Volkswagen confirms NZ details for retro-flavoured 'Kombi' EV

Monday, 12 June 2023

The new long-wheelbase ID.Buzz, pictured with the Type 2 it pays homage to.

This article originally appeared on Motoringnz.com

Volkswagen New Zealand has outlined that it is pushing to expand its ID.Buzz EV intake to include the recently unveiled long-wheelbase model, and the performance dual-motor GTX variant, confirming both as sign-ups for this market.

While exact launch timings have yet to be sorted, if Plan A – as outlined by VW Commercials NZ boss Kevin Richards – is realised, the new variants will land in the second half of next year, in tandem or thereabouts with release of the standard wheelbase ID.Buzz, which would have been here already had there been supply issues. But they are coming.

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“We are on the list for the long wheelbase and the GTX – exactly where on the list is still being worked through, but we are there,” said Richards.

He foresees a Buzz with the option of six- or seven-seat layouts, and a bigger battery for an improved range, as being popular. Likewise the performance GTX variant, which will have as much as 253kW.

“To us, they are exactly the right products and the factory is telling us all the right things we want to hear,” he added.

“If it all works out, we might have the standard and long wheelbase editions arriving in tandem and then see the GTX a little bit later; it might be a little bit behind, but not massively.”

The ID.Buzz’s standard and commercial versions have already been confirmed for local sale.

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The 2023 tour schedule sees the long wheelbase Buzz is only playing primarily to audiences in the United States and Canada, though it will get its European debut at the VW Bus Festival in Hanover at the end of this month.

The US debut taking place at surfer hotspot Huntington Beach on the Pacific Coast Highway near Los Angeles was to underline the Buzz's retro-sixties surfer van styling, inspired as it is by the classic VW Type 2 Transporter, also known as the Kombi.

The longer Buzz has 250mm extra length in the wheelbase, so stretches to 4962mm overall. That allows space for a third row of seats, which can be had in either a family-friendly seven-seat layout, or a more luxurious six-seat setup.

The extra length in the wheelbase also means that VW can fit its new 85kWh battery, shared with the ID.7 saloon. The regular 77kWh battery from the short-wheelbase Buzz will also be available.

Whereas the standard edition tea coming here configures at present with a 150kW/310Nm electric motor, the long-wheelbase Buzz takes a new 210kW/550Nm rear-mounted electric motor, allowing it to accelerate to 100kph in 7.9 seconds.

The two-motor, all-wheel-drive GTX, which will be able to sprint to 100kmh in 6.4 seconds, appears to be created off the standard wheelbase edition.

Volkswagen has not confirmed the range yet, but assuming data related to the ID.7 has relevance, the bigger Buzz might manage 500–550km, a healthy gain over the standard item, which is rated to achieve 415km on the WLTP test.

To help with the range, the new edition has a standard heat-pump heating system, and both batteries can be charged at a maximum DC charging speed of 200kW, with an 11kW AC charging rate.

VW is touting the long-wheelbase Buzz's new 1.5-square-metre optional glass roof as the largest it's ever made, and saying that it's a throwback to the multi-pane glass roof of the classic Type 2. The newbie’s roof gets photochromic tech so can be set to clear or opaque at the touch of a button.

This Buzz comes with an optional head-up display - that’s not a thing in current regular form - and there's an improved infotainment system, with a 12-inch screen in the centre of the dash. There's the option of remote-control parking for the Buzz, using your mobile phone.

Will it be practical? You’d have to think so. In five-seat format, the LWB has 1340 litres of luggage space up to the cargo cover. This expands to 2469 litres with seats folded. Even in seven seat format, with all in use, there's 306 litres’ boot capacity. There will, of course, be a commercial van 'Cargo' variant coming.