Last week, Volkswagen finally did the dang thing. The groovy camouflage wrap finally came off of the production 2024 ID. Buzz electric van. After nearly 20 years of concepts and teases, the latest addition to the ID. family retains the cheerful charm of the original Volkswagen Bus. While we Americans won’t see this little guy roaming our streets until 2024, attendees at this year’s SXSW in Austin, Texas got to take a sneak peak.
As is typical of Volkswagen, this all-new model will go on sale in Europe later this year and offer a few more configurations than what we will get in North America. For example, the model you see here is the short wheelbase, five passenger variant. Over here, however, we will be receiving a long wheelbase, seven passenger version. Europe will get it too, but it’s unfortunate that smaller minivans don’t get much love over here like they once did. Mazda had the 5 and MPV, Chrysler had the short wheelbase Town & Country and the Dodge Caravan. Hyundai even had short wheelbase versions of the Entourage and Sedona. The long wheelbase version will officially debut in 2023, but again, won’t go on sale until calendar year 2024. We will also not be receiving the cargo version pictured below.
Supplying electrons to the 2024 ID. Buzz is an 82 kWh (77 kWh net) battery pack. Locomotion comes from the 201 horsepower electric motor from the RWD single-motor ID.4. Interestingly, its top speed will be electronically limited to 90 mph. We fully expect Volkswagen to offer the AWD dual-motor setup also available on the ID.4 to satisfy the speed North American shoppers will be looking for. It would be much appreciated, considering the extra girth of our model.
The ID. Buzz does not adopt the 800v architecture of Hyundai and Porsche’s systems, but will still be compatible with DC Fast Chargers for a maximum 170 kW flow. Similar to the former, however, the van will be capable of “vehicle-to-home” reverse power feeding. Using a wall-mounted DC bi-directional unit, it will be able to provide power into the domestic grid. This is, apparently, only going to be for Europe’s ID. Buzz for now, but it will likely come to the North American version, too.
The interior uses two-tone color schemes to mimic the bright palette of the exterior. If the outside is orange, inside will have some orange, too. The dashboard utilizes the same setup as the other ID. models. This includes the controversial touch-capacitive slider controls and all. One differentiator, however, is the much larger LCD instrument cluster. Unlike the tiny one offered on ID.4, ID. Buzz receives a 10 inch screen. The central touchscreen can be optioned as large as 12 inches.
Look for more details on the North American version to emerge as we get closer to its debut in 2023. While that is a long time from now, we think it will most certainly be worth the wait. Surf’s up, dude!