Volkswagen ID Buzz real world review. VW reinvents its iconic T2 as an family EV 

This is what I love most about Harry, he owns and drives some of the most expensive and exotic cars in the world yet the clever design of a console splitter / bottle opener excites him! True enthusiasm on every level

13:18 Harry reminiscing about the old days - just as he passes an old Beetle. Lovely stuff.

Great review. For a minute I thought Harry said it cost £65,000 ....for VW minibus!

As the owner of an immaculate classic Toyota Previa GX from 1996 with 77,000 miles, this video gave me a wry smile. From the much applauded A pillar to the exterior profile; plus the interior layout - it is all deja vu. Difference is, the Previa was designed well over thirty years ago - and, mine is now over 26 years old. Mine is mid engined, has 4 wheel independent suspension and all disc brakes, air con and two sun roofs... need I go on.... Oh, and mine is less common plus, there is the price differential - the VW at £65k

So glad you mention how good sliding doors are, we have a disabled son and have had a Sharan for the last 10 years trying to replace it now is a nightmare. No sliding doors anywhere and boots are too styled to get his wheel chair in the back. When are these car companies going to realise a family car needs 5 proper seats and a square boot!!! Great vid as usual Harry❤

Nothing much else says; “more money than sense” than paying £65k for a van with seats in the back.

17:50 The adventure IS being stuck in the wilderness with no charge and having to find ways to get back to civilization.

Harry’s sending shoppers jumping out of the way! I seem to recall twenty grand being a decent amount for a car but now £65k for a minivan seems a lot. Maybe I am missing the point and the people who can afford these have huge houses with plenty of overnight charging options. Be interesting to see a road trip review with it fully loaded with a family and luggage and all the other stuff we take away.

I love it. More interesting than the growing range of SUV EVs. Shame it doesn’t have round headlights but then I assume it’s using ID 3 and 4 parts wherever possible.

Great, honest review as always. I personally hate the 'washing machine' interior and the touch screen. But hey, I couldn't afford one anyway. £61,000....reasonable? Has the world gone mad?

Honestly, I never thought I would be watching Harry review this thing but I love it now that I see it. It’s not going to be as fast as most things, but hey, it’s an icon of his generation… Way to go Harry!!!

Looks fantastic but £70k for a well specced one is very very strong money. The camper version will be close to £100k I reckon.

2.5 tons, you frankly kinda wonder where all that weight is. Bad range, no equipment, no sound proofing, ...

Watching Harry's Garage instead of Top Gear 👍

I’m a simple man. I see a video by Harry’s Garage, I click. Another great review of another car I’ll never be able to afford.

£65k is an absurd price.

Thanks for this clip - it's a bit of fresh air to watch a review of a "mundane" car like this rather than a feature of the upteenth superduperwhatnotohmygawd performance car.

Looks great. Now that is out of the way: price - £60k. So the lwb 7 seater with 4wd will be what? £77k? £75? Battery is good for how many cycles/years? 10yrs? 15? I just think it is a lot of money for what they're offering. The commercial van could pay for itself (£38k and loadsa miles) but a leisure vehicle? And if it's not that but just going to be the school-bus then wouldn't any SUV electric do that job? I'm struggling to see it's purpose, particularly from a pricepoint POV...

Great video, Harry. £60K for a simple car? Cant be justified!! That "grille" will be fun to keep clean, leaves, mud, animals...

What Harry didn't test is the Travel Assist, a system that seems to do its name justice. It is impressive what VW has done with its software, the trip planning is actually really good (in stark contrast to the otherwise excellent system from Kia/Hyundai) and seems to cater the needs of especially the EV newbie, without needing additional apps or otherwise from 3rd party services. That and the Travel Assist which, although an option, seems to be better than Tesla's.

I test drove a van version yesterday. Drives well and feels very solid. Van has black interior and is more work like inside but identical mechanically.would like one but hard to justify the price as not as big as transporter and can only tow 1000kg.

Love the light interior. Never understood why folk want black interiors to hide the dirt, I want to see the dirt so I can clean it off ! Couldn't help noticing no soft close doors. Our 1997 Elgrand even has those. C'mon VW

I know they have been in a few videos already, but my eyes still glued to the F40 and F50 duo in the background.

I really love this design, it also appeals to me on so many levels - campervan, family wagon, flexible van capacity. Always been happy with VWs I have owned so this looks like a fab EV. Only problem is the price!

How many online and tv based car reviews do we now have? Too many to mention, yet Harry's is without doubt one of if not the most authoritive and interesting guys to offer opinion on both new and historic cars. I love the T2 Splittie. It's a sufer icon bus and is on more merchanise today than it ever has been. This new VW interpretation, which has been so long coming, hits all the buttons. The front end particularly is kind to the original. Harry's comprehensive account of the interior, exterior, handing etc. is so engaging to listen to and watch. Parking such a large vehicle in a mutli storey car park could potentially be a night mare, and few reviews cover such practical events. Harry's as ever was informative to the full. I'll look forward to seeing this new electric bus on the road. I hope it will bring a smile to my face and indeed so many other peoples as the Splittie always does.

Love the look, It's great seeing vehicles like this, the mini, etc that do really give a styling nod to their heritage, agree it seems a tad bland for what was a cult vehicle, loved the Eau Rouge nod too :)

Breaking the speed limit and driving the wrong way around the car park. Classic Harry

Of course Harry gets it re: 0-60 times. Seems like a lot of EV fans are rather new to the car world and they treat these things like a smartphone spec sheet: bigger, faster is better. It's not like that here. You can guarantee the first thing someone will say about a new EV is that the 6 second 0-60 is slow. Therefore the car is no good. Could VW make a family hatch do 60 in 3 seconds? I'm sure they could. But that isn't what most customers want or need. 60 in 9-10 has been the standard for typical family cars for ages. Because it's a pleasant level of performance for people who just want to get places.

£65K!!! 😮I can't help feeling that 'rediscovering the magic' of a classic design from the 60s and 70s might work a lot better if VW went back to their roots and produced something simpler and more affordable.

This will be a huge success. They can't build them fast enough.

Great viewing as always, though I’m convinced electric is not the way forward and will be scrapped way before 2030.

I remember when family cars where not the same price as supercars, here have a electric earth friendly family car we made it so expensive that nobody can afford it, and if you could afford that kind of money you’d buy a land rover evoke.

Sunday evening, 5pm. Preparing dinner whilst watching Harry’s Garage. One of life’s pleasures for me at least.

i switched when the price was mentioned. Crazy

Excellent stuff as always Harry

I'm in Canada and I am looking forward to seeing this vehicle. I like the false floor because you can fold the seats and sleep in the back!

10 secs to 60 is all that's needed for a family car along with 100mph top speed and 250+ mile range no matter what the temperature or weather. If that was focussed on rather than "hey, we can do 60 in less than 3" then prices of EVs might drop and more people might be able to afford them. This is an interesting vehicle but the diesel T5 is the better package at the moment.

List of cars that can be bought with a white steering wheel: 1. VW ID4 First Edition 2. VW ID Buzz 3. Rolls Royce (any of them) 4. Bugatti Chiron 5. Mercedes S-class (Please add more to this list and/or corrections)

Harry, if you think £65k is reasonable either your judgement of vehicle value has been skewed by being continually exposed to top end supercars and classic cars and their price tags, or you have a secret weed field on the farm and you've been getting high on your own supply. Vehicle prices today are over priced and out of proportion and out of control.

Thanks Harry. My daily driver is a T5 Kombi, so this is right up my alley. Once you've had a van, you can't go back to a car...

As always, Harry, a superb test but what I worry about with all the electric vehicles is that you have to take your eyes off the road to cool your feet or do any climate controls etc. There will be many accidents in the future through this sort of problem. It's illegal to use a phone to call someone but you can use these giant iPads to "control" a car. Very strange & potentially very dangerous. But it is certainly a looker, I must say.

One thing i tend to notice with "skateboard" BEVs ie ones with the battery under the floor and therefore a low CofG but relatively high H point (the centre of gravity of the people sat in the seats, pretty much where ones hips sit) is that they tend to have quite high head toss motions. They have very good control of their mass transfer as the low CofG means lower moments, but there occupants are sat up and away from that CofG so the occupants move further as the chassis rolls and pitches. This slight disconnect in the feeling can i think lead to car sickness in passengers, especially with clumsy drivers who are not smooth on the thottle and can introduce unwanted accelerations! What this translates into is a car that is keen and fun to get into the bends, but passengers that are less keen 🙂

“It’s a big car.” ..As I slowly look around my Toyota Sequoia. Spot on then mate.

We've come a long way since you had to pull up a lever next to the handbrake to get some heat in from the engine to warm your feet. Hats off to VW for making an interesting vehicle. For me, it's a bit expensive for what it is, but very keen to see where they take it. I hope it does well!

I just had a look at the conversion rate for Pound Sterling to Australian dollar and this van is $115,000!!! For a van with 5 seats. Hard to see how a family could even consider something like this in the real world.

I love the design. The first electric car that I really want :-DD

It’s amazing that a vehicle with a shoebox shape looks so good. I think I want one if they are available in the US.

Interesting content. Keep up the good work on your channel. Regards, WR4K.

65k for a family car? Perhaps like the majority of British citizens who will relying on support from food banks in the near future we can only hope that the government will be handing them out for free as well.

Love your excited enthusiasm….very infectious….great review, thank you

Looks good, but pretty expensive, and I bet the range drops off a LOT when loaded up or towing... But sure VW will sell plenty! Another great video :)

Looks funky. Not for me, but they'll sell loads. The camper should be good, but I guess that will be £100k+. Crazy.

Thank you, Harry, for the review. Interesting as always. On a wider issue, no road fund for electric use, no fuel duty either. So where is the vehicle duty for electric car use coming from? If everybody went electric there would be a £35 billion shortfall per annum in government revenue. Just saying.

Actually the perfect EV - kip in the back whilst charges. Or you wait for a charger.

And now for something completely different....great review, Harry, very interesting!

I really wish we had these vehicle offerings and models in North America.

Seems like 20% too big in some areas but the cabin seems cramped. IMO wish they went for more of a T1 look vs T2

That interior won’t be that clean after 10 minutes with kids in it

So glad they actually put this in production. Annoying us Americans have to wait. Over 60k GBP seems very steep though.

Thanks Harry that was great, a nice interpretation of the T2 when they improve tbe range it will be something tbat bus buyers may consider.

57k is just way too much for something that originally, was supposed to allow families who couldn't afford much, to go on holiday. Once again a car manufacturer has catered to upper middle class families who are likely to buy this as a luxury item.

The base van version is the blank slate to buy for modification. It could be a camper, yes, or a party limo.

I love this thing - and I haven't even driven it yet (allthough that will change quite soon, at the E-Car Expo in Gothenburg, first weekend of December). I ask myself why anyone would get a typical crossover/suv EV (not actuall off-roader) as a familycar, when this is such a better option in every important way. Will the ID4 be redundant now? It should be - what is the point of it, really? I totally agree on there being more cars where the engine was not the party-trick, like the DS and the Rolls Royce, that need to come back as EVs - As a Renault-nerd, I want to see a new Renault Espace EV to go head-to-head with this, inspired by the style of the very first one. Renault used to be best in the world on this type of car (MPVs), before they lost them-selves in copying what others were doing (those damn crossover/SUVs). A new EV Avantime would be great as well (but that will never happen...) - that car was all about everything else than the engine.

The ID Buzz concept had the mesh pattern on the front back in 2017 (just no holes cut).

This is about the first EV I've seen that I wouldn't mind owning! I just can't get past the weight of the things though. 2 and a half tonnes is bonkers.

That was my white jag Harry was next to in the car park...I wondered where the bloody orange scratch came from...

Great review, Harry. I don't think VW have gone brain-dead on what this rig could be. What I think is they have NOT been given the funding to make it happen - typical VW beancounter approach to product development. Shame, really. But, the aftermarket is already abuzz and no doubt working on some very cool accessories and iterations to satisfy what VW is so tight-a**ed to provide! With a longer range and more aggressive pricing (if only because there WILL be competition), they could have a high-volume winner.

I love that false floor. Would have been nice if they provided a set of folding mattress :) to go along.

I agree that VW have nailed it with the clean looks. I don't know why but my first thought on seeing it was that it reminded me of The Mystery Machine in the Scooby Doo cartoons!😂 £61k is a lot of wedge for what is really a rather basic EV.

THE CULT GETS A BATTERY ICON

I’d love to have a VW but they’re ridiculously overpriced and can’t afford one. I’ll be converting a Previa into a day camper for under 4k instead. Great video Harry, keep,up the good work 🍷

£60k plus !!!. I've owned a T5 LWB 102 bhp for 12 years. 550 miles on a tank full, weighs well over 2 tons. The range of this thing, at that weight, at night, cold and raining, I doubt could manage 125 miles tops. Well, that's progress folks!!! What a joke if you are a white van man, and I am. BTW, it would be a scrapper after 10 years max, because the battery would be phooked.

They absolutely nailed the exterior styling👍 And the ambient lighting on the door turning red as Harry opened the door in the multi storey car park is a nice touch. I agree with Harry,given the gestation time of the buzz,it should have a phone book (is that still a thing) thick list of options and lifestyle gadgets, to help remove another £8'000 from a well heeled buyer.

+1. Thank you. Back in the day I owned a 1970 VW Campmobile. Huge range. Good times.

I do like this, but at £60k there aint going to be many hippy's driving this one, maybe ones who have a thriving special plant selling business lol.

First time watch and now a new sub. Nice and honest feeling review. Thx. Looking forward to more

I'd like to see one in Yellow/White

I wonder when the Westy comes out? Back in the day, I had a '66 Microbus Westy, complete with the tent that attached to the side doors & the pop top. In '77, my girlfriend & I lived out of it for 3 months moving to the state of Washington. Slowly...

It looks solidly built i like the sound of them doors close.. ive drove VW vans for years and like them .an electric van charged at home would suit me.

Superb and honest review, as usual Harry 😄👍🏻 As for the vehicle: I have to say that for me this is a classic case of style over substance: Silly over-teched instruments, poor range and silly pricing. 😖 It's sole purpose is to prey on nostalgia and fool the public into buying another stupidly impractical EV. 🙄

Krusty the clown is currently trying to remember where he parked his new wheels!

It's about 20 grand more expensive than it should be.

when you recognise the car park.... thats not the easiest one to navigate a big car car about. Looks good.

Sorry Harry, but as a former EV owner in America, I would never consider another EV. The range is NEVER as advertised, the diminished range in colder weather and range anxiety is a huge issue and the length of recharging makes this a non starter. Nice looking retro look however, too bad it's not available in a gas engine version.

Love the look of this van and waiting for it to come to the US. I just can’t believe the price in Europe. If VW wants to sell and volume here in the USA it’s gonna have to start at about $45K….

Greatings from Hannover/Germany !!!

7:00 That white wheel and buttons are going to get dirt ugly. Anywho, 60K for a small van is still waaaay too much.

A fascinating and slightly different review format for you Harry - I love it, VW are on to another winner, with endless variations to follow. You and Henry Catchpole are my absolute favorite automotive reviewers/commentators.

The false floor in the boot apes the sturdy parcel shelf in the T4 Caravelle that did the same thing when the rear seats were folded. Also meant you could get two layers of shopping in the back which is really useful. Scary how expensive these have become. When I bought my T5 Shuttle in 2006 you could get a LWB 5cyl for £23,000. The range starts at £50K now so I suppose the ID Buzz is priced accordingly. You'll need deep pockets to afford one though. Lovely design, shame you can't get it with a diesel.

Liking the way you mentioned Volkswagen literally as you passed a 1973 (I think) Beetle

Bless him for doing the multistory car park he is right it is important

Nice Golf Cart...🤣😂

They've really done their homework, well, at Volkswagen, that is really apparent. Great testing work, and communication.

Sixty-five grand!!?? For a glorified iPad? Exactly which campgrounds and coastline are accessible within the pitiful range and possible to recharge the iPad in anything less than 24 hours?

Oh my goodness....a VW without -WITHOUT a black interior! Its actually got some colour in it too! The very first VW that hasn't had its interior designed by a dominatrix or a dungeon master.

Always been a VW van lover and this is no exception. Exceptionally well done on the styling front. I’m sure there will be more interesting ways to use the interior space and seats in time, but does seem like there’s a few oversights.

I agree with your 'likes' on this vehicle. I would be more appreciative than you are over the flat folding seats: they are truly 'flat' and one could sleep on them.

£65k "Good value" i think someone is a little out of touch with the everyday person, it's cheap when you have a barn full of supercars i suppose.

Volkswagen: no one ordinary can afford £60,000.

Well observed about the interior. An original Espace has more going for it when it comes to versatile space usage. It is a shame that cab-forward is no longer allowed.