The 2025 Volkswagen ID. Buzz is a transportation device. But that feels secondary. When you have one, the ID. Buzz feels like a play space.
It’s a conversation starter. It’s a constant introduction to strangers. It’s a source of delight.
It will also take you to the grocery store.
As one KBB editor put it, “I got more thumbs up in that thing than in any supercar I’ve driven.”
Volkswagen loaned me an ID. Buzz to drive for a week as if they were giving me a car to review. It took 10 minutes of driving it out of my neighborhood to realize they’d actually given me a device for exciting strangers. This may have more in common with a comeback tour from a beloved band than with a Honda Odyssey.
A Pet as Much as a Vehicle
Designers built in so many diverting little Easter eggs of mirth that I’ll list a few in this piece, but we don’t have the space to get to them all.
My favorite?
As you approach the car with the key in your pocket, the headlights wiggle back and forth in their housings, as if this puppy can’t wait to go out.
The ID. Buzz is pretty good as a minivan. It has flaws, but so do most of its competitors. It won’t be right for everyone, and many people in need of a 3-row family hauler would be better off with something more conventional.
But if what you want is a combination of forward-looking technology and rosy-glasses nostalgia that makes the neighbors smile and surprises you with little moments of glee, there’s nothing better for sale in 2025.
It’s a triumph of the design arts and a midpack minivan.
My tester was the midlevel Pro S Plus model in two-tone Candy White over Pomelo Yellow. The interior was Copper, one of three themed designs available, with brown leatherette seating and Pomelo Yellow splashed throughout the cabin. It didn’t carry a single added-cost option, and I didn’t want for one. Final price was $66,040 after a $1,550 destination fee.
Zippy for a Van
Volkswagen sells the Buzz in two configurations: rear-wheel drive (RWD) with 282 horsepower, and all-wheel drive (AWD) with 335 hp. The EPA rates the ID. Buzz at just 234 miles for rear-wheel-drive models and 231 for all-wheel-drive versions.
We’ll come back to those figures in a moment.
Acceleration is surprisingly brisk for a big minivan. I’ve tested only the rear-wheel-drive version, but it’s quicker than any 3-row van needs to be. Braking is confident and predictable.
Handling isn’t sprightly, but it borders on it given this thing’s size. The low-slung weight of an electric vehicle (the battery sits beneath the floor) probably helps with that impression.
Comfortable and Functional Cabin
Though it doesn’t handle like an oversized vehicle, it does seem like one from the outside. The ID. Buzz is tall. At 75 inches high, its roof is nearly as far off the ground as that of a Chevy Tahoe. A parking garage attendant cleared out a reserved space on the first floor for me because he was convinced driving any higher would scrape the roof (though the Buzz made it under the clearance sign). This doesn’t happen to Toyota Sienna drivers.
The cabin feels simply huge. My tester had no sunroof, and I’d recommend you spring for one if you can because that big a space under that large a roof can feel a bit like driving a dark hallway around.
Among the good design ideas are two simple interior features. One is the dual armrests for the driver — more comfortable than I realized it would be. The other is the small driver’s instrument screen attached to the steering column. There is simply no way for the steering wheel to block your view of it. While other automakers are obsessed with huge screens, VW just figured out how to place a reasonably sized one perfectly.
A Road Trip Car Not Well-Suited for Road Trips
That’s nearly all there is to say about the driving experience. It’s unremarkable in most ways. But I’d be negligent if I didn’t highlight that range issue.
A maximum of 234 miles is not great. It’s possible to build a 3-row EV with more. A Kia EV9 carries just as many people and gets you up to 304 miles between charges.
It’s even possible to build a 3-row EV with much more. A Cadillac Escalade IQ is bigger and gets up to 450 miles (though it’s well out of this car’s price range).
This is a serious oversight because a car like the Buzz begs for a road trip. In truth, on any long journey, you’d spend a lot of time parked and charging. With a vehicle this big, I’d expect VW to be able to give it a mammoth battery. That they didn’t feels like a mistake.
Maybe no other vehicle will benefit from next-generation battery technology as much as the Buzz.
Playful Elements Everywhere
If the ID. Buzz has real flaws as a car then why did I love this thing?
Because VW’s nostalgia machine is what it feels like when a company deeply cares about design and gives designers time and budget to think deeply about everything. Big items like how the vehicle looks from 40 feet away. Small things like how to build in an ice scraper that’s always available.
Yes, there’s one built in. The center console has movable partitions, so you can configure it into three separate bins of whatever size you find useful. Pull them out, and the partitions themselves are functional. One is a bottle opener, and the other is an ice scraper.
That’s clever. There’s no reason designers couldn’t do that in every car. They don’t. I suspect it’s because they rarely have as much fun as they did when brainstorming ideas for this one.
Some of their ideas were pure whimsy. Most cars have removable covers hiding specific fasteners in the interior, in case you need to remove interior panels. In the Buzz, they’re little winky faces.
The accelerator pedal is decorated with a “play” icon like on a music player. The brake has a “pause” icon.
The sides of the drawers in the center console have world maps printed on them. This serves no function whatsoever. But it means designers couldn’t stop looking for new ways to make this car unique.
Others are genuinely useful. The center console is removable and functions as a cooler.
Small panels on the interior walls of the cargo area pop off and can be fastened to the carpet to hold cargo in place.
There are removable roadside warning markers built into the tailgate.
Very Fun, Mostly Practical
The designers couldn’t stop having fun and were practical in the process.
Their enjoyment is responsible for everything great about the ID. Buzz, though not everything about the ID. Buzz is great.
After a week in it, I’d argue that it’s the best new design in the world this year. But it’s not among the best cars in the world.
Buy it if its existence delights you. You’ll delight a lot of other people in the process. But buy it knowing its limitations. Some of the great cars of history are quirky, flawed, and loved forever.
