Volkswagen has threatened to bring back the Microbus—colloquially known as the Bus— for more than 20 years now . Four concept vans, a rebadged Dodge Grand Caravan , and an emissions scandal later, VW has finally revealed the reborn electric Bus, the 2024 Volkswagen ID Buzz . The only hitch: You'll have to keep waiting. You can't buy the Euro-spec ID Buzz you see here stateside, as the American version won't be ready until 2024. Even so, there's a lot to get excited about.
Understanding the Microbus of yesterday goes a long way toward understanding the 2024 Volkswagen ID Buzz of today. In short, right alongside the Beetle, the Volkswagen Bus— variously called the Type 2, Vanagon, and Eurovan by VW during its 53 years in America but known to most as the VW Bus—is an automotive icon. Early Type 2s helped shape postwar America's hippie movement, while later Vanagons and Eurovans became iconic as weekenders, campers, and even off-roaders. In other words, Volkswagen defined "van life" long before it was an Instagram hashtag.
The original Volkswagen Bus was little more than a boxy body on a Beetle-based platform powered by the Bug's iconic air-cooled flat-four. The new ID Buzz follows a similar philosophy. Underneath its futuristic yet iconic square body sits a platform, motor, and battery pack that would be familiar to any Volkswagen ID4 owner .
Volkswagen's new MEB electric vehicle platform is what makes the ID Buzz possible. Modern crash standards being what they are, the platform allows Volkswagen to capture the original Bus' famous forward-control proportions while still meeting today's safety regulations.
The ID Buzz, shown here in its standard-wheelbase (SWB) form—the U.S. will only get a to-be-revealed long-wheelbase version—is underpinned by the same 82-kWh gross (77-kWh net) battery pack as the ID4 SUV. It also features the same powertrain as the ID4: A rear-mounted permanent-magnet motor good for 201 hp and 229 lb-ft of torque. It's a safe bet the long-wheelbase (LWB) variant will have a larger battery pack and could be offered with more power thanks to dual-motor all-wheel drive. All-wheel-drive versions of the ID4 add an efficient AC induction motor to the front axle, boosting total output to 295 hp and 339 lb-ft.
Regardless of the battery pack, VW says the ID Buzz's batteries don't use cobalt, an expensive rare metal frequently linked to unethical mining practices in the Democratic Republic of Congo. It also promises to take back the batteries at the end of their automotive life to prepare them for a second use.
Volkswagen isn't talking range right now, but based on the ID Buzz's specs, its 280-mile EPA rating, and its instrument cluster showing a 76-percent charge with 222 miles remaining, we think 270 miles is a safe guess for the electric Bus. Regardless of what the 2024 Volkswagen ID Buzz nets on the EPA cycle, VW says it will feature a peak charge rate of 170 kW, good for a 5-to-80-percent charge in about 30 minutes. It also features an onboard AC charger good for 11 kW, ensuring the ID Buzz will keep Level 2 charges as brief as possible, too.
More than its underpinnings, the 2024 VW ID Buzz's styling is the star of the show. Although 13 windows shy of the famous Type 2 Samba , the new ID Buzz seamlessly combines classic VW Bus design cues with more modern ID design language.
About as wide as a Volkswagen Atlas and the length of a Volkswagen Tiguan in SWB form (we suspect the LWB ID Buzz America gets in 2024 will be about 15 inches longer, making it roughly the size of a Mercedes-Benz Metris), the ID Buzz will be available globally as both a passenger van and a cargo van.
Regardless of its purpose, the ID Buzz is unmistakably the modern successor to the original Bus. Up front, vintage styling cues like the oversized VW logo—a feature that wouldn't be out of place on a modern American pickup—and optional two-tone paint tie in nicely with an LED lightbar and contemporary cues like the Buzz's headlights and diamond-pattern grille. Along the ID Buzz's flanks, you'll notice its massive greenhouse, two power-sliding doors, and three distinctive strakes on its E-pillars that both tie into the minivan's grille design and harken back to the air intakes on the second-generation Type 2's D-pillars. The ID Buzz will feature 18-inch wheels as standard, but the passenger van we had a chance to check out featured optional 21-inch wheels. Around back, the ID Buzz passenger van features a hatchback (split-opening barn doors are optional on the ID Buzz Cargo), a full-width LED taillight, and another massive VW logo with "ID Buzz" spelled out beneath it.
Those holding out for hippie chic in the 2024 Volkswagen ID Buzz will likely be happy to find animal-free upholstery and the extensive use of recycled plastic, but disappointed to find a fairly contemporary cabin. But the ID Buzz is likely all the better for it.
The loaded ID Buzz Volkswagen brought to the U.S. for us to poke around in was stylish but simplistic. Faux wood is paired tastefully with white plastics and, in our example, yellow trim matched to the van's two-tone exterior. The dash features a 10.0-inch digital instrument cluster and a large 12.0-inch infotainment system display (a 10.0-inch infotainment screen is standard).
Storage is ample. The dash features a wireless phone charger to the right of the steering wheel and a large cubby in front of the passenger, while the doors feature more storage space and a USB-C outlet on the passenger side. Two cupholders pull out from below the power-sliding door switches on the center of the dash, while in between the driver and passenger is a removable center console inspired by the ID Buzz concept's . This center console features dividers that double as a bottle opener and ice scraper, more cupholders, and storage drawers.
The SWB ID Buzz will be available in two-, three-, five-, and six-passenger configurations, thanks to a front bench seat (standard on the ID Buzz Cargo and optional on the ID Buzz passenger van). The LWB American model will come as a seven-seater with a 2/3/2 arrangement.
Although we've yet to see the Americanized ID Buzz, VW promises it'll offer similar levels of space as the standard wheelbase's massive cargo area. The two-row ID Buzz offers 60/40 rear seats that slide fore and aft, allowing for up to 39.6 cubic feet of cargo—more than the three-row Chrysler Pacifica (32.3 cubic feet), Mercedes Metris Passenger (37.4 cubic feet), and Ford Transit Connect Wagon (24.9 cubic feet). The ID Buzz Cargo provides 136 cubic feet of cargo space, which is less than the Metris and long-wheelbase Transit Connect cargo vans but more than the short-wheelbase Transit Connect. VW says it will offer a tiered storage shelf on the ID Buzz, allowing for a flat load floor with the rear seats folded, plus covered storage beneath the shelf.
While we haven't yet had the opportunity to drive the ID Buzz, the driving position is SUV-like, both commanding and comfortable. Visibility appears to be excellent, though the ID Buzz's "hood" is much farther away from the driver than the forward-control styling would otherwise suggest. Likely a smart design consideration as knees don't make the best crash structures.
Volkswagen promises to announce overseas pricing of the ID Buzz in May, right around the time the van goes on sale in Europe. We likely won't get a better idea of how much the 2024 ID Buzz will be in the U.S. until after the LWB version arrives sometime in 2023. Our best guess is that the LWB 2024 Volkswagen ID Buzz will start around $45,000 and top out just north of $60,000 for higher-spec versions. Volkswagen plans to open the ID Buzz's reservation books for American buyers sometime in 2023. Until then, more patience. The wait is almost over.