Volkswagen ID. Buzz review: a brilliant entry that'll steal your heart
Vw Buzz Id
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Id Volkswagen Buzz |
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rating Class="contextmenu |
★★★★★ |
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A Motor Electric Bhp 204 |
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Trim Package Thorough In A Very ‘max’ |
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Emphasis">verdict I know we reviewed the Volkswagen ID. Buzz in recent months, but hey, when you get a chance to have a second crack off the cutest automobile on the road right now and to drive it for a whole week…well, it’s a no-brainer. Our original drive in the Buzz was a 48-hour affair, but this time around we had it for a whole week and could therefore allow ourselves properly wallow in the glory of this cute-as-a-button van/family car/fashion accessory. Certain cars can actually light up people’s lives and create excitement levels akin to mass hysteria – and this is one of them; it’s like having Taylor Swift staying at your house for seven days. People who you’ve never seen before – and will probably never see again – suddenly become your bessie mate, just to bask in some of the reflected glory of the thing. Like my previous experience with the car, the week was peppered with strangers approaching me, unintroduced, in places like a Tesco car park, a public house, Main St. Goleen and other various unrelated and random places, to:
It truly is that sort of a thing whose design and overall dandiness impacts on people emotionally and forces them to express vocally their feelings on the matter. Other than icons such as the Ford Sierra Cosworth or Toyota’s GR Yaris, I’d never really experienced the like of it before. Sure there were Porsches or Ferraris I’ve driven in time past which caught people’s eye, but that was much more by way of reverence and unattainability; this was different because people genuinely felt this was so much more of an ‘everyman’ car and something people felt was actually a realistic proposition for them and their families. The ID. Buzz has, actually, had something of a chequered history as VW strove for years to replace in people’s affections the original Type 2 van/pick-up/campervan. It never got the chemistry right, until now. First shown at the 2017 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, it was an immediate hit with the public. That was just as well because they’d tried various things down the years such as the Type 2 inspired Microbus in 2001, the Bulli in 2011 and the Budd-e in 2016, When the ID. Buzz appeared at the Detroit Show the following year it created an immediate sensation, but it too another five years before it finally went into production at the VW plant in Hannover. By then, VW knew they had something special on their hands because of the length of the pre-order waiting list. The name, incidentally, is derived from what might be called a double pun. The original Type 2 was affectionally known as the ‘Volkswagen Bus’ and the ‘Buzz’ handle also nods to the fact it is an electric. There are two versions – the Buzz ‘Cargo’ which is a pure commercial, and the ‘Max’ which is a five-seater passenger vehicle. A seven-seater long wheelbase version is already on sale in the US and will be with us on this side of the pond in due course. The design is actually really clever because it appeals equally to old hippies who remember the Type 2 with great fondness as well as Millennials and Gen Z-ers who never even heard of hippies. Stuff like the prominent VW logo at the front and the (optional) two-tone paint scheme are real throwbacks, but also eye-catchers for the uninitiated. So, aside from the huggable good-looks and sheer feelgood factor inspired by the design, what of it? As an electric, it has a 204 bhp electric motor which drives the rear wheels, and its environmental chops are rubber-stamped by stuff like the ‘Seaqual’ upholstery which is made from PET recycled plastic bottles. The four available models here are all powered by a 77 kWh battery which provides a 400-425 km range depending on the model. In MPV mode, rather than the Cargo, that range is probably better than anything else right now, even though, as we know, manufacturers tend to be generous when it comes to range competence. Even so, we found that a workable range of 360-375 km is achievable without too much effort. The battery will take roughly twelve hours to recharge on a standard home wall-charger, while you’ll get a 5-80% charge on a fast-charger in just 35 minutes. Performance is decent enough when you consider it weighs 2.5 tonnes, at 10.2 seconds for the 0-100 km/h dash and a terminal velocity of 145 km/h. But performance is not the thing here, as the ID. Buzz is more about ‘cool’ than anything else. It is a statement, just not a particularly quick one. That said, it will schlep along at a decent rate when you want it to and are legally allowed and stuff like acceleration is swift enough to make otherwise tricky passing manoeuvres perfectly safe. The steering is light but fast and it is surprisingly nimble even in the tight confines of a multistorey car park or on urban streets. It has a turning circle of 11.1 metres, which is roughly the same as a Golf, and the wheelbase is similar to that of the Volkswagen T6 Transporter van, although it is slightly wider. On the road it handles really well and is much more car-like than you might have anticipated; there is little roll in corners when you have the hammer down and as a rear-wheel drive beast it is less prone to understeer than you imagined it would. It does tend to wallow a little on undulating surfaces, but that’s a minor complaint as I’ve experienced all too many SUVs and saloons that have nothing like the on-road composure this has, which makes the driving experience a lot more pleasing than you might credit. The interior is very pleasing and the two upfront seats are very armchair and come with armrests. The bench back seat is comfortable and roomy, while the cargo space is huge and could accommodate a small rock festival. The electric side doors (on the tester) make access and egress a doddle. Although the infotainment and connectivity are excellent, VW’s persistence with those awful slider thingies for controlling such as climate and volume are a major pain in the ass. Sure it is not a cheapo by any means, but this is a vision-made-real of electric motoring which is as cute as a buttercup and endlessly desirable. Without doubt it is the best design VW has come up with in a long, long time and for that reason alone it deserves to be a huge success. Thing is: this car is almost automotive art which engages with the public like so few cars ever do and, as such, it will remain an object of desire for many decades to come, in the same way as the Beetle or the Type 2 managed to achieve. And that is why it is so brilliant. | |