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By Jonathan Crouch

Volkswagen delivers a very different kind of LCV with this ID.Buzz Cargo. Jonathan Crouch drives it.

Ten Second Reviewword count: 38

There's never been a van quite like Volkswagen's ID.Buzz cargo. There are more practical EV commercial vehicles in the class, but nothing remotely as eye-catching. It's a completely different interpretation of what a medium sized LCV can be.

Backgroundword count: 123

Did you ever imagine that your company's medium-sized van would ever look like this? The styling of this Volkswagen ID.Buzz Cargo might be retro (based on the brand's classic T1 van) but its engineering is decidedly future-orientated. As the name suggests, it's the van version of the ID.Buzz MPV passenger-carrying model. And, like all ID models, it's fully electric and based on the Wolfsburg conglomerate's advanced MEB full-battery platform. Volkswagen doesn't suggest this to be the most practical mid-sized EV van you could choose; it isn't - though a future long wheelbase version may help there. But the brand will contend that this is the most car-like LCV in its class. And, crucially, the model with the longest EV driving range. Sounds promising.

Driving Experienceword count: 253

Given that the MEB platform here was primarily designed for medium-to-large cars, not a commercial vehicle, you wouldn't expect the ID.Buzz Cargo to feel especially van-like to drive - and it doesn't. With a 204PS electric motor, it's not short on grunt and it's single-available 79kWh battery is impressive in range too - a class-leading best of 276 miles. Thanks to a healthy 310Nm of torque away from standstill, it certainly feels a good deal more urgent than its main more conventional (primarily Stellantis Group-designed) mid-sized EV rivals. The 62mph from rest sprint occupies 10.2s, en route to the very modest top speed of 90mph. The car-derived platform is supple over bumps and both wind noise and tyre roar are very well suppressed. Towing weight is rated at 1-tonne; some rivals can pull more. There's the option of a 4MOTION 4WD version too. You're not spoiled for driving modes or lots of brake regeneration settings. There's just a 'B' option for the gear selector, which decelerates the vehicle by up to 0.3g off-throttle, which is useful, but nothing like enough to deliver 'one-pedal' driving at low speeds. Cruise control with intelligent speed assist comes as standard and there's more camera safety kit than you might expect from a van. There's a tight 11-metre turning circle, which along with the glassy cabin should make the Buzz feel very manoeuvrable in town. All the usual VW drive assist features are available - Matrix headlights, 'car2x' swarm informational technology and the 'Travel Assist' semi-autonomous drive system.

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