• Not a very efficient electric car
• But it charges quickly
• Should still top 200 miles per charge

What are the running costs?

Gone are the days of electric cars being super-cheap to run. Fluctuating energy prices and interest rates and other financial terrors have driven up the cost of electricity and therefore the cost of charging an electric car.

It doesn’t help itself by being shaped roughly like a brick, and therefore harder to push through the air, but in our experience the ID.Buzz is among the least efficient electric cars we’ve tested.

You can still get good deals on dedicated domestic electricity tariffs, but anyone forced to rely on the public charging network will likely find the ID.Buzz as expensive to run as a petrol or diesel MPV.

Driving range and charging time

The ID.Buzz has the fastest charging speeds of any electric VW so far. It’ll charge from 5–80% capacity in just 30 minutes (at least in theory) when hooked up to a DC fast charger capable of delivering up to 170kW of power.

A full charge with the most common 7kW AC home wallbox chargers will take 11 hours. However, if you’re lucky enough to have a three-phase electrical supply and an 11kW AC wallbox, you can cut charge times down to around 7 hours and 30 minutes.

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The ID.Buzz’s blunt styling and overall weight means it can’t match the range of the smaller, more aerodynamic ID.4, but it still manages an official WLTP rating of 258 miles per charge. In the real world, how far you get will depend on how heavy your right foot is and the time of year. Cold weather is harder on EVs, so you may have to try a little harder to comfortably top 200 miles in winter.

The bigger battery version coming in 2023 is expected to have an official driving range of around 300 miles.

Servicing and warranty

In better news on the running costs front, the ID.Buzz comes with three years’ of servicing and your first MoT included within the purchase price. And if you finance it through Volkswagen Financial Services you’ll get a Wallbox charger as well.

The actual service intervals are set at a lengthy two years, regardless of mileage, helped by the reduced number of moving parts in an electric vehicle. The warranty is three years or 100,000 miles; an extended warranty is available from Volkswagen for coverage of up to five years or 150,000 miles. The battery pack is covered for eight years or 100,000 miles as standard.

Reliability

We’d always expected electric vehicles to be fundamentally reliable, due to the reduced number of moving parts. But it turns out software is hard, too, and Volkswagen has had more than a few problems with the code that powers its ID range of EVs.

Coming after several other models, the ID. Buzz should be less prone to such issues, but it has already experienced a production halt due to battery problems, and a global recall due to an issue with a tyre supplier. So while we’d hope for smoother sailing from this point on, we suggest you proceed with your eyes fully open.

If you own or drive the vehicle already, why not leave and ID.Buzz owner’s review to help other readers.