THE VANGUARD OF MOTORING
VW’s electric ID Buzz looks light years ahead of the pack, but does the reimagined Microbus concept live up to its iconic predecessor?
Entry to the ID Buzz, the concept Volkswagen has confirmed will go into production as the modern-day Microbus, combines the magic of contemporary electronics and traditional heave.
Waving a hand within the side swage line on the driver’s door triggers an electronic opening mechanism, which involves the conventional front-hinged driver’s door swinging open
to reveal the concept’s wonderfully simplistic yet surprisingly roomy interior.
The initial impression once you’re inside is just how high you are positioned above the road: the driver’s seat places your torso well above the belt line. In combination with an upright windscreen, it offers a commanding view enhanced by generous quarter windows. The links with earlier Microbus models are undeniable and provide the ID Buzz with a wonderfully authentic feel. With a design that aims to reduce clutter, the high-mounted full-width dashboard is devoid of controls. The main functions, including the gear selection and indicators, are all housed within the rectangular steering wheel.
The ID Buzz is fitted with two electric motors, one mounted at the front within the short nose section, the other within the rear axle assembly. This set-up gives it four-wheel-drive capability. Each motor delivers 200hp, although the combined system output is limited to 370hp. It can also be configured as a rear-wheel-drive model featuring a 270hp rear- mounted electric motor.
A swipe of your finger on a starter button within the touch-sensitive steering wheel is all that’s needed to prime the electronics and ready the ID Buzz to move off. The one-off concept has been in use all morning by the time I get my turn to drive, and there are concerns about the level of energy remaining within the lithium-ion battery.
Although designed with an augmented-reality head-up display unit within the windscreen, there are no obvious instruments to reveal the battery charge. As a result, my drive is curtailed to a couple of runs of about a mile along 17 Mile Drive, a picturesque tourist road on the Monterey Peninsula in California.
While only a brief encounter in a concept with the single motor and rear-wheel-drive layout likely to power entry-level versions of the Microbus, it nevertheless provides a good indication of what we can expect when the production version arrives in 2022.
The ID Buzz gets under way with surprising vigour as I call up D (for drive) with a swipe across the steering wheel. This early concept might not possess the full quota of reserves promised by the twin-engine spec, but the e-Golf-based driveline and rear-wheel-drive set-up is sufficiently sorted to zip away from standstill with instant response. It hits cruising speeds with engagingly flexible properties when the traffic allows.
VW says the boxy concept weighs close to 2,000kg, although it gives the impression of being a lot lighter. Like most electric vehicles, the strong torque ensures it feels eager. With a coasting function aiming to maximise efficiency, it freewheels with very low frictional losses when you come off the throttle, rolling along with the electric motor disengaged from the drive process until you pick up the power again or nudge the brake pedal to wipe off speed. Driveline refinement is quite impressive; there’s no whine from the electric motor mounted in the back.
VW intends to equip its new Microbus with contemporary autonomous driving technology. With a steering wheel that retracts back into the dashboard and a driver’s seat that swivels through a full 180 degrees to face the rear, it has been properly conceived to support hands-off driving. The concept, though, runs a more conventional set-up that relies purely on the driver.
The ride is firm and quite noisy. Most designbased concepts ride like shopping trolleys, and with the ID Buzz riding on 22-inch aerodynamically optimised wheels shod with prototype 235/45 tyres, there’s little in the way of proper wheel travel or comfort-inducing compliance.
But these particular facets of the ID Buzz’s driving characteristics are not really representative of what we can expect of the finished product. It will adopt the MacPherson strut front and multi-link rear suspension due to be used by all models based upon the company’s new modular electrification toolkit, or MEB. Other likely developments for the final version include adaptive damping and selflevelling rear air springs to control ride height when loaded with passengers and/or luggage. This, and the fact that the MPV’s inherent layout provides it with a very low centre of gravity, is reason enough to suggest its dynamic qualities should meet the heady expectations already being heaped upon it.
This basic concept provides a sound basis for the return of one of the motoring world’s most iconic machines. Sliding rear doors and a fully flat floor show the ease of entry and generous accommodation we can expect from the future Microbus.
Positioning the driver so far forward creates sufficient room to accommodate up to eight, and the interior is designed to support a multitude of different layouts. There are two separate luggage compartments, at the front and rear.
One of the factors that have allowed VW to realise its long-held plans of resurrecting the Microbus is the packaging advantages provided by the MEB platform structure. With the electric motors placed down low, the frontal area has been dedicated almost entirely to crash deformation. The only components housed up front are power electronics for the driveline and air-conditioning compressor. Everything else resides underneath the flat floor.
The engineering brief, as it stands today, calls for it to be sold exclusively with electric drive and offer a choice of standard and long wheelbases. Five years is a long time to wait but, if the promise is reflected to any degree in the production version, it will be well worth it.