There’s no two ways about it, the ID Buzz is an excellent little retro runabout that combines cutesy styling with cargo van practicalities in a bundle of electric joy. But since its launch, the ID Buzz from Volkswagen has been crying out for one major upgrade: a campervan conversion. And now, finally, there is one.
Created by the Dutch company Ventje, which has made a name for itself building lovely little campers, this ID Buzz build takes the standard electric buss and packs it full of all the niceties you’d want on any camping trip.
There’s a pop-up roof to maximize space and headroom in the main body of the van which gives you room to stand up inside the ID Buzz and can also accommodate two people sleeping “upstairs.”
Then, there’s an innovative seating area that can work as two bench seats around a table, a corner sofa or even a second bed when everything is folded flat. A set of shelves and cubbies line the seat to maximize storage space inside the ID Buzz, and there’s further storage under the seats.
Out back, there’s a cute little kitchen area with a sink, stove and prep area all arranged neatly around a few storage cupboards and extra fold out shelves. It all looks very nifty, and exactly like the kind of interior modifications that VW’s cutesy EV was crying out for.
Obviously, there’s one sticking point that could make or break this build, and that’s the price. In Europe, the ID Buzz starts at €64,600 (about $US69,000) direct from VW, while the modified eVentje will set you back at least €95,000 ($US102,000). In contrast, a gas-powered VW camper will set you back closer to €70,000 ($US75,000) brand new.
For your €95,000, you get a fully kitted out camper built on VW’s 77 kWh electric drivetrain. This means there’s more than 200 horsepower, a top speed of 90 mph and an all-electric range of around 233 miles, which is down on the 263-mile range that VW touts in Europe thanks to the extra weight of all those campervan bits.
Despite delays hitting some of its EVs, VW will put the ID Buzz on sale in the U.S. later this year. The hotly-anticipated electric van is scheduled to hit dealer lots in the summer, but VW hasn’t given an exact date or announced pricing for the U.S. spec van. To make matters worse, won’t even accepting pre-orders from anyone clamoring to get their hands on the EV when it finally does arrive Stateside.