Living and working from an all-electric VW ID Buzz

Like most individuals, I’m intrigued by the thought of electrical vehicles however not but satisfied it’s time to make the leap. I can title each Tesla mannequin, a number of pickups from Ford and Rivian, and that’s about it. However when Volkswagen introduced the manufacturing mannequin of the all-electric ID Buzz, which started hitting European roads late final 12 months… properly, instantly, I used to be very .

See, I’m the man who spent every week dwelling in a VW Transporter T5 “Ventje” final 12 months and as soon as rented a vintage Type 2 VW Microbus named “Fergus” for a summer time simply to wild camp round Scotland with my household. Typically, I abhor blatant makes an attempt to transform nostalgia into product or ticket gross sales, however VW had me hooked ever for the reason that ID Buzz was launched as a far-out idea. That’s till I discovered the unthinkable: the ID Buzz would launch in passenger and cargo variants solely — no “California” campervan. For that, I’d have to attend till 2025 or longer. Ugh!

Then a number of months in the past, I found the aftermarket Ququq BusBox-4 camping box. It converts both the ID Buzz passenger or cargo vans right into a two-person camper — and again — in simply minutes. It’s obtainable proper now, and at €2,790 (about $3,000) prices a fraction of the premium the VW ID California will probably demand.

So, I made a decision to place the ID Buzz and Ququq to the check to reply two fundamental questions: can at the moment’s ID Buzz already perform as an electrical campervan, and might it help distant work for an prolonged time period?

With that in thoughts, I packed up my spouse and canine and started an almost 2,000-mile spherical journey trek throughout Europe from Amsterdam within the north to Milan within the south, on a loosely deliberate street journey that also required us to clock in at work every morning. We slept, labored, and ate (minus a number of lunches) solely from the ID Buzz for a interval of two weeks. 

The expertise was an epiphany for me, a first-time EV driver and aspiring digital nomad, with many classes discovered alongside the way in which. The age of e-vanlife is dawning, and our expertise with the ID Buzz is a preview of what’s to return.

To be clear, this isn’t a overview of the VW ID Buzz electrical van — there are many locations you may get that from folks with far more automobile expertise than I’ve. It is a overview of the ID Buzz as an adaptable do-it-all campervan — one car that serves quite a lot of wants. For that purpose, my single favourite characteristic is an non-compulsory (€331) DC-to-AC inverter that locations a European customary 230V energy socket beneath the entrance passenger seat (extra on that later).

The ID Buzz is constructed upon the identical MEB platform as VW’s first electrical automobile, the ID.3, identical to the unique Kind 2 Microbus derived from the Kind 1 Beetle. So, in actuality, the ID Buzz is greater than only a low cost nostalgia ploy — it’s following the identical evolutionary path as its extremely iconic and profitable predecessors. Figuring out that makes me really feel much less like a hapless sufferer of the sentimentality machine — or so I inform myself.

My overview car is a completely loaded ID Buzz 1st Max Version passenger van with each choice attainable. It’s priced at nearly €80,000 (about $88,000), which incorporates roughly €14,000 of taxes right here within the Netherlands. For comparability, it’s nonetheless less expensive than a €113,990 base Tesla Mannequin X SUV within the Dutch market on the time of publication.

I’ll say this in abstract of the ID Buzz itself: everybody who drove it or noticed it beloved it. Folks had been so charmed by it that they’d interact me with questions when parked at charging stations or pull up alongside whereas driving to flash thumbs-up and hang-loose gestures. It was smiles throughout, similar to the enjoyment we unfold when driving that pleasant previous Kind 2 round Scotland. Hell, should you have a look at the entrance finish of the ID Buzz good, even it appears to be smiling.

The ID Buzz’s low heart of gravity, non-compulsory 21-inch wheels, and rear-wheel drive mix for a surprisingly enjoyable drive. It additionally provides wonderful visibility for a big automobile that really feels small, due to a windshield that drops down to obviously mark the entrance of the automobile and a bevy of sensors and cameras that provide you with a warning to close by objects. It additionally has a surprisingly tight turning radius which was very helpful when navigating slender Italian streets. 

However I agree with reviewers who say the infotainment system is underpowered and convoluted with a mixture of interfaces that go away you questioning if a push, pull, or contact is the anticipated enter (stuff you’ll finally develop muscle reminiscence for). The button for the hazard lights, for instance, is contact delicate for some purpose leading to three unintentional triggers. 

I’m not a automobile man, however I do love an enormous rolling battery that may energy all my devices. So after I have a look at the ID Buzz, I see an enormous energy plant. However as giant because the VW ID Buzz is, the battery maxes out at simply 82kWh, of which solely 77kWh is usable. That’s not loads for its measurement, particularly when you think about that it’s the identical battery capability discovered contained in the smaller VW ID.4 and ID.5. 

The battery capability was a priority for me — a first-time EV driver — given the circumstances I deliberate to drive in. See, EVs carry out optimally in hotter temps round 21C (70F) and at metropolis speeds the place regenerative braking can do its factor. My deliberate route was more likely to be chilly and quick alongside nice swaths of alpine freeway to cowl as a lot of the European charging community as attainable. I additionally deliberate to usually faucet into the VW’s high-voltage battery whereas working as a way to hold the van heated and all my gear powered on. It wasn’t lengthy till I understood what vary anxiousness felt like, and I hadn’t even left the home!

Temperatures on my route ranged from -3C to about 17C (27F to 63F) throughout my two weeks of testing, however principally they hovered between 3C and 12C (37F to 53F) on common. That meant that the automobile wanted to be repeatedly heated, which lowered my total vary for the reason that ID Buzz lacks a warmth pump discovered on extra environment friendly EVs. And sure, I can verify that the ID Buzz has a high pace of 150km/h (93mph), which I verified a number of occasions on the German autobahn.

Primarily based upon my utilization  — which included siphoning about 5kWh per day to help dwelling and dealing from the ID Buzz — I used to be burning via a median of 23.9kWh each 100km (60 miles), or almost a 3rd of my battery capability, as reported by the ID Buzz’s infotainment system. That equates to 239Wh consumed per kilometer traveled or 2.6 miles per kWh, placing it a lot nearer to a Ford F-150 Lightning when it comes to effectivity than a Tesla Mannequin 3. My driving yielded a spread of round 322km (200 miles) per cost — properly in need of the closely asterisked 423km (263 miles) WLTP vary that VW quotes in its European advertising and marketing however according to the 330km real-range data reported by EV Database.

However right here’s the factor: regardless of these fairly underwhelming figures and being a complete EV novice, after only one or two days of journey, I by no means once more felt anxious about my vary. Largely as a result of we’re spoiled with selection of quick chargers right here in Europe, one thing I shortly found as I meandered my approach via the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, France, Switzerland, and Italy. 

I discovered Europe’s community of ultra-fast DC chargers (300kW and better) supplied by corporations like FastNed, Shell, Ionity, GoFast, and sure — Tesla — to be surprisingly sturdy. They had been plentiful, positioned conveniently subsequent to meals, retailers, and house to run our high-energy canine. And never as soon as did I’ve to attend for a stall at any DC charging stations we pulled into, even when touring in the course of the lengthy Easter weekend. The truth is, I often arrived to seek out nearly all of stalls unoccupied and obtainable for quick ultra-fast charging. And in contrast to what many have skilled within the US, I can solely recall seeing a single damaged charger on my total 3,000km journey. 

The ID Buzz helps a acknowledged most of 170kW DC quick charging from its CCS port, with a that enables it to go from 5 to 80 p.c in about half-hour. My stops usually lasted longer although, about 45 minutes to an hour, as a result of we wished to cost to 100% and since the stops had been a welcome and pleasant break after two to 3 hours of driving, particularly when you’ll be able to simply open the tailgate and prepare dinner up a fast meal.

VW says a camper model of the ID Buzz is coming — sometime — but it surely hasn’t dedicated to a agency timeline but. That’s the place Ququq (pronounced kookook) is available in. It’s a small German firm that’s been making all-in-one tenting packing containers for quite a lot of autos for greater than a decade. As an official VW accent provider, its celebration trick is the flexibility to transform the ID Buzz — cargo or passenger van — right into a practical camper full with a kitchen and mattress in lower than 10 minutes. 

I examined the Ququq BusBox-4 tenting field designed particularly to show the ID Buzz right into a tiny cellular house. It truly is a marvel of ingenuity — worth, too, should you power your mind to squint a bit of.

See, when VW does lastly ship a real ID California campervan primarily based on the Buzz, it might simply add tens of 1000’s to the already steep value, similar as VW’s present California camper sequence can greater than double the value of a base Transporter at the moment. The Ququq BusBox-4, nonetheless, prices only a fraction of that at €2,790 (about $3,000) whereas making it simple to transform that five-seater right into a weekend campervan for mother and pa and their canine whereas the youngsters sleep exterior in a tent.

The Ququq weighs 62kg (137 kilos) and requires two folks to raise the tenting field into the again of the ID Buzz. It suits simply behind the passenger bench, the place it’s secured to the van’s lashing factors with included ratchet straps. It’s a bit of inelegant, but it surely will get the job accomplished, and it’s simple sufficient for a few sturdy people to swap out and in of the van every time the need strikes. 

The 10cm-thick mattress sleeps two comfortably, measuring 125 x 195cm when unfolded over the collapsed passenger bench. That makes for a fairly comfortable association that my spouse and I nonetheless discovered to be sufficiently roomy. Unfolding the three-part mattress requires the proper mixture of energy and finesse, which we might every do solo (and safely — watch your fingers!) after a number of days of apply. 

Contained in the BusBox-4, you’ll discover a compact however environment friendly kitchen. Open it up, and the door folds right down to create a handy desk. On the left, you’ll be able to slide out a two-burner fuel range with house beneath for issues like spices, espresso and tea provides, cutlery, and cooking utensils. Fold up the windscreen and lock the small butane cartridges into place, and also you’re prepared to begin cooking with fireplace.

In the midst of the opened Ququq is a slide-out drawer holding a small 12V fridge that may be managed with a Bluetooth app (it’s not wanted). It’s powered by a cable that snakes via the vents of the Ququq field and again to the 12V socket close to the Buzz’s raise gate. The fridge can be a freezer, but it surely’s both or — not each on the similar time. It’s nothing particular, and never very large at 15 liters, however nonetheless proved appropriate to our wants. When you want more room, then a 20-liter fridge can also be obtainable.

Lastly, on the suitable of the open BusBox-4, you’ve gotten a pair of 10-liter (2.6-gallon) freshwater tanks with a easy screw-on valve attachment. This part additionally consists of two helpful stainless-steel trays for assist with washing up and two fairly comfy chairs that tuck away neatly right into a recess when not in use.

There’s nothing fancy right here, and it does look barely incongruous to the clear, fashionable strains of ID Buzz. Nonetheless, it’s a sensible design that’s executed with sturdy and easy-to-clean supplies like handled plywood and aluminum. VW’s so excessive on the Ququq x ID Buzz pairing that the two have been featured in official press materials.

I had hoped that VW would give the ID Buzz a Tesla-like Camp Mode, whereby you’ll be able to keep contained in the van for hours whereas nonetheless having fun with powered jacks, lights, music, and heating. Sadly, that was not the case, and there’s no indication if VW will ever supply this, not less than not till the ID California campervan arrives. 

And whereas the totally maxed out ID Buzz I used to be driving was fitted with a single 230V jack below the entrance passenger seat, it’s solely energetic for about half-hour when the ignition is on after which for an additional 15 or 20 minutes after the ignition robotically shuts off as a consequence of inactivity. That presents an actual drawback when attempting to cost a laptop computer or hold Starlink web working with out interruption.

However, dwelling and dealing from an ID Buzz fitted with a Ququq will not be solely attainable, but it surely additionally requires fewer compromises than you may assume, simply so long as you’re packing the suitable gear.

On the ability facet, I introduced alongside a small BaseCharge 1500 battery and solar panel from Biolite, an organization greatest identified for making fireplace pits previously. I had deliberate to convey a bigger and extra succesful , however after I plugged it into the Buzz’s 230V socket, it tripped the VW’s breaker. Sadly, the AC200Max attracts a gradual 500W, and the Buzz’s inverter can solely produce 300W with a 450W surge. The BaseCharge 1500 pulled simply 112W, and its smaller bodily measurement turned out to be good for our wants. 

With no camp mode, I additionally hoped that the ID Buzz’s bidirectional charging — a vehicle-to-home charging characteristic that appeared on my infotainment system however requires a future firmware replace to activate — can be prepared for my journey. That will give me one other method to hold the photo voltaic generator charged or energy my Starlink’s router and dish through an adapter. Alas, the replace by no means arrived, and the firmware launch remains to be TBD.

So my technique was to cost the Biolite BaseCharge 1500 off the ID Buzz’s 230V jack every time I might and faucet into the Biolite’s 1,521Wh capability battery and its quite a few AC (1200W with 2400W surge) and DC outputs (USB-C, USB-A, wi-fi charging pad, and 12V) to supply on-demand energy to all of the gear we carried for work and play. I at all times charged it when driving and shortly obtained into the behavior of repeatedly hitting the ignition button all through the workday to maintain the juice flowing. When away from the van, I’d complement charging with a 100W Biolite photo voltaic panel that I’d place on the roof with the cable snaked again via a cracked window to the BaseCharge battery.

I even purchased a €120 Type 2 adapter cable that allow me cost the BaseCharge battery from public EV chargers. I by no means had to make use of it, although, besides as soon as as an early proof-of-concept check. 

The technique labored properly. I used to be capable of hold the Biolite battery charged at over 80 p.c more often than not whereas additionally maintaining all my workplace gear operating. I solely allowed the BaseCharge 1500 to drop as little as 30 p.c as soon as, however that’s solely as a result of I had a 12-hour drive developing which was loads of time for the VW’s 230V port to simply return the Biolite’s cost to 100%.

The Biolite BaseCharge 1500 did have some quirks, although. The fan would come on each 10 minutes or so after which run for 30 seconds at too excessive a pitch regardless of the AC load solely pulling round 50W — that’s a reasonably low threshold for an inverter fan. As soon as, I had a USB overload error that required me to reset the machine, and a number of occasions the show confirmed low enter energy readings that could possibly be corrected by reinserting the AC or solar energy charging cables.

The ID Buzz’s USB-C ports (no USB-A anyplace) supplied a combined bag of capabilities that I by no means did totally determine. The 2 USB-C ports positioned on the dashboard supplied charging and information (for CarPlay and Android Auto) however did not hold my Apple and Android telephones charged regardless of claiming to help as much as 15W of cost. That’s unhealthy as a result of I wanted not less than one telephone to complement VW’s stuttery satnav. 

Fortuitously, the USB-C ports within the entrance passenger door and every sliding door present as much as 45W of USB-C PD energy. That meant snaking a 10-foot-long USB-C cable from my telephone mounted to the left of the steering wheel all the way in which to the entrance passenger door on the suitable.

The USB-C ports, just like the 230V AC jack, solely had energy when the ignition was on and for a couple of minutes after it was turned off. The 12V / 120W cigarette lighter jack within the again powering the Ququq’s fridge had steady energy, nonetheless, because it pulled straight off the Buzz’s small 12V starter battery. VW says its clever onboard provide administration system robotically takes varied actions to forestall the 12-volt car battery from discharging when subjected to a heavy load. 

On the information facet, I reactivated my Starlink RV subscription that I placed on maintain on the finish of final summer time. My spouse and I additionally introduced three telephones with large information plans from three completely different suppliers. These would act as backup to my Starlink web or for every time we didn’t really feel like taking the ten minutes required to reconfigure the van for Elon Musk’s house web. 

Starlink was bulletproof all the journey, with downloads averaging over 150Mbps and uploads averaging 20Mbps regardless of the place my spouse and I made a decision to arrange an workplace, although I used to be cautious to keep away from tree protection. However, it appeared to deal with overhead branches and different obstructions even higher than final summer time’s Starlink RV overview. From the angle of our work colleagues, we appeared to perform no in a different way than once we had been working from house, not less than till the Matterhorn — the actual one in Switzerland — confirmed up in a Zoom name. 

In any other case, 5G information was usually obtainable and supplied sooner uploads in conditions the place I wanted to add video, for instance. I solely tried to make use of the Buzz’s 4G hotspot a number of occasions: as soon as, it failed to attach with my iPhone and one other, it was simply too sluggish to trouble utilizing from my MacBook. Nonetheless, I suppose it was good to have a fifth connectivity choice. I ignored public Wi-Fi at locations like campsites because it was typically a lot slower than something I had in tow.

As a rule of thumb, the smaller a car, the extra usually it must be reconfigured all through the day. And in comparison with vanlifer platforms just like the Ford Transit and Mercedes Benz Sprinter, the VW ID Buzz is certainly on the small facet.

On any given day, my spouse and I might reconfigure the van via a development of three modes: driving, sleeping, and dealing. Fortuitously, the Ququq’s kitchen was at all times obtainable every time parked. 

In driving mode, the Ququq and bedding supplies had been folded up and secured, the rear passenger seats flattened for Hank to roam round and for the Biolite battery plugged into the 230V socket and positioned behind the entrance passenger seat the place its ports might nonetheless be accessed. 

Sleeping mode meant transferring the Biolite battery (and another cumbersome objects) to the motive force’s seat the place it might energy the Starlink (cable operating via a barely cracked window) and recharge our telephones and laptops in a single day. I often unplugged the Starlink’s AC cable earlier than falling asleep to forestall the Biolite’s irritating inverter fan from turning on. After flattening the bench seat, we might unfold and make the mattress. Hank slept in a big moveable crate, resting primarily on the entrance passenger seat. And since I couldn’t depend on the Buzz’s lighting, we used a chargeable to maintain the inside illuminated with mild that assorted from a heat candle glow to tripping balls.

Work mode meant eradicating Hank’s crate and folding the mattress again as much as raise the right-side rear passenger seat to create a second inside workstation. The ID Buzz is fitted with two fairly flimsy folding tables on the backs of the entrance seats that also proved helpful all through the workday. When the climate was good, we might work exterior within the folding Ququq chairs utilizing the kitchen’s door as a makeshift desktop. The ID Buzz was way more comfy and versatile than it’d seem, often with a lot better views than any workplace cubicle. 

It was all a bit of messy at first, however quickly all our gear discovered a house with assist from the ID Buzz’s quite a few door and seat pockets. After about three days, we had every reconfiguration mode right down to a fairly quick routine.

The largest annoyance was protecting the home windows at night time whereas parked at crowded campsites. Since VW isn’t but providing a camper model of the ID Buzz, I needed to invent my very own privateness resolution: a yoga mat for the entrance window and aluminum foil in all places else — objects we had been carrying anyway. 

At night time I’d unfurl the yoga mat contained in the entrance windshield the place it could possibly be gingerly held in place by the visors. I then squirted a bit of all-purpose cleaner on the within of the opposite home windows, which allowed the foil to “stick.” It labored surprisingly properly at first, putting in in about 5 to 10 minutes. However in our try to hold waste to a minimal, we reused the foil every day, inflicting it to change into much less sticky the extra it was crumpled and torn. Quickly we had been tasked with attempting to piece collectively an enormous vertical jigsaw puzzle every night time. If I did all of it once more, I’d discover a third-party resolution with magnets or suction cups earlier than heading out. 

With out the form of Camp Mode discovered on Teslas, warmth — which VW lumps below the complicated catchall of “air con” — was at all times going to be a difficulty when attempting to work and sleep in temperatures that always hovered round freezing. And identical to with the 230V outlet and USB-C ports, I needed to hold hitting the ignition button all through the workday to maintain the warmth flowing from the ID Buzz’s vents. On this approach, I might warmth the van for about 45 minutes at a time earlier than needing to hit the ignition button once more.

At night time, I found I might repurpose the Buzz’s preheat characteristic — designed to heat the van to a preset temperature for the day by day commute — to maintain the cabin hospitable whereas we slept even when temps dropped to -2C (28F) on the Swiss mountain farms the place we parked. Utilizing VW’s WeConnect ID app whereas mendacity in mattress, I set the heater to return on at 3:30AM after which once more at 6AM. You may as well configure the preheat perform immediately from the VW’s infotainment system.

I did convey alongside a small house heater however by no means had to make use of it. 

Conserving the heater operating and Biolite battery modified additionally had an influence on driving vary. The ID Buzz’s battery drained from 92 p.c to 79 p.c over the course of two days whereas parked at one notably chilly and moist campsite in beautiful Kaysersberg, France. Throughout that point, I used to be attempting to maintain the Biolite’s battery charged below the pressure of all our workplace gear and toys whereas additionally heating the entrance passenger seat for my spouse and sustaining the air temperature at 21C (70F) for a number of hours every day.

Now, if VW’s estimate is right, then 13 p.c of the Buzz’s 77kWh (usable) battery capability equates to 10kWh consumed. Meaning we had been utilizing about 5kWh per day to reside and work from an ID Buzz on the onset of spring. Put one other approach, the ID Buzz can help a pair for nearly two weeks of off-grid boondocking, assuming you’ve obtained sufficient meals and water and might shortly get to a charging station when you resolve to rejoin society.

By the way, we by no means ran out of water** on this journey and solely depleted two of the six butane cooking fuel canisters we carried. 

**Some water, often extracted from cheap Negronis and native wines, was acquired alongside the way in which. Hank, who is thought to eat his personal poo, additionally drank from puddles. 

The Ququq BusBox-4 turns the full-time ID Buzz five-passenger van right into a succesful two-person (plus canine) camper everytime you really feel prefer it whereas additionally probably saving you a bundle over the anticipated value of VW’s devoted ID California campervan… every time that may launch.

Sure, there are compromises to make, particularly for the reason that ID Buzz will solely energy your electronics for about 45 minutes at a time. Meaning bringing alongside a modestly-sized photo voltaic generator just like the Biolite BaseCharge 1500 for uninterrupted energy to AC units like Starlink web throughout a workday. Issues ought to get simpler as soon as VW releases the long-promised software program replace (and adapter) to allow bi-directional charging. However given VW’s Microbus heritage, the shortage of a Tesla-like Camp Mode to maintain the ID Buzz’s AC inverter, USB jacks, lights, music, and heating operational whereas parked is an actual oversight, in my view. 

Spending a number of weeks dwelling and dealing from the ID Buzz in seven international locations round Europe has me excited for the electrical way forward for vanlife, particularly now that Mercedes Benz has introduced its new modular VAN.EA electrical platform that ought to allow e-campers of all sizes beginning in 2026. We’ve additionally obtained Winnebago and EcoFlow teaming up for a July announcement of what could possibly be a manufacturing model of the all-electric eRV constructed atop an extended-range Ford E-Transit. 

However for VW followers, a long-wheelbase version of the ID Buzz specced for the US is being introduced on June 2nd forward of gross sales in 2024. It’s anticipated to characteristic much more inner house, an even bigger battery, and — fingers crossed — higher efficiency from the infotainment system, which has reportedly been vastly improved on VW’s new ID.7. Notably, it’s the LWB ID Buzz that VW says will in the future underpin the longer term ID California campervan. 

However there’s no want to attend should you reside in Europe, the place e-vanlife in a Voltswagen Microbuzz — if I could also be so daring — is already a actuality.

All pictures by Thomas Ricker / The Verge