Curbside Buzz: 2025 VW ID. Buzz 4Motion

Well now I’ve done it.

If my track record of posting unusual vehicles that I run across holds, your neighborhood grocery store parking lot will soon be lousy with the latest buzz-worthy VW to hit our shores.

Several years ago, I posted about a Rivian pickup I’d encountered on the road, and next thing you know, I can’t throw a rock around here without hitting a Rivian in its Little Orphan Annie eyes (ARF!).  There are at least 5 of the R1T pickups that must live near me as I see them almost daily.  The SUV Rivian (R1S) is also starting to become common in these parts.  One lives a few streets over. A R1T pickup I see regularly at the dump has recently appeared with a big honking dent on its driver’s side.

I promise, that had nothing to do with me throwing rocks

What we have here, in case you’ve not encountered one on the road or at your local VW dealer, is a 2025 ID. Buzz Pro S Plus with 4Motion. This one is in “Energetic Orange and Candy White”.  That configuration seems to be one of several vaguely retro color combinations – the blue and the yellow also carry that vibe (or should I say “Buzz”).

I do like orange cars, although usually with a bit more yellow in the orange.  In a certain light, Energetic Orange seems pretty close to the orange chosen by Bo and Luke for the General Lee. This being Massachusetts, it’s unlikely (I still hope) that there’s a giant Confederate Battle Flag on the roof. The ID. Buzz is taller than me, and I didn’t climb up there to look. Walking around someone’s parked vehicle taking pictures generates sufficient attention without actually clambering up on the thing.  Besides, it’s all kind of rounded and I’d probably fall off.

Obviously, I have given this thought.

As usual, more thought than I probably should.

This is the first ID. Buzz I’ve encountered – despite reading about their impending U.S. market introduction for what seems like the past 25 years. I was fascinated upon seeing one for real and therefore set out to learn a bit about them.  But just a bit.

The first thing I wanted to know is what’s up with the “.” (period) behind “ID” and before “Buzz”?  This not only appears in print/web but it’s also on the vehicle itself. Looking this up, I found that apparently ID. is an abbreviation for “Intelligent Design”. As many of you probably already know, it means the same thing in the ID. 3 and ID. 4 VW electric vehicles. Intelligent Design. Hummmmm, why hasn’t any other auto manufacturer jumped on to this notion?  We’ve all encountered, and complained about SD. or DD. vehicles. Thank goodness someone finally came up with the intelligent alternative.

Here I’ll also opine that if ID. is an abbreviation for the two-word phase “Intelligent Design”, then it seems to be missing a period. Why not I.D. Buzz?  The bohne-counters in Wolfsburg must have drawn the line at a single period.

To me, this seems to be a linguistic/typographic affectation, but likely one that will go unnoticed by most purchasers or the market at large, much like “MINI” versus “Mini”.

I also learned through my tour of the Volkswagon configurator (“Builder”) that this particular ID. Buzz stickers at $71,040 assuming that it has the sunroof, which I believe that this one does. This shouldn’t surprise me as on my way to the configurator, Google Ads presented me with quite a few examples of ID. Buzzes (yeah, there’s also the whole issue of the plural of that…something else that will go unnoticed by the market at large but which will keep me up at night for sure) listing for well beyond $73,000.  All of this is before various dealer-added fees and options at those VW dealers that pass the test of getting people to purchase other high-priced VW products.

It seems that it may not be inexpensive to be an early-adopter.

No amount of cool, ironic, photographic effects will disguise the basic problem of shooting a picture directly into the morning sunlight.

 

What is clear is that the Buzz is intended to convey a certain nostalgia that its target audience harbors for a vehicle that they might imagine was driven by their grandparents in 1968 if their grandparents had been able to come up with $7900 in 1968 which is equivalent to the $73,000 that the Buzz costs now.

Don’t tell Wolfsburg, but as is often the case I am in desperate need of more punctuation.

The VW website for the ID. Buzz has pictures of California people doing things like cavorting at the beach or running in fields next to their parked vehicles. No one is ostensibly seen catching a buzz in their Buzz, but clearly the implication is there. Such of course has been the perception of VW buses pretty much ever since the 1960s.

Mr. Hand would probably have a thing or two to say about that one period two word abbreviation.

Not to harsh your buzz, but it appears from reviewers who’ve actually driven an ID. Buzz that range is something of a problem. Some reviewers have averaged less than 200 miles before needing a charge. The take-away is that the current-generation ID. Buzz may be more appropriate for around-town trips than un-planned “DUDE!  How did we get here?!?!?” adventures.

This is an issue that might be mitigated through keeping the average speed under 65 mph or by making frequent stops to enjoy some cavorting at the beach (assuming the beach has a charging station and you would like to cavort for about an hour).

Perhaps the moral is to drive like your grandparents do now, and maybe the range in their re-envisioned nostalgia mobile won’t be such a big deal.

So what do you say?  Is a $70,000 EV on your wishlist? Is any $70,000 plus vehicle realistically on your radar (written at a moment where the U.S. economy threatens to go into its latest self-induced free-fall)?  Or is it true that all you need are some tasty waves, a cool Buzz, and you’re fine?  (Volkswagen of America’s ad agency…contact me through CC and I’ll tell you where to send the check)

If you must get a Buzz – and can’t be happy with an equally competent Honda Odyssey for roughly $25K less, or a top of the line Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid for at least $10K less (before the current $7500 tax credit that the VW does not qualify for) – maybe you can get by with the Hot Wheels version of the ID. Buzz, also in Energetic Orange.

Yup, I decided it was a cool car; but wisely (IMO) decided to spring for the $1.99 version well before I saw the real thing in the Market Basket parking lot.

If nothing else, this confirms my desire to replicate all of my real life parking lot photo encounters in die cast scale.  Something that I hope and pray any of us can accomplish even in these most interesting of times.