I don’t agree with this article. 60k for this is way too much. Ev makers really need to work on pricing.
If it feels like many years since you first saw Volkswagen’s retro electric microbus, the ID. Buzz, you’re not wrong. It’s surprisingly aptly named; I can’t think of another car during the past decade that has aroused so much interest among people who don’t usually care about four-wheeled transport. Nearly eight years after the concept made its debut, the Buzz is on sale in Europe and has been for a year. Now it’s time for America to get its turn, with deliveries starting later this year.
We drove the Euro-spec Buzz almost two years ago, but it’s fair to say the version that’s coming to the US is a better proposition. The Buzz we drove had a shorter wheelbase, a smaller-capacity battery, and seats only for five, and if you sat in the back, there was no ventilation, and the windows couldn’t be opened.
The US market will only receive the longer-wheelbase Buzz, which adds about 10 inches (250 mm) between the axles. This adds room for a third row of seats, making it a proper seven-seater. It should be a bit more humane sitting in the back, as there are air vents—we’re waiting to drive it to find out if any windows open back there.
The three-row Buzz also carries a bigger (91 kWh) battery pack, but there’s no getting around that retro shape’s big bluff frontal area, and the EPA range estimate for the rear-wheel drive Buzz is just 234 miles (377 km), a number we’re sure will disappoint many who’ve been patiently waiting for the electric minibus. All-wheel drive drops the range by 3 miles (5 km).
I wish the article mentioned any (or the lack of)V2H/G/L on the Buzz.
Which goes to price as well–if the Buzz could take the place of home battery backup, that would be a big nod to some economy.
Thanks for introducing me to these terms. I’m certain my next vehicle will be an EV and without even knowing the name for it I knew I wanted V2H. It just seems like an absolutely perfect synergy.
It’s more commonly referred to as V2x.
It’s absolutely criminal that it isn’t as easy to get the power out as it is to put it in.
EVs legitimately do create problems for electrical grids, but they also possess the ability to solve the very problem they’re creating.