Volkswagen ID. Buzz Review: Dream Van or EV Nightmare? | Henry Catchpole - The Driver’s Seat
Aug 2, 2023
Volkswagen ID. Buzz Review: Dream Van or EV Nightmare? | Henry Catchpole - The Driver’s Seat
The new Volkswagen ID. Buzz isn’t officially a campervan… yet. That will come with the longer wheelbase version (which is also the version which will eventually be available in the USA). However, Henry Catchpole has found a way to turn it into a Camper. With the ingenious Ququq BusBox-4 you can quickly convert the VW ID. Buzz into a mobile bedroom and kitchen. It’s not quite a full Westfalia-style transformation but it is rather appealing, not least because you can slide the whole thing out and revert the Buzz to its original five-seat layout. https://ququq.info/ququq/busbox-4-en/ https://www.southcoastcamperconversio … https://onlineshop.oxfam.org.uk/campe … http://bit.ly/HagertyYouTube https://www.hagerty.com/media https://www.hagerty.com/media/newslet … https://www.facebook.com/Hagerty https://instagram.com/Hagerty https://twitter.com/Hagerty https://www.hagerty.com/drivers-club http://bit.ly/RedlineRebuild http://bit.ly/BarnFIndHunter https://bit.ly/JasonCammisaICONS https://bit.ly/JasonCammisaRevelations [email protected] [email protected] [email protected]
Content
1.831 -> (cheerful instrumental music)
37.14 -> - Weirdest dream.
41.07 -> You're probably wondering
why I've woken up,
42.89 -> in a VW ID.Buzz because
it's not a campervan.
47.086 -> (cheerful music)
55.02 -> Yes, despite what a large portion
of the general population,
57.87 -> seems to think at the
moment the current full new,
60.39 -> ID.Buzz is only available
as a five seater like this
64.26 -> or a cargo that's a van to you and me.
66.78 -> VW says that a camper will
appear in the next few years,
69.72 -> but will be based on the
long wheel based version.
72.27 -> However, as you can see,
74.64 -> if you are impatient then
I have found a solution.
78.09 -> This is the QUQUQ apparently
that is how you pronounce that,
82.017 -> BusBox-4 and I think it is genius.
85.29 -> I found it online and it is
actually on the VW website,
88.68 -> as well somewhere and it just converts,
91.22 -> your new ID.Buzz into a camper.
94.452 -> (calming music)
96.18 -> Look at this, right?
97.013 -> So you open it up like
that, fold this down here.
100.759 -> Voila, in here we have your cooker,
105.27 -> complete with little wind shield in there,
107.707 -> fridge here, couple of
seats, your water supply,
111.999 -> it's genius, everything you need,
113.52 -> to have a fry up in the morning.
116.97 -> Obviously the bed folds
back on top of here as well
120.48 -> and obviously I'm tall and I
fit it in the back of the Buzz.
125.79 -> It's awesome.
126.719 -> The BusBox-4 costs just over 3000 pounds
129.99 -> or about 5% of an
ID.Buzz and the best bit,
133.23 -> is that with a couple of strong people,
134.76 -> the whole thing just slides
out leaving you with,
137.43 -> well a normal five seat ID.Buzz.
140.43 -> The question is, what are
you actually left with?
144.03 -> Because yes, everybody loves
this, it looks really cool,
147.6 -> but is it just a fancy painted van,
150.78 -> with all the inconveniences
of a commercial vehicle?
154.05 -> Is it the equivalent of this?
157.74 -> This is a perfectly ordinary
sweatshirt isn't it?
160.53 -> With sort of, you know, mildly
insulating properties but no,
163.98 -> it's a Christmas jumper,
therefore everybody loves it
166.26 -> and thinks they must pay more
for it, et cetera, et cetera.
168.84 -> But essentially it's
still just a sweatshirt,
171.48 -> at the end of the day.
172.44 -> So is the ID.Buzz just a novelty item?
176.7 -> Is it the automotive equivalent
of the Christmas jumper?
180.128 -> (orchestral music)
189.87 -> There are of course benefits to this,
191.58 -> being a bit like a van.
193.17 -> For a start the driving position itself,
195.21 -> which is a bit like a van,
197.28 -> so obviously I'm nice and high up,
198.99 -> here I've got these sort
of captain's chairs,
200.79 -> with the arm rests and
then it's not quite like,
203.88 -> some of the vans I've driven,
205.02 -> where you get that
lovely feeling of being,
206.31 -> right over the front wheels
207.57 -> and you have the really good view out.
209.55 -> This has obviously got these sort of,
210.45 -> false A pillars out here.
212.31 -> They feel a bit weird to start with,
214.02 -> but you get used to them very quickly
215.76 -> and actually those little sort
of quarter lights in there,
218.88 -> are really quite useful
in terms of visibility.
222.99 -> Back there it's like a van,
225.09 -> so you've got an awful lot of load space,
227.52 -> even with the middle row seats up.
230.576 -> If anything, I wish you could
make it even more like a van,
233.34 -> in the back there by having the option,
234.96 -> to remove the rear seats altogether.
236.91 -> But they merely fold down
238.62 -> and you have to fit in
the curious false floor,
240.57 -> if you want a flat space
all the way through.
243.72 -> Obviously there are some downsides to it,
245.79 -> being a bit like a van,
246.66 -> so you can never quite get
away from the sense that,
249.864 -> there is more room here
251.19 -> and therefore a little bit more sort of,
252.75 -> road noisy acoustics, it's a
bit like sort of, you know,
255.3 -> walking into a cathedral
or something like that.
257.04 -> You can tell you're in a big space.
260.79 -> Obviously you can't put
the rear windows down,
263.22 -> which could feel well a bit annoying,
265.83 -> if you're in the back a
little bit claustrophobic,
267.6 -> but fundamentally it's quite
a nice place to be back there,
270.09 -> with the tables on the back of these seats
272.31 -> and little pockets as well.
274.26 -> Seems nice.
275.49 -> I'm not sure how hard wearing,
276.93 -> the materials in this Buzz
will be, but it all looks
279.24 -> and feels a cut above your
average commercial vehicle.
282.254 -> That's a vegan alternative to leather,
284.49 -> in case you are wondering
286.34 -> (car running)
289.38 -> There is also an awful
lot of storage in here.
291.87 -> So we've got cup holders down here.
294 -> Once you've got the Buzz
Box here, we've got this,
295.86 -> whatever it is, it's got an Audi badge,
298.08 -> on the bottom it in fact,
but door pockets as well.
301.32 -> It feels like a a really
nice practical everyday car,
305.4 -> to live with.
306.36 -> We've even got this little bit down here,
308.28 -> for charging your phone.
310.439 -> For those of you not familiar with VW's,
313.5 -> current infotainment
system, it's not very good.
317.203 -> This one at least it feels slightly bigger
319.62 -> and it's slightly closer here,
320.82 -> so it's slightly easier just to reach
322.65 -> and navigate your way around.
324.15 -> Obviously you can use Apple
CarPlay but it's still,
326.49 -> it's just not a very responsive system
328.32 -> and you've got the weird things,
329.64 -> like the fact that the controls down here,
331.05 -> don't light up at night so
they're effectively useless,
334.44 -> unless you have really good muscle memory,
336.39 -> which you might do after a while.
338.94 -> So that's definitely a downside to this.
342.157 -> (upbeat music)
343.83 -> By and large though, it is a
lovely place to spend time.
346.77 -> I really like all the little unnecessary,
348.96 -> but also somehow crucial details,
351.21 -> like the smiley faces
and the door handles,
353.34 -> the pause and play symbols on the pedals,
355.41 -> the Buzz Box complete with bottle opener
357.39 -> and ice scraper dividers
358.83 -> and the various outlines of buzzers,
360.66 -> some of them quite well hidden,
362.1 -> like this one on the rear window.
363.96 -> The only detail that really annoys me
365.55 -> and this is probably just my
years working on magazines,
368.16 -> is the badge on the back, the
kerning on that full stop.
372.3 -> Heinous.
373.35 -> Let's have a look at a smiley
face again, much better.
377.64 -> Now you'd probably like
some more hard facts
380.01 -> and cold figures at this point.
381.54 -> So the Buzz is 4.7 meters long
383.97 -> and just under two meters
in both width and height
386.91 -> and its weight is a might under
2,500 kilos or 5,500 pounds.
392.57 -> (car running)
394.95 -> Anybody worried that it
might feel a bit cumbersome,
397.71 -> to maneuver?
398.73 -> It really doesn't.
399.563 -> It is got fantastic steering lock on it
401.88 -> and so a really tight turning circle
403.86 -> and because you've got
those short overhangs,
406.32 -> it feels well pretty
wieldy it's easy to place
410.28 -> and so for maneuvering around
car parks and parking spaces
414 -> and towns in general,
yeah it feels pretty good.
417.829 -> It rides pretty well as well,
418.95 -> although it's got 20 inch
wheels in this version,
422.04 -> it's still got a decent
profile on the tire,
424.2 -> so it's comfortable.
426.79 -> It also feels nice to drive,
428.64 -> because well people smile at you.
432.36 -> Everyone loves the ID.Buzz.
434.078 -> Literally it's like driving
around in a supercar,
437.07 -> except more friendly.
439.395 -> This two-tone paint color
obviously helps it stand out,
442.56 -> but you'll have to pay
1800 pounds extra for that.
445.44 -> The lower half of this is Bay Leaf green,
447.66 -> if you're interested.
449.459 -> And then we come to the
fact that this is an EV,
452.94 -> an electric vehicle and it's
both a blessing and a curse.
458.34 -> It is all at once,
459.39 -> the thing that I think lifts this above,
462.584 -> well other vans, other campers before it,
465.6 -> and it's also a thing
that makes you just think,
469.11 -> I'm not sure.
471.51 -> Underpinning it all is a
77 kilowatt hour battery
474.15 -> and a single motor on the rear axle,
475.92 -> putting out 201 brake horsepower
478.02 -> and 229 pounds foot of torque
480.51 -> and doing so almost silently.
484.38 -> Normally, NVH in a van would be,
486.81 -> well pretty harsh not so in this at all.
491.4 -> It's beautifully refined and quiet.
494.241 -> Then there's the fact that it
has really good performance.
498.81 -> It's responsive in a way that, you know,
501.09 -> I've driven quite a
lot of vans in the past
502.77 -> and none of them in have
been as good as this,
505.83 -> around town particularly
that sort of that,
507.69 -> naught to 40 miles an hour,
even naught to 60 miles an hour,
510.15 -> this is plenty quick enough.
512.73 -> It has a top speed of 90 miles an hour
514.86 -> and although naught to 62 miles an hour,
516.54 -> is claimed to be a leisurely 10.2 seconds,
519.15 -> it feels rather quicker than that.
521.07 -> The Buzz even handles pretty well,
522.81 -> with all its weight low down.
524.992 -> The problem though comes with that,
527.76 -> phony old issue of range
529.74 -> and more particularly
the charging network.
533.31 -> The range is claimed to be
255 miles from a full battery,
536.85 -> but I saw more like 210 miles
538.74 -> or 2.7 miles per kilowatt hour.
541.23 -> That's not huge and although the Buzz,
542.94 -> is capable of charging
it up to 170 kilowatts,
545.58 -> through its CCS port,
546.96 -> you've got to find the
charging point to deliver that.
549.93 -> If you only find a 50
or 22 kilowatt charger,
553.02 -> you'll be twiddling your thumbs for hours.
556.08 -> And on a long journey that all adds up,
558.12 -> it's great when you can
find a 150 kilowatt charger,
561.587 -> then it does make sense,
563.46 -> but the rest of the time not so much.
567.63 -> Better than for local camping trips,
569.79 -> than long European road trips,
which is a tad frustrating.
573.99 -> However, if you charge it at home
576.24 -> and use it as a spacious
everyday family bus,
579.27 -> a cool alternative to an SUV
that never goes off road,
582.628 -> then I think this is fabulous
and makes a lot of sense.
588.72 -> The ID.Buzz, it's not just a novelty.
591.719 -> (cheerful music)
601.942 -> (intense upbeat music)
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSXpimdRtpU
