Volkswagen ID. Buzz - Boot space, comfort & practicality

The van-derived shell of the Volkswagen ID. Buzz comes with electrically operated sliding side doors, making access to the back seats really easy. They're not the widest-opening doors in van terms, but access to the back seats is far easier here than in any car with hinged back doors. The tall roof means reaching in to seat children is easy, too.

Space up front is also great, with the supportive captain’s chairs and fold-down armrests proving very comfortable on the long journeys we taken. A flat floor provides heaps of space between the driver and front passengers, and the tall driving position gives a clear view out, although the split A-pillars might cause issues with visibility at roundabouts or oddly shaped junctions.

There’s no shortage of cubbies or storage spaces throughout the cabin. For example, the central compartment below the air vents opens to reveal cup holders and storage for smartphones.

Another useful addition to the front cabin is the ‘Buzz Box’. This is a removable centre console between the front seats with deep storage compartments. It latches securely to mounting points in the floor between the front seats, or you can remove it completely if you want.

Dimensions and size

The Volkswagen ID. Buzz is up to 4,982mm in length in long-wheelbase (LWB) form (4,712mm in SWB guise), making it the longest of VW's ID models so far. What makes the ID. Buzz seem so large is its height, but at 1,985mm tall, the roof height is still low enough for it to fit into most multi-storey car parks, while all versions are 1,985mm wide, which is a fair bit narrower than large SUVs like the Land Rover Discovery. 

Thanks to the car's rear-wheel drive layout, VW has been able to boost the ID. Buzz's turning circle, which at 11.1 metres, is tight enough to help with manoeuvres in tight spots. You're also helped by the tall seating position that gives you a good view of your immediate surroundings and the standard-fit Park Assist Plus with self-parking function. This can manoeuvre the ID. Buzz in and out of spaces automatically, thanks to front and rear sensors, while a reversing camera is also included.

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Seats, leg room, head room & passenger space

The tall body of the Volkswagen ID. Buzz creates lots of space inside for five, six, or even seven people. There's just over one metre of height from floor to ceiling, so small kids can stand up straight when getting in and out, which is sure to help getting them on board, and the six-seat layout that’s available on short wheelbase models provides a useful path to walk through to the third-row. The floor is a little high when compared with rival van-based MPVs, but it's completely flat, and the big windows mean it feels just as spacious in the rear as it does up front. 

There's no issue with leg or headroom inside, courtesy of the ID. Buzz's 2,989mm wheelbase (3,239mm in LWB form), but if you do have to ferry three adults in the back of the five-seat version, you might find them rubbing shoulders. The middle seat isn't as sculpted as the outer pair, so it won't be as comfortable on longer drives. This issue is alleviated in six- and seven-seat versions since you can fit adults in the third row, with a sliding second row (150mm of travel in the SWB and 200mm in the LWB) to provide greater leg room for those in the last row of seats.

Five-seat versions of the ID. Buzz only come with two sets of ISOFIX child seat attachments for the rear bench, with no option to add another set to the front passenger seat as you’ll find in one of the brand’s smaller EVs, the Volkswagen ID.7. Matters are improved with the six and seven-seat models because there are additional child seat points on the third-row seats. We do find it slightly bizarre that the SWB version doesn’t have air vents for back-seat passengers, but the LWB version does.  

All versions feature back seat pockets for phones, along with USB-C sockets for charging devices – although those sockets are on the sliding side doors, so it’ll be worth checking if devices are plugged in before opening said doors.

Boot space

Depending upon how the seats are arranged, the LWB Volkswagen ID. Buzz has 306 litres of boot space (all seven seats up), rising to 1,340 litres in five-seat mode (1,121 litres for the SWB model with five seats up), before finishing with a gargantuan 2,469 litres of space when all seats are dropped. That’s enough to be able to start a removal business.

The cargo area is square with flat sides, and there's a distance of 1,204mm between the wheelarches and a maximum of 1,330mm (in SWB form) from the seat backs to the tailgate. An extending load cover is fitted as standard. 

Folding the back seats creates a load area that's 2,232mm long (in SWB form), although you need to add the optional Multiflex floor to get a completely flat space. It also creates some extra storage that’s ideal for keeping the charging cable out of sight. Without the Multiflex board, the seat backs simply collapse on top of the seat cushions, leaving a large step from the low boot floor and seat backs. The second row of five and seven-seat versions has a 60:40 split, giving you some options in terms of layout. 

As is typical of VW's medium-sized vans, the ID. Buzz comes with a large top-hinged tailgate at the back, which opens to reveal a wide opening with a low loading sill. The tailgate door is massive, so gaining access to the load area in a tight parking spot can be difficult and shorter users will have to make use of the standard electric tailgate operation in order to close it again. We still think a split tailgate or a separately opening rear window would be a great addition.

One feature of the Volkswagen ID. Buzz Cargo van we would’ve liked to have seen carried over to the MPV is the hidden storage compartment behind the sliding door on the nearside for the three-metre charging cable. The location of the back seats in the passenger version precludes this, so the charging cable has to sit in the boot, because there's no ‘frunk’ or extra storage in the ID. Buzz's nose. 

The rear seats can be folded via levers on the sides of the chairs, or via red fabric handles accessed from the rear. Both are a stretch to reach, even for adults, while the second-row bench seat is fixed in the ID. Buzz, and can't be completely removed.

Towing

If you want to use the Volkswagen ID. Buzz to tow, you need the GTX version. It can lug around a braked trailer or caravan of 1,800kg in SWB form, or 1,600kg in LWB form. The rest of the range improves upon the 1,000kg braked towing rating of the original ID. Buzz by increasing capacity to 1,200kg. However, that's still less than some far smaller EVs like the Volvo EX30, which can handle up to 1,600kg. 

VW offers a retractable tow bar with electric release as an option for around £1,000.