Volkswagen provided flights from Washington, DC, to San Francisco and accommodation so Ars could drive the ID Buzz. Ars does not accept paid editorial content.
SAN FRANCISCO—In all the years we’ve been writing about cars, very few vehicles have generated as much attention as the Volkswagen ID Buzz. At a time when SUVs look increasingly threatening, the Buzz seems like an antidote, with gentle curves and something of a friendly grin at the front. Plus, people are starting to get desperate for an electric minivan option, if audience feedback is anything to go by. It’s been a long wait for the North American-spec Buzz, but that is almost over, with the first customer cars due in dealerships in November. Read on to discover what we found out driving it around the Bay Area last week.
VW first showed off the Buzz a good seven years ago. It was the fourth time the company tried to reimagine the classic Kombi for the 21st century but the first time that production got the go-ahead. That was in large part thanks to a new flexible electric vehicle platform developed in the wake of Dieselgate. Other more mainstream VW EVs were needed first, however, and it was 2022 before a short-wheelbase version of the Buzz went on sale in Europe as a five-seater family car and also a commercial van.
We drove that one in Denmark, and while it was just as much of an attention-grabber there as it will be here, the short-wheelbase version was too compromised for US tastes. And it was too expensive, despite its smaller battery. European pricing had me pessimistic about the three-row, big battery model, but the rear-wheel drive Buzz Pro S starts at $59,995.