I don’t agree with this article. 60k for this is way too much. Ev makers really need to work on pricing.
If it feels like many years since you first saw Volkswagen’s retro electric microbus, the ID. Buzz, you’re not wrong. It’s surprisingly aptly named; I can’t think of another car during the past decade that has aroused so much interest among people who don’t usually care about four-wheeled transport. Nearly eight years after the concept made its debut, the Buzz is on sale in Europe and has been for a year. Now it’s time for America to get its turn, with deliveries starting later this year.
We drove the Euro-spec Buzz almost two years ago, but it’s fair to say the version that’s coming to the US is a better proposition. The Buzz we drove had a shorter wheelbase, a smaller-capacity battery, and seats only for five, and if you sat in the back, there was no ventilation, and the windows couldn’t be opened.
The US market will only receive the longer-wheelbase Buzz, which adds about 10 inches (250 mm) between the axles. This adds room for a third row of seats, making it a proper seven-seater. It should be a bit more humane sitting in the back, as there are air vents—we’re waiting to drive it to find out if any windows open back there.
The three-row Buzz also carries a bigger (91 kWh) battery pack, but there’s no getting around that retro shape’s big bluff frontal area, and the EPA range estimate for the rear-wheel drive Buzz is just 234 miles (377 km), a number we’re sure will disappoint many who’ve been patiently waiting for the electric minibus. All-wheel drive drops the range by 3 miles (5 km).
The time saved is the biggest factor for me. Our infrastructure blows so it would be significantly longer to go out and do stuff with public transport vs just using my car. When I visited Japan car time vs train time was comparable with like 2 to 5 minute difference depending on where you were going. That alone would have me taking the train significantly more often.