I’ll be honest with you: this is kind of a strange press event. For one thing, there’s a lot of attempted secrecy around a vehicle that’s pretty much already been seen and everyone knows what it looks like. Hell, I’ve even already driven it! Well, almost. That was the short-wheelbase Euro version, and this one is the American market, long-wheelbase one. And, more importantly, this is the 2023 ID.Buzz, the latest incarnation of the legendary Volkswagen Type 2 Microbus, but now all modern and electric and a really, really important vehicle for Volkswagen. Maybe the most important one they’ve introduced in years. That’s why they’re having this big launch event in California. But it’s odd because none of us journalists will get to drive any of the vans, and it’s a strangely short event, an event that VW seems to have invited absolutely everyone to, and there’s barely any time to write about the three-row ID.Buzz before the embargo lifts, at midnight Pacific time. So, We’re going to try something different.
Instead of a usual review – which I can’t do, anyway, since we’re not allowed to drive anything here – I’ll just tell and show you all I was able to find out about the American market version of the bus and, because why not, I’ll do a sort-of-liveblog of the whole damn event, just so you can see all of what’s going on, too. That has to be better than just regurgitating the press release, right? We can find more fun stuff to regurgitate!
The Important Stuff About The Three-Row ID.Buzz
First, let’s get out of the way all of the important facts about the ID.Buzz that you’ll probably want to know. Really, for a lot of this you should just read my review of the two-row version we’re not getting here, because that covers an awful lot about what the ID.Buzz is, and this is mostly just that, just longer and with a number of improvements.
It’s probably worth reminding everyone just how long the gestation of this thing has been; Volkswagen has been playing with the idea of a re-born Microbus since before there were iPhones and when Netflix would physically mail DVDs to your house: 2001. If you were born when VW first started teasing us with concept car versions of a Modern Microbus, you’d be old enough to drink and vote and get drafted by now. The one that we see now, the one that made it to production, is the fifth incarnation of the idea.
Okay, but what we’re sale-abrating today is the three-row version of the ID.Buzz, so let’s go over the differences. First, it’s about 10 inches longer in the wheelbase:
This longer bus has, as you can see, a longer sliding rear door, and now includes a little sliding window-within-a-window set into the side glass there. This is great, as my big complaint about the short bus was the lack of rear ventilation: no windows to open, and no HVAC vents. Both of these issues have been solved in the three-row ID.Buzz.
And, as a three-row vehicle, this can seat up to seven, with options for a middle bench seat that can sit three or a pair of captain’s chairs.
Also note that VW finally illuminated the climate controls and volume slider, an absurd omission from their other ID-series cars, though this particular bit if user-interface madness still lumbers on:
I wrote a whole blog about these window switches. On a hopeful note, I was informed that VW is “aware” of the issues with this window switch setup.
VW’s people also say it looks better, because of the longer proportions, but I think that’s pretty subjective. I like the stubby look of the short one!
There’s also more power on tap, even with the rear-motor/RWD version: 282 vs. 201, and there’s also an AWD version with a front motor as well, and that version should make 330 hp. These are all a very far cry from the old 40-50 hp buses of the ’60s and ’70s.
The battery pack is bigger as well, 91 kWh vs 82 kWh, and I expect range to be improved too, but no numbers have been given yet. If I had to guess, which I don’t but will, I’d say between 250-275 miles seems likely. Maybe 300?
Oh, we also know what colors you can get these in, which is important for this car in particular, which is so well known for its vivid color options:
There’s great, real colors here, a welcome departure from the usual grayscale miasma, but VW did tell us they added some silvers and grays just for the US market. I’ve never been more ashamed to be an American. Why would you get one of these in boring-ass silver? Look at it:
Even with the tent and all the fun camp equipment, that silver de-charms everything by at least 40%. If you’re too chickenshit to get some real colors, maybe you should be looking at a Pacifica or something.
I Think I Know What The Price Will Be
Volkswagen has not officially revealed the pricing of the three-row ID.Buzz, but based on anonymous conversations with people who actually know the answer, it was strongly hinted that the ID.Buzz will start here at about $60,000 to $65,000. We were told that there is no base version of the ID.Buzz, they’re all quite premium, and it’s an expensive car to build, with a big, expensive battery. Okay, true, but it still sucks. The whole ethos of the original Type 2 Bus was that it was an affordable box-on-wheels for everyone, and this new one is a decidedly premium vehicle that isn’t even going to try to be affordable, not really. I understand the reasoning, but that doesn’t mean I have to like it.
Time For The Liveblog-Like Stuff
Okay, since we have the basics out of the way, join me, won’t you, on the first half of my barely-24-hour trip to Huntington Beach, California!
First, the LAX bathroom sinks are stupid. Three chrome faucet-like things, and you can’t really tell what does what. From left to right, one is soap, one water, one dries via air. But the soap one doesn’t work and the dryer is barely adequate, so we get duplicated soap and paper towel dispensers on the wall. Confusing and wasteful! I’m impressed!
Alright, time to get picked up in a VW ID.4! I tried to cram my bag into the place where the frunk should be, but they stopped me.
Okay, so this is a little gross, but remember when I screwed up my finger while attempting to chainsaw the batteries out of my Changli? Well, in the car, my fingernail finally fell off. It’s sort of gross, so don’t click here if you don’t want to see it. Seriously, that’s a picture of a fingernail, off a finger, tinged with some blood. You’ve been warned.
Okay, so now here I am, a nine-fingernail’d dipshit, heading to the hotel, and seeing the majestic battleship USS Nathan Lane! I think that’s what it’s named, but I’m not certain. Nobody check. 
There’s a big gathering of old buses set to happen tomorrow (or, today, as it’s just past midnight and I need to get this published!) and I did manage to spot an interesting one being towed in:
That sort of single-cab/box rear is unusual; I should check it out closer tomorrow.
At the hotel, they had a sorta-hippy-ish wrapped Buzz covered with “Love the Earth” in many, many languages. I thought the Earth and I were just friends, but hey, I’m open to more! Call me, Earth!
All of VW’s signage is surfboard-shaped, which is I guess fitting, if a bit on-the-nose.
Check this shit out: VW had custom wooden room keys made! That’s fun, right? I mean, they’re a little hard to fit in your pocket, but beats the hell out of just printing on a plastic credit-card-like key, like most automakers do! Gauntlet’s been thrown, other companies! Your next keys will need to be little marble statuettes of the car to beat this!
Because this is a press event full of hungry, doughy auto journalists, there’s food everywhere and always.
Seeing The Three-Row ID.Buzz Up Close
I was late and technically not on The List, but I managed to get myself into the studio where we could see a three-row ID.Buzz in the metal, finally, up close and personal.
They spun it around on a turntable and I swear it felt just like being inside a giant microwave. I expected it to beep at the end and then discover that the inside was frozen. Then they did it again, with all the doors open:
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Did I mention we had to put on booties to be in the clean, clean studio? We did.
I also asked one of the PR people if there was any consideration of naming this new electric van the e-Routan, and was told no, absolutely not, just in case anyone was wondering. Same goes for ID.Sharan. I was impressed at how well the rep kept himself from slapping me with a clipboard, as he was technically permitted to do.
One disappointment: this one we photographed and saw is pre-production, and has the Euro-spec fantastic sequential amber rear indicators. I was told the US-spec one will have all-red ones, which sucks. Come on, VW! Just make the amber section larger so you can have a universal taillight! Why is this so flapjacking hard?
On the plus side of lighting, those look to be cornering lights in the headlamp units, and I like the DRL signature a lot. Let’s take a look inside:
The instrument binnacle is shared with the rest of the ID line, but the 12.9-inch center stack screen will have an improved UX and have more responsive software, I’m told. There’s also a customizable icon dock, which is a good idea.
The glass roof is huge, and the interior feels very airy and open. It’s nice! Plus, airplane-like rear seat trays.
The second-row bench is comfortable and there’s plenty of legroom. Same goes for the third row:
Look, there’s legs of the person next to me in the back row.
There’s the third row, seen over the 60% of folded middle seat.
Significantly, there’s HVAC controls at the rear and dedicated vents for each row. Yay! No asphyxiation for anyone!
There’s a view backwards. Let’s check out the cargo area:
With all three rows up, the rear cargo area isn’t terribly deep, but it is tall, and VW has an optional shelf system (that also forms a flat floor for sleeping/boning/shoving in a full-size marlin, etc) and you can get those VW-branded storage boxes for below the shelf, or, probably just as likely, get some that fit from Ikea or Wal-Mart, depending on what sorts of media you tend to enjoy.
Here’s what it looks like with all rear rows folded and the shelf unit in place: a nice, flat expanse of space, much like Nebraska, but with fewer tumbleweeds and more likely to house a first-rate philharmonic. I kid, I kid! I’m sure Omaha has a fantastic philharmonic. Oh, they do, look! No hard feelings, okay?
Without the platform-thing, it looks like this:
Less flat, but still a massive amount of room in this wheeled box, keeping with the whole raison d’etre of the Type 2. Those rear seats are pretty easily removable, separately:
…and I guess you could use them outside of the car. They’re pretty heavy, though, even if they do have carrying handles on them.
It looks like we have coilovers up front, and it’s hard to see exactly the setup in the rear, as most of the bottom is covered:
One other interesting tech detail down low: the radar transceiver looks like it’d actually be quite easy to remove and replace:
It’s a bit vulnerable in a minor wreck, but so is everyone else’s, and at least this one looks easy to remove and install.
Overall, I do like the ID.Buzz three-row. Sure, it’s maybe less overtly retro than I’d have done, and it definitely is more expensive than I’d like, but it’s a good, striking design, has plenty of room inside, drives well (well, the Euro one did), and aside from a few interface design irritants, seems like it’d be a satisfying and flexible vehicle to own.
Plus, there’s not much on the market that’s like this, and I respect that a lot.
Now scroll back up and click on the link to the fingernail picture. You know you’re curious.
I just needed to comment on how much I love your review style, Torch. Absurd silliness, genuine insight about headlight design, poking fun at PR events – this is the reason I am happy to pay for this website.
History will recognize Torch as one of the geniuses in automotive journalism.
JASON. You need that fingernail.
No, he needs to properly dispose of that one. A brand new fingernail is the play here.
He wouldn’t need a new fingernail if this one had stayed on!
Considering this goes against almost everything the original stood for (affordability, practicality and simplicity) where this is expensive and complicated, I’m not sure how much I care. There has not been a truly affordable people’s car in years. We need somebody to go out on a limb and build a simple, AFFORDABLE EV.
I’m not a fan of Aptera’s three-wheeled premise (I don’t hate three wheels, I just don’t know how it would work in snowy areas…AWD is great, but if that rear wheel is always in the middle of a lane IN the snow and slush left behind where the wheel tracks of others AREN’T, you can’t make traction from nothing!), or their Tesla-like minimalistic yoke’d interior with only a touchscreen slab for control….but I DO like their ethos. Lightweight, won’t rust, fairly simple, only a small battery is needed because of the low weight and aerodynamics. If they made a 4-wheeled version and dropped the yoke and gave me some physical ACTUAL buttons in the interior…
….and you know, actually brought it to production, I’d be all over it. Another automaker has to pick up that mantle as I think they’d make a killing considering there are SO many people who want to make that transition but can’t because of huge prices of most EVs.
Just get a 1st gen Honda Insight, buddy. All aluminum chassis, 3 cyl w Vtec, pancake motor, hackable battery that lives forever if you have a grid charger, and stickshift. You can pick them up for $3k and they have airbags and stuff and would be a lot more practical than an Aptera, and you can drive the wheels off them. I have almost 300k on mine.
And here I am agreeing with both of you.
I think there should be a real place for the Aptera. I wish a more competent company were building it. And the OG Insight is a treasure.
It’s a shame Americans don’t buy cool commuter vehicles.
Love the earth? How about loving the people in the Congo tearing their country to pieces for cobalt to power our E-Everything future?
https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2023/02/01/gettyimages-1244417592_wide-10e9211eae633ef35b407191f82ed3d045befa8c-s1400-c100.jpg
Better than non-catalytic converter original buses!
But seriously – cobalt is going away in batteries, so this is not a long term issue. It’s being pushed by oil companies to distract from the horrors that they create on a daily basis.
Have you seen the Niger Delta? That’s just one example of many:
https://news.mongabay.com/2023/05/for-weary-niger-delta-residents-shocking-oil-pollution-report-offers-little-hope/
Cobalt is the 32nd most common element of earth & has a wide array of uses.
For example, 2.5% of every gallon of crude oil is sulfur which needs to be removed, what does the oil industry use to remove the sulfur? YES Cobalt.
From an ICE vehicle perspective, it is also used in the creation of steel & high strength alloys and in ICE engine catalytic converters.
And yet for some reason I never hear cries of “remove the cobalt from… the production of oil refinement or metal production”
Jason’s first paragraph sums up why I find it hard to give a shit. They have teased this concept for so friggin long, literally decades, that in my opinion it’s already stale before it’s for sale. I just don’t care anymore. Throw in the fact it’s going to be crazy expensive and I care even less, if I could care at all.
Yeah I’m having a difficult time imagining someone who will actually buy this. As a ~$30k ICE vehicle, it would be a nice niche offering that would sell in the thousands per year, maybe tens of thousands per year in its best year. At this price range I feel like they should make it special order only and plan to sell like 1000 all together.
I like that there’s no option for black seats, though I hate the lack of real buttons.
I feel like I’ve been living in a slow-boil existential crisis for the last decade.
My household income has risen from bottom 60% to top 20%, but the cost of necessities have risen just as fast, putting the white picket fence perpetually out of reach. Tantalus, Charlie Brown’s football, choose your metaphor.
The ID.Buzz has been something I’ve been working towards since the concept in 2017. I am the target demographic. But back then, it was expected to be $40-45k. Now it’s $60-65k, and no tax credit. And the worst part is, I can’t even blame VW when all the direct competition is just as bad.
If even people of my means are asking themselves questions like, “Do I really need to own a home?” and “Do we really need two cars?” and “are annual checkups worth it?” then something is about to break.
I’m in basically the same boat, and we’ve been trying to plan a wedding on top of it. It gets to the point where it’s like “do we really want to throw ourselves a $20k+ party, or maybe should I go to the doctor for a checkup?”
The best wedding I’ve ever been to was at a public park, and catered by a local burrito place. They rented the folding chairs for the service and then just played tunes and we ate burritos and had a good time. Don’t do anything fancy.
I agree with ADDvanced below. The first wedding I went to as an adult they probably blew $250K+ on it where the food was terrible, hundreds of people had to be herded around, it was hot and dusty (outside venue), and all in all it was pretty bad.
The second wedding I went to it was a small backyard wedding with it catered by a local restaurant and it was leagues better.
Third wedding I went to was a backyard wedding where the food was bought in those big aluminum pans from a local Mexican restaurant and was kept warm in the oven, it was amazing.
I say go with a backyard BBQ or quality Catering, in general you should invest the most money into the quality of the food.
Also IMHO wedding dresses are stupid. You wouldn’t pay thousands of dollars for a condom why should you do so for something that’ll also only be worn once?
Stay true to your love for one another and do your best to have fun, you shouldn’t have to stress over details on what is supposed to be one of the happiest days of your life, same goes for stressing about how much you spent on the wedding, and the best way not to stress about how much you spent on the wedding is by not spending excessively.
Also account for weather in the dress code. Wearing a Tux in 100 degree heat sucks.
Same. My earnings have risen fairly substantially over the last couple of years but now I’m actually less able to afford a new car
than I was previously given what’s happening in the market. It’s fucking frustrating. I love cars and just when I start earning what should allow me to buy something kinda special, I find myslelf looking at bullshit like a Chevy Trax because it’s (kind of) affordable.
God I hope they sell enough of these for them to last for decades on the used market.
New car prices are what they are, but this thing looks good enough and special enough that I’m excited to see what folks do with it in 20 years.
They will, just not in the US.
Personally i think the nostalgia effect wont do much for sales.The price is too high as well.
Nevertheless,good luck with it VW
I am surprised you didnt mention the owner of the legs placed in the 3rd row next to you. I was wondering who VW disliked more than you to not only put the poor female in the 3rd row but to put her next to you.
I’m really disappointed that the fingernail wasn’t planted on the folding seats :-/
I wanted to see the finger too.
I’m getting expensive electric toothbrush vibes from this.
Whelp, glad I pulled the trigger on my van instead of waiting for this.
I just don’t understand who this van is going to be for at that price. And it’s so disappointing to see something I’ve been salivating at the premise of for years only to have it be priced like a luxury car. It’s not perfect and it’s missing a little bit of the special features that you’d hope would be baked into the design, but I could forgive that had it been in anyway affordable.
It’s honestly been pretty rough coming to terms with this. I love cars, new and old. But at this point I’m not even sure why I even keep up on new car coverage when it’s gotten pretty clear that I’ll never be able to buy a new car ever again. What the fuck is everyone out there doing to be able to even rationally finance a fucking 60k+ van? (I’m aware that the new car market isn’t for the poors yada yada whatever, but 60k+ on a van or anything for that matter is just fucking nonsense).
Remember when Thom McPharland was looking for a van to accommodate his handicapped wife and they were priced at $60k? I wonder what this beast would cost after handicapped accessible?
It’ll probably never be wheelchair accessible. The battery inhibits the use of traditional automotive wheelchair ramps and it makes adding other solutions hard as well.
Right now it seems like the best new automobile to make wheelchair accessible is a Ram Promaster 1500 118″ WB Cargo Van. FWD with a low deck height, optional swivel seats for the driver and passenger seats, pretty short wheelbase, etc.
I am beginning to give up on the car hobby in general. I do well enough but there’s no way I can afford this anymore. On the flip side, vintage garden tractors looks to be a diverse and affordable hobby.
Have I got some good news for you then. I just happen to need to get rid of a vintage Troy-Bilt Pony. Start your collection now, while they are cheap!
They sure managed to highlight the two tiny openable windows in back by parking it next to a Samba bus.
Not great.
That’s the USS Ashland by the way, decidedly not a battle ship, and Nathan James would be a fictional Arleigh Burke class destroyer. Fun facts for the night.
And Nathan Lane is an accomplished thespian. Known from stage to screen. Talented beyond measure. Known currently as Pepper in Modern Family, but also Robin Williams significant other in The Birdcage also featuring Gene Hackman. Also funny in the Producers and dozens of other roles. This man does not get the credit he deserves for his talent.
“Whaddya want me to do, dress in drag and do the hula?!”
…
LUAU!
It looks really nice, power and range are good, that off-white interior looks way too nice to haul kids in or anything dirty, and the price tag is daunting … especially without the tax credit. As a current EV owner and former ’64 Microbus owner, it pains me to say it but I think VW missed the mark here by a fair bit. I hope I’m worng and they sell a bunch because I’d love to buy one used for about half that amount in 4 or 5 years….
I gotchu
Like we say in our household, It’s the Certified-Preowned Car of my dreams in three years.
It’s interest to see something try to compete with crossovers for “lifestyle” factor. It might work against a loaded Explorer or something. IMO the leader in lifestyle factor currently is a Wilderness edition Subie
Those headrests seem to stick pretty far out on the third row seats. Seems uncomfortable, especially if you wear your hair in a ponytail.
That would get annoying quickly.
Then again, I doubt anyone will ever sit back there anyway.
They are designed that way, to make sure you flip them up into the position you need to leave them for riding in
This is rumored to be built in Germany, not on North American soil. There go any possible tax credits. There’s no way this will be competitive with any other 3 row vehicle. Especially the H/K offerings that are slated to be built in the US. Unless they’re building out another line somewhere in the States to build this. Maybe co-located with the new Scout facility?
This is a nostalgic marque vehicle too celebrate the original, not a replacement.
Also if they build them in Germany there’s no chance at a cargo version being sold in the US market for the next 20 something years.
VW should build these in the US or just pull out of the US market entirely. The last notable thing VW gave the US market is Electrify America which is arguably the worst charging network and it is brought to you by the US government forcing VW to make it after Diesel-gate.
I wonder if VW realizes that the great general public will actually feel betrayed by that price? We used to be friends but I move in a more elite social circle now. It’s not good for my image to be seen with your kind. I’m sure you understand.
Beer drinkers certainly wont understand.
$60k+ to start is an absolute joke, the name is stupid, and it looks more aggressive than a Volkswagen Bus has any right to. Hard pass.
I seriously cannot get over the sticker shock if it does end up actually costing $60k+. That’s insane. It truly feels like the industry is moving backwards. Worse ergonomics, worse performance, and all at a higher price.
Yeah why doesn’t it have a happy headlights. To be fair(rrrrr) I’d be mad if it took them over 2 muthf’n decades to bring to production, I guess.
A 60K minivan (e.g., kid-hauler) with an interior so pristine I wouldn’t want my kids to touch…
I dunno, it’s a nice design for sure, but we bought our Caravan several years ago as a base model with the understanding that transporting kids meant it would be perpetually dirty, surfaces would receive marker, and that generally it would be well-worn.
I guess a family with young kids is not the target market?
van life influencers is the goal imo.
Ditto, although I made sure the get leather not just because it’s my preference, but also because it makes cleaning up so much easier lol.
60k electric minivan. The older-newer versions looked so much better, its kind of a meh.
Finally! Owner of an 86 Westy here and looking for a minivan to replace our rusted out Mazda 5. I like it but not at $60k+.
Looking at the base model Sienna now but local dealers are marking them up several thou and there’s a 3 – 4 month wait. Sigh…