First rendezvous with the VW ID-Buzz: How much Bulli is in the new electric bus?

Created: 03/17/2022Updated: 03/17/2022 14:07

By: Rudolf Boegel

V-shaped front hood, blinking eyes, two-tone paint.

Allow the new ID buzz.

© MARTIN MEINERS / VW

The ID.Buzz, the new electric bus from Volkswagen, is intended to arouse sympathy and transport technologies.

Soon he should be able to drive completely alone.

• 72 years after the first VW Bulli, its all-electric successor is coming onto the market.

• Advance sales of the ID.Buzz* will start in May and the first will be delivered in autumn.

• Estimates assume a range of 400 kilometers, charging with 170 kW.

It's a bit like the first date.

Your hands are wet, your heart is beating.

It's not exactly a blind date, after all, you know each other from before and there are also current photos.

But pictures are one thing, reality another.

The crucial question is: Can the old love flare up again or will it be a stale infusion?

The

has influenced the

.

1950s, reconstruction, great freedom on four wheels.

And then the 70s: California dreaming and flower power.

The new Bulli has to shoulder this emotional load first.

Right here in a hall at the port of Hamburg, where the first meeting takes place.

Oh yeah, it's not called Bulli anymore, it

.

Buzz is not an artificial word for bus, but comes from the English.

Buzz means buzzing.

Not like the bees, but like an

.

The electric Bulli is also available in a cargo version for craftsmen and suppliers.

Here in blue.

© MARTIN MEINERS / VW

A whole Bulliversum against the VW scandals

The importance of this car is shown by the fact that almost the entire Volkswagen board, including Chairman Herbert Diess, took part.

As an obstetrician for the most important car from VW since the Golf.

Because the ID.Buzz should open people's hearts.

And that applies to the entire brand.

Bullis have always been cuddly, friendly and personable.

Diesel scandal, fraud - was there something?

The new Bulliversum aims to outshine all of that, not just in Europe but around the world and especially in the US.

As an ambassador with heart and soul.

But also as a technology carrier.

The Bulli is not only a purely

, but is also the first car from VW to set a new milestone in

set.

Level 4. This means that the Bulli can also be on the road all by itself, without passengers.

For example on the freeway or when valet parking, as is already being tested by Mercedes Benz.

Into the car park, get out, start the car via the app - and the little Bulli is already looking for its own place.

Level 4 isn't just practical.

This opens up whole new areas of business for VW commercial vehicles.

For example, autonomous delivery fleets.

That saves people, the machine does everything by itself.

This Hollywood star owns an old van

But that's still in the future.

Screen star Ewan McGregor (Black Hawk Down, Trainspotting2, Fargo) is just explaining why he is the new brand ambassador at VW.

Because his parents have already driven three Beetles, because he had a Beetle himself and because he has even done moves with his old Bulli.

There it is again the long tradition of the Bulli.

A real asset for Volkswagen, but also a long shadow.

Can the new Bulli step out there?

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And then suddenly he's there.

Buzz, buzz, there's a hum in the old industrial hall - a blue and a yellow bus emerge from the vast darkness and drive into the light.

The rendezvous begins, and how: It's love at first sight.

The designers have achieved something that was hardly thought possible.

To put a real Bulli on the wheels, not old-fashioned, but modern and contemporary.

Nevertheless, you can already recognize the

in the face.

We look deep into the eyes of the Bulli.

Friendly headlights wink at us, combined with a continuous band of light.

The big

is emblazoned as before in the middle of the V-shaped hood, which does not drop vertically like the original, but stretches slightly at the front to accommodate all the technology.

However, the designers have cleverly concealed this.

With the triangular windows at the front and the short overhang at the back, there are further analogies to the original model.

As well as the two-tone paintwork.

One Bulli looks

, while the cargo version is painted

The interior of the electric Bullis is strongly reminiscent of the corporate brothers ID.3 to ID.5.

© MARTIN MEINERS / VW

VW ID buzz: Love messages hidden everywhere

The

are also continued inside in the doors or on the dashboard.

The interior of the ID-Buzz no longer has much in common with the old Bulli.

There is something reminiscent of the new generation of e-cars at

say hello.

Small speedometer display with the most important information behind the steering wheel, large infotainment screen in the middle.

The slightly elevated seating position very close to the front axle feels original.

The five-seater, later in the year a Bulli with a longer wheelbase will be added, looks spacious, airy and light.

And as is the case with a flirt, you take a closer look and discover lovely details everywhere.

For example, small smileys shine at us in the recess of the door handles.

And at the back of the load compartment, the silhouette of the Bullis is embossed into the plastic on the sides.

A sympathizer.

You can also find out more about the practical test of the

The color applications in the interior of the new ID.Buzz always correspond to the exterior color.

© Volkswagen

VW ID.Buzz and the Bulli have one technical detail in common

Technically, the

naturally has little to do with a Bulli.

Except for the fact that the transporter is driven at the rear like the original.

Only that it is no longer a boxer engine.

But a 204 hp electric machine, an old acquaintance at VW.

It draws its juice from an 82 kWh battery, which presumably enables a range of 400 kilometers.

A larger battery is also under discussion, as is an all-wheel drive variant with two electric motors, similar to the ID.4 GTX.

Then you have almost 300 hp available.

The sprint times from 0 to 100 km/h should then have a 6 before the decimal point.

The

with up to 170 kW, which according to official information means 30 minutes if you want to bring the battery back from five to 80 percent.

The ID.Buzz draws a maximum of 11 kW from the conventional power grid, which it then has to hang on to the line all night.

The Plug & Charge function is brand new and used for the first time in the Bulli.

That means: When charging at a suitably equipped DC column, you no longer need a card.

The connector itself speaks to the column and also exchanges payment data.

Something really fits in there.

The Cargo Bulli packs away two Euro pallets and has a loading capacity of almost four cubic meters.

© Volkswagen

Earn money with the Bulli

If necessary, the energy is also exchanged.

The so-called

will make it possible in the future to release the power from the Bulli battery again.

It makes sense if you charge your Bulli with solar cells, for example, and then sell the electricity to the public grid.

Or you fill up on cheap electricity and sell it again more expensively in off-peak periods.

But that is still music for the future, which sounds in the far future.

Autonomous driving, which should be possible with the help of swarm intelligence in the entire speed range, is closer.

Even an independent lane change is possible.

The Bulli uses Cart2X technology to obtain the necessary data.

Here, cars share important information such as traffic density, speeds driven or obstacles on the road via the radio network.

The ID.Buzz starts as a five-seater, a long wheelbase is also planned, then up to seven passengers can fit in it.

© MARTIN MEINERS / VW

The new buzz bus – is there more to flirting?

Outside hui and inside hui - the new VW Bulli makes a convincing appearance.

Will the flirt with the new old

become something serious?

That depends entirely on the price expectations at VW.

Estimates range from 55,000 to 60,000 euros.

For comparison: the new Multivan is available from 45,000 euros, the comparable 204 hp petrol engine costs just under 50,000 euros.

But seriously: where great feelings prevail, money shouldn't really play a role.

Technical data of the VW ID.Buzz

• Electric motor: 150 kW (204 hp)

• Maximum torque: 310 (Nm)

• Propulsion: rear

• 0-100 km/h: not specified

• Top: 145 km/h

• Battery: 82 kWh (77 kWh usable)

• Maximum charging power: 11 kW (AC), 170 kW (DC)

• Charging time: 30 min. (DC from 5 to 80 percent)

• Standard consumption (WLTP): not specified

• Range: about 400 km

• Length / width / height: 4.71 / 1.99 / 1.94 m

• Curb weight/approval: not specified

• Trailer load used: kA

• Trunk (5-seater): 1121 – 2205 l

• Cargo space: 3.9 m3 (two Euro pallets)

• Cargo load: 650 kg

• Price: approx. 55,000 to 60,000 euros (estimated) / Cargo 45,000 euros

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