ID Buzz

[Amarillo]

Do you have the stats for miles, rather than number of trips, too?

No. But it might not be as useful as counting the number of trips as much fuel is used during take offs.

So, for example, if the average air miles for Australians was 8,000 and the average for Americans 10,000, the difference in carbon emissions might only be 5%.

 

[JuanVecino2023]

Interesting T6 Beach vs Buzz real world comparison

https://www.topgear.com/long-term-car-reviews/volkswagen/id-buzz/report-5

 

[Corradobrit]

Interesting T6 Beach vs Buzz real world comparison

https://www.topgear.com/long-term-car-reviews/volkswagen/id-buzz/report-5

Says nothing that we haven't been saying all along since the release of the Buzz and all the excitement around a potential Cali version. Now that the MV Cali Concept is on the cards I don't see a factory poptop Buzz version ever coming to market.

 

[Ch1pbutty]

Interesting T6 Beach vs Buzz real world comparison

https://www.topgear.com/long-term-car-reviews/volkswagen/id-buzz/report-5

Will keep our T5.1 Beach for the moment.

Would miss the elevating roof, 2 full size beds, 2 additonal removable seats + camping Heater.

 

[JuanVecino2023]

Says nothing that we haven't been saying all along since the release of the Buzz and all the excitement around a potential Cali version. Now that the MV Cali Concept is on the cards I don't see a factory poptop Buzz version ever coming to market.

I never drove mine (or even a demonstrator), but I would like to know what the Buzz is like to drive.

 

[Ch1pbutty]

I never drove mine (or even a demonstrator), but I would like to know what the Buzz is like to drive.

I haven't driven one but should be super smooth like most EV's.

Drive will nicer than a Cali, as will be quiet, no gear change & instant acceleration. Hardly need to brake as just lift your foot off the throttle to slow / stop.

 

[Lambeth Cali]

Being told by a retailer that it's got to be an EV or nothing would have only one conclusion. I would either shop elsewhere or keep my current ICE car. I will not be forced into EV ownership and I suspect I am not alone.

Having owned classic Mercedes and Triumphs I can remember the pain and cost of trying to find Lead Replacement Petrol. I am assuming petrol and diesel will eventually become harder to find.

In the meantime I've discovered on my BMW BEV app that it tells me I spent £20.79 on electricity in November. Certainly beats the £160 I used to spend on petrol.

 

[JuanVecino2023]

I haven't driven one but should be super smooth like most EV's.

Drive will nicer than a Cali, as will be quiet, no gear change & instant acceleration. Hardly need to brake as just lift your foot off the throttle to slow / stop.

I have a 330e hybrid, I just fancied a go in the Buzz as I had been waiting for the Microbus concept to be released for about a decade since VW teased us with it. As an ex Split/Bay owner, I was excited.

Put a deposit down the day the Buzz was announced. Having waited over 15 months from putting my money on the table, I gave up due to all the challenges around EV, cost per mile etc.

Plus the fact it was far too small to be viable as a day van sealed its fate. I cancelled as it was finally delivered.

Still fancy driving one. There's a reason it gets great reviews. But it doesn't fit my use case, so I bought an Ocean instead.

 

[JuanVecino2023]

Having owned classic Mercedes and Triumphs I can remember the pain and cost of trying to find Lead Replacement Petrol. I am assuming petrol and diesel will eventually become harder to find.

In the meantime I've discovered on my BMW BEV app that it tells me I spent £20.79 on electricity in November. Certainly beats the £160 I used to spend on petrol.

Which did you go for? Was it an i3? I recall someone on here bought one recently.

I am thinking of retiring our Abarth 500 from daily use to a high days/holidays/track car and buying Mrs Vecino an i3S. The Abarth is great little car, but not a family one.

 

[Lambeth Cali]

As long as it works for you then that's fine.

For me at least, it's becoming increasingly difficult to see what exactly the pros are for running an EV. Aparently, they are more expensive to buy, are quickly losing those initial EV honeymoon subsidies, they depreciate faster, are becoming more expensive to insure, are dependant on a clunky and patchy charging infrastructure and aparently all this pain is necessary because of their arguably dubious environmental benefits.

Yes, they have a part to play in inner cities where air pollution is a concern, but elsewhere?

I live out in the sticks and own six vehicles, three modern and three historic. Not very carbon friendly some would say. However, the historic vehicles are just about the greenest it's possible for any vehicle to be. All three are over 100 years old and do less than 500 miles a year.

As for the moderns, we have a 2019 Euro 6, two litre diesel California T6 Beach, a 2019 Euro 6, two litre diesel Mercedes E class Cabriolet and a 2005 Skoda Fabia 1.4 tdi diesel hatch. The Cali and the Merc do an average of less than 3000 miles pa each and the skoda around 12000 miles pa. The latter was my late father's car and is worth only a few hundred pounds. It does an average of 60mpg and costs peanuts to insure, tax and run. You can leave it anywhere and it is totally reliable.

I am not looking to replace any of these vehicles but if I were, what possible advantage would I gain from buying an EV. Let us not kid ourselves, I certainly wouldn't be helping to save the planet by doing so. Instead, I would be well out of pocket and would likely be giving myself a regular charging headache which I don't currently have. I would also be helping to put many hundreds of thousands out of work.

3 pence a mile in my 5 year old BMW i3 Rex with 130 mile range and backup 60 mile range extender.

BMW i3 | cinch

This is a Product Detail Page for a BMW i3

www.cinch.co.uk

 

[Lambeth Cali]

Which did you go for? Was it an i3? I recall someone on here bought one recently.

I am thinking of retiring our Abarth 500 from daily use to a high days/holidays/track car and buying Mrs Vecino an i3S. The Abarth is great little car, but not a family one.

Yes a 2018 i3 Rex with the lovely Suite interior. I would be wary of the i3s. It is only fractionally faster but our dealer confirmed that it has a brittle ride with bigger wheels and firmer suspension. They also fitted ours with Continental tyres which makes the ride similar to our previous Golf Gti, sporty but compliant. Acceleration wise I would say the 0-40mph is amazing, way faster than the Gti. I absolutely adore ours. Up there with the Cali as one of the best things I have ever bought.

 

[Ch1pbutty]

I have a 330e hybrid, I just fancied a go in the Buzz as I had been waiting for the Microbus concept to be released for about a decade since VW teased us with it. As an ex Split/Bay owner, I was excited.

Put a deposit down the day the Buzz was announced. Having waited over 15 months from putting my money on the table, I gave up due to all the challenges around EV, cost per mile etc.

Plus the fact it was far too small to be viable as a day van sealed its fate. I cancelled as it was finally delivered.

Still fancy driving one. There's a reason it gets great reviews. But it doesn't fit my use case, so I bought an Ocean instead.

We were keen to get a Buzz, but then turned out to be a disappointment as a camper.So kept the 12 year Cali Beach, and instead leased a Tesla M3 for 4 years which so far has been very cheap to run, nice drive and a large boot; Also decided to invest in home solar panels + battery, so in the summer car costs us nothing to run, plus home energy bills have gone down alot. Only real cost over 23K miles has been replacment 2xcabin filters £35, and two new rear tyres at 20K miles, fronts still have loads of tread. but insurance steep at £900 p/year.

Have looked at below, as our son is a bit older now...so need a bit more space, but still undecided as the current Beach is like a multitool.

- 2nd hand LWB Nugget / which has a good layout for us as avoids bedtime shuffle. and keeps cooking away from sleeping. Interested to see EV / Hybrid when it gets launched, but would prefer fixed high roof.
- 2nd hand Joker / Nice. but not much storage and unable to put loads thru the rear.
- Knaus Boxdrive 600XL / Rear lifting height adjustable bed gives it a huge storage capacity.
- Hymer Grand Canyon / very nice.

Our previous vans have been T4 Bilbo, T25 Westy, T2 Viking (fantastic layout, huge sleeping capacity)

 

[Borris]

Having owned classic Mercedes and Triumphs I can remember the pain and cost of trying to find Lead Replacement Petrol. I am assuming petrol and diesel will eventually become harder to find.

In the meantime I've discovered on my BMW BEV app that it tells me I spent £20.79 on electricity in November. Certainly beats the £160 I used to spend on petrol.

Apart from some cars, just about everything else runs on diesel. In the absence of any immediate and viable diesel replacement for HGVs, heavy plant, agricultural machinery, shipping, back up generators, rail, heating, military etc etc, I don't imagine that I need to worry about diesel becoming harder to find.

Given the UK's current electricity generating capabilities along with our government's wish to electrify anything that does or doesn't move, I'm guessing that we may find our electricity supply less reliable and considerably more expensive in the future.

As for petrol, it will be decades before the current petrol fleet have left our roads and that assumes that our Government's transport plans don't change. EVs are currently in vogue but we shouldn't bank on that always being the case. Remember their sage advice for us to buy diesels?

My historic cars are purely a hobby and cover only a few miles each year. I have never experienced any problems in obtaining suitable fuel from our local garage. However, if that were ever to be the case I would look into running them on synthetic fuels which are now becoming available.

 

[JuanVecino2023]

We were keen to get a Buzz, but then turned out to be a disappointment as a camper.So kept the 12 year Cali Beach, and instead leased a Tesla M3 for 4 years which so far has been very cheap to run, nice drive and a large boot; Also decided to invest in home solar panels + battery, so in the summer car costs us nothing to run, plus home energy bills have gone down alot. Only real cost over 23K miles has been replacment 2xcabin filters £35, and two new rear tyres at 20K miles, fronts still have loads of tread. but insurance steep at £900 p/year.

Have looked at below, as our son is a bit older now...so need a bit more space, but still undecided as the current Beach is like a multitool.

- 2nd hand LWB Nugget / which has a good layout for us as avoids bedtime shuffle. and keeps cooking away from sleeping. Interested to see EV / Hybrid when it gets launched, but would prefer fixed high roof.
- 2nd hand Joker / Nice. but not much storage and unable to put loads thru the rear.
- Knaus Boxdrive 600XL / Rear lifting height adjustable bed gives it a huge storage capacity.
- Hymer Grand Canyon / very nice.

Our previous vans have been T4 Bilbo, T25 Westy, T2 Viking (fantastic layout, huge sleeping capacity)

I love T25 - I keep eyeing Synchros. But they are still fetching a lot of money and have the tinworm issues around seams etc. Vikings are amazing. So cool.

 

[Lambeth Cali]

Apart from some cars, just about everything else runs on diesel. In the absence of any immediate and viable diesel replacement for HGVs, heavy plant, agricultural machinery, shipping, back up generators, rail, heating, military etc etc, I don't imagine that I need to worry about diesel becoming harder to find.

Given the UK's current electricity generating capabilities along with our government's wish to electrify anything that does or doesn't move, I'm guessing that we may find our electricity supply less reliable and considerably more expensive in the future.

As for petrol, it will be decades before the current petrol fleet have left our roads and that assumes that our Government's transport plans don't change. EVs are currently in vogue but we shouldn't bank on that always being the case. Remember their sage advice for us to buy diesels?

My historic cars are purely a hobby and cover only a few miles each year. I have never experienced any problems in obtaining suitable fuel from our local garage. However, if that were ever to be the case I would look into running them on synthetic fuels which are now becoming available.

Ah I miss my classics. Great fun.

I also hope diesel will be available for our Californias for decades to come.

The EV infrastructure is very bad but people often oddly overlook that it’s in every house. Charging on my drive is amazing (and v v cheap). I mean you can’t get better than that for infrastructure. Not everywhere has a drive obviously but I can imagine a future where not everyone has a car. I wonder whether my kids will want to, or need to, learn to drive.

As far as electricity supply and grid problems, there is now so much turbo-charged guff about EVs that I don’t know who I believe. There certainly seems to be an excess overnight when cars would be charging.

Driving ICE had certainly started to become very expensive. I now factor it into our holiday planning in the California when I didn’t previously. I find 30/40 pence a mile a lot. While my EV’s 3 pence a mile is amazing, and won’t persist, a future where it’s 10 or 15 pence a mile to drive around would be quite exciting. Bigger batteries, cheap renewable electricity and a break up of the roadside charging cartel con would make that possible again.

 

[soulstyledevon]

I never drove mine (or even a demonstrator), but I would like to know what the Buzz is like to drive.

Snap.
Deposit down on day 1, order cancelled after Volkswagen wouldn’t give me a build slot.
Drove the demo Buzz. It was really nice and comfortable, plush ride and felt solid.
The price was the real killer. It was too expensive for what it was.
So instead bought a used 335d touring. Half the cost, twice as fast and plenty of space for the family duties.

Still fancy a Buzz. Maybe next year once the cheap used ones it the market .

 

[Borris]

Ah I miss my classics. Great fun.

I also hope diesel will be available for our Californias for decades to come.

The EV infrastructure is very bad but people often oddly overlook that it’s in every house. Charging on my drive is amazing (and v v cheap). I mean you can’t get better than that for infrastructure. Not everywhere has a drive obviously but I can imagine a future where not everyone has a car. I wonder whether my kids will want to, or need to, learn to drive.

As far as electricity supply and grid problems, there is now so much turbo-charged guff about EVs that I don’t know who I believe. There certainly seems to be an excess overnight when cars would be charging.

Driving ICE had certainly started to become very expensive. I now factor it into our holiday planning in the California when I didn’t previously. I find 30/40 pence a mile a lot. While my EV’s 3 pence a mile is amazing, and won’t persist, a future where it’s 10 or 15 pence a mile to drive around would be quite exciting. Bigger batteries, cheap renewable electricity and a break up of the roadside charging cartel con would make that possible again.

Well I could easily charge up an EV on my drive so one day it may happen but I would need to be thoroughly convinced that I was doing the right thing first. As things stand I am far from being ready for that step.

I agree about the "turbo-charged guff" btw. We will just have to wait and see how that issue plays out. It may turn out all peachy but as a nation we haven't got the best track record when it comes to preplanning and investment. Our usual style is to end up firefighting bigger issues rather than investing properly before the event. If we do end up with power shortages in the future they won't be able to conjour up some more juice over night.

ICE vehicles have indeed become very expensive to run but I see that as a trend that will continue to affect all vehicles. I suspect that the recently reported rapid rise in motor insurance premiums across the board is, in some part, a result of the rising cost of repairs to EVs. I don't see any long term winners. What ever you drive, successive government's will be latching onto it's four large teats to milk it/you dry.

 

[JuanVecino2023]

Snap.
Deposit down on day 1, order cancelled after a Volkswagen wouldn’t give me a build slot.
Drove the demo Buzz. It was really nice and comfortable, plush ride and felt solid.
The price was the real killer. It was far too expensive for what it was.
So instead bought a used 335d touring. Half the cost, twice as fast and plenty of space for the family duties.

Still fancy a Buzz. Maybe next year once the cheap used ones it the market .

You can’t really beat a 3 Series Touring as family all rounder.

I’ve loved them since the E30. Dreaming of the day there would be an M3 Touring. Now it’s released, a bit like the Buzz, I struggle to justify the price.

Plus that grill

 

[Corradobrit]

Plus that grill

Total dealbreaker

 

[soulstyledevon]

You can’t really beat a 3 Series Touring as family all rounder.

I’ve loved them since the E30. Dreaming of the day there would be an M3 Touring. Now it’s released, a bit like the Buzz, I struggle to justify the price.

Plus that grill

Next car will either be an EV or M3 touring. Complete opposite ends of the spectrum. But the M3 touring is one hell of a car…

How’s the 330e touring? Seems to be a popular vehicle.

 

[Amarillo]

Well I could easily charge up an EV on my drive so one day it may happen but I would need to be thoroughly convinced that I was doing the right thing first. As things stand I am far from being ready for that step.

I agree about the "turbo-charged guff" btw. We will just have to wait and see how that issue plays out. It may turn out all peachy but as a nation we haven't got the best track record when it comes to preplanning and investment. Our usual style is to end up firefighting bigger issues rather than investing properly before the event. If we do end up with power shortages in the future they won't be able to conjour up some more juice over night.

ICE vehicles have indeed become very expensive to run but I see that as a trend that will continue to affect all vehicles. I suspect that the recently reported rapid rise in motor insurance premiums across the board is, in some part, a result of the rising cost of repairs to EVs. I don't see any long term winners. What ever you drive, successive government's will be latching onto it's four large teats to milk it/you dry.

UK electricity demand peaked in 2005 at over 400 terrawatt-hours. Demand in 2022 was around 325 terrawatt-hours, so there’s plenty of spare capacity in city grids to cope with a new peak.

There are some problems connecting the new offshore power generators connected with sufficient capacity to feed into the grid, but that’s a relatively quick and easy fix.

As you suggested in an earlier post, EVs are best suited as city cars, yet my brother in rural Somerset has recently bought a Renault Zoe and finds it perfect for getting around locally, and can even get to SE London on a single charge, or stop off at Fleet Services for a recharge and a coffee if suffering range anxiety. Change can happen quite quickly. Just look at how wind, solar and hydro make up a greater proportion of the UK’s power generation than coal and oil.

As for HGV’s, if Britain’s 7,200 miles of trunk roads (inclusive of motorways) had one lane of overhead power lines for a pantograph, HGVs could be powered and recharge sufficient battery to get to/from their destination on normal roads.

Self driving cars may in the future reduce people’s need for private car ownership. Already 46% of London households have no car, I can see that proportion may increase if people can quickly and easily summon a car from a charging point by app.

 

[Kernowboy]

It’s not just EVs though. Just had a heat pump fitted, which on top of the EV charger took me to the top of the 100 amp supply. National Grid had to sign off on it before it was installed, I understand to ensure that the local network could cope. I am in a rural area, no mains gas, and as oil boilers get replaced more and more will go with a heat pump. I suspect it’s going to be a problem in the years to come; demand is going to go up rapidly.
To be clear though, I’m a huge fan of the EV for our useage; it’s brilliant. Not going to be optimal for everyone though, and it wouldn’t work for us either if it were our sole vehicle.

 

[JuanVecino2023]

Next car will either be an EV or M3 touring. Complete opposite ends of the spectrum. But the M3 touring is one hell of a car…

How’s the 330e touring? Seems to be a popular vehicle.

330e is very good in many ways. I like the styling. It’s a very balanced car for what it does, small family estate & motorway mile muncher.

I love it in EV stealth mode. BMW concluded most people live & work with the ca 27mile range and can charge at home & work. So it’s great for commuting to my local hub & charging overnight.

Problem is with longer journeys. It charges at a max 3.7kW. So whilst it can charge on a fast charger, it won’t ever charge fast.

Which means on family holidays, it’s running 90% of the time on ICE (unless there’s a charge point where we are staying). And the mpg is low for a modern car then as you’re lugging a battery & second engine about, which also reduces boot space by 30%.

Long term in 30k miles ca 45% are EV. Which was more than I expected. Effective mpg is ca 65mpg, which is a bit more than an equivalent diesel.

Battery definitely alters the cornering dynamics, you can feel it pulling the rear out a bit if you press on.

But, I got it as at the time it was the best of breed of PHEVS. Tax savings etc. and the ExtraBoost when it combines the EV & ICE engines is kind of fun!

 

[Nolan]

Yes a 2018 i3 Rex with the lovely Suite interior. I would be wary of the i3s. It is only fractionally faster but our dealer confirmed that it has a brittle ride with bigger wheels and firmer suspension. They also fitted ours with Continental tyres which makes the ride similar to our previous Golf Gti, sporty but compliant. Acceleration wise I would say the 0-40mph is amazing, way faster than the Gti. I absolutely adore ours. Up there with the Cali as one of the best things I have ever bought.

I love the i3 and would like to get one at some point, did look at buying a new one but the price per month didn't really stack up for me, glad I didn't in the end as it was just before the pandemic and it would have sat on my drive depreciating while costing me per month.
Instead, I bought a friend's 2003 Audi A2 as he said I could have it for what WBAC valued it (£500) and it's lasted 4 years so far. Amazing car.

 

[pjm-84]

330e is very good in many ways. I like the styling. It’s a very balanced car for what it does, small family estate & motorway mile muncher.

I love it in EV stealth mode. BMW concluded most people live & work with the ca 27mile range and can charge at home & work. So it’s great for commuting to my local hub & charging overnight.

Problem is with longer journeys. It charges at a max 3.7kW. So whilst it can charge on a fast charger, it won’t ever charge fast.

Which means on family holidays, it’s running 90% of the time on ICE (unless there’s a charge point where we are staying). And the mpg is low for a modern car then as you’re lugging a battery & second engine about, which also reduces boot space by 30%.

Long term in 30k miles ca 45% are EV. Which was more than I expected. Effective mpg is ca 65mpg, which is a bit more than an equivalent diesel.

Battery definitely alters the cornering dynamics, you can feel it pulling the rear out a bit if you press on.

But, I got it as at the time it was the best of breed of PHEVS. Tax savings etc. and the ExtraBoost when it combines the EV & ICE engines is kind of fun!

We have a X545e.....great car. About 90% of the 15500miles so far is on EV, but the engine is a gem. Even on a flat battery mid 30s is possible on a run.