Volkswagen of America is desperate to find a successor to the iconic Microbus Type 2, commonly known as Combi in Australia. With the coming ID.Buzz LWB North American production will eventually reciprocate.
There is practically no camouflage on this ID.Buzz LWB prototype, suggesting that there will be very little styling change, if any, to distinguish the SWB and LWB models apart from the obvious bodywork.
While our spy photography agency didn’t capture a head-on shot of the LWB variant, it looks like the extended ID.Buzz will have the same face and tail as the SWB model currently on sale across Europe.
The rear overhang also looks unchanged, so all of the LWB’s extra length comes from its stretched wheelbase. In addition to the LWB’s massive rear sliding doors, we can also see a third row of seats, increasing seating capacity beyond the SWB’s five-person limit.
At the beginning of 2023, Volkswagen confirms ID.Buzz will seat up to seven people with two captain seats in the middle row that can be rotated 180 degrees to face the three-person bench behind.
Some of these seats can be folded or even disassembled to improve cargo capacity.
The company has also confirmed the LWB will have a wheelbase of 3148mm, an increase of 250mm over the current SWB version. If our expectations for the rear overhang are correct, the ID.Buzz LWB will be 4962mm long.
Designed primarily for the North American market, the ID.Buzz LWB looks to be slightly shorter than the Chrysler Pacifica, Toyota Sienna, Honda Odyssey and other carare both 5.16m or 5.17m long.
However, it will be shorter than these rivals by 5 to 37 mm, but the ID.Buzz LWB will boast a significantly longer wheelbase than any of them, from 3.0 m. to 3.09 m.
For those interested, the ID.Buzz LWB will be about the same length as the popular Toyota Alphard in Japan, China, and parts of Asia.
However, the German electric motor is 100mm wider and will have a longer wheelbase of 148mm.
In terms of engines, the ID.Buzz LWB will be available with a dual-motor all-wheel drive arrangement, although outputs have yet to be announced.
It can share 195kW setup with ID.4 Pro 4Motion crossover, or the 220kW system from the sportier version ID.4 GTX.
While Volkswagen has confirmed there will be a 250kW ID.Buzz GTXwe are not sure if this powertrain will be offered in both SWB and LWB forms.
Currently, the ID.Buzz SWB is sold exclusively in Europe with a 150kW/310Nm motor driving the rear wheels and connected to a 77kWh battery pack.
So equipped, the ID.Buzz takes a leisurely 10.2 seconds to complete the standard 0-100km/h speed.
The ID.Buzz LWB is expected to go on sale in the US from 2024, but Australian availability is unknown at this stage. The local branch is hoping to bring SWB ID.Buzz and ID.Buzz Cargo to our shores from 2024 or 2025.
