After 20 Years, the VW Bus is Coming Back to North American Roads

VW  revealed the much-anticipated long-wheelbase model of its ID. Buzz electric microbus, with an extra row of seats and beginning deliveries next year withinside the US.

Fully Electric ID. Buzz

The creation of the completely electric-powered ID. Buzz will also include an extra-long model which can seat as many as seven passengers and features a more extensive 85-kilowatt hour (kWh) battery to increase range.

“With the T4 generation, the VW bus left the USA and Canada 20 years ago. But the microbus – as the VW bus is called between New York and San Francisco – has retained its cult status right up to the present day,” Volkswagen said in a statement.

All ID. Buzz vehicles for the North American market will be assembled at Volkswagen’s plant in Hanover, Germany, the corporation said, adding batteries that will be charged from 10 -to 80 percent in just 25 minutes at available rapid charging stations.

The new ID. Buzz model is similar to the two-row European-only model, however, with a touch extra of virtually everything. It has 282hp in place of 201hp, plus an available 330hp dual-motor configuration with a top speed of 99 mph as opposed to 90 mph, 91kWh instead of 82kWh of battery, and is10 inches longer. It additionally gets an openable rear window, unlike the two-row version. At 192.4 inches long, the three-row ID. Buzz is actually a complete 2 feet longer than VW’s original 168-inch-long microbus. This all means more space for people and cargo in comparison to the two-row version. The extra row of seats takes up some of that area; however, the second row folds flat, and the third row may be removed.

VW has yet to announce the range of the three-row version, even though the European spec has 263 miles on the WLTP cycle. While the three-row has a bigger battery, it is also a longer and heavier vehicle, and EPA mileage estimates are notably lower than WLTP estimates, so we can not be sure what the final range will be. All VW unveiled is that it will likely be somewhere between 200-300 miles.

The North American model also comes in three new colors that aren’t available on the European model:

• Cabana Blue 
• Metro Silver
•  Indium Grey

Price

Volkswagen hasn’t yet shared a price for the United States model of the ID. Buzz, however, starts in the $65,000-$70,000 range (plus destination cost) in Europe after taxes. While the 3-row model is larger, VW hinted to us at an occasion that US pricing would possibly even come in below European pricing, but it truly is obviously not a promise as nothing has formally been announced yet.

Sunrise VW

It is hard to believe after 20 years that Volkswagen is bringing back the VW bus, yet here we are, ready to welcome the ID. Buzz. The ID. Buzz looks like it will be ready for families to have some epic adventures while driving in comfort. As that ID. Buzz is to be constructed in Germany and then shipped over to the States; we hope it won’t be long till it gets here. In the meantime, come on into Sunrise VW to check out all the vehicles that are available.