Volkswagen ID. Buzz Pre-Production First Drive Notes

We get to drive VW’s so-called "emotional" electric people-mover.

Eric Loveday

By: Eric Loveday

Feb 20, 2022 at 6:00pm ET

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Recently, our friends (coworkers too, actually) over at Motor1 had the opportunity to test drive a pre-production Volkswagen ID. Buzz. This electric van/bus from VW is probably its most-anticipated electric car, partially due to its nostalgic tie and also due to its size, which makes it either a perfect people-hauler or a rather compact-ish cargo mover.

Though we'll leave the full review for Motor1 (check it out here), we're still going to share some of the highlights (as well as the video) with our InsideEVs's reader right here.

First, some background on the 45-minute first-drive event. It took place in the UK, but the vehicle was not a right-hand-drive model, so the drive was on the "wrong" side of the road in a vehicle meant to drive on the "right" side of the road. That, in itself, made it a bit tricky.

And we weren't allowed to photograph the interior of the vehicle. However, leaked images showed us the inside a while back, so we have an idea of what it looks like within the van's confines.

As Motor1 rather humorously wrote:

Volkswagen elected to let me drive the Protobuzz (unofficial name) at its UK headquarters in Milton Keynes, about an hour outside of London. This quaint town apparently has more roundabouts than any other in all of Europe – a fact that became much less exciting when I realized I would be driving a German-spec car on the “wrong” side of the road. At least fellow motorists could see me coming.

Behind the wheel of the Buzz, the driving position is high and the outward visibility is amazingly good.

As for speed, the ID. Buzz is not fast, but it is no slouch either. This version of the van puts out 204 horsepower and 221 pound-feet from a 77.0 kilowatt-hour battery – figures that match the ID.4.

We expect a bigger battery version in the future. According to reports, something around 111-kWh seems to be in the works. However, VW is not willing to confirm any other battery sizes at this point in time.

In regards to range, the Motor1 test driver stated:

Given the ID.4’s 249-mile range, the Buzz pulling off something over 200 doesn’t feel outrageous.

What do you think?

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As confirmed by VW CEO Herbert Diess, our first chance to see the production van is on March 9th. That will also be the first time we see the long-wheelbase version, which is the only configuration headed to the US. The ID. Buzz will go on sale in the US in 2023, a year or so it launches in Europe.

For more info on the driving experience behind the wheel of the pre-production VW Buzz, be sure to check out this article on Motor1.