ABSOLUTELY BUZZING
The T1 Bulli Microbus has been reinvented and it’s still a beacon of (flower) power
HOW do you reinvent a design classic for the modern world? That was the challenge facing Volkswagen when it came to reinventing the iconic T1 Bulli Microbus, one of the most potent symbols of the freewheeling (often literally) counterculture movement of the 1960s and 1970s.
In the grey Ireland of the era, who among us didn’t crave the freedom it offered, shuttling from surfing beaches to hippy havens where all sorts of nefarious pleasures were promised?
Well, I didn’t get to load up the surfboards, but on the international launch of the ID.Buzz, I did achieve a bucket-list goal, driving the tunnel and bridge that span the Øresund between Copenhagen in Denmark and Malmö in Sweden — just in case you think the toll charges in Ireland for bridges and motorways are high, a return trip here costs a whopping €110.
You’ll know the bridge — it gave its name to the Danish/ Swedish crime drama that opened with a body found on the border halfway across. ‘Sund’ in Danish means ‘sound’, which is ironic, because the first thing you notice driving the ID.Buzz is that there isn’t much of that when you’re behind the wheel, because it is whisper quiet.
The MPV doesn’t just reinvent the looks of the T1, while also paying homage to them, it also is fully electric, joining the ID.3, ID.4 and ID.5 already on sale. Like those cars, one of the most distinctive features is the LED strips running between the headlights and taillights; a quick look in your rearview mirror always lets you know exactly what car is behind you.
Like the Caddy van, the Buzz also has an expansive mesh panel up front, and a giant VW badge that, while not quite as big as that on the T1, still adds a little drama to the ‘face’.
One of the first things that strikes you — besides the funky two-tone finishes, including the Lime Yellow of my test vehicle — is that they’ve kept the very short front and rear overhangs which, along with big wheel arches, allow for a tuning circle of 11 metres, excellent for a car that’s not far off five metres long.
The weight of the 82kWh battery, of which 77kWh is useable, is spread evenly and gives the Buzz great stability. While it feels like a fun drive, a lot of that is derived from the airiness of the cabin and, in many ways, the residual affection for the entire microbus concept. In truth, the driver engagement is a little on the passive side, but it’s an MPV, and there are some things you just can’t reinvent. As for performance, the 0-100kph sprint of 10.1 seconds is fairly leisurely by EV standards, and a top speed of 145kph also is modest, though clearly perfectly adequate in this country if you value your licence.
VW claims range of up to 423km, worth bearing in mind for those buying the commercial van version, the ID.Buzz Cargo — it holds two Europallets — because you’d easily manage a day or two of deliveries around the city, where energy consumption is at its lowest and brake regeneration at its highest. On purely motorway driving at 120kph, knocking off a quarter, and a little more in winter, probably would feel more like a real world target.
Charging at up to 170kW an hour is possible on fast public forecourts, allowing for topping up from 5% to 80% in 30 minutes. At home on a 7kW wallbox, you’ll manage 0-100% overnight.
The key selling point, though, is space — there’s buckets of it, from the two large captain chairs with armrests up front, to the 60:40 rear bench, which slides back and forth up to 150mm for maximum utility value.
It is a five-seater, but that allows for a whopping 1,121 litres of cargo space, expandable to 2,205 litres with the rear bench folded.
USB ports for phone charging are in the side doors, and there is a false floor in the boot covering a storage area for the charging cables and other bits and bobs.
The ID.Buzz will be available here in four trim levels — Life, Family, Tech and Max — with pricing running from €67,190 to €77,230, and around €2,000 extra for the two-tone paint job.
At the top of the pile, the sliding rear doors are fully electric, as is the fairly massive tailgate — you won’t be reversing up to the wall in a multistorey car park.
I could tell you a lot more, and will when I drive it again in Ireland, but for now, it’s safe to say Volkswagen has reinvented its baby bus with some brio. I didn’t quite get to go to San Francisco wearing flowers in my hair, but the Øresund bridge made a pretty good substitute for the Golden Gate.