New Volkswagen ID Buzz GTX: four-wheel drive and 335bhp
The VW ID Buzz GTX will be offered in short-wheelbase and long-wheelbase forms, which means it can be had with up to seven seats...
On sale Summer 2024 | Price from £70,000 (est)
Could the Volkswagen ID Buzz GTX be the craziest new car of 2024? Quite possibly, because it’s a performance version of the retro electric family car that we named our 2023 Car of the Year.
Now, being a hot electric MPV places the ID Buzz GTX in a unique position, because it’s effectively in a class of one. In fact, the only cars which come close to it include the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N, Kia EV6 GT and Tesla Model Y Performance, all of which are super-quick electric SUVs.
What makes the ID Buzz GTX slightly different to those cars, though, is the fact it will be available with five, six or seven seats. Currently, the ID Buzz is only offered in the UK with five seats and in short-wheelbase (SWB) form, but this is due to change as the long-wheelbase (LWB) model arrives in the UK this summer alongside the GTX version. A six-seat version of the SWB model will also be offered.
The ID Buzz GTX is powered by two electric motors; one drives the front wheels and the other the rears, making it four-wheel drive. The two motors combine to produce 335bhp, which means the GTX can sprint from 0-62mph in 6.5sec. That’s much slower than the Ioniq 5 N (3.4sec), EV6 GT (3.5sec) and Model Y Performance (3.7sec), but those cars are considerably more powerful.
Two batteries will be offered in the ID Buzz GTX: a 79kWh (usable) battery in the SWB and a 86kWh (usable) battery in the LWB version. The official ranges for both are expected to be around 250 miles, which is similar to the Ioniq 5 N (266 miles) and EV6 GT (263 miles), but less than the Model Y Performance (319 miles).
Charging speeds for the ID Buzz GTX depend on the version you go for, with the 79kWh battery having a maximum rate of 175kWh and the 86kWh battery a rate of 200kW. This means a 10-80% top-up with a suitably powerful public charger will take around 25 minutes for the former and 30 minutes for the latter. That’s around the same time as the Model Y, but less than the Ioniq 5 N and EV6 GT.
The benefit of having two electric motors in the ID Buzz GTX is that it has a much improved towing capacity compared with the single motor ID Buzz. As such, the maximum capacity is rated at 1800kg for the SWB and 1600kg for the LWB, which is an increase of 800kg and 600kg respectively. This means the GTX should be able to tow larger caravans and trailers, matching the maximum capacity of the EV6 GT (1800kg).
The design of the GTX is similar to the regular ID Buzz, although there are several key styling details that lend it a racier look, including a unique front bumper design, a honeycomb grille and triangular LED daytime running lights. All GTX models come with 19in alloy wheels as standard, while 21in alloys are optional.
Seven solid and five two-tone paint colours are available, including 'Cherry' red which can be matched with 'Mono' metallic silver to create a two-tone paint finish, which is shown in our pictures.
The ID Buzz GTX features Volkswagen’s new infotainment system, which is housed in a 12.9in infotainment screen (up from 12.0in in the regular car). We’ve tried the new system in the Volkswagen ID 7, and can confirm that it’s much easier to use than the old system, with a more intuitive layout and a quicker response. It also comes with integrated ChatGPT (which will be added later via a software update), as well as the fiddly touch-sensitive sliders for the climate and volume controls, although these are now backlit so you can see them while driving at night.
We’ve had the chance to sit inside the new ID Buzz GTX, and can confirm that interior quality is poor in places, with plenty of hard and scratchy plastics used throughout the interior. The Ioniq 5 N and EV6 GT are much better in this area.
More positively, space is very good, with acres of head and leg room in the front, while second row passengers will have plenty of the same, too – even if they’re more than six-feet tall. We’ve also had the chance to sit in the third row of the LWB model, and confirm that there’s plenty of head and leg room back there as well.
The GTX's 1121-litre boot space matches that of the regular ID Buzz SWB, although that's boosted to 1340 litres in the LWB version with five seats in place. That’s more than double the size of the Ioniq 5 N (527 litres) and EV6 GT (490 litres).
Full UK specifications for the ID Buzz GTX are yet to be confirmed, but we can expect prices to start from around £70,000 for the SWB and £75,000 for the LWB. This means it’ll be priced well above the Ioniq 5 N (£65,000), EV6 GT (£62,675) and Model Y Performance (£59,990).
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