As an automotive journalist, nostalgia-packed cars are simultaneously the best and worst to review. It’s easy for the new and cute thing to influence how you feel about it before getting behind the wheel, especially an icon of the car world like a Mazda Miata, Ford Bronco, or a Porsche 911. In the case of the 2025 Volkswagen ID Buzz, its smile-inducing shape and playful two-tone exterior make you want to love it. It’s adorable, it’s fun, and it tugs your heartstrings even if you weren’t a peace-loving teenager in the late ’60s.
But then again, this EV isn’t your parents’ (or grandparents’) VW Bus. It’s shaped like one, it’s colored like one, the marketing folks tell you it’s one, but it isn’t one. So if friend-shaped, why not friend? Here’s why:
We typically start these reviews with the Pros, but I’m making an executive decision to start this one with the negatives. This way, you wrap up your precious reading time with something positive. See? The ID Buzz’s charm is already getting to me.
Let’s talk about usability. Over my weeklong test, I struggled to get a sense of what the average ID Buzz owner would do on a daily basis. Are they buying this to transport people, are they hauling stuff, or are they just using it as a nifty Sunday ride? Our editor Andrew Collins recently put an ID Buzz to the test with a bunch of stuff to haul and several of his fur babies. He concluded that while the van offers ample cargo room, it’s not exactly easy to adapt on the fly, like a minivan with a disappearing third row or easily removable seats.
If you’re hauling kids, they’ll need to be old enough to climb into the ID Buzz on their own, as it sits considerably higher than the average van, and maybe even higher still than the average SUV. Climbing up into the cabin—whether it’s the front or rear—is more akin to hopping into a full-size pickup truck.
While the cabin ergonomics are fine, VW’s awful window switches strike again. Just like the ID. 4 I previously drove, the ID Buzz has two switches to operate four windows. You must first use a different switch to select which windows you want to operate, front or rear. This is infuriating and stupid, just like the teeny-tiny sliding rear windows, which remind me that family duty ain’t this EV’s main purpose. Their functionality is more like a vent than a normal window, letting some air into the rear cabin but not big enough to reach out and grab a bag of grub from the drive-thru. Why VW couldn’t give it full-size windows like in a normal van is beyond me. The massive sliding door panels certainly have the real estate.
The Buzz’s 231-mile range isn’t horrible, but once you factor in possible cold weather and other driving conditions, you’re leaning closer to 200 than 250. That isn’t ideal for a $70,000 vehicle. Pair this with my test car’s inability to connect to a fast charger, and I was having to watch every mile I traveled. Due to a technical malfunction that VW didn’t elaborate on, I could physically insert the connector plug into the van’s port, but the software prevented it from receiving a charge from a source higher than a 120-volt outlet. This meant my creamsicle-colored ID Buzz could only charge at home.
I know it’s been said before, but what a cool-looking ride this is. I’m used to catching stares in exotic machinery, typically low-riding and with two doors, but the ID Buzz is the opposite of that! It’s a freaking electric minivan, for Pete’s sake. At the end of the day, people like cool cars, but people love cars that make them smile. Who doesn’t like to smile? The ID Buzz makes people smile, and that translates behind the wheel, too.
Then there’s the driving experience. Despite it being the size of a cargo container, the driving experience is rather sprightly. The “little” bus is quick on its feet and provides the driver with enough reassurance to carry speed through a corner and even do a full lap of a roundabout at speed. Despite its long, heavy roof sitting 76 inches off the ground, body roll isn’t outrageous, and the firm suspension keeps handling manageable when the road gets twisty.
It’s also flat-out comfortable. There isn’t a bad seat in the house, whether you’re driving, riding shotgun, or sitting on the second-row captain chairs (bench seat also available), or the third-row seats. In fact, the third-row bench is so comfortable, it was actually recalled for being “too wide.” Unfortunately, due to its range, you likely won’t be sitting on any seat for more than a couple of hours at a time, but hey, at least you’ll have a nice throne while waiting for it to charge.
Like a lot of cool cars out there, the 2025 VW ID Buzz has a big question mark hanging over it when it comes to usability and overall purpose. It’s an EV with limited range, and it’s expensive, but then again, it succeeds on various other fronts, and it makes people smile. How can you hate a car for having a personality, especially nowadays, when there are so many bland cars, both electric and gasoline-powered? I can’t recommend you buy one out of necessity, but I can recommend you buy one if you absolutely love the idea of one.
It’s unclear to me who would buy one of these, but I’m pretty clear on why they’d buy one.
Email the author at jerry@thedrive.com
As deputy editor, Jerry draws on a decade of industry experience and a lifelong passion for motorsports to guide The Drive’s short- and long-term coverage.
Car Buying Service
Facebook Conversations