If Rolex is the Audi of watches, then Tudor is Volkswagen, the so -called people brand. Solid, practical, sometimes surprising, but rarely what you lust After. This was the problem of Volkswagen for the best of two decades. Of course, they made reliable cars. But exciting? Asspiration? Not since the Kombi and the original Golf Golf had their moments in the sun.
For years, the VW badge has meant sure, sensible and without inspiration: the Vanilla SUVs, the Beige Trappes and the resuscitated ghost of the Kombi disguised as a company camouflage. You could not pay me to drive one; People have tried.
But today in Bondi, something has changed.
Garnidated near Vrtus guys, as if he had just travels over time with a better designed future, a vehicle made me stop my sip in mid-term: THE Volkswagen Id.buzz. Completely electric, retro-futuristic and immersed in a palette of two-tone colors that screams the road trips and the laws of oat milk. It is the Kombi Reborn – and, for once, VW really nailed it.
I saw a earlier this year in Geneva during watches and wonders. He was parked with confidence in front of the central novotel as if he had not done so in Switzerland. It seemed to have taken a bad turn on the Pacific Coast Highway and ended up in the Swiss Alps. And yet, despite being tailor -made for California or Byron, I had not yet spotted it in the Australian streets. Ludicrous, I tell you.
A retro futuristic icon
ID.Buzz is not only a kombi tribute. This is what the kombi would have become if it had been designed by someone who used an iPhone. The front is fun and symmetrical, the overhangs are short and the badge is massive (as it should be). It looks like a retro pixar character, in the right direction.
The language of design channels the spirit of the original Type 2 microbus But eliminates the bloating of nostalgia. It is modern, clean and above all, it does not take itself too seriously. Finally, a fun car that does not seem to have been prepared in a German accounting office.
Built on the MEB platform in Volkswagen
The ID.Buzz is on the modular electric driving matrix of VW, the Meb platformShared with ID.3 and ID.4. This means that it is rear traction, just like the OG Kombi. At launch, it is delivered with a single electric motor mounted at the rear delivering 150 kW and 310 Nm of torque, drawing power from a 77 kWh battery.
Range? About 423 km (WLTP) if you drive like a normal human. And with DC Fast load, you can go from 5 to 80% in just over half an hour. Translation: It's not just a nice face.
Space for days, technology corresponds
Inside, it is flexibility and well-being vibrations. Flat floors, sliding rear seats and 5 -seater configuration that looks more like a living room than a van. A 7 -seater long wheelbase version is already on sale in Europe, and it will probably soon arrive in Australia.
There is a 10 -inch touch screen that performs VW infodivement (still not perfect, but improving), wireless carplay and all the regenerative braking of the usual EV toys, live updates and remote access based on applications. The removable central console in Buzz is a cheeky and useful touch. Even the ambient lighting is fun rather than forced.
Why did they not do this ten years ago
This is the real head shoemaker. Kombi's worship has been begging for modern reinterpretation for years. And instead of looking at this energy, Volkswagen gave us beige tiguan after the beige tiguan. The ID.Buzz finally gives fans and buyers what they expected an elegant and functional EV with real personality. Not just another mover of inside people.
It is the most universally loved Volkswagen since the first Golf GTI. Electric, practical and really cool. Now they owe the price reasonably in Australia, but let's be honest, it is almost as probably that a Kombi exceeds one Tesla.
Even if you are a cynical bastard (like me) who would not be taken dead in a van, the ID.Buzz forces you to reconsider. This is the first new Volkswagen in twenty years that does not feel like they apologize for something. And it is the brand's first car in recent memory that made me say out loud, I want one.
Do not expect me to wear hemp pants and start a Kombucha brand.
