- In US form, the ID.Buzz is bigger, more powerful, with a price tag of over $60,000
- Up to 234 miles of EPA range, from 10-80% in as little as 26 minutes.
- No bidirectional or campervan charging yet
Volkswagen's ID.Buzz is one of the most dynamic, eye-catching cars available at any price. And that's before some people even know or care about electricity. That alone is one of several reasons why it's one of Green Car Reports' Top Cars To Buy 2025—but its appeal and market value run much deeper than that.
VW strikes a smart balance between retro and modern in the ID.Buzz. It's a smile and nostalgia machine from the start, but spend more time in and around it and you'll gain a deeper appreciation for it. Not only is it a quiet, comfortable, and smooth van; and it won't drive you crazy by compromising on fun, the way VW did with the New Beetle. The Buzz, instead, offers just the right amount of retro fun on the outside—mostly borrowing the face of the original '50s and '60s air-cooled vans, and its dual look—while its side profile and package itself. it means Pragmatic Eurovan evolution and inside it is modern.
But it has been a long, strange journey. VW officially announced in 2017, at the Monterey Motor Week event in California, that it would bring the ID Buzz into production, and we assumed, at the time, that this would be the wave-catching model of the California VW Bus. nostalgia. Seven years later it just reached that market after being available in Europe for almost two and a half years, and three and a half years after the US arrival of the closely related ID.4 crossover. How was it not a priority?
2025 Volkswagen ID.Buzz
In the US, the 2025 Volkswagen ID.Buzz has changed, and comes in just three rows, measuring 195.4 inches long and riding on a 127.5-inch long wheelbase—approx. 10 inch stretch versus the two row version that Europe started more than two years ago. An overall length of 76.2 inches will clear most garages, and its 6.1 inches of space should be adequate for unpaved trails on the way to the mountains or camping, but there's no air suspension adjustment here or serious off-road applications.
With that, ID.Buzz has more power in the way of reaching the US—282 hp in single-motor rear-wheel-drive form, or 335 hp combined in dual-motor AWD form– and it gets bigger 91-kwh (86-kwh usable) battery pack, good for up to 234 miles of EPA grade. Road trip charging stops shouldn't keep you waiting for long, with 10-80% charge in 26 minutes (although there is no bidirectional charging yet). The infotainment system is very advanced and comes with a well-integrated itinerary that can adapt to changes in plans or new routes and has smart battery pack configurations to charge quickly when needed.
2025 Volkswagen ID.Buzz
2025 Volkswagen ID.Buzz
2025 Volkswagen ID.Buzz
Our first real-world driving results suggest that The ID.Buzz can exceed those EPA ratings with a light load and a mild climate. Don't expect it to keep up with all of today's sporty electric crossovers; it drives heavy (AWD versions weigh about 6,200 pounds). But with a quiet, well-damped heft, and in dual-motor mode its 6.0-second 0-60 mph time is no slouch.
Inside, there's plenty of flexibility and some great-sized and geared seats for adults. But a closer look reveals some cracks in the pockets. Its long console between the front seats can stand up out of the car, and the height of the right seat, plenty of storage space, and the ace electrochromic glass roof on the top versions help the ID. The Buzz hit all the right notes for other good SUVs. But those in the back seat don't have storage for oddities and ends, and the ID.Buzz might fail a lesson in American Cupholder 101. Plus, with an uneven floor and a lack of true folding third-row seats of the kind you'll find in minivans—or Lucid Gravity, for that matter— the possibility of a three-row EV—it's a mixed bag.
2025 Volkswagen ID.Buzz
2025 Volkswagen ID.Buzz
2025 Volkswagen ID.Buzz
2025 Volkswagen ID.Buzz
Another question near and dear to us is this: Why is it so expensive, and why did it have to be this way? I The ID.Buzz starts at $61,545which includes a $1,550 destination charge, and tops out at $71,545 in AWD form on the first Edition.
Buzz is based on the same architecture of the Modular Electric Toolkit (MEB) as the ID.4 it was originally planned for one million EVs per year by 2025. Seeing as VW matched their transition with EVs when it had to go from air-cooled to water-cooled, it feels like a missed opportunity on a much larger scale. Here's one of the best market cars, frame and canvas in automotive history, and VW is marketing the modern iteration as a luxury car, compared to the likes of the Rivian R1S or the loaded Kia EV9—where it would be a $45,000 model driven by the mother of VW accessories and conversions for vendors to enjoy.
2025 Volkswagen ID.Buzz
For that matter, there may be more electric vans on the way that allow for such flexibility. The more we reflect on ID.Buzz's place in the EV market, the more it feels like a revolution-where, like the culture the first Bus came to symbolize, it challenges the future.
Does the VW ID.Buzz Beat the Other Four Best Cars You Can Buy in 2025? Check back on Jan. 6.