America, the time has come for love, peace, and the Volkswagen Bus to return.
On Friday, the U.S.-spec 2025 Volkswagen ID.Buzz debuted with three rows of seats, a larger battery pack, and a more powerful electric motor than what the rest of the world has had for the last year.
ID.Buzz production kicked off last year in Hanover, Germany, but that was for the two-row model that America won’t get. The waiting game will continue for U.S. buyers as the ID.Buzz won’t come across the pond until the second half of 2024. When it arrives, the nostalgia it brings will come with sticker shock for some, given the expected price of about $65,000.
2025 Volkswagen ID.Buzz
Volkswagen ID.Buzz looks both retro and futuristic
The ID.Buzz is the Volkswagen Bus for the modern era. With nearly non-existent overhangs, an upright design, and lots of glass, the ID.Buzz looks the part.
Tugging at history, the ID.Buzz features a large VW logo front and center, but the classic V-shaped front trim is gone. In its place is the ID lineup’s signature horizontal light bar connecting the logo and two LED headlights. The tall, slab sides each feature a sliding door complete with power-operated sliding windows. The boxy rear sports horizontal taillights connected with a ribbon of LED lights. Three fake vents on each D-pillar are a nod to the original Bus’s cooling slots.
2025 Volkswagen ID.Buzz
Inside, the retro flair is minimal but Easter eggs abound for occupants to spot. A simple, upright dashboard features a 5.3-inch digital gauge cluster, while most vehicle controls are accessed via a 12.9-inch touchscreen. Unlike the ID.4, the ID.Buzz’s touch-based sliders for the climate controls and radio volume are backlit. A head-up display will be available.
Buyers can choose from seven- or six-seat configurations, with the latter with second-row captain’s chairs instead of a bench seat. The 12-way power front seats are heated, cooled, and feature an upright seating position, according to VW. The outboard second-row seats are heated as well.
2025 Volkswagen ID.Buzz
2025 Volkswagen ID.Buzz
2025 Volkswagen ID.Buzz
Cargo specs haven’t been released, but space for activities is plentiful as the second and third rows flat, and the third row can be removed entirely. To make a completely flat rear floor to sleep on an accessory is needed to slide behind the folded third row, and it comes with two fabric storage bins to keep things organize. The front center console includes divided storage (the dividers can be used as a bottle opener or ice scraper), and the entire unit can be removed.
The metal roof can be swapped for an optional sunroof that’s 5.6 feet long and 3.3 feet wide that can become opaque or translucent.
2025 Volkswagen ID.Buzz
Volkswagen ID.Buzz available with rear- or all-wheel drive
ID.Buzz models coming to the U.S. have more power and a larger battery than the two-row model sold outside America.
A 91-kwh battery pack (two-row models have an 82-kwh pack) will power a single rear motor rated at 282 hp and 406 lb-ft of torque (compared to the 201 hp and 228 lb-ft of two-row models) through a single-speed transmission. Dual-motor models will have all-wheel drive and about 330 hp (vs. the two-row model’s 295 hp), though VW hasn’t said how much torque this model will have in America. The top speed rises from the two-row model’s rating of 90 mph to 99 mph for America.
Volksagen said the ID.Buzz will be capable of a 170-kw peak charging rate, which will charge from 10-80% in 25 minutes.
2025 Volkswagen ID.Buzz
Based on the same MEB electric vehicle platform as the ID.4, the ID.Buzz model grows nearly 10.0 inches longer for America, all of which goes to the wheelbase. The electric van will be a hair over 16-feet long and as wide as the three-row Atlas crossover SUV. At 6.2-feet tall, the ID.Buzz is five inches taller than the Atlas. Despite its rectangular shape, it cuts the wind with a coefficient of drag of just 0.29. Just like the ID.4, the ID.Buzz uses struts up front and a multi-link rear suspension.
Every ID.Buzz will come standard with automatic emergency braking with pedestrian detection, adaptive cruise control, blind-spot monitors, and active lane control. Automatic park assist and a surround-view camera system will be available.