Volkswagen ID Buzz Cargo 2025 review

Let’s cut to the chase – the Cargo version of the new all-electric Volkswagen ID Buzz is, by a noticeable margin, the best version of the model to drive. And it all comes down to the depth of its tyre sidewalls.

In its most naked form – one that can be further declothed by speccing grey bumpers and steel wheels with black centre caps (in lieu of colour-coding and wheelcovers) – the ID Buzz Cargo wears 18-inch wheels with suitably chubby 235/60R18 tyres up front and wider 255/55R18 tyres at the rear.

The split tyre sizing no doubt helps the rear-drive Buzz Cargo with drive traction, but it’s the height of the tyre sidewalls that really matters a lot if you love driving.

They provide the Buzz Cargo with a degree of pliancy that allows its suspension to breathe over challenging Australian surfaces, and its steering to feel progressively more fluent when turning into a corner. Yet not only is the Cargo the sweetest Buzz variant to drive – it’s also the smoothest, most sophisticated, most dynamically rewarding unladen van I’ve ever driven.

The contrast to all of this is a five-seat ID Buzz Pro SWB wearing optional 21-inch wheels, which Chasing Cars also recently drove at the model’s local launch. Clad in said apparel, the Pro SWB looks fabulous, but it’s also too abrasive on country roads – deflecting off bumps and constantly reacting to lumpy surfaces.

And its steering doesn’t blend like the Cargo’s does – moving from straight-ahead numbness and a degree of freeplay to sharp turn-in thanks to its very low-profile tyres.

Right now, you may be asking yourself: ‘who gives a stuff about how a van drives – isn’t it just a purpose-built commercial vehicle?’ That may be so but given the number of hours many drivers spend behind the wheel of something like an ID Buzz Cargo, why wouldn’t you want to make that experience pleasurable?

About the only areas where the Cargo significantly concedes any level of ability to the five- and seven-seat Pro variants is in cabin presentation – the Cargo is very much a heavy-duty van resplendent in hard-wearing charcoal – and its overall refinement.

Where people-carrying ID Buzzs are impressively quiet and refined on all road surfaces, especially when optioned with laminated side glass, the metal-panelled Cargo is substantially noisier, though none of that comes from its powertrain.

Indeed, at a comparatively trim 2368kg (the seven-seater weighs 2561kg), the Cargo is comfortably the lightest of all ID Buzz variants sold in Australia, making it also the quickest.

VW doesn’t make a performance claim for the Cargo, but the 57kg-heavier SWB five-seat with the same 79kWh (useable) battery and powertrain is supposedly good for 0-100km/h in 7.6sec. So, theoretically, the 210kW/550Nm Cargo should be at least that quick.

That’s approaching Polo GTI accelerative thrust, leaving diesel vans floundering in the Buzz Cargo’s zero-pollution wake.

For all its dynamic excellence and engineering classiness, however, there are some caveats. Firstly, as an all-electric van riding on a bespoke (MEB) electric platform shared with more than a dozen electric SUVs, the Buzz Cargo isn’t a hard-core commercial vehicle.

It’s best suited to being a highly practical, visually interesting mobile billboard rather than a down-and-dirty white van. In fact, the Buzz Cargo is also available in silver, black, yellow, orange, dark blue, and a lovely mid-century green. With a Toyota Hiace, it’s any colour you like as long as it’s plain white.

The best way to position and categorise the ID Buzz Cargo among the hordes of commercial vans out there is by directly comparing it to Volkswagen’s own Caddy Cargo Maxi and Transporter.

The front-drive, long-wheelbase Caddy Cargo TDI320 DSG offers a payload of 742kg, a load volume of 3.7 cubic metres and a braked towing capacity of 1500kg. The ID Buzz Cargo can cop 774kg, swallow 3.9 cubic metres and tow 1200kg braked.

VW’s much larger (and soon to be replaced) Transporter SWB TDI340 DSG boasts an 1199kg payload, has a 5.8 cubic-metre load volume and can tow 2500kg braked. So clearly the ID Buzz Cargo is best viewed as a larger, more sophisticated alternative to a Caddy than a full-fat Transporter.

Where the electric Buzz Cargo struggles is in comparative distance potential. Based on official combined fuel figures, a Caddy Cargo Maxi TDI320 can travel 1020km on a full tank, while a Transporter SWB TDI340 manages 964km.

The ID Buzz Cargo’s WLTP claim is just 431km, yet based on our impressive 15.6kWh/100km fuel consumption achieved on the launch, the Cargo could potentially do 506km in the real world.

In EV land, that’s a strong showing by the Cargo. And it can go from five-80 percent charge in 30 minutes, which is also admirable, though arguably expected when you’re paying a premium for your fancy panelled van.

If you’re deeply invested in the idea of a midsize electric van, it’s also worth noting the Ford E-Transit Custom LWB will soon land in Australia with a better payload (circa-970kg), towing capacity (2300kg) and load space (6.8 cubic metres), if with a worse range (337km) from a smaller battery. It’s also not expected to be cheap…

Inside, the Aussie Cargo offers a driver’s bucket seat alongside what is essentially a two-person bench. While this provides the pilot with ample (manual) seat adjustment and long-distance comfort, the passengers riding side-saddle aren’t so well catered for.

The seat cushion offers good under-thigh support but the backrest is fixed in position, and is far too upright for any comfortable distance travelling. While seated there, I constantly groped for the (non-existent) seat recliner.

The Cargo’s utilitarian interior might lack the colour and flair of the MPV versions, but it performs its role admirably.

The upper dash section is bespoke, offering a broad, deep tray that spans much of the Cargo’s width and includes two 12-volt outlets, as well as two good-sized cupholders book-ending this upper section.

Plastics quality is hard (and presumably hard-wearing), yet the Cargo retains the same 12.9-inch centre touchscreen as the seated variants, plus much of their audio quality.

As far as vans go, the Buzz Cargo’s stereo is the strongest, best-staged and most expensive-sounding I’ve yet experienced, though it would be nice if it offered greater volume. You can max your phone output and the haptic-touch volume slider and still it could go higher, though there’s zero distortion at the level it’s capable of.

Safety features start with the Cargo’s outstanding forward vision through its bay-windowed glass, which makes driving it effortless.

There’s also a swathe of standard, well-calibrated active-safety features, as well as power-latching sliding doors on both sides, a power-latching tailgate (with electric activation and a barn-door arrangement optional), a fixed cabin partition with rear window and in-built load-through hatch, dual-zone climate control and a wooden floor in the load area.

You can add plenty of stuff to the ID Buzz Cargo – metallic/pearl paint ($1890), 19-inch alloys ($3500), ‘IQ Light’ matrix LED headlights ($2100), and an illuminated molding between the headlamps ($490).

Electric sliding side doors will set you back $1610 while an electric tailgate is $890. But I personally find the Cargo at its best and most honest without any extras fitted, apart from the delete-option grey bumpers with naked steelies.

Indeed, the beauty of the ID Buzz Cargo is the sophistication it serves up with its simplicity. There’s definitely an argument for the potential introduction of a two-seat cabin arrangement with extra storage, based on the flawed comfort of the two-person bench.

And I’d be keenly looking forward to the forthcoming over-the-air update that will introduce wireless smartphone mirroring. But as it stands, it’s such a sweet-driving, pleasurable van.

Manage to score yourself a decent novated-lease deal and the ID Buzz Cargo’s $80K entry ticket may no longer seem such an impediment compared to a $48K Caddy Cargo Maxi or even a $60K electric Peugeot e-Partner LWB. You can buy a high-roof, long-wheelbase VW Crafter for similar money to an ID Buzz Cargo.

But this van has an X-factor about it. And depending on where your priorities lie, perhaps that sprinkling of joy carries a premium that’s hard to put a price on.