2024 Volkswagen ID.Buzz: What We Know So Far
The ID.Buzz minivan marries retro styling with VW's future-forward electric power.
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Volkswagen is serving up a generous helping of nostalgia with its forthcoming electric van, the ID.Buzz. Styled to resemble the Type 2 Microbus (aka, the VW Bus) that was popular in the 1960s, the ID.Buzz marks the first time VW has sold a minivan in North America in decades (discounting the ill-fated 2009 to 2014 Routan rebranding of the Dodge Grand Caravan).
Although not every detail about VW's upcoming EV is available, we've put together the most interesting information about the ID.Buzz's price, range, and interior in advance of it going on sale for the 2024 model year.
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2024 Volkswagen ID.Buzz: Price
VW hasn't announced U.S. pricing for the ID.Buzz, but it has set a window sticker for it in its home market of Germany. Including a 19% sales tax, the electric van starts around €65,000. Removing the taxes and then converting to American dollars suggests a starting price in the $55,000 range before the delivery fee and any applicable government EV incentives. There are some automotive publications, however, that peg the potential starting price of the ID.Buzz at a more affordable $40,000.
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2024 Volkswagen ID.Buzz: Range
At launch, the 2024 ID.Buzz will borrow the battery-electric drivetrain from VW's current 2022 ID.4 compact SUV, which means it uses a rear-mounted 201-horsepower motor (that also produces 229 pound-feet of torque) linked to an 77-kilowatt-hour (kWh) battery that sends power to the rear wheels. A dual-motor, all-wheel drive (AWD) version will follow later and will likely also borrow the ID.4's powertrain that makes 295 hp and 339 lb.-ft.
VW has yet to publish official range figures for the ID.Buzz, but with the ID.4 Pro, rear-wheel drive single-motor trims provide an EPA-estimated 275 miles of driving range on a full charge. The ID.Buzz is a larger model (with a longer wheelbase and three rows of seating versus the ID.4's two rows), so it's reasonable to expect somewhat less range when EPA estimates are announced. On the more optimistic European efficiency test the ID.Buzz is rated up to 263 miles of range. Given that the ID.4 dropped from around 320 miles on that test to 275 when the EPA rated it, the ID.Buzz may see a similar adjustment. Versions with AWD will likely undercut that figure somewhat due to additional weight and the extra power required to operate the second electric motor.
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2024 Volkswagen ID.Buzz: Interior
The ID.Buzz is intended to recall the glory days of the VW bus, and a big part of that is linked to the boxy packaging that lends itself to generous internal proportions. This means plenty of passenger room in each of its available three rows capable of handling up to seven riders. Those seats also include niceties such as an available massage feature and fold-out tables, alongside a center console that can be removed from between the front seats to make it easier to move around the vehicle.
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Other equipment of note inside the ID.Buzz includes a 10-inch infotainment screen perched on the dashboard, numerous USB charging points for drivers and passengers, and power sliding doors on either side of the vehicle to make access to the rear rows much simpler.
