligns perfectly with the folded back seat’s height to create a large sleeping platform.
–Speaking of the cargo area in the 2-row Euro-spec VW ID. Buzz, it’s positively ginormous. There’s 39.6 cubic feet of cargo space in the back, which is only slightly less than you’ll find in a big Chevy Suburban. Remember, this VW is a short 185.5-inch vehicle with a 36.4-foot turning circle.
–It’s remarkably quiet inside this electric VW. While there is a piped-in audio soundtrack for the electric powertrain, you really have to listen for it to realize it’s even there.
–The ride quality delivered by this VW’s MEB chassis, which features struts in front and a multilink rear, is well-controlled and comfortable. There’s minimal body lean in turns. Having that heavy battery so low in the chassis has its benefits.
–While far from Tesla quick, the new ID. Buzz merges with ease onto the highway, where it maintains a quiet and relaxed gait. Wind noise is not a concern. Top speed is electronically limited to 90 mph.
–As our ride ends, we’re left with this lingering thought: Even though this Euro version of the I.D. Buzz isn’t a 3-row van with seven seats, we wish VW would sell it in the U.S. — especially if that means it will go on sale later this year, just like it will in Europe. As a roomy 5-seat electric van with a huge cargo compartment and nostalgic styling that tugs at your heartstrings, this VW would sell well and help pave the way toward VW’s increasingly electric future.
Interior Comfort
In other parts of the world, the 2024 ID. Buzz Microbus will be available with a standard or extended wheelbase, but the longer version is the only size coming to the United States, offering seating for up to seven occupants. As any decent minivan should have, the new ID. Buzz has a versatile interior with folding seats. A 10-inch digital driver information display and a 10-infotainment touchscreen are both attached to the dashboard as if they were tablets — which is the modern way. Ten-color ambient LED lighting is standard. An optional movable/removable center console is also offered, bringing extra beverage holders and a drawer for tablets or a laptop computer. Handy fold-out trays deploy from the rear side of the front seatbacks. No leather is used in the ID. Buzz. The steering wheel is wrapped in a convincing simulation. Upholstery, carpets, and the headliner are made from materials using recycled plastics, with 10% of those plastics taken out of the ocean.
Exterior Styling
The styling of the new ID. Buzz minivan is evocative of the old VW Microbus, right down to optional 2-tone color schemes with a white upper section. This retro approach makes the ID. Buzz a different animal in the world of electric vehicles. Those short overhangs help maximize interior space within a compact footprint. And having the wheels so far into the corners enhances the feeling of stability. The wheels, by the way, are offered in sizes from 18 to 21 inches in diameter. Volkswagen says the paints used are “organically based.” There may be a different palette for American buyers, but folks across the Atlantic can choose from Candy White, Lime Yellow, Energetic Orange, Bay Leaf Green, Deep Black, Starlight Blue, and Mono Silver.
Favorite Features
STYLING THREE ROWS OF SEATS
By taking inspiration from a classic Volkswagen, the new ID. Buzz has the potential to be one of those rare and special vehicles that transcend class and appeal to all kinds of people. It looks especially sharp in the brightly colored 2-tone paint schemes.
There isn’t much else with an all-electric drivetrain that can seat up to seven occupants. The Tesla Model X is one possibility, but that costs more than twice as much as a 2024 ID. Buzz.
Standard Features
Among the standard features in an entry-level 2024 ID. Buzz are LED lights inside and out, dual-zone automatic climate control, multiple USB-C ports, and Apple CarPlay/Android Auto smartphone integration through the wireless VW App-Connect.
Standard safety systems include forward collision warning with automatic emergency braking, along with active lane-keeping assistance.
Factory Options
It’s possible to equip a new ID. Buzz electric minivan with extra features such as power-adjustable front seats with memory settings and massage functions, 30-color ambient lighting, 12-inch infotainment touchscreen, navigation, and a head-up display with augmented reality. Safety can be enhanced with adaptive cruise control, blind-spot monitoring, parking assistance, and a 360-degree camera system.
Engine & Transmission
A single electric motor in the 2024 ID. Buzz drives the rear wheels with 201 horsepower and 229 lb-ft of torque. VW says this motor is small enough to fit into a duffel bag. It takes its energy from a temperature-controlled and floor-mounted lithium-ion battery. It’s rated at 82 kWh, but its usable capacity is 77 kWh. This battery is covered by an 8-year/100,000-mile warranty, whichever happens first. Note: The ID. Buzz hood can be opened, but it’s necessary only to replenish the windshield washer fluid. AC permanent magnet synchronous electric motor
82-kWh lithium-ion battery
201 horsepower
229 lb-ft of torque
EPA city/highway fuel economy: N/A
Estimated range: 275 miles
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Our Expert Ratings come from hours of both driving and number crunching to make sure that you choose the best car for you. We comprehensively experience and analyze every new SUV, car, truck, or minivan for sale in the U.S. and compare it to its competitors. When all that dust settles, we have our ratings. We require new ratings every time an all-new vehicle or a new generation of an existing vehicle comes out. Additionally, we reassess those ratings when a new-generation vehicle receives a mid-cycle refresh — basically, sprucing up a car in the middle of its product cycle (typically, around the 2-3 years mark) with a minor facelift, often with updates to features and technology. Rather than pulling random numbers out of the air or off some meaningless checklist, KBB’s editors rank a vehicle to where it belongs in its class. Before any car earns its KBB rating, it must prove itself to be better (or worse) than the other cars it’s competing against as it tries to get you to spend your money buying or leasing.
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