The Volkswagen ID Buzz: A Revolutionary Vehicle for the Modern Era

As I had the opportunity to experience the Volkswagen ID Buzz, I was immediately struck by its unique layout and comfortable position. It's clear that VW has done a great job of creating a vehicle that is both practical and enjoyable to drive. While it may not be as large inside as some of its competitors, I believe that this is actually one of its strengths. The space inside the ID Buzz is well-designed and efficient, making it an excellent choice for families or individuals who want a versatile vehicle.

For me, one of the biggest advantages of the ID Buzz is its compact size. While it may not be suitable as a van on its own, I believe that it has the potential to be transformed into a camper with the right modifications. The 4 cubic meters of cargo space inside the van provides ample room for conversion and customization. As someone who values flexibility and adaptability in their vehicle, I found the ID Buzz's compact size to be a major draw.

One of the most significant challenges facing electric vehicles is charging infrastructure. While VW has made significant strides in this area, it's clear that there is still much work to be done. As someone who loves the outdoors and enjoys camping, I was excited to test the ID Buzz's electric capabilities. Unfortunately, my experience was a bit disappointing - 3 days of charging did not quite get me where I needed to go.

Despite this challenge, I believe that VW has made significant progress in creating an electric vehicle that is both practical and fun to drive. The ID Buzz is clear winner for our Electric Car of the Year award, and I'm excited to see how it will fare in the future. With its unique design, comfortable ride, and impressive space efficiency, I have no doubt that the ID Buzz will become a favorite among families, adventurers, and anyone looking for a reliable and efficient vehicle.

The Future of Conversion

As someone who values customization and flexibility, I was intrigued by the idea of converting an ID Buzz into a camper. While it's clear that this would require significant modifications to accommodate the batteries and charging systems, I believe that VW has laid the groundwork for this type of conversion. By incorporating advanced battery technology and clever design solutions, VW has created a vehicle that is both functional and adaptable.

In my opinion, one of the biggest challenges facing ID Buzz conversions will be integrating power from the drive battery to run appliances like induction hobs and refrigerators. This may require the development of separate systems or clever use of existing energy sources. However, with the right expertise and resources, I believe that it's entirely possible to create a fully functional camper that harnesses the benefits of electric power.

The Legacy of the ID Buzz

As I stood there watching the sun set over Fistral Beach, I couldn't help but feel a sense of nostalgia wash over me. The ID Buzz is, in many ways, a direct descendant of one of the most iconic vehicles of the 1960s - the VW Type 2. Released in the early 1960s, this bus became an instant classic and played a significant role in defining 60s surf culture and the hippie movement.

As I gazed out at the waves, I couldn't help but think about the impact that the ID Buzz is likely to have on modern society. Will it become the next symbol of revolution and counterculture? Only time will tell, but one thing is certain - this vehicle has already captured my heart with its unique design, impressive space efficiency, and reliable electric powertrain.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enah the British Seaside it's not raining it's not warm mind you but I've been a brave boy I've taken my shoes off rolled my trouser legs up been for a paddle and avoided the dog mess all I need now is an ice cream and I think I've spotted something over there any chance of a 99 look I'm not going to get served am I because this is not an ice cream van it's the new volkswagan ID Buzz so we're going to go for a drive and then we're going to take it and show some people cuz the kind of people that hang out at the brid seaside love a VW van where the put my shoes you can keep your Ferrari 296 or your Lotus Amira this is probably the most significant car of 2022 why because it has the ability to change our perceptions of what a family car can be doesn't this look like a cooler solution for the future than an SUV and it's just lovely to be in here we are on a bright sunny day bumbling through Cornwall got this panoram AMC view out ahead with these big quarter light windows and it just feels bright and upright and feel good it's just a lovely way of getting about and it's so much fresher and more modern than the vans that have gone before this has been bespoke designed to appeal to families and electric power makes sense for Vans all this nonsense about sporty electric cars they it's not what suits them but this just using the benefits of electricity the smoothness and the silence just works in a van so you're here bimbling about you've got a lovely low center of gravity cuz the batteries are all under the deck and that means it's got much better body control and stability than most Vans and because it's got a good stiff chassis you don't get all that clunking and creaking you do in other Vans I'm in love with this view forward the sort of sense of space and this sort of visor like aperture you've got to through that the wind screen is a long way away but it's the feel good deck in front of you and the ride is really good it's quiet on the road you've got good absorption of the bumps it just feels like a very civilized way of getting about and when you want to cruise look you got a pair of armrests to flip down rest your elbows rest your hands maybe knock the seat back a little a touch and just relax and then you've got cruising for days well until the battery runs out there's let's not worry about the recharging infrastructure at the moment let's worry about the car itself that low center of gravity with the batteries tucked right down underneath means it doesn't Lurch and get ponderous around corners which so many Vans do and it's not actually that big on the road which makes it very handy in narrow Cornish Lanes it's 200 mm shorter than the existing VW Vans and it's got a really good turning Circle because the front wheels aren't doing anything else there's no motor connected to them this is a really drive van just like the original was but I know what you may be worried about it's a big van and it's only got one motor with 200 horsepower and about 220 lb foot of torque is that enough well yes it is you're going quick enough you don't need to go faster your family doesn't want to travel faster really it's the sense of sort of calmness that is so alluring it just feels so lovely to be in and you're getting a Driving Experience that matches the way it's going down the road so you sit high but it doesn't feel ungainly because it's got really good body control all that weight is kept nice and low down so you just Cruise along very easily it feels very calm around corners but it's the sense of well-being it delivers that sets it apart from anything else but enough from me let's put the ID buzz in front of some people who really know their Vans that's that's right we've arranged our own VW Bug Jam we put the call out and they came people with Vans of all eras shapes and sizes from 60-year-old original t2s right up to Modern t6s and they turned up because they were intrigued by the ID Buzz so what did they think of it I started off by asking people what they thought of the design I do like the look of it it's stylish but still keeping some of the original sort of looks of the you do notice the the style of it it's it's a nice looking van it almost looks futuristic but sleek and modern it's really really nice as a as a people carrier it's beautiful it's it's stunning it's it reminds me of a b of an old window or a split screen at the end of the day which I'm guessing that's what Volkswagen have gone for I think the front the big mouth I'm not really keen on the big mouth it sounds awful but I'd liked it to be a little bit more like the split sorry I don't like them all shiny you don't know what's hiding do you yes it's got the modern nuances which I really like but it's still got very much the reminiscence of the original vanan as it came off the production line in 1950 full circle from the from the old split screen to a modern day version of that it's very interesting as a vehicle I must say it's in real life it's much much nicer than it looks on the photographs first of all but I've been following this for the last six years or so so I've seen lots of different versions of it the one I hoped to see was more like the t2 it was a lot rounder this one I'm I think it's beautiful but I can see the utilitarian part of it it looks like it can be used as a van uh as opposed to the old vans you could never imagine them being used as a van I like the look of the ID Buzz I think it looks great um I have some concerns obviously with the Battery Technology uh and the size of battery and the range next question how's the cabin it's it's quite minimalistic almost there's not too much to it but it feels nice it feels comfy it feels very modern quite big quite open you can see you got a really good view I do like the the screen it's really clear and easy to use um I like the space around you I like the fact you can remove the center console so that you want to walk through to the back a bit like you can with mine you can walk through to the back and get the children when it's raining outside and sort things out I do like that and the boot space is amazing I mean I could put a mattress in there and sleep in it quite happily the boot is amazing really big cuz usually modern Vans because have a great big engine up the front you end up with something the inside is compromised the inside of this seems quite big still you've got this kind of kind of wooden effect here which is kind of harking a little bit back to the past it's comfortable it's it's really uh you know just everything's presented well it looks nice you know looking at it I do like the big screen I would say to show you the maps and that sort of thing would be great because obviously the ones we have in in the normal t6s and t5s are quite quite small I do love the armrest coming down same as the Volkswagen which are better than most other vehicles um I do like the layout um it is a comfortable position I can definitely see it as a replacement car rather than as a van as it stands at the moment it was just a bit too small for it to be a van is it practical enough it seems quite compact um and small for space um more like an SUV than you know a van or such I think it it does feel more of a car like than van like to be fair if it was for a camper I think it it could do with being a little bit bigger it might be a bit tight to have um like a sleeping situation in it but overall as a normal vehicle I think it's it's plenty big enough for that all vehicles are getting too big on the road anyway I certainly love it I love the space that's inside of it I mean I'm not very big but even so even when the seats are forward I've still got more space than you'd have in an airplane it seems a little bit smaller but I'm sure by the time the cargo van comes up obviously without all the Plastics it it'll be um obviously more space and there'll be more cubic capacity to fit more in you um as a converter it's a bit on the small side you know it's only 4 cubic meters we've chosen that long wheel Bas because we've got a dog so we can have our bed up and have the dogs bed in the same place so having a long wheel base is absolutely no brainer for us it has to be bigger so making the buzz that bit bigger will will make it more attractive to to us certainly I think if the infrastructure is in place to to support electric vehicles property I think uh it would be a lot easier um but not yet I'm not quite ready to convert though it's not for me I like the sound of the engines if you're at a campsite and you can plug your van in because they all got electric charging wouldn't that be wonderful and I was told it would take 3 days to charge it not quite so wonderful so maybe there's an opportunity for somebody there to have a campsite where you can plug these electric vehicles in because that would be fantastic be able to use run the heating all the time run the run the air on all the time as a camper some great you know great options there last one for the folks who make a living from this could the ID Buzz be turned into a camper cuz the batteries are underneath one of our conversions we basically Mount most of gas and service and water and heating underneath the van so that's going to be a real challenge as is what where where we relocate all those and ceries too um how are you going to take power from it to run your cooking you know we don't want to introduce gas so people probably like to have induction Hobs So currently it's only got a 300 wats Supply these Vans here have got 350 W sers with lithium battery setups so they're already pretty self-sufficient from that side of things but obviously they also charged from the drive battery so we're probably going to have to go more down that route of making the the two separate systems totally cuz you obviously you don't want to drain your drive battery cuz you go camping for a few days you'll go to P off and you have no energy to go anywhere if someone brought one of those to me and said can you convert it I'd say okay let's have a go see what we can do with it time to close up and hit the road but in its first public appearance the ID Buzz has gone down well bear in mind that bigger clever more versatile versions are in the pipeline so with everyone wending their way home we headed back through Nuki to take in the local sites before heading to fistal Beach for that rarest of things in the UK a genuine California Sunset this is it isn't it surf's up Life's good the ID buzz in its natural environment 60 years have passed and we're back where we started VW has finally had the courage to reinvent the original an original that let's not forget not only defined 60s surf culture but also mobilized the whole hippie movement it's arguably one of the most revolutionary vehicles ever to have turned a wheel time will tell if the ID Buzz is the cusp of another Revolution I know it's not as big inside as many people were hoping but don't look back and compare this to the diesel vans that have gone before I know this looks like a van and acts like a van and riffs heavily on the van theme but underneath it's just a brilliantly useful family car way better packaged and more spacious than any SUV clean and simple to drive and most importantly fun to be in and around and that is why it's our electric car of the year\n"