2025 Volkswagen ID. Buzz Cargo review: Quick drive

12/19/2024 01:00 AM

2025 Volkswagen ID. Buzz Cargo

There will be plenty of focus at the moment – and rightly so – on the 2025 Volkswagen ID. Buzz Pro that we reviewed a couple of days ago. That vehicle has created an immediate stir even among those who don't love the idea of a people mover. 

However, the ID. Buzz that we're reviewing here – the work-focused ID. Buzz Cargo – might make even more of a statement. The sight of a silver Cargo on steel wheels, with chubby tyres and black bumpers, lifts the concept of the delivery van well beyond the fridge-white blandness that tends to occupy our roads. 

Like its people-moving sibling, the ID. Buzz Cargo certainly stands out and attracts attention when you're out on the road. Whereas the ID. Buzz Pro people mover was gawked at by passers-by and families in SUVs, the ID. Buzz Cargo was craning the necks of every tradie, courier and worker behind the wheel of a regular van or single-cab work vehicle.

If you need a van for work, and you want to do things a little differently, the ID. Buzz Cargo is the option you're looking for. Keep in mind, too, that you can of course opt for a more eye-catching colour, but for us, the silver with black bumpers and steel wheels look is as good as it gets. Seven colours are available beyond the standard, regular white. 

Cleverly, Volkswagen – and these vehicles sit within the commercial vehicle division rather than passenger vehicles – has sharpened the offering and made the ID. Buzz Cargo as attractive as possible for sole operators or businesses looking to lease, novated lease, or finance the purchase of the Cargo. As was the case with the ID. Buzz Pro, the Cargo is priced more sharply than we initially suspected.

As such, Volkswagen believes the ID. Buzz Cargo can really make a dent in the segment. And I explain where the ID. Buzz sits internally to remind you that VW has extensive smarts in this sector, with Amarok the most obvious member, but also the various vans and trucks that Volkswagen has been selling for years. In other words, Volkswagen knows the commercial sector as well as any manufacturer.

Pricing for the ID. Buzz Cargo starts from $79,990 before on-road costs and options.

Inside the cabin, the smartest thing that Volkswagen has done is to ensure the ID. Buzz Cargo looks and feels like any other Volkswagen van. If you need your van for work, you need it to be robust, simple, and user-friendly, and that's exactly what the ID. Buzz Cargo is.

Minimal buttons and switchgear, controls that are placed smartly and easy to use, and seat comfort up there with the best in segment, ensure that if you're moving from an older VW van into this all-new Buzz, you'll still be familiar. 

At launch, the ID. Buzz Cargo is available as a three-seater, but Volkswagen Australia may add a two-seat variant to the range after initial launch. The fixed partition isolates the cabin from the load space, and makes it easy and fast to either heat or cool. Four USB-C ports are standard, as well as a conventional 12-volt socket, and there's clever storage, too, like the large bin above the dash. 

The cloth trim is comfortable and looks to be robust, and the seating position is excellent too. Titanium Black fabric trim is standard, but Palladium (grey) fabric is available as a $390 upgrade.

Crucially, and this isn't always the case with vans, I felt like I could get far enough away from the dash and steering wheel to sit where I wanted to, rather than having my seat position dictated to me by the space on offer. Once you're in position, you'll find the high-riding visibility that vans deliver so well. 

The load space is – as it must be – useful and practical. You might not expect an EV to have a payload of 774kg, but the Cargo does, and we ran a test loop with 500kg in the back – more on that in a minute. 

Maximum load width is 1732mm with 1230mm between the arches, and according to Volkswagen, you can stow two Euro pallets in the back. There's the option of barn doors at the rear, which extends the maximum load length out to 2232mm, or you get 2208mm with the top-hinged tailgate.

Load height is 1257mm and the load through hatch delivers an extra 450mm. Total volume is 3.9 cubic metres. At an overall height of 1932mm, the ID. Buzz Cargo will be able to get into and out of most shopping centres and underground carparks. In other words, the SWB Cargo we tested at launch will offer the kind of space that couriers and small business owners need.

Unlike the passenger version, which is offered in short- and long-wheelbase body styles, the Cargo is sold as an SWB variant only.

Volkswagen has put effort into the small details in the back, too, as you'd expect, with dual sliding doors standard, along with the two aforementioned rear door options. The tailgate version gets a window and the option of power operation, while the barn doors are solid and manually operated.

The materials used are as scratch-resistant as possible, there's an optional universal loading floor, two fastening rails are standard, and up to six lashing eyes are optional. At the rear, two under-floor storage compartments keep charging cables out of the way. 

You can option the rear tailgate to be electric, and the sliding side doors are power latched, so you don't need to slam them shut. An important function if you're loading or unloading while charging is the right sliding door, which can still be fully opened even when the charge port is in use. 

The 18-inch steel wheels are standard, with plastic hubcaps, but you know you'll be taking them off. You can tick the option box for 19-inch alloy wheels if you prefer. The hubcaps actually look pretty good, too, but the steel wheels are irresistible. 

The 84kWh battery pack has a usable 79kWh capacity, and the Cargo even has a 1200kg braked tow capacity for those of you needing to move small trailers around. The single electric motor means you get rear-wheel drive, which is a point of difference from many of the front-drive van brigade currently on sale.

With the same 210kW on offer as the passenger ID. Buzz Pro, the ID. Buzz Cargo feels punchy in any driving situation. Its 550Nm is a chunky number, too, for a van like this (down 10Nm on passenger versions), and even with weight in the back, it feels sharp off the mark or getting up to speed. Volkswagen claims range of 431km for this commercial variant. 

Unladen, on the smaller rims, the Buzz Cargo rides nicely even over bumpy road surfaces. Bump absorption is taken care of with minimal fuss, and there's no thudding or crashing through the cabin area. Interestingly, the ID. Buzz is also devoid of that familiar noise of fuel sloshing around from behind you… Most vans spend their time cutting and thrusting through the city, but if you need to head out into rural areas on regional roads, the ID. Buzz Cargo takes that in its stride. 

Around town, the accelerator pedal modulation is tuned nicely, and the Buzz is never jerky or harsh. Like the people mover, even if you've never driven an EV, you'll quickly settle into a smooth driving style in the ID. Buzz Cargo. The turning circle, short wheelbase dimensions, and clear forward visibility mean it's easy for you to position the ID. Buzz Cargo on the road, and navigate tight streets and intersections. 

Where the ID. Buzz Cargo impressed was with a 500kg payload in the cargo area. A heavy load of concrete blocks weighed the rear end down a little as you'd expect, but had almost no impact on response and driving dynamics. The ride firmed up, but even sharp speed humps weren't uncomfortable in the cabin, and the way an EV effortlessly delivers power and torque means the Buzz still felt sharp even with that much weight on board. 

Charging speeds are the same as the people mover, with 0 to 100 per cent taking seven-and-a-half hours on an 11kW home charger-style wall box, while DC fast charging punches the battery from 5 to 80 per cent in 30 minutes. Standard equipment includes the Mode 2 cable, the one you'll use at home with a regular three-pin power point, and a Mode 3 cable, the one you need for public AC chargers that don't have their own cable. 

Servicing is pretty sharp, too, with the Buzz Cargo costing $1450 over six years, $1850 over eight years, or $2250 over 10 years. Crucially for businesses, you'll only need the Buzz Cargo to be off the road every 24 months or 30,000km.

There's a lot of talk about electric vehicles, what they do and don't do, and what they are good or not so good at. There's also plenty of debate – sometimes misguided – as to who they work for and who they don't. And yet, this segment might make more sense than any other right now.

Most commercial vehicles run around town in stop-start traffic, often have 30 to 45 minutes downtime in the middle of the day when the driver takes a break, and usually head back to the same base, whether that's a depot or home. In that sense, where you can plug an EV into an 11kW wall box overnight and come back the next morning to a full charge, ready for a day of work in the city, an EV makes a hell of a lot of sense.

The ID. Buzz Cargo adds a layer of style to the segment that every other van manufacturer would be envious of. 

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