• Modern, high-quality interior
• Except for the terrible touch-sensitive controls
• Lots of standard equipment

How is the quality and layout

The Volkswagen ID.Buzz’s cabin can be a very smart and luxurious place, with lots of bright colours and high-quality materials. You can have fabrics containing 90% recycled plastics, seats trimmed in a synthetic material that feels like leather but doesn’t contain any animal products and lighting with at least 10 different colours. The end result is an outstanding ambience that feels like a premium car rather than something that’s related to a commercial vehicle.

We say ‘can be’ as this all comes on top spec variants. Go for one of the cheaper options in the line-up and things look a lot more like the Cargo version, with much more black and grey trim around the cabin. These materials are at least all hard wearing, so should stand up to the battering that a demanding family can deal out. Some of those lighter colours don’t look like they would be the most sensible choice for those with small children, though.

Infotainment and tech

The ID.Buzz comes in two trim levels: Life and Style. Neither are cheap, so it’s little surprise that Life comes with a hefty amount of equipment. Highlights include the compact digital instrument cluster that moves with the steering wheel, wireless phone charging, seven USB-C sockets, dual-zone air-conditioning, plus a range of safety and assisted driving technology.

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It also comes with a touchscreen running Volkswagen’s less than stellar infotainment system. Fortunately, you bypass the built-in software with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. The touch-sensitive buttons throughout the cabin are also something of a pain, but with luck you’ll get used to them.

Move up to the ID.Buzz Style and you get 30 choices of ambient lighting (compared with a mere 10 in the Life), a powered tailgate and enhanced exterior lighting – including IQ.Light adaptive matrix LEDs at the front.

Comfort

• Supportive seating for four
• Rear middle seat best for occasional use
• More refined than a Multivan

The ID.Buzz comes with firm, high-quality seats that are comfortable on long journeys – though as noted previously, the rear middle passenger gets a much rawer deal than everyone else, which is a disappointment in a vehicle of this size. Style models include arm rests for the front seats.

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Refinement is excellent. The electric drive system is basically silent, the interior feels rigid and has so far proved free of creaks and rattles (not something you can always say about VW’s van-type machinery), and despite the bluff shape there’s little wind noise at speed. Road noise is very minimal as well.

It’s certainly a notably quieter, higher-quality ambience in the ID.Buzz than you get in the Volkswagen Multivan.