Call it one of the most remarkable electric cars of recent years: the Volkswagen ID.Buzz. In a sea of (mainly) electric SUVs, the model stands out. It reaches out to the past and colleague Joost Bolle was immediately delighted with how the thing drove. The production for the first year was therefore sold out in no time. Until now there was only a version with up to five seats, but that is about to change.
Room for seven and a larger battery
Actually, the ID.Buzz is quite compact. At least, compared to the traditionally powered Transporter, the true descendant of the original hippie van, now ready for retirement. Room for five people, that’s a bit tight to qualify as a bus. Let alone as a caravan – after all, the camper versions are also an integral part of the history of this model.
But Volkswagen is now adapting to this: 25 centimeters will be added between the front and rear wheels. This is sufficient to also allow interior configurations with six or seven seats, in a 2/2/2 with seven seats with individual armrests or in a 2/3/2 combination with a traditional bench in the middle. The total length in this version is just under five meters. Height and width are not affected. But the contents of the suitcase swell, of course. It now holds up to 2,496 liters – more than some vans (1,340 liters with five seats in use). Not surprising, because the ID.Buzz is also a van at the same time.
Under the floor is the well-known battery of 77 kWh (82 kWh gross), but thanks to the wider spread of the wheels, a larger battery can now also be housed: 85 kWh (91 kWh gross). With that, the ID.Buzz will of course continue – although the final driving range is still unknown. A new heat pump should also ensure that hot or cold weather weighs less on the range. The purely rear-wheel drive version will also be joined by a four-wheel drive variant. That ‘GTX’ follows the official launch six months behind schedule, scheduled for early 2024. Good for 339 hp instead of 286 hp and therefore capable of faster performance: 6.4 seconds for the hundred sprint. Not so long ago, that was performance for a sports car.
Immediately a little better
Volkswagen takes advantage of the renewal to also introduce some extras. No, not yet a real camping version. There is an accessory that turns it into a rudimentary camping version and is also available on the current ‘short’ ID.Buzz. What is? A large panoramic roof, for example. And there are some new gadgets, such as a voice control that understands more things. Some criticisms from the first hour are also addressed. For example, the central touch screen is larger, so that the controls for the seat heating and air conditioning are permanently displayed. The user-unfriendly operation (car brands save physical buttons) was much criticized.
To America
The current Buzz was considered too compact by Volkswagen for possible success in the American market. But this 25 cm longer version makes the crossing. A milestone, because it is 20 years ago that Volkswagen decided to stop making its vans available to the American public. Whole generations of hippies fell in love with their predecessors in the fifties, sixties and seventies and now Volkswagen hopes to appeal to a new generation of free spirits. And perhaps this sympathetic appearance – may it be said? – make the American forget about the unsavory dieselgate affair…
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2023-06-02 07:06:17
#Electric #hippie #van #ID.Buzz #larger #version #space #people
