It’s no secret that people have been clamoring for a reborn Volkswagen bus for decades, and it’s finally about to happen in America. However, pricing has always been a lingering concern in the backs of everyone’s minds. Would Volkswagen aim to cash in on cultural appeal, or will the brand keep things competitive? It turns out the reality is somewhere in the middle, with Volkswagen pricing the ID. Buzz from $61,545 including a $1,550 freight charge. That’s not terrible for a dedicated three-row EV, even if the Volkswagen ID. Buzz will likely be a cult product rather than a mainstream thing.
So what do you get for $61,545? Well, you get pretty much everything you’d really want in an electric family hauler. We’re talking heated and ventilated front seats with lumbar massage, power sliding doors, 20-inch wheels, three-zone climate control, eight USB ports, a 12.9-inch touchscreen infotainment system, a nine-speaker stereo, and a slightly disappointing yet entirely reasonable-for-a-flying-brick EPA range of 234 miles.
However, you cannot get all-wheel-drive on the base Pro S trim, or paint that isn’t greyscale, meaning you’d need to step up to the Pro S Plus to even gain the option of spinning all four wheels. For $65,045 including freight, the Pro S Plus adds an easy opening function for the sliding doors and liftgate, a 14-speaker Harman/Kardon sound system, a tow hitch, a heads-up display, a movable false floor for the cargo area, and panoramic camera system. That seems like decent feature content for a $3,500 upcharge, but if you want to pay even more, options open up.
For instance, two-tone paint will run you $995, while captain’s chairs in the second row run an additional $695 on the rear-wheel-drive model, and come standard on the Pro S Plus AWD, which adds a front motor, a heated windshield, the captain’s chairs, and a whopping $4,500 over the rear-wheel-drive model for a grand total of $69,545 including freight, with the caveat of reducing range by a mere three miles to 231. Want to tip the scales over $70,000? Add either a panoramic glass roof for $1,495, the aforementioned two-tone paint, or both, why not? Even at just over $70,000, a fully loaded three-row EV with massaging front seats for that sort of money doesn’t seem exorbitant.
Oh, and if exclusivity’s on your mind, Volkswagen’s also offering an ID. Buzz 1st Edition, stickering for $67,045 for the rear-wheel-drive model and $71,545 for the all-wheel-drive model. It gets a weird mix of equipment, ditching the tow hitch, available heated windshield, and heads-up display offered on the Pro S Plus model but getting an electrochromic electronically-tintable panoramic moonroof, a roof rack, the two-tone paint, special wheels, special floor mats, special badging, and what Volkswagen refers to as “Special owner’s gifts.” If you’re a fan of Cheech and Chong, you can refer to them as paraphernalia. It’s all love.
Alright, so the Volkswagen ID. Buzz is expensive for a family hauler, but considering the three-row Kia EV9 starts at $56,395, it’s not a bad value if you truly need three rows, want an EV, and are feature-driven. Hell, even a loaded Toyota Sienna stickers for $54,595 including freight, so on feature content and practicality, the ID. Buzz actually seems well-positioned. Do we wish it was cheaper? Absolutely, but we knew this was a premium product from the start. Expect the first examples to finally roll into American showrooms before the year is through.
(Photo credits: Volkswagen)
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No, that’s insane. Please don’t normalize this pricing nonsense.
If the EV competition is 55k for better powertrain and features, and the ICE competition fully loaded tops out cheaper, you have to be off your rocker to suggest the pricing of this model is “not that bad”
I am here to argue that the Sienna makes so much more sense here… No range anxiety, pricing, or cruddy UX from the VW, and no reliability issues from the Chrysler, while still getting compact car MPG. Other than meh styling, I don’t see a downside here.
the ONLY downside of a modern Sienna is that you can’t remove the middle row, which rankles me to no end.
full disclosure: I own a 2007 and a 2011 sienna
What the middle row of a Sienna is not designed to be removed?
I have an old 2004 XLS w/middle row captain’s chairs and while a bit hefty they certainly can and have been removed.
That seems weird if the middle ‘bench’ seat was designed to be bolted in
yeah the latest gen Sienna’s middle row chairs are not easily removed. They certainly can be removed, of course, but there is no latching system designed to quickly/conveniently lift them out. that middle row is now so chock full of amenities (power-seat adjustments, heated seats, headrest screens, blah blah blah) that they need a pretty substantial wiring harness to run and they’re a lot heavier, so toyota just nixed easily-removable option. lame.
The downside is you can’t get a Sienna, at least here in San Jose. They were $10k over msrp, now down to $5k over, but only lesser trims in stock. One dealer has zero in stock. My buddy wanted a Woodlands edition. Took him 9 months to get one.
…but we knew this was a premium product from the start. Did we now?
For $70k let it sit & rot at the dealer
Lol. Lmao even. $60,000+ and a 234 mile range. You can get into the new Q6 for that much money, or as Thomas mentions a fully loaded van of your choice with money to spare. They’re really banking hard on the Whole Foods crowd’s nostalgia for something they probably never experienced.
Unfortunately that market is finite and most of them are happy with their Rivians, Subarus, Broncos, etc. Volkswagen really has no idea what they’re doing right now and it’s kind of sad.
This is laughable. Honestly, this is the sort of thing that makes people think EVs are all a big joke.
Here’s our newest, groundbreaking EV! It costs $70,000 and has less range than a Tesla Model S from 2012! Deal with it, loser
It almost seems like the MSRP is now a go-away price and they really want to lease them to you. I wonder what they’re offering for that.
Exactly. “Why not try it for 2 years, honey?”. This is basically a BZ4X / Solterra with more space and style. Those were literally $199/mo recently!
234 epa rated ev range in 2024? That is super non-competitive.
That likely means you’d be lucky on a full charge to drive much over 2 hrs. at a steady 70 mph bf needing to stop to charge
The ‘feels’ are not strong enough when there are already at least 2 competing 3 row cars available w/much better range in the R1S and the EV9
These will be a hell of a deal when they depreciate 50% or more in just a few years. Also – did you get any info on the charging speed and curve? That’s going to be very important for this car because of its poor range.
$61.5k US to START?!?
They’re full of gin of they think people will pay that.
No lowballers. They know what they’ve got.
Zing!
I guess I’m still grappling with the fact that $55-70k for a minivan is to some people “not that bad”. It’s literally unattainable for a large amount of family’s that could use them.
Median minivan prices approach median family annual incomes …
Does anyone know how it’s been selling in Europe? I expect a big demand for a year or so and then sales fall off a cliff…
I was just in London and they were very common there, at least, especially the panel van versions. I have no doubt they’ll flop insanely hard in the US with this kind of pricing, though.
Last time I was in London, Bentleys, Maybachs, and Lamborghinis were very common.
If we could get the panel van variants I’d consider getting one. Though any BEV without NACS in the US is on borrowed time.
I was just in Italy and saw not a single one. Lots and lots of Alfa Romeo Tonales, though, so we know who’s buying them.
They have only sold the short version with two rows so far, I think. So a marginal product, a boxier Id4 with worse range, a bit higher price and larger cargo area. The seats are not clever, at least in the versions I have seen they just fold 60-40 etc. Not ideal for bikes and so on. You see more of the cargo versions. Maybe the longer version will work better for taxis and large families. And van fans.
Seventy grand?!? “People’s Car,” my ass.
Preach.
Here’s a list of things you can get for the price of one of these:
An M2
A C8 Corvette
A loaded minivan of your choice with enough money left to buy a decent Miata
A Mustang Darkhorse
A completely loaded Palisade/Telluride with 5 figures left that you can invest
An assortment of other electric haulers
A base Macan EV/Audi Q6
An XC90 PHEV
A lightly used X5 PHEV
…or a goddamn Volkswagen. This doesn’t seem hard to me.
Two full weeks worth of Mark’s shitbox finds.
I don’t think you are grasping:
1) large family
2) high income
That would be why I listed PHEV versions of the XC90 and X5…and a lot of other stuff is covered by “an assortment of other electric haulers”. The EV9 comes to mind and is already a common sight around here in wealthier parts of town.
Only XC90 has 3 rows (PHEV X5 doesn’t offer one).
Rivian / EV9 are quite a bit smaller.
We’ve already sat in a Buzz and it’s larger than we were thinking it would be. Currently driving Pacifica PHEV Pinnacle (maybe $60k?) but the Buzz is going to replace it because while the BEV is actually a considerable disadvantage to PHEV for our purposes (we only drive 30mi a day max and don’t need to pay for all of that battery), it’s nice to have a vehicle with some frivolity and fun. You don’t find that often in large 6-seaters.
Alternatives are Suburban/Denali/Escalade but for some it’s hard to be seen in something like that
Large families with high incomes typically get either a fully loaded minivan or the SUVs you mentioned in your other comment. This van needs to be for a high income large family that is also quirky and wants to stand out everywhere they go.
To be fair to the ID.Buzz here, nobody is going to be cross shopping that with an M2, Dark Horse, or C8.
The Palisade, XC90, and loaded minivan are VERY valid points though, with the minivan and Miata combo being the most compelling.
Kraft durch freude? More like graft durch fraud.
ps: actually it sounds very much like Dieselgate.
Swiss people. And maybe Norwegians and all of Lichtenstein.
After the novelty buyers are sated, the ID.Buzz will start backing up on lots just like the T word’s pick ups. Plus, no EV tax credits for the Hanoverian Hump. The price is an ID.Buzzkill.
The fact that they lock the real colors behind the expensive trims is infuriating. This car should not even be offered in greyscale! Something this nostalgic and funky should only be offered in color
I’m irate with the pricing, but this is the detail that bugs me the most. Punishing someone who is willing to drop over 60k on anything with color limitations is genuine bullshit.
Yeah that’s just dumb. And greedy. And it slammed the door on any possibility of me getting one. My wife was not sold already, and it would have been a hard sale, but having to go up to $70k to get one that actually looks good is inexcusable. I was in Germany a few months ago and saw one of these in solid grey and it looked awful. The only way these look good or even resemble the old ones is in two tone. It was indistinguishable from any other van at that point, and $60k to not stand out is not ok in this.
I have been considering this as a possible option, but not considering until used models show up heavily discounted now. I do believe most suburban and city dwellers can absolutely live with a 200 mile range EV if you have charging capability on your property, however $65k is far too much to pay at this point for a colorful EV. There will be buyers, and I look forward to seeing these driving on the road, but the dollar per mile or range is too high at this point.
Yeah same. I would love one, but it would have to be $55k at the most and that with a fun 2 tone color. I don’t need the AWD, but monochrome is not an option on this.
No part of this is reasonable. 234 EPA means something less than 200 real-world highway, and that only in warm weather. Winter highway range is probably 150 miles or less.
Nothing other than tiny city EVs should be sold with less than 300 miles EPA anymore, and really 400 is more reasonable for a minimum.
Most of the population is clustered in and around cities. Depending on work from home / commute split, someone could only need to charge this once a week.
Why would someone commute in a 3 row van?
The reason to buy this is if you have a family, and most families I know travel at least occasionally.
Why would someone commute in a 3 row SUV?
Consumers don’t often buy the right vehicle for their needs.
No question about that, but I think if VW is hoping for a lot of commuters without families to buy these, they are going to be sadly disappointed.
We’ll see how long the interest lasts, but these are going to sell well at the start because it’s going to be the coolest new thing on the road for a while.
It could be like the Cybertruck, where the demand is gone once the first round of youtube content is created.
And 200 miles is a great range for VW. I ran across an e-golf the other day. I think it has about 120 miles of range.
I commute in a 3-row van.
But yes, the range is shit, and obviously one of the top reasons to own a van is to travel with lots of people and cargo capacity. Spending 65k+ (I’m not even going to pretend the greyscale base trim exists) on something that will suck at the very thing people would be buying it for is dumb.
I can probably charge this once a month, given my use pattern. That said I do intend to go on family trips with this. The range is quite abysmal for this kind of money.
Of course these are all going to be leased so let’s see what the lease payments look like.
I need my family hauler to go between Boston and NYC un-interrupted except for pee breaks. The Buzz can’t do it, unless it can charge very fast.
For “during the week” use, it’s fine. But, the larger car in my fleet (of two) is going to have to go to NYC and/or NJ multiple times a year and the odd trip up to rural Maine. So.. hard pass on the Buzz, unfortunately. I agree with you.
Considering that usage, what range would you be comfortable with in an EV?
300 miles on average (weather depending), 80% of which I think is 240 miles. It takes me a smidge under 240 miles to get to where my parents live and I can charge beyond 80% for those trips.
That’s kind of where I am also. For some reason, having ~300 miles available relieves a lot of stress. After 300 miles, I’m ready to get out of the car for a few minutes anyway.
Also, I don’t have to worry about charging every day for normal use with the 300 mile range. It’s about what I got from a tank of gas and it’s not like I felt the need to top up every time my fuel level dropped below 3/4.
I’ll be happy to see more variety on the road, like this and the Cybertruck, but dang car makes, we need some cheaper quirky EVs going on, Fiat 500es and Minis need some help, bring back the Nissan Cube, Toyota bB, Honda Element, the PT Cruiser, and for Meister Burger’s sake the VW Bug as EVs!
For all the talk about universal skateboard EV platforms leading to a large range of body styles, most of them seem to come out as familiar boring shapes.
Have you met people? They are boring as hell.
So much this. The lack of creativity and individuality in the average American’s automotive selection is staggering.
Right? With Ultium and MEB they could totally do like an HHR and a Beetle body on the equinox/ID4. Or even if they made the Terrain look a little more trucky, just some variety, we got mostly jelly beans and it gets tiresome. Hyundai’s trying some options but take away the headlight halos and pixel tail lights and the dent on the side and the Ioniq 5 is still a jelly bean.
Seriously. Slightly different lights and one strange body line makes a car stand out like it’s from another time. It’s not great.
I would LOVE a PT Cruiser EV! That be so damn stupid, coming from Chrysler, it’d be perfect!
I bet a Beetle EV, sold at a decent price, could be successful. I looked at the sales numbers for the two iterations of new beetle and sales were pretty decent. They dropped off as the first iteration aged out, but surged back stronger than ever when they released the 2012 one, even as sales of two door cars were rapidly declining. Give it decent range, fun colors, a decent price, and a good marketing campaign, and it could do pretty well, I think.
As an aircooled VW owner, and general bug fanatic; I would be in line the moment they announced something like a relatively cheap ev bug. I hope it’ll come back in the future.
It would certainly tempt me too, as another air-cooled VW owner and fanatic. Problem is that I’m already in love with my 2014 Sportwagen TDI and irrationally attached to manual transmissions.
I totally get the irrational attachment to manuals. I was the same way for the first 16 years of having my driver’s license. As of this year, I’ve unfortunately given up rowing my own. My new car (a Subaru Crosstrek) didn’t offer the option any longer, and my wife has also been successfully waging a campaign to get me into a car “she can drive too” for years. I definitely miss the fun of a more engaging commute, but my 68 bug is a 4-speed and does a fine job of satisfying my need for 3 pedals.
I’d be so smitten with a little retro-styled EV bug, that I don’t think I would even care that it was automatic. I’m picturing something like the lovely little Honda E that was sold overseas, but styled something like the refreshed 2012+ bugs.
I definitely think it would take a cute little Beetle EV to get me out of my manual. If it’s going to have two pedals, I’d want it to be an EV. I’ve been dreaming of an EV Beetle ever since they discontinued the last one. We could finally have a Beetle with a frunk again! The key would be making it affordable, nostalgia can sell cars, but people have to be able to afford them.
My partner can’t drive stick either, though fortunately he doesn’t seem to care if he can drive my cars or not. The other car being my ’72 Super Beetle. He’s toyed with one day replacing his Mazda3 hatch with something a bit more sporty. We don’t and won’t have kids, and my wagon is all the practicality we need. So maybe he’ll end up with a Miata or a Toyota 86, and he said if he gets one of those he wants a stick. So there’s still hope for me that he’ll learn one day!
If I needed the space, It would be hard to justify this over a minivan. But I guess there have always been other van offerings and VW has managed to find its place in the market.
People will buy it. It will be the coolest thing on the road for a while, like the new beetle was.
The only justification for this vehicle at this price point is getting all the Boomers with tons of cash and fond (if foggy) memories if the late 60s. Most of them are pushing 80, so that demo is shrinking. Maybe it’ll get a second wind with wannabe ‘enlightened’ tech bros?
Yeah, the time for a retro VW bus was 20-30 years ago when those Boomers were in their prime earning years with teenagers to schlep around.
Anecdotal, but my boomer parents are living their 2-seater dreams. They never had a minivan, but they had lame-ass Accord and Camry sedans their entire adult lives until my brother and I left. Then came the S2000’s, the Mini Cooper roadsters, etc.
They would never buy a minivan. Not then, and certainly not now.
That makes your parents cooler than most Boomers! My elder-Gen X dad thought he was getting sporty with a Kia K900 because it was the GT.
Does this have the terrible software I’ve been reading about?
$70k for a VW? You go first.
It’s $15K more than a PHEV Pacifica. Almost a foot shorter than a standard minivan. Includes VW’s infotainment system. Gets less than 250 miles range.
I was excited about this 1 year ago. But not today.
I was going to highlight that the Pacific has some quality concerns, but this is a VW, so carry on
Ha! I thought the same thing. “Am I really recommending a Pacifica?” But yeah … after thinking about it, the comparison works.
I was excited for it 10 years ago when they first started teasing it.
It’s the Duke Nukem of vans.
Hail to the king, baby
Psssh VW started chatting about bus “concepts” that originally were supposed to replace the Eurovan in like 1998.
What has become the ID.Buzz is at least VWs 3rd try
Funny thing is I just did a quick search of EV9’s for sale around Chicagoland and you have dealers marking them down 7-12k if not more. So this VW might seem like it is in the right price range but I think the consumers are starting to show these 60k+ brand new cars that are supposed to be for average joe blow yeah they are not buying them.
Came here to say this. Seems like a $10k discount is just the starting point for negotiations on an EV9 in my area.
That range number looks pretty low, and I don’t think this VW current architecture allows for +150KW charging like the Hyundai/Kia models.
I would rather get a slightly used Chrysler Pacifica PHEV with the +400 mile range combined, 30mpg and unlimited warranty for the transmission when it goes bad and use the remaining money to buy an actual VW Bus.
I love the heated windshield! I’ve wondered for years – nay, decades – why they could do that to the back window but not the front. Especially in an EV, it makes sense. There are many times in the spring and fall when I don’t need HVAC but still have to keep the windshield from fogging so I end up losing range just so I can see out the front without driving like Ace Ventura.
I’d love to get this but I no longer have need for a family hauler and wouldn’t dare spend this kind of money on ANY car. This is more than my first house cost!
Windshields get replaced often. Heated windshields are a lot more expensive to replace.
The tech has been around for a while, but few manufacturers install them. I’m pretty sure my friends 90’s range rover had a heated windshield. You could see some silliness in the front glass from the elements.
I don’t know if the elements are less visible these days. If not, these windshields would be a lot better suited to more vertical installations to keep from messing with visibility.
Nostalgia will take people far, but the VW busses I spent time in were bizarrely big on the inside, indestructible, slow, basic, and good enough. Totally unsafe on the modern road, of course. This is way more than good enough, and I’m sure people will want it. I wish I could get a safe version of the old bus and call it good.
The “Xbus” is the real ev spiritual successor to the original vw bus.
Like the original it really is toaster shipped, it will be slow and just good enough.
Sadly even If they make it to production I imagine the chances of it coming to the US are nearly nill
https://www.hotcars.com/electricbrands-xbus-what-we-know/