Eighteen months on from when I last reviewed Volkswagen’s gorgeous looking electric MPV, it remains a stand-out vehicle wherever you park it. Sure, people no longer smile, stare and even wander over to talk to you but having just handed back the keys to a new extended-length example, I myself still gazed at it. Often.

As noted the first time I reported on this model, the way it’s been designed inside is just as good as the retro-futuristic exterior, plus it feels like a premium-priced vehicle. Those heavy sliding rear doors are now electrically assisted and can be opened/closed via either a gentle touch of their handles or via pressing the also-weighty key. The tailgate and front doors feel just as solid and are covered in premium-feel materials.

Software issues now in the past?

A high-mounted central screen is where you need to go for most functions yet it’s not too in-your-face and somewhat smaller than the XL-sized equivalent in, for example, the ID.7. Also worthy of note is no automatic rebooting of the system during my week with the Buzz, nor any glitches – Volkswagen’s software is getting better.

Certain controls, such as the headlights and rapid demisting light-touch buttons are beside the driver’s door, with the mirrors dial nearby. Incidentally, this has been improved as it’s no longer wobbly and the big hinged reflectors now retract rapidly – vital for those of us who must negotiate narrow country lanes. VW also fits tyres with pronounced ridges so kerbed alloys can also be more easily avoided in what is a 2,210 mm wide vehicle.

Length and wheelbase up by a quarter of a metre

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Length for the new LWB ID.Buzz is 4,962 mm, with a 3,239 mm wheelbase. Each of those is exactly 250 mm more than the standard length model. You may also now order the original with six seats instead of the five which had previously been the only layout. The three-row and seven seats option is however reserved solely for LWB variants.

What Volkswagen Nutzfahrzeuge (Commercial Vehicles division) terms its Bulli Family consists of three models, these being the ID.Buzz, Multivan and Ford-based Transporter. And as the Buzz and its brothers demonstrate, each range is constantly being tweaked and added to. This includes motors or engines, transmissions, the number of driven axles and of course, lengths. All of which helps explain why VWCVs is so successful in terms of both sales and profitability.

New batteries for Buzz line-up

One of those tweaks is a new 79 kWh battery for standard lengths Buzzes, replacing a 77 kWh one. The long-wheelbase body brings with it an 86 kWh battery as well as a 210 kW (286 PS) and 560 Nm motor, drive being the a single axle – the rear one.

Specify GTX model grade and all-wheel drive is added, along with the same combined 250 kW (340 PS) from the two motors which powers the equally new(ish) ID.7 GTX hatchback and estate. That total comes from an 80 kW motor up front supporting the 210 kW one positioned on the rear axle.

Volkswagen UK lent me a RWD long-wheelbase example for this test but I did also recently try the more powerful two-motors-and-4MOTION system in the brand’s biggest and fastest estate yet.

How’s the ID.Buzz selling here and outside Europe?

While the long-heralded intentions to launch the ID.7 in the US and Canada were recently shelved, it’s very much the opposite for the ID.Buzz. In fact, Volkswagen Nutzfahrzeuge is producing a special model for North America at its Hannover manufacturing base.

New for the 2025 model year, the 86 kWh (91 gross) battery is standard there, as is the long body. Trims are Pro S, Pro S Plus and a 1st Edition. As for Federalised power outputs, there is a choice of 282 or 335 hp, equivalent to the rest of the world’s 210 kW and 286 kW Pro and GTX variants. The same single-speed transmission with RWD or 4MOTION-branded AWD systems feature.

VW of America, which reports vehicle sales purely by the quarter, sold 1,162 examples in Q4. Considering deliveries only commenced close to year-end, and with pricing at premium levels, that was an excellent result. Worldwide, the total for 2024, including the Cargo van derivatives, was 29,900.

Ahead: best year yet for sales?

Even with no exports to China, nor any local build, ID.Buzz deliveries should easily cross the 50,000 units mark in 2025 thanks to the addition of the LWB body and two-motors GTX. Who knows, there could also be other variants to come?

Conclusion

The roominess of the new LWB body, with space for even six foot five passengers in the third row; excellent flexibility for seating; slightly better handling and roadholding than the already superb standard length ID.Buzz: it all adds up to what is one of the best EVs on the market. Yes it’s far from inexpensive but the LWB model offers a lot of space and ability for the money, not to mention the ongoing appeal of how great it looks.

The as-tested VW LWB ID.Buzz Style 86 kWh Pro is priced from GBP64,345 OTR.