Volkswagen honchos went to Hanover, Germany, to give an investor presentation. One of the presentation decks went with them to Hanover and is now traveling the World Wide Web thanks to the VW ID Talk forum getting hold of it. The deck focuses on the ID. Buzz, one of the slides teasing the hotted-up GTX version that will be sold in markets outside the U.S. When the ID.4 GTX launched in Europe last year, we were told not to expect the GTX brand and its tweaked looks Stateside. We have, however, got the same dual-motor powertrain and output figures, but in Pro guise. The ID.Buzz is still a ways away, so we’ll see if that continues, only in Pro S guise. The automaker has done the same previously — there was a Scirocco GTX in Europe that came to the U.S. as the Scirocco 16V.
A more interesting slide gives us a rough sketch of the long-wheelbase ID.Buzz coming here. We drove the short-wheelbase version in Europe last month: It stretches 185.5 inches long (including a 117.6-inch-long wheelbase), 78.1 inches wide, and about 75.8 inches tall — it’s roughly 18 inches shorter and 5 inches taller than a 2022 Toyota Sienna and almost exactly as wide. We’re still waiting to find out how much longer the LWB model will go, but the rough outline of its dimensions compared to the SWB version make it look like an appealing amount of added room. Perhaps most important for this variant will be the ability to cram in more battery.
The 77-kWh pack in the single-motor, 201-horsepower ID.Buzz heading to showrooms first is rated at an estimated 258 miles of range on the European cycle. Add in the weight of a second motor and its AWD driveline losses to the GTX, then lop 15% or so off that mileage for our EPA rating, and that family truckster could post an unenticing figure in the range column if it were here.
The ID.Buzz with the longer body is said to get a 111-kWh battery. The 45% increase over the largest pack available now should give Americans the kinds of numbers they can feel confident about. That version is expected to launch next year in Europe, the following year here.
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