I think I have a complicated relationship with the Volkswagen ID.Buzz. This was a vehicle I was very much looking forward to existing in the world, and one I desperately wanted to like – and, in many ways, I do like it. But it’s a vehicle that has a pretty significant Achilles’ heel, one that I believe severely impairs its fundamental purpose: its relatively low range. When I tested it, I was frustrated to find what a fantastic road trip machine it was – if you could somehow ignore the real-world, road trip range of about 150 miles or so. But you can’t ignore that, so it was frustrating. But I happened to see a variant of the ID.Buzz, a variant that somehow feels a bit closer in character to the original, and seems to be better suited to its raison d’etre, technically.
The variant? The cargo version.
And even more so, the absolute base-model cargo version, the one that forgoes most of the passenger variant’s trim and luxurious touches, down to having unpainted black bumpers, front and rear. These don’t yet exist in America, but I saw one on ex-Twitter:
panel van id buzz, unpainted bumpers and everything pic.twitter.com/6GF7t3K1Go
— Alex P (@blueRSavant) March 26, 2025
Seeing that, I felt things. Something about the ID.Buzz stripped down to its barest essentials just made the whole thing feel right again, feel closer to its roots as, well, a useful box on wheels. Because that’s all a VW Type 2 was really ever meant to be. Look at these old ads for cargo Type 2s, for reference:
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The cargo version of the ID.Buzz I think strips down quite well, which speaks well to its fundamental design:
I especially like seeing it in steelies, and even more especially those steelies, because the many-little-round-holes design is pretty much just like what Buses from the ’70s used:
I like seeing the black filler panel between the taillights, replacing the full-width LED heckblende of the passenger version. I like the black hinges, the now-empty horizontal recesses in the rear upper quarter that are normally filled with plastic trim bits, like you see here:
I think look great just as stamped recesses, freed from any excess of design. I think it all just works.
And, in the context of a delivery van, the ID.Buzz is extremely well-suited to the job. The range is really not an issue in this context, as delivery speeds the sort of stop-and-start demands of a delivery van are ideal for maximizing battery range. An electric delivery van is an ideal use of such a platform: quiet, no exhaust or noise or fuel use while stopped, because there’s no idling, good acceleration for dealing with traffic, excellent packaging so you have a big, empty box to load full of stuff – it’s just an ideal platform for the job.
Also, look, three-across seating up front for the cargo version – this should be an option for the passenger ones!
The price for the de-contented delivery vehicle is a good bit less than the passenger ones, of course, and that helps a great deal, too. The price drop is significant – for example, you can get a Buzz cargo for about $53,000 – still not nearly as cheap as I’d like to see, of course, but a lot better than the average passenger ID.Buzz prices of $60 to over $70,000.
I’m still a bit disappointed with the ID.Buzz, a machine that probably is judged unfairly, when it comes to living up to the reputation and legacy of its ancestor. But seeing this cargo variant does make me rethink some things, and feel a little better about what still is, after all these years, a useful box on wheels.
60K is the cheapest ID.Buzz within 500 miles of SF. These things will NEVER sell at that price. This will be another thing the automakers point at and say “we can’t make fun cars”. Also, I’m still waiting on my EV vert.
There are two ID Buzzes sitting at our local VW dealer, untouched since they arrived last year. When I asked how the lease terms were on them, the manager laughed and said they had no idea since no customer had ever gotten as far as looking at the numbers.
The salespeople and the manager all seemed resigned to the fact that the Buzzes are probably never going to sell. They have one black base model and one blue & white fancypants model. The black one is so dull it’s literally depressing just to look at it. The blue & white one has a sticker price over $72,000.
It’s less practical than a $51,000 Pacifica with the stow & go seats that fold into the floor, and less luxurious than a Kia Carnival that starts at $36,000 and still barely tops $50k when you get the limo-like top of the line trim.
Volkswagen could have gone the Honda Element route and made the ID Buzz a modular, practical, do-anything box. Imagine if they’d stuck some rails in it that let aftermarket companies give you all the bits you need to make it into a weekend Westphalia. Instead, they built a bog standard minivan with less features than most, and a moderately attractive update on the T6 Transporter that needs a two-tone paint job to have any unusual charm. All that for a price that’s frankly indefensible.
The worst thing about the ID Buzz isn’t the van itself, it’s how badly they squandered its potential, meaning we probably won’t see another attempt to bring a microbus back to the United States in the future.
Oh god I hadn’t looked at a plain black one until now and…yikes i didn’t realized how much the design relies on the color. In black looks like it should be a $30,000 Kia competitor
Who the hell would pick that over an F150 Lightning, Jeep Wagoneer EV, Audi Q7, RR Velar, or basically any luxury SUV?
Anyone remember Horace the Hate Bug? That all black model is his cousin.
I want a passenger version with this similar level of base-ness.
They’ll never allow that though.
Does any other model/trim level come with unpainted bumpers? If they have one with unpainted bumpers and black steelies, that one might be the best one, but if not, this is definitely the best ID Buzz (what an idiotic name).
I don’t think so… according to the VW US site, we only get one version of the ID Buzz, which is the long wheelbase/passenger (windows and seats) version, and it comes in three different trims. The cheapest one is Pro S, which seems to start around $61K, and it looks like it’s got the painted front and rear facias, as well as the same (or very similar) looking wheels as the higher trims (but w/black instead of silver centers). So, no cargo version for us (at least not yet), no short wheelbase, and no steelies.
I have ZERO doubt that the cargo ID Buzz is the best Buzz, though we don’t get it in the states I think (I haven’t read Jason’s surely excellent-as-always article yet).
I LOVE vans (fullish size ones, not just minivans and microvans like the Mazda 5, which is also charming in its own way). I’d use a Rivian (Amazon) or Brightdrop (GM) EV van as a daily if I could (short wheelbase/high roof/small-to-middle battery pack spec for me!) and I’m recently becoming infatuated with Kia’s upcoming EV van, the PV5, which we supposedly WILL get in the states: https://worldwide.kia.com/int/pv5 It’s modular with several different configs, and is expected to undercut VW, Rivian, and Brightdrop in price by a considerable margin. I even dig the cyberpunky look it sports, even though that’s already becoming a bit of a design cliche.
OFF TOPIC:
A friend dragged me out to a car show yesterday morning, more or less against my will since I’ve been under the weather for a couple months and going out hasn’t been much of a priority, let alone being shaved and showered well before 8AM.
SO glad I went: it was for (what I think was called) the Bring a Trailer car show, hosted at/in conjunction with the Mike Malamut private car collection/museum https://malamutautomuseumfoundation.org and the WOB exotic car dealership (?) https://wobcars.com which are located roughly across the street from each other in Thousand Oaks, CA. I’d never heard of either place before, and though I know Bring a Trailer of course, it wasn’t like I spend much time there (though I did create a bidding account this past week for the first time).
Let me say that both places were kind of fantastic. Maybe a hundredish cars each (or a bit more?) and very eclectic collections: semi-race and supercars of course, but also vintage microcars, some American muscle, all kinds of European exotica, and a spattering of desirable Japanese iron too. Plus (as is often the case) the cars of folks visiting were about as great as the cars inside: the parking lots and street between were filled with Citroens, Saabs, Volvos, Porsches, and so much more. In total, I think I saw no less than 3 or 4 Traction Avants, along with a big handful of other Citroens, like 3 BAC Monos (at WOB), a solid half dozen pristine Benz convertibles from the 60s-70s, way too many Porsches to keep track of, a whole passel of vintage Japanese minibikes, mopeds, and smaller motorcycles, a minty Mazda rotary-powered pickup (that the owner was asking $120K for), several early/tiny Hondas, at least one sporting the motor out of a superbike, a splendid Saab 99 with original everything, a guy half my age who was on his THIRD Porsche 928, more than a few DKWs and at least one or two Auto Unions, etc… etc… etc… Did I mention the number and variety of cars that had been upholstered with houndstooth seat inserts and solid/dark leather bolsters? I was smitten repeatedly.
Plus, it was sunny and mild, there were dogs everywhere, and lots of late-middle-aged guys (like myself) wearing plaid shirs, with grey beards and bellies, all of whom seemed happy to talk. And, as if all that weren’t enough, WOB (or maybe BaT?) sprung for complimentary breakfast and coffee too: truly delicious egg sandwiches from Dog Haus and I don’t know where the coffee was from, but it was way better than I’ve usually had in work meetings from those cardboard totes of joe from Starbucks. Real half-n-half for the coffee too! Maybe it’s my somewhat fragile state lately, but I felt a bit verklempt from the sheer niceness of it all.
All in all, it was amazing. The Malamut collection isn’t routinely open to the public, so if you get a chance to go (for some event or fundraiser) I definitely would… Thousand Oaks is a bit under an hour from downtown LA w/the usual traffic on the 101. I’m not as into all the other-than-automotive stuff they have, but the sheer scope and size of the vintage signage, tchotchkes, furniture (entire rooms’ worth) mixed in among the vehicles was deeply impressive.
My buddy took pix but I don’t want to kill his dropbox with traffic by giving out the link, so I’ll try to repost a few (or at least the stamps) and link to that later when my splitting headache subsides.
Did anyone else happen to go to this BaT show yesterday?
but whats its tow rating?
As a motorcyclist married to a horse gal, that is the most critical question!