Love the all-new electrified incarnation or not, the Volkswagen Microbus is finally making a return to the US market. And with it, the Volkswagen camper bus – and some promising sub-$100K camper van options in general – also make a much-welcome return to US shores. We had the chance to test the world's first ID. Buzz camper van ahead of its official US availability to take an early taste of the dawning era of Volkswagen van life.
The bus
Volkswagen's announcement of a US ID. Buzz base price of $59,995 (plus $1,550 destination fee) was met largely with disappointment, and rightfully so, since the little e-van will be competing mostly with minivans starting between $36,000 and $51,000. Since it isn't built in the US, the Buzz is not even eligible for the $7,500 federal EV tax credit – so roughly $61,500 for a base electric MPV with a decent, not great, 234-mile (377-km) EPA-estimated range. That doesn't look all that enticing, no matter how cute and nostalgic one might find Volkswagen's 21st century Microbus.
The calculus shifts when you look at the ID. Buzz as a camper van base, however. Once you add in Ququq's BusBox 4, you have a brand-new all-electric camper van for a base of $65,835 – that's a low price for any MY2025 camper van in the US, let alone one that brings an untouchable level of camper van nostalgia and an all-electric drive that'll cut the costs of refueling.
The camper
There are more integrated ID. Buzz camper vans at this point, but the Ququq BusBox 4 represents the first ID. Buzz camper hardware in both the world and the US. Peace Vans beat Ququq to an official US announcement, but while those packages have yet to officially launch, the Ququq BusBox 4 kit has been here for weeks, just waiting for Volkswagen to start delivering vans. Ququq's US distributor RRE Global confirmed last month that it had the US$4,290 BusBox 4 kits on hand and ready to ship.
Ququq developed its camper kit for the original 185-in (471-cm) ID. Buzz with standard wheelbase, but the package also works with the 195-in (496-cm) long-wheelbase van that will be the only version offered in the States. Volkswagen kindly set us up in the LWB model for our test.
The kit requires removal of the LWB van's third-row seats and installs behind the non-removable second-row seats so the van can still serve as a five-person camp shuttle/everyday MPV. The BusBox came preinstalled in the ID. Buzz we tested, but Ququq says its boxes only take about a minute to install. We'd probably set aside a few minutes for hoisting it into the trunk and securing it down with straps for the first time, but it's nice that it doesn't require any tools or hard labor.
The BusBox 4's main components, a full-width kitchen box and bed frame, weigh about the same as an extra passenger at 143 lb (65 kg), so not a large amount of range-sapping bulk to worry about on a road trip.
Escape day
As I traipsed through the parking garage, the uneasiness I was feeling about driving in Europe for the first time dissipated immediately when I spotted the bright-yellow ID. Buzz sitting by its lonesome. If ever there were an antidote to five stuffy days spent jostling through the crowds of the world's largest RV show and holing up in a hotel room behind a laptop screen, this was it. Freedom and possibility – exactly why Volkswagen campers are so timelessly beloved.
My daily driver is a full-size pickup truck, so I'm used to larger passenger vehicles, but the ID. Buzz LWB felt a tad too long and bulky for the tightly spaced underground parking garage, a firsthand lesson in why European RV builders are so quick to advertise garageable dimensions. The van barely fit within the parking space lines, and I worried I was going to scrape a wall or parked car as I followed the spiraling arrows toward the exit. The ID. Buzz was just as worried, its exterior sensors tripping the alert system more than once as I simply navigated around the aisles.
I ultimately made it up and out to daylight without any damage to vehicle or VW insurance policy, spitting into a lazy side street before hanging a right onto a main artery to the A46 near the south of Düsseldorf. The 282-hp LWB Buzz certainly won't set the world record books afire with its 7.9-second 0-62 mph (100 km/h) time, but the electric drive felt plenty smooth and confident when merging onto the freeway, getting up to traffic speed without issue.
Volkswagen's info-nav system proved a reliable partner and easier to use than expected – I was able to comfortably navigate an area of the world I had previously only viewed for a matter of minutes on an undersized virtual map. I set the original course to the campground, then used several point-of-interest searches for necessary stops along the way. I leaned on the infotainment system harder than usual because I had lost my phone a few days earlier (one too many altbiers).
The head-up display, newly added for the 2024 model year and available in the US on the Pro S Plus package, was another feature that proved more useful and intuitive than expected. HUDs are a spec item that never appealed to me, but the Buzz variant wasn't invasive or distracting, serving effectively as a quick glance point for navigational info and speed checks.
The speed check bit was particularly helpful when trying to identify the grating ringing that ultimately proved to be Volkswagen's speed limit warning system, which goes nuts when you exceed the local limit by a preset figure, in this case, 5 km/h. At home, I'd shut this alert off immediately, but it did keep me zeroed in on checking speed on foreign roads where I didn't always see a speed limit sign.
Arrival
The Bergisches Land is a rather fascinating little slice of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The natural area is a mere 30 minutes from downtown Düsseldorf, and even contains the 330,000-strong city of Wuppertal within its boundaries, but feels like a different place entirely – a low-mountain panorama of dense, mossy forests blanketing rounded hills that drop into the rivers below. While its western border is dotted with major cities, you'll have to zoom in on Google Maps to find any town names to the east – only tiny towns and villages interrupt the greenery.
As I turned the corner in Solingen, "City of Blades," the pedestrians and businesses of the lively city outskirts disappeared at once, replaced with a quiet, winding rural road making a rollercoaster descent through the meadows and into the valley. I was quickly immersed in the green, hilly Germany I previously knew only from photographs and train windows.
The beefy ID. Buzz wasn't the ideal instrument for pulling the most out of the twisty country road, and I yearned for the low seat and stiff springs of a sports coupe. I did throw it into Sport mode to boost throttle and steering response, regularly punching 15 km/h above the recommended speed limit on the 180-degree corners, with no skidding or squealing to speak of. And since they were recommended and not hard speed limits, there was no ear-piercing speed alarm to worry about, either.
Base camp
The campground was on the valley floor, right beside the Wupper River. Along with the river's edge, it was closely bordered by thriving trees of deciduous and coniferous varieties. Just across the street was a network of walking and hiking trails – a great little fresh-air escape from city confines.
Setting the Ququq BusBox 4 up for camp proved a very simple process of folding the rear seats down and extending the sleeping platform over top. I didn't have any instructions (or a phone to call up a video), but it was perfectly straightforward without them.
I found the box itself more robust than it looked in photos, its watertight phenolic resin-finished plywood construction reinforced along all edges with thick aluminum profiles. The beefy shiny steel latches that secured the box closed were particularly quick and easy to use, opening and closing with a crisp snap. They were far superior to the weird, difficult-to-set strap systems some manufacturers think pass for a proper way of closing a rooftop tent that costs about the same as the BusBox.
One shortcoming of the hardware, adapted from Ququq's older BusBox kits, was the simple foam beam that serves as a front support to level the platform on the folded seats. Thicker than the thin foam on other Ququq kits, this beam had come unglued from the bottom of what otherwise appeared to be a brand new kit. It was on the floor of the van, and I initially mistook it for a spare piece of packing foam before realizing it was necessary to fill the gap between seat back and platform.
Other BusBox kits include a set of front legs that can be used to support the platform with the second-row seats removed, but since the Buzz's second row does not remove, this isn't an option. We'd prefer to see something a little more robust in place of the foam, but it did work efficiently in leveling out the sleeping surface and holding all 190 (86 kg) pounds of yours truly.
Since the Ququq box includes a dual-burner camping stove and a pair of 10-L water canisters but no cookware, I decided to skip cooking and keep meals simple with some deli meat, cheese, a baguette, and fresh fruits and vegetables.
The BusBox 4 comes standard with an empty storage space in the middle, which can accommodate a small fridge box. The top-loading fridge in mine was enough to hold the packages of meat and cheese, tomatoes, raspberries and beverages comfortably, but I wouldn't rely on it for more than one night with a family, maybe two or three as a solo. It was overloaded after one stop at the grocery store, and while beverages can be rotated in as needed, space is still limited for perishable foods. If I were buying, I'd skip purchasing the small fridge and opt for a larger fridge or cooler outside the BusBox.
The stay
This setup is about as basic a camper van as you can get, but it was perfectly comfortable, especially for my one-man trip. In the rainy, drab weather, I spent more time sitting inside on the driver's seat, but the van is best-suited to lounging outside on camping furniture right up until you want to curl up in bed to sleep, read or watch movies on a mobile device. An awning would be a nice addition to add more exterior overhead coverage beyond the open tailgate.
One nice available ID. Buzz feature that should be perfect for camping is Volkswagen's large electrochromic glass roof, a $1,495 option in the US. A quick swipe switches between transparent and opaque glass, opening up a full view of the stars if you sleep with your head at the front end of Ququq's mattress. Sadly, my overnight stay was below heavy cloud coverage, so I didn't get to experience those stars firsthand.
The rainy weather did help in another way, though, the steady, gentle pitter-patter of rain lulling me to sleep early, an advantage because I had no sleeping bag or blanket and would have been kept awake by the colder temperatures that came later.
I was initially hesitant to use the ID. Buzz's stationary climate control feature because I didn't know how far it would run the battery down. However, when my makeshift flannel shirt blanket proved entirely insufficient for the chilly, wet temperature drop into the 40s (F), I switched the heat on around 1 a.m. and ran it for a while to get cabin temp back up around 68 F (20 C). After switching it off, I awoke shivering again around 5 a.m. and left the heater on until I woke for the day at 7 – or, as it turns out, for the 30 minutes or so the system is programmed to run before automatically shutting off, according to Volkswagen's ID. Buzz owner's manual.
It was nice being able to switch the heat on and off from the touchscreen, without having to insert a key or start the engine, and would be even more convenient using the remote climate control function in VW's app without so much as getting out of bed.
By morning, the estimated range remaining had dropped only 20 km (12.4 miles) since my arrival at camp, which was not a bad tradeoff at all for a warm, full night of sleep.
One other small issue with Ququq's design: the left and right hinged arms used to extend the sleeping platform stick straight upward when the platform is in sleeping position. Ququq even cuts thin channels in the mattress to accommodate them, which leaves the top joint of the hard arm poking through in a way that could be quite uncomfortable to roll on in the middle of the night. It didn't affect me as a mid-mattress solo sleeper, but it'd be harder to avoid with two people.
Rise and ride
As with any camping trip, coffee and more coffee was my first order of business in the morning. With no pot to boil water and no beans on hand, a local coffee shop became the destination. It took me longer to run to the bathroom and get changed than it did to break down camp – less than five minutes to fold, slide and pack everything away, and I was behind the wheel, ready to leave.
The VW navigation system proved invaluable here. At first, the 15-minute drive seemed a little long for the nearest coffee shop (surely there was something closer), but it routed me to a cafe in an idyllic little riverside village representing the low-lying section of Solingen (Solingen Unterburg). I didn't even mind the fact that the cafe was still closed for another hour when I arrived, as I enjoyed walking the streets of the historic canal-split hamlet. Once the cafe did open, the coffee was good, the apple strudel decadent and the view from the glass-walled patio magnificent – 15 minutes well invested.
Eyeballs wide with fresh caffeine, the trip back to Düsseldorf was a breeze, glad I left the call up to the navigation system.
Bottom Line
I was initially disappointed I'd only be able to squeeze a one-night stay into my trip, as it quickly burst grander visions of a road trip to the Swiss or Austrian Alps. But looking back, the short urban escape was an ideal use case for a 230-mile electric mini-camper.
I started the journey off with over 90 percent charge at 453 km (281 miles) of range (advertised WLTP range in Germany is 487 km/302 miles), arrived at camp with 67 percent battery power left, and finished the round trip off back in Düsseldorf just below 50 percent. The entire trip was 170 km, so I was well off pace for getting the full 450 km and would have been lucky to reach 350 km (218 miles). Still, with half a battery left, I could have camped in the same area for another night to make a proper weekend-long trip out of it without needing to charge before arriving back to the city.
While the ID. Buzz/Ququq combo proved the perfect tool for that style of quick, short city escape, I wouldn't be as quick to rely on it for longer camping or road trips. Even if you drove more conservatively to hit the 293-mile WLTP or 234-mile EPA range, that's still pretty limited for an extended trip, especially if your destination is a primitive campsite without access to a charger.
Charging is as quick as 26 minutes (10 to 80 percent) at a 200-kW DC fast-charger or over eight hours using 11-kW Level 2 AC charging.
In the US, the Buzz will be a great vehicle for those who want an all-electric everyday driver with five to seven seats that doubles as a camper for weekends and vacations. It offers plenty of range for daily commuting and errands, coupled with the ability to switch to camping mode in a matter of minutes. Of course, if you plan to use it as a family camper, you'll need to pack a tent or make alternative accommodations since it's designed to sleep just two adults.
At launch, the new setup will also have the baked-in advantage of being both the first all-new VW camper van in the US in two decades and the only midsize-van camper on the market. Ram hammered the final nail in the US midsize van market's coffin in 2022 when it discontinued the Promaster City, and with that market went all the cheaper American small camper van options that could have competed against the ID. Buzz/Ququq setup in price.
That leaves the ID. Buzz to compete directly with only a select few minivan camper packages, used camper vans and DIY builds. We suppose it'll also be cross-shopped against camper and sleeper kits for wagons and SUVs, like the Tesla Model Y, but those lack some of the space and appeal of a van.
More pricing/equipment details
Volkswagen began the first American ID. Buzz deliveries this week, with comedian and VW enthusiast Gabriel Iglesias receiving the very first one.
Beyond the base $60K ID. Buzz Pro S, Volkswagen also offers the $63,495 Pro S Plus, which includes upgrades like the HUD, Area View around-vehicle camera system, 14-speaker 700-W Harman/Kardon audio system, and easy open/close sliding doors and tailgate. The Pro S Plus is also available as a dual-motor 4Motion all-wheel drive starting at $67,995.
The $65,495+ launch-only 1st Edition ID. Buzz model builds on the Pro S Plus, adding in the electrochromic glass roof, roof rail crossbars, and special floor mats and badging.
All prices are before the $1,550 destination fee.
The 2025 ID. Buzz is still a ways off the fully autonomous scenic touring machine Volkswagen pitched back in its concept days, but all US trims come with a full driver-assistance suite that includes IQ. Drive with semi-automated driving, park assist plus, front assist with emergency auto-braking, and active blind spot monitoring.
See Volkswagen for more info.
The Ququq BusBox 4 designed specifically for the ID. Buzz is available from RRE Global for $4,290. The simple, straightforward kit is at the opposite end of the spectrum from the van itself when it comes to available add-ons, but there is the option of adding slide rails for holding the small fridge (sold separately). More info from RRE.
