Hire an Electric Van – What’s the Buzz With Volkswagen?

Volkswagen has come up with three very different vehicles from just one vehicle shell. The first of which will be coming to EVision Electric Vehicles later this year.

Never has the desire to hire an electric van been more exciting. So many new versions are being released by major players and newcomers to the game. Volkswagen, however, have put the fun back into it.

Volkswagen ID.Buzz – Microbus/People Carrier

The first of the Volkswagen ID.Buzz vehicles to come out will be the microbus version. This is a fantastic people carrier with a huge personality.

Normally when you hire an electric van you can see that they nearly all look identical in shape. The Volkswagen ID.Buzz does more than this though. The vehicle is clearly a hark back to the groovy days of the 60’s when the iconic type 1 (or T1) campervan could be seen at many festivals of peace and love around Britain. The so-called hippy mobile is a British classic.

It isn’t just the shape of the Volkswagen ID.Buzz that is a homage to the past. The overly large VW badge that can be seen on the rounded nose is directly comparable to the badge on the original T1.

Also, a perhaps tenuous link, the rear wheel drive (all wheel drive coming out later) is a homage to the rear positioned engine of the classic version. Overall, the VW ID.Buzz is a wonderful collaboration between the modern and the not so modern.

A Closer Look Inside

Of course, when you hire an electric van it is about more than just the exterior of the vehicle. 

The Volkswagen ID.Buzz does not disappoint in this regard. The cabin space is absolutely cavernous, as you would expect. Plenty of leg and head room for all occupants. The boot space isn’t compromised either. There is a hefty 1,121 litres of boot space with the rear seats up. With those seats down you are looking at 2,205 litres of boot space.

This is of course for the 5 seater version of the microbus. Confusingly, when the 6 and 7 seater versions are released later, they will actually have even more space. The reason for this is the fact that the 5 seater vehicle comes on a smaller wheelbase. The 6 and 7 seater versions will have the longer wheelbase which adds a huge amount of extra capacity to the inside of the vehicle.

Another little detail which I absolutely love is the central console between the front seats that lifts out to allow the front passengers to walk through to the back of the vehicle. To use the traditional hippy vernacular, I think this is groovy.

Let’s Talk About Techs, Baby

There are lots of tech bits and pieces to love in the new Volkswagen ID.Buzz. The main infotainment system will be familiar to the users of the ID.3 and ID.4 as it is the same system used in all of them.

One big difference with the ID.Buzz is that the Apple Carplay and Android Autoplay can be mirrored to the infotainment screen without the need of a USB cable. This will be the same on all Volkswagen vehicles from here on and it is very welcome.

Another area of tech genius which has really impressed me is in the parking assist. As well as the usual parking sensors that you would expect to find as standard, there is also a very clever auto parking mode.

This mode can remember when you use manoeuvres to get into or out of a difficult parking area and the vehicle will be able to mimic the movements to park the vehicle for you. Absolutely mindblowing.

The Volkswagen ID.Buzz Cargo – What You Normally Get When You Hire an Electric Van

When we say “hire an electric van” this is the type many would expect us to be talking about. The cargo van, also known as the panel van. 

As with the microbus version, the ID.Buzz Cargo will have a cargo capacity of 2,205 litres. The max payload is 650kg. The van is large enough to hold two Euro size pallets of load in the back. The load capacity will most likely change if Volkswagen decides to offer the Cargo in the longer wheelbase version as well.

Other than the cargo area, the rest of this van will be almost identical to the microbus version. The only other noticeable difference is with the exterior lighting.

The lighting on the rear of the vehicle will not be a long strip that goes across the breadth of the rear. The rear opening will also become a standard two door opening rather than the hatch opening found on the microbus.

Hire an Electric Van – A Volkswagen ID.Buzz Campervan That Is.

The final version of the ID.Buzz that I wanted to bring to your attention is the Volkswagen ID.Buzz Campervan. This is the one that most people have been talking about. A real hark back to the T1 of the swinging 60’s. 

The campervan version will include various amenities as you would expect. Things such as a kitchen, dining area and such. This will be the ultimate adventure vehicle to take your friends and family away in.

Unfortunately, there will be a considerable wait for this version to be available though. We may have to wait a couple of years before a production version is finally released. 

Asked why they had decided to push the launch of the ID.Buzz Campervan back so far, a representative of Volkswagen stated that the diesel version is selling so well that there is no desire to phase it out just yet.

This, I have to say, is very disappointing. The only reason the diesel version is selling well is because there is no competitor on the market in an electric version.

An Environmental Marvel

One reason I believe the ID.Buzz Campervan would do well if released now is due to the fact that all the ID.Buzz range are incredibly environmentally friendly focused.

You will find no real leather in these vehicles. The seats are made from plastics that have been reclaimed from the ocean and repurposed. There is also reclaimed wood in the vehicle. This shows a reluctance towards waste. 71% of the ID.Buzz is made from recycled materials.

As with the flower power children of the 1960’s, the modern day younger generation who would be associated with the use of a campervan are mostly all environmentally conscious.

The hippy generation had a great love for Mother Earth and this has not changed today. I have to say, the hippies were right. Get that campervan out Volkswagen!