Volkswagen ID. Buzz

Can’t tell you how disappointed I was when – rather than sporting the properly iconic (at last; an excuse to use the word as intended…) two-tone paintwork of Surf’s Up who-needs-a-khazi-anyway Microbus fame – the new ID. Buzz turned up swathed from head to toe in metallic dark blue paint.

Thing is, this is so clearly a retro take on VW’s dearly beloved Type 2 that it really needs the sort of spray paint treatment you see in these pictures to make the body electric properly sing. Presented in monochrome dark blue, it’s still a nicely detailed wardrobe on wheels, but lacks the presence such a funky a la recherche du temps perdu punt deserves.

On board, the four cubic meter Buzz interior has far more of an MPV than SUV feel, which, for those of us increasingly wearied by SUV ubiquity, is a Good Thing. Then again, you can’t lift any of the rear seats out which – assuming you had somewhere to store them and an osteopath to treat your back thereafter – was always the MPV ace in the hole.

Up front, two things lift the cabin environment above that of van ordinaire: firstly, dashboard and door card trim and detailing is very much of the crisp, electric age; and, secondly, a marriage of a surprisingly conventional driving position to those bluff bows put the driver and the windscreen in separate postcodes. This cab-forward driver-back disposition combined with the split A pillars that demarcate the limits of the wraparound screen make the view out very much akin to that once enjoyed by WW2 Heinkel He 111 bomber pilots…

So vast is the residual area atop the dashboard that I can’t help feeling it should be put to work. Perhaps you could enclose the volume with a second sheet of glass, fill it with water and use the resultant tank to transport the very freshest of fish. Then again, they might rather obstruct the driver’s view out, so maybe crustaceans would prove more practical; lobsters, after all, getting up to very little save simply lying on the bottom muttering ‘Please stop it’.

The only real fly in the ointment is the infotainment system. Sadly, the mild upgrade visited upon this system doesn’t include night-time illumination of the touch sliders beneath the screen, so good luck with adjusting either temperature or radio volume on the move. Daft? Undoubtedly. Dangerous? Hmm…

This ecstasy of fumbling aside, life up front feels pretty posh. Life astern is, however, somewhat paltry by comparison. Sliding doors are great for car park spaces still proportioned around the mighty Austin Seven, but the 60:40 split/folding bench accommodation itself is nothing to write home about. The loadspace, though, is; a massive 1,121 litres atop a raised floor which, when not levelling up with the folded rear seats and providing nylon drawer-based charging cable and toy dog storage underneath, may be used as a vertical loadspace divider.

Downsides? Well, the luggage compartment is sadly devoid of clever touches as yet; no hooks, nets or cunning attachments. And a tailgate mounted bike rack is no longer an option – the beefy struts of yore are no more, and the electric tailgate lacks the oomph to life a rack. So your bikes must go on a towbar rack, which makes lifting the tailgate something of an arse-ache. Oh, and, electrically deployable albeit, said towbar can only lug 1,100 kg, as opposed to 2,500 kg on the old Caravelle.

As yet, merely a three-seat cargo version and this five-seater make up the Buzz model range. Other variants are set to follow in 2024, including a longer wheelbase version with more seating and versatility (there’s a removable multi-function chest between the front seats of this Buzz, but the chairs themselves do not yet spin round). Bring on the Camper…

Power is provided by a 77 kWh battery feeding a 208 bhp electric motor that drives the rear wheels, and range is quoted as 258 miles. However, with top speed just 90 mph and with a full load on a February motorway, the usual caveats apply; you’ll be lucky to see 200 miles before you need to find a plug.

Driving is largely a pleasure, the nose bleed-high driving position feels rather more relaxed, and certainly more car-like and comfortable than that of past VW vans, and the same may be said of smooth, single gear all-electric progress itself. This is a heavy machine, but never feels 2.5 tonnes; it nips smartly off the line, 62 mph comes up in a respectable 10.2 seconds and urban manoeuvrability is greatly abetted by the surprisingly tight turning circle granted by front wheels unhindered by drive shafts.

The steering is light and accurate enough for such a big vehicle, and the ride on 20-inch rims maintains a pleasing pliancy over all but the roughest surfaces; bodyshell far tougher and more rigid than that of any predecessor a major asset in this context.

No question; this Buzz doesn’t feel as much fun to live with as it would if painted retro properly, but I’m not sure that’s justification for the removal of a star. What is, however, is a gently inadequate range for a machine that will become bogged down en masse on West Country beaches before you know it, an infotainment system that’s a nuisance even in daylight hours, and an interior that, as yet, lacks those final touches.

The whole certainly puts a smile on your face, though. And how many EVs can you say that about?