There does seem to be, if you pardon the pun, a bit of a buzz around electric vehicles at the minute. Car manufacturers all around the globe are moving towards an EV only future, as it looks like the internal combustion engine will one day become a thing of the past. The design of these new EVs is something that could be seen as a point of contention with many people. Electric vehicles a lot of the time look just like normal cars, yet there is more room to play around with their styling.
Hyundai have done an excellent job of this with the Ioniq 5. And Honda has perhaps won the styling game thanks to the short-range but superb looking Honda e. These retro styled machines are some of the best looking cars on the market in general, not just EVs. Volkswagen is trying to get in the mix as well with the ID. Buzz, an EV version of what looks like the old VW campervan. Now, a new image of the camper has emerged, but is it going to look like all these images state?
The New Image In Detail
The new image shows quite a different looking ID. Buzz to what we had seen in some previous concept drawings. The ID. Buzz looks much more like a regular minivan, even if it has been completely covered in a sort of camouflage. That camouflage is more of a swirly wrap, with various colors to give off a bit more of a funky exterior view of the prototype. The license plate also has the ID. Buzz name on it. This was all revealed during a recent debut stream of the ID. 5.
However, it looks like there could be issues coming for VW. When VW first released images and concepts around the ID. Buzz, they showed quite a quirky looking vehicle. It was very much in-keeping with the design language of the old Volkswagen Campervan, a highly popular vehicle even to this day. And everyone has been eagerly awaiting some sort of production version to see what it really looks like. Now we have had a look, despite all that camouflage wrapping, it looks like the ID. Buzz is going to be nothing short of a major let-down.
Nothing More Than A Minibus
To back up the images of the Buzz from VW, leaked spy shots have also emerged from various outlets showing what looks like a production, or pre-production, version of the new ID. Buzz. The spy shots show a much more modest looking machine, painted simply in white and genuinely looking more like an average minibus. It is a complete world away from the stunning, 1960s vibe, ID Buzz concept we saw, and that VW said would make it into production. However, all is very much not lost with the new ID. Buzz.
In terms of the overall design language, it does conform nicely to that first prototype/concept that was first seen back in 2017. The ID. Buzz has retained that shape, but it could simply be the paintwork chosen by VW on this prototype that has been spied has taken the gloss off an otherwise appealing looking design. However, at the heart of this is going to be an electrically driven minibus which will have much more punch than any other minibus we have probably ever seen. It will be all-wheel-drive and have at least 300 hp on offer, so this ID. Buzz, in whatever form it is, is not going to be a slouch.
Weight Saving And Upscale US Version
The lack of a lot of the weight that would come with an internal combustion engine will, hopefully, stop the ID. Buzz from being a wallowing beast in the corners. That alone is a big deal. Plus, what has currently been seen is the European version. A slightly different, more upscale version will be coming for the United States. This could potentially be a bit more in-line with what we saw from that first prototype back in 2017. But we will have to wait a little longer to see what that’s going to be like.
The ID Buzz Might Have Had The Buzz Killed
It is conceivable that the buzz around the ID. Buzz might well have the buzz taken out of it thanks to this latest image. The hype around the new ID. Buzz has been high and consistent ever since that first prototype was seen several years ago. VW said that this concept would make it into production, and they have indeed brought the car into production. But it doesn’t look like it will fulfil on the promise that the original design showed us. But let's hope that the EV hippie van we saw in 2017 does appear one way or the other.
Sources: Volkswagen, Motor1, Edmunds