ID. Buzz: First Impressions

Our ID. Buzz “Hot Take”

In many ways, it’s the hottest auto release of the past few years—at least in the circles that care about cool new things. It’s the ID. Buzz from Volkswagen. Obviously, here at Peace Vans, we have been eagerly anticipating the arrival of this car for several years. It has been frustrating at times, with one of the slower rollouts of a consumer product, but as of Dec 1, 2024, it’s finally here in the United States.

At Peace Vans, we have been lucky enough to get one of the first commercially available units in the U.S. We snagged a First Edition Mahi Green ID. Buzz with the AWD/4Motion feature. We pretty much had our choice of color and had some back and forth, but ultimately settled on the Mahi Green.

So—what do we, the VW experts at Peace Vans, think? There are probably a million ways to say it, but the simplest would be: this car is FUN. Unless you’re a crusty old curmudgeon, it’s hard to have a negative experience driving this car. It’s kind of like a Taylor Swift song (think Shake It Off)—infectious, smile-inducing, pleasing, clever, and hard to stop thinking about. Simply walking up to it each morning has positively influenced our day on these cold, miserable Seattle winter days. And being the empaths we are, the amount of positive attention it gets also spills over to us, making us feel even happier driving it.

Apart from all the hippie-dippy talk, the vehicle also drives wonderfully. We have been impressed with the speed and torque. Like all EVs, all the power is there pretty much all the time. It’s a fast, peppy car that belies its almost toy-like appearance. It feels a bit like a sheep in wolf’s clothing… here you’ve got this super cute, fun vehicle, but it goes really fast. It’s not “Tesla” fast, but—honestly—it’s not that far off.

Handling is also quite impressive. We’ve taken it on our favorite sharp turns and climbs, and it takes corners flawlessly. Accelerating out of a turn is a joy. We have yet to feel any slippage or sense of not feeling safe, etc. The interior is a joy as well—lots of cute touches and finishes. There are definitely some quirks with the window controls, and while some folks on the internet have complained about the steering wheel controls, we actually found them to be pleasant. There is a touch of discordance that comes from some of the controls having strong haptic responses and others not. It feels a bit like different teams built different parts, and they didn’t really talk to each other.

The driver’s area is great—two decent-sized screens display everything you need. It’s all intuitive and easy to use, and feels quite pleasant. The seats are comfortable for drivers and passengers. One thing we have found quite surprising is the sheer interior volume. It feels quite big in the rear passenger areas. There’s lots of headroom, and our long-legged team members fit well - there even comments likening it to a first class airline seat (as if anyone of us flies first class lol!). Ingress and egress were easy and comfortable.

There’s no question that the weak points of the car come down to three areas: range, cost, and software. There’s no getting around the fact that 250 miles (and lower in cold temps) is not great—especially for road trips, which are interesting to many Peace Vans customers. A lot of the early adopters we are speaking with are fine with the range, as this is not their first EV, or it’s more of an everyday car they will camp in on weekends, etc. Our very first trip in it was from Portland to Seattle - and it nailed it no problem. Like everyone, we were disappointed with the cost, but given everything the car brings to the table, it’s not too far off. Finally, trying to be honest, the software is glitchy. The app has some strange behaviors, and we’ve seen some odd things with the display. Nothing has ever impeded our ability to use and enjoy the car, but in these days of even the simplest apps working flawlessly, we’ve all come to expect seamless tech experiences.

At the end of the day, our hot take ends up where we started: we drive plenty of cars that make people smile (think of our vintage VWs), and the ID. Buzz exceeds in this category. If you want a fun, unique, well-thought-out driving experience, the ID. Buzz is a winner for sure.

Watch the video version of this blog here.