Volkswagen Australia has finally launched its first electric vehicle (EV), and the battery-electric ID. Buzz people mover and commercial van range is a born-again Kombi for the modern age.
After numerous delays and setbacks for the local launch of the ID.4 and ID.5 mid-sized electric SUVs, the ID. Buzz has arrived just in time for Christmas. First customer deliveries are set to commence late this year and into early next year.
Wrapped in an iconic retro design that exudes road presence and is instantly recognisable as a new-age Kombi, the big ID. Buzz is the largest model so far to be based on the Volkswagen Group’s dedicated-electric MEB platform, which underpins both the Volkswagen ID.4 and ID.5, as well as the VW ID.7, the Cupra Born and Tavascan, the Skoda Enyaq and Elroq, and Audi Q4 e-tron, among others.
At launch, the ID. Buzz will be offered in two people mover Pro variants, plus a singular Cargo delivery van. A high-performance GTX people mover variant is due here in the second quarter of 2025.
For this particular review, we’re focussing on the ID. Buzz Pro people mover in both short-wheelbase (SWB) five-seat and long-wheelbase (LWB) seven-seat guises. Our first local review of the ID. Buzz Cargo is embargoed until 5:00pm AEDT on Thursday (December 19).
So how does the ID. Buzz Pro stack up and has it been worth the wait? Read along to find out.
How much does the Volkswagen ID. Buzz cost?
Quite a lot: at least $88,000 before on-road costs. But both ID. Buzz Pro variants just slide under the Luxury Car Tax (LCT) threshold, meaning if you purchase one through a novated lease it’s currently exempt from Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT).
| Model | Price before on-road costs |
|---|---|
| 2025 Volkswagen ID. Buzz Pro SWB BEV560 RWD | $87,990 |
| 2025 Volkswagen ID. Buzz Pro LWB BEV560 RWD | $91,290 |
| 2025 Volkswagen ID. Buzz GTX LWB BEV 4Motion AWD | $109,990 |
To see how the Volkswagen ID. Buzz stacks up against its rivals, use our comparison tool
What is the Volkswagen ID. Buzz like on the inside?
As you’d expect for a reincarnated electric Kombi, the ID. Buzz is properly futuristic and modern inside, as well as bigger than any Kombi that came before it.
It’s easy hopping into this electric van due to the large doors that open nice and wide, and a ride height that makes it a natural step up into the cabin. One of the few things that is missing is a grab handle on the A-pillar.
Once inside, the standard seat upholstery looks disappointingly black and boring. You’re able to option two different (lighter) seat trim colours as part of packages, though they don’t come cheap (see below).
As standard, the front seats are manually adjustable, yet a range of body sizes are still able to find a comfortable driving position. Adding to the comfort factor, you also get an armrest on each front seat in the middle of the cabin.
Opting for one of the pricey interior option packs gives you electric seat adjustment, an extra armrest on the outboard side, plus seat heating and a massage function that works incredibly well.
Ahead of the driver is a lovely leather-wrapped steering wheel that feels fantastic in your hands. It offers a great amount of tilt and reach adjustment, meaning plenty of people will be able to get comfortable behind the wheel.
One downside, however, is that the steering wheel is fitted with Volkswagen’s annoying touch-sensitive buttons. Thankfully, they aren’t as frustrating as they’ve been in previous VW cars, where random buttons have been too easy to press accidentally.
But it would be nice if the ID. Buzz did come with proper physical steering wheel buttons like all the other models in the Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles range. Even the German carmaker’s passenger car range is now re-adopting these.
Behind the steering wheel is a small digital instrument cluster, as in other Volkswagen ID. models. Despite its size, it shows all the critical information you need to see while driving, and there’s a small amount of custom configuration available to make it more personalised.
Moving across to the centre, there’s a 12.9-inch touchscreen infotainment system that’s properly large, bright and high-resolution. It’s easy to move around the different menus, and if you do get lost there are shortcut buttons that are always present at the top of the screen to help make life easier.
It is occasionally a little frustrating that you need to use the touchscreen to adjust some of the climate control functions, but like the shortcut buttons there’s a range of key features always present at the bottom of the screen. There’s also a physical touch slider under the touchscreen for adjusting the cabin temperature.
If you don’t like using the touchscreen, however, you can interact with the IDA voice assistant. It’s able to change the climate control, among many other functions – including telling you a joke.
Another minor frustration at the launch was that our test vehicles were only equipped with wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Wireless forms of both phone mirroring systems will be available as part of an over-the-air update coming in the first quarter of 2025.
That meant we needed to physically plug our phones in using a USB-C cable to use smartphone mirroring. Thankfully, the connection was rock-solid and didn’t waver at any point.
Looking around the cabin, the ID. Buzz’s commercial vehicle roots are clear. There are plenty of hard interior plastics, though thankfully there are a few soft-touch surfaces, including for high-contact areas like the armrests.
As standard, the ID. Buzz looks a little boring inside, but the optional interior packages not only give you lighter seat trims but also faux wood inlays on the dashboard. Frustratingly, however, there’s still some glossy piano black bits up front, which get scratched and grimy quickly.
There is also interior ambient lighting in the ID. Buzz that can be configured in multiple different ways. With the Interior Plus option pack you’re able to select from up to 30 different colours.
Another way of lightening up the cabin is with the optional panoramic glass sunroof, which has a cool electrochromic function that can make the panel transition from translucent to opaque. But it’s disappointing there’s no physical blind to fully block out the glass roof, as even in frosted opaque mode it still lets light stream into the cabin, which could be a drag on a hot summer day.
Unsurprisingly, there’s a wealth of storage around the cabin, including vast spaces on the dashboard. A neat touch is the so-called ID. Buzz Box, which is a removable centre console compartment featuring a range of moveable cupholder sections, storage options, and even a bottle opener.
Moving to the second row, there are electric power-sliding side doors with hands-free functionality, operated by a kick under the side panel. They are incredibly helpful if you’ve got your hands full.
With the sliding door opened fully, it’s super easy to hop into the second row of this car. There’s even a small loop handle to make it easier, and it’s design is inspired by the original Kombi.
Once you’re sat in the second row there’s oodles of space, and it’s easily capable of going three abreast on the bench seat. For more comfort, the seat is capable of sliding and reclining back a fair way.
Despite the wealth of space, however, it does feel a little utilitarian in the second row. There aren’t many soft-touch surfaces, but the floor is carpeted and completely flat.
In terms of second-row amenities, there is separate zone of climate control with roof-mounted air vents, plenty of USB-C ports, as well as tray tables attached to the front seat backs. There’s also plenty of storage space in the sliding doors, and numerous pockets in the seat backs.
In the LWB, hopping into the third row is easy once you know what you’re doing. There’s a lever you can pull on the side of the seat that folds the backrest flat, though this isn’t actually how you get into the third row.
Instead, there’s a handle you pull on the top of the seat which tips and slides the seat forward. To put the seat back you need to ensure you’ve got the handle pulled.
Ingress and egress to the third row is so much better than in any other SUV. There’s a reason why people movers are called people movers.
The space on offer in the back of this van is fantastic, though there are even fewer soft touches here. Pretty much every surface you can feel is hard plastic, but thankfully there are roof-mounted air vents, cupholders and USB-C ports even for rearmost passengers.
At the rear there’s a power tailgate that opens very wide. In SWB guise the boot is absolutely massive and, strangely, Volkswagen doesn’t remove the cupholders and USB-C ports for the rear occupants it can’t actually accommodate.
In the LWB there’s an adequate amount of cargo space, though folding down the third row makes it more usable.
A cool cargo-related feature is the optional multi-flex board, which makes the boot floor flat when the seats are folded. It also comes with two storage boxes which can be put under the board.
SWB 
LWB
| Dimensions | ID. Buzz Pro SWB | ID. Buzz Pro LWB |
|---|---|---|
| Length | 4712mm | 4962mm |
| Width | 1985mm | 1985mm |
| Height | 1927mm | 1927mm |
| Wheelbase | 2989mm | 3239mm |
| Cargo capacity | 1121L (5 seats) 2232L (2 seats) | 306L (7 seats) 1340L (5 seats) 2469L (2 seats) |
To see how the Volkswagen ID. Buzz stacks up against its rivals, use our comparison tool
What’s under the bonnet?
Both versions of the ID. Buzz Pro are powered by a single, rear-mounted electric motor. The SWB has a slightly smaller lithium-ion battery at 79kWh, while the LWB has a 86kWh unit.
| Specifications | Volkswagen ID. Buzz Pro |
|---|---|
| Drivetrain | Single electric motor |
| Battery | 79kWh li-ion (SWB) 86kWh li-ion (LWB) |
| Power | 210kW |
| Torque | 550Nm |
| Drive type | RWD |
| Weight | TBC |
| 0-100km/h (claimed) | 7.6 seconds (SWB) 7.9 seconds (LWB) |
| Energy consumption (claimed) | 20.7kWh/100km (SWB) 21.1kWh/100km (LWB) |
| Energy consumption (as tested) | 19.4kWh/100km (SWB 175km) 22.2kWh/100km (LWB 110km) |
| Claimed range | 422km (SWB) 452km (LWB) |
| Max AC charge rate | 11kW |
| Max DC charge rate | 185kW (SWB) 200kW (LWB) |
To see how the Volkswagen ID. Buzz stacks up against its rivals, use our comparison tool
How does the Volkswagen ID. Buzz drive?
Like all Volkswagen Group EVs, you don’t need to actually start up the ID. Buzz. Instead, all you need to do is hop in, buckle your seatbelt, and press the brake pedal.
When this happens the car will switch on, and all you need to do to get moving is twist the user-friendly column-mounted gear selector to either drive or reverse.
Setting off, this large boxy vehicle is incredibly zippy. Its rear-mounted electric motor is able to give all 550Nm of torque from a standstill, so it’s not underdone in terms of low-speed performance in any regard.
In fact, the ID. Buzz Pro feels almost performance car-quick at low speeds and around town. It makes you feel like you could win virtually any traffic light drag race, and this isn’t even the high-performance GTX model coming next year.
This big electric bus isn’t all about straight-line speed, however. The rear-wheel dynamism of the Pro variants gives them a lot of character and actually makes them fun to drive.
In fact, there are two ways to drive the ID. Buzz. In ‘D’ it drives just like a regular combustion-powered vehicle, requiring you to press the brake pedal to slow down.
But in ‘B mode, which is activated by twisting the gear selector to ‘D’ once more, the regenerative braking ramps up when you lift off the accelerator, proving a convenient level of ‘engine braking’. While this was my preferred way to drive this car, there’s no full one-pedal drive mode since you still have to hit the brake pedal to come to a complete stop.
The ID. Buzz comes with rear drum brakes as standard, which perhaps isn’t surprising given EVs rely a lot more on regenerative braking. But the transition from regenerative braking to regular friction braking can be a little disjointed.
Complementing this car’s zippy rear-mounted electric motor is the well-weighted steering. It’s not too light nor too heavy – Goldilocks would approve.
At low speeds the ID. Buzz is almost completely silent, and the suspension does a good job of minimising harsh road imperfections. Its low-speed compliance also doesn’t waver when you opt for the larger 21-inch alloy wheels.
Although the ID. Buzz may feel a bit like a hot hatch around town, there’s no getting around its size when it comes to parking. At almost 5.0-metres long in LWB guise, it’s a big car that fills a parking space.
Thankfully there are front and rear parking sensors as standard, plus a surround-view camera that has okay quality.
Out on the open road the electric motor doesn’t run out of puff. It maintains highway speeds really well and even feels like it has plenty left in the tank for overtaking. This is somewhat surprising, given the brick shape of the ID. Buzz.
It’s not perfect, however, as it can get tossed about a bit in the wind, plus there’s a fair bit of road and tyre noise. The latter is pretty common in European vehicles, especially on Australian coarse-chip roads, though it’s likely exacerbated by the lack of engine noise.
Another gripe is that at higher speeds on lumpy roads the suspension never feels settled. It see-saws on harsher bumps, which can make it feel almost nauseating in the second and third rows. This is unfortunate because the ID. Buzz feels rather supple and dynamic at lower speeds.
Thankfully, it’s not as bad on the smaller standard alloy wheels as there’s more tyre sidewall.
If you can avoid overly rough roads, the ID. Buzz is a fantastic highway tourer. It’s also surprisingly efficient at higher speeds. I averaged around 20kWh/100km in both the short- and long-wheelbase versions.
On the safety front, the ID. Buzz’s adaptive cruise control is great, like it is in many Volkswagen vehicles. The undertaking prevention feature does grate, however, especially in Australia where lane etiquette doesn’t always exist.
The Travel Assist feature that combines adaptive cruise control and lane centring is a fantastic companion on long highway drives as it reduces driver fatigue. It doesn’t pull at the steering wheel too hard, though on poorly marked roads it can get a little lost.
Lastly, the entire ID. Buzz range gets Matrix LED headlights. This is a great feature for dimly lit rural roads, where it allows you to have the high-beams on all the time and will dip only part of the beam when it detects oncoming cars.
To see how the Volkswagen ID. Buzz stacks up against its rivals, use our comparison tool
What do you get?
The 2025 Volkswagen ID. Buzz Pro is offered in both short-wheelbase configuration with five seats, and long-wheelbase configuration with seven seats.
2025 Volkswagen ID. Buzz Pro SWB equipment highlights:
- IQ. Light matrix LED headlights
- ‘Tilburg’ 19-inch black, diamond-turned alloy wheels
- Tyre pressure monitoring
- Power tailgate
- Rain-sensing wipers
- Heated washer nozzles
- Rear wiper
- 18-inch front disc brakes with brake pad wear indicator
- 11-inch rear drum brakes
- Electric parking brake
- Body-coloured bumpers and door handles
- Dark-tinted rear glass
- Handsfree power-sliding doors
- Power-folding, heated exterior mirrors
- High-gloss mirror housings
- Proximity entry with push-button start
- Heated steering wheel
- Leather-wrapped steering wheel
- Manual height-adjustable front seats
- Heated front seats
- ID. Buzz Box removable centre console with multiple storage compartments
- Stainless steel pedals
- Tufted velour floor covering
- Tri-zone climate control
- 9-speaker sound system
- 12.9-inch touchscreen infotainment system
- Wired and wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto
- IDA voice assistant
- DAB+ digital radio
- Wireless phone charger
Pro LWB adds:
- Third row of seating
- 19-inch front disc brakes
- 13-inch rear drum brakes
To see how the Volkswagen ID. Buzz stacks up against its rivals, use our comparison tool
Options
There are a range of option packages available for the Pro.
Infotainment package plus ($2200) adds:
- Harman Kardon sound system
- Head-up display
Interior Style Package ($6470) adds:
- Seaquel fabric
- Luggage area load platform and net partition
- Rear privacy glass
- Heated front seats
- Heated outboard second-row seats
Premium Interior Style Package ($6970) adds:
- ArtVelours upholstery
- Luggage area load platform and net partition
- Rear privacy glass
- Heated front seats
- Heated outboard second-row seats
The following standalone options are available:
- 21-inch ‘Bromberg’ black, diamond-turned alloy wheels: $1900
- Panoramic sunroof with smart glass: $3290
Colours
Candy White solid paint is standard on the Pro, with metallic and pearlescent finishes costing an extra $1890 and two-tone paint treatments costing $4090.
The following single-tone finishes are optional on the Pro:
- Bay Leaf Green metallic
- Energetic Orange metallic
- Mono Silver metallic
- Pomelo Yellow metallic
- Starlight Blue metallic
- Deep Black pearlescent
The following two-tone finishes are available:
- Candy White and Bay Leaf Green metallic
- Candy White and Energetic Orange metallic
- Candy White and Pomelo Yellow metallic
- Candy White and Starlight Blue metallic
Is the Volkswagen ID. Buzz safe?
The Volkswagen ID. Buzz has a five-star safety rating from Euro NCAP based on testing conducted in 2022, but Australian sister authority ANCAP has yet to apply a rating locally.
Standard safety equipment includes:
- Autonomous emergency braking (AEB)
- Pedestrian detection
- Cyclist detection
- Swerve support
- Oncoming vehicle braking when turning
- Blind-spot monitoring
- Driver attention monitoring
- Lane-keep assist
- Rear cross-traffic alert
- Safe exit warning
- Surround-view camera
- Travel Assist
- Lane centring
- Adaptive cruise control with stop/go
- Front and rear parking sensors
- Front, front-side, front-centre and curtain airbags
There are top-tether child seat anchor points for all three seats in the second row, plus ISOFIX points for the two outboard seats.
All Volkswagen ID. Buzz owners receive a complimentary five-year subscription to a third-party connected services system called Goconnect.
Via the Goconnect phone app, owners can view their parking position, visualise the vehicle’s most recent trips, interact and book appointments with their dealer, view important errors and warnings, see the high-voltage battery status, and see the driving speed.
To see how the Volkswagen ID. Buzz stacks up against its rivals, use our comparison tool
How much does the Volkswagen ID. Buzz cost to run?
The Volkswagen ID. Buzz is covered by a five-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty, though the high-voltage battery is covered for eight years or 160,000km, whichever comes first.
| Servicing and Warranty | Volkswagen ID. Buzz |
|---|---|
| Warranty | 5 years/unlimited kilometres 8 years/160,000km (HV battery) |
| Roadside assistance | 2 years |
| Service intervals | 24 months/30,000km |
| Capped-price servicing | Up to 10 years |
| Total capped-price service cost | $1450 (6 years) $1850 (8 years) $2250 (10 years) |
Coinciding with the launch of the ID. Buzz, Volkswagen Group Australia has detailed its new ‘peace of mind’ package for all of its existing and new EV customers.
Highlights include guaranteed future value, novated leasing options, “all in one” weekly repayments, roadside assist, eight-year/160,000km battery warranty, battery health checks, EV loan cars, and more.
ID. Buzz owners in particular will get discounts at Ampol’s AmpCharge public charging network, as well as discounts on a range of home chargers.
To see how the Volkswagen ID. Buzz stacks up against its rivals, use our comparison tool
CarExpert’s Take on the Volkswagen ID. Buzz
The Volkswagen ID. Buzz is a fitting homage to the iconic Kombi van and its timeless exterior design turns heads like nothing else, especially with a two-tone paint finish.
This electric people mover isn’t just a pretty face, however, as its rear-mounted electric motor packs a significant punch and the chassis dynamics of its rear-drive layout bring a smile to my face.
Inside, there’s oodles of space, but it’s apparent this is a commercial vehicle dressed up as a people mover. Despite this, the multimedia and driver assist technologies are effective and user-friendly – it seems like Volkswagen has been listening to our complaints.
Disappointingly, the standard black interior finish is rather drab, but it feels so much more special with the lighter upholstery options. And while there’s no sun shade, the optional panoramic sunroof’s electrochromic function is fun to show off to passengers.
There’s no getting around one thing, however – the price. Sure, $88,000 may sound okay for a company, fleet buyer or individuals via a novated lease, but that’s just for the base model before on-road costs and options.
If you option virtually anything, including the cool two-tone paint, it takes the price of the ID. Buzz Pro above the LCT threshold, which bumps up the drive-away price astronomically and also means novated leasing customers are not exempt from FBT.
But if that’s less important to you than owning a big, beautiful electric box on wheels that’s fun to drive, has a direct link with a genuine automotive icon and exudes unrivalled road presence, nothing else comes close to the ID. Buzz.
Interested in buying a Volkswagen ID. Buzz? Get in touch with one of CarExpert’s trusted dealers here
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