Volkswagen ID. Buzz review - Electric motor, drive & performance
"A more powerful new motor makes the 2024 Volkswagen ID. Buzz quicker and better to drive than before"
The majority of van-based MPVs seem to struggle to shake their commercial origins out on the road but ID. Buzz was always designed as a passenger car on state-of-the-art electric underpinnings. As a result, it feels much more ‘car-like’ to drive than you might expect.
The ID. Buzz is a passenger MPV first and foremost, and it doesn’t particularly feel like a car built for rapid cornering, even in GTX guise. That said, it boasts an impressively tight turning circle and a commanding driving position that makes it good to drive around town. It’s very responsive and the brakes feel well calibrated for an EV, making it easy to drive.
In all honesty, it’s better suited to a relaxed driving style than B-road blasts, and an airy, spacious cabin and comfortable ride mean it’s well suited to cruising along steadily. The GTX doesn’t get any chassis changes to go with its extra acceleration, so it doesn’t take many miles to realise it’s still best suited to a sedate driving style that takes account of its height and weight.
Volkswagen ID. Buzz electric motors
At launch the Volkswagen ID. Buzz came with a rear-mounted electric motor producing 201bhp. While that sounds like a healthy number on paper, we found it to be a little underpowered for the car’s weight and size, and as a result, it was quite sluggish to drive.
August 2024 brings revisions to the ID. Buzz lineup in the form of a new 286bhp motor to replace the 201bhp unit across the range, just like the update to the ID.4 and ID.5 SUVs. As a result the ID. Buzz feels peppier than before, so the standard short wheelbase model can get from 0-62mph in just 7.6 seconds, rather than the old car’s leisurely 10.2-second figure. The long-wheelbase model takes just 0.3 seconds longer given its extra weight.
A hot GTX model was also introduced in 2024 with a dual-motor configuration for four-wheel drive and an output of 335bhp. As a result, the GTX can cover the 0-62mph sprint in 6.1 seconds. That figure will look pretty astounding to most VW bus enthusiasts, but we didn’t find the GTX to feel especially rapid in the era of searingly quick dual-motor EVs. A lot of this is down to its 2.5-tonne weight, and in reality, the ID. Buzz doesn’t really goad you on to drive it hard anyway.
