Volkswagen ID.Buzz - long-term review

The Defender V8 has returned to its maker, so from one hulking great family car to another. The kids will be delighted – the measure of a car’s brilliance is directly linked to its size, they remind me – but this seven-seater couldn’t be more different to the last. It drinks electrons not unleaded, it’s designed to stir up summer of love flashbacks and if I venture further off road than the pavement I’m liable to become irretrievably stuck.

Still, variety is the spice of life, and the Buzz does have a secret weapon the Defender doesn’t – it’s physically impossible not to smile when you see one, which I’ve been doing a lot of since this ID. Buzz Style seven-seat in candy white and starlight blue rocked up on the drive. It’s cheery in a way so many cookie cutter modern cars aren’t, and this long-wheelbase version should unleash the potential we always knew the Buzz had.

It’s been stretched to just under 5m long, but crucially now gets this third row of seats, a bigger boot and a bigger 86kWh battery for almost 300-miles of claimed range and a more powerful 282bhp motor… and it’s only around £500 more than the five-seater! No brainer of the decade, it would appear. However, we all know a claimed range doesn’t match reality, especially in something with the aero properties of a stable block – and this is not a small car, so how will it fare on narrow Sussex lanes and the painful slog into the London office?

Well, we won’t be short on stuff to play with – the panoramic roof with electrochromic ‘smart’ glass (part of the £2,205 Design Package Plus) that flicks from clear to opaque with a finger swipe on the overhead panel is an instant hit, as are the new opening side windows cleverly cut out of the larger glass area, and the twin sliding doors are brilliant in every parking situation imaginable. I keep pressing the fob in my pocket when I’m in the house, though, and opening the doors outside - not ideal when it's tipping down with rain.

We have a head-up display, adaptive cruise, LED matrix headlights that move about like eyeballs when you unlock the car, heated steering wheel and seats, 21in wheels (a £515 option) and even a retractable tow bar (£980) that is lovely to have despite the fact towing anything chunky will do terrible things to the range. As tested this is a £70,835 vehicle.

The plan is simply this – to see whether the Buzz can justify that price by handling everything we throw at it. Road trips and navigating the public charger network, daily family life, shuttle runs to the tip and full van mode for hauling about large bits of furniture. Will the reaction from friends and family remain positive? Will the infotainment system infuriate? Have VW built the ultimate family car? Stay tuned.