I told myself I would not own a boring car. The family’s need for utility has compromised this somewhat, as my wife and I couldn’t find a car to lease that offered a manual transmission. If I squinted, I could pretend our Volkswagen Tiguan was simply an oversized GTI.
And then the VW ID.Buzz appeared on my radar.
The original plan was to consider this car-in-search-of-a-normal-name when our lease ended, but that was 18 months ago, way before its November 2024 debut. Rather than invest in a new car, we bought out our Tiguan lease while waiting for this new, novel minivan. The lack of clarity about when it would debut (plus the shortage of used cars post-pandemic) led to us shopping around. The plan was to enjoy a new vehicle and, by the time the lease would expire, we’d be ready for a production-ready ID.Buzz. That never materialized.
Though I have no interest in EVs, I’ve driven several for short distances and decided I can get used to an “automatic” vehicle as long as it had a range of 350 miles. Plus, the threat of EV ennui was countered by the novelty of the heir apparent to the Volkswagen Type 2 Microbus, especially as I’d rather have a van over an SUV—I like the idea of having open access to the rear compartment, captain’s chairs and all.
This past summer, I prepared myself to be underwhelmed because Volkswagen announced that introductory ID.Buzz units would sticker at over 60 grand. And, based on similar EVs from Volkswagen, I knew the range was not going to be anywhere near 350.
Several days ago, Car and Driver posted its first road test of the ID.Buzz. The article called the ID.Buzz the bee’s knees (a phrase popular in the 1920s for something rad), but it also called out Volkswagen’s highway range as being disappointing, with the magazine’s dual-motor example (meaning it has 4Motion) only managing 190 miles on its 75-mph range test. Volkswagen claims 231. Oh, did I mention this mid-level Buzz featured an as-tested price of $72,035?
Yup, I’m out. No way am I spending that much on a vehicle that doesn’t tickle my enthusiast’s fancy. Now I really wish my wife and I eased into a new lease two summers ago.
Not long ago, I had suggested to my wife that we would have to wait a year before we could even consider getting an ID.Buzz (provided we liked it) because I had a hunch the range would improve and the price point would decrease, but now I’m not feeling it. Plus, as nifty as the ID.Buzz may be, I can’t get over how bland Volkswagens—especially the ID series—look. They come off like German Toyotas, the antithesis of enthusiast vehicles. Contrast that with the GTI, which looks better than ever (though it’s lost its manual transmission). Perhaps the 2026 Rivian R2 will be more pleasant?
Or, my wife and I could say, “Screw it!” and find a more exciting vehicle that suits our needs now.
In other words, I’m stuck with a boring car.
Again.
Source: www.classiccars.com