Overview
VOLKSWAGEN Group Australia (VGA) seems to have an enviable status among the many German model’s many world markets as a result of excessive take-up price of the efficiency variants – flagship autos that additionally occur to even be probably the most worthwhile in every mannequin vary.
With the Golf, for instance, half of all Australian gross sales quantity is accounted for by the Golf GTI and Golf R – every taking 25 p.c. So, it’s maybe no shock that VGA expects this new ID.Buzz GTX – VGA’s first-ever sporting ‘business’ automobile – will make up at the very least 20 p.c of whole ID.Buzz gross sales, based mostly on preliminary ordering patterns.
At that stage, it means Australia has doubtlessly the best take-up price of Buzz GTX as a share cut up on the earth. However is that this top-shelf, top-priced sporting van worthy of that stage of recognition and adoration? Or is all of it simply red-coloured garnish and an excessively stiff experience?
Rifling by way of its specification sheet tells a optimistic story. The GTX options each non-compulsory additional obtainable for LWB Professional as normal gear, but prices solely $5330 greater than a completely loaded Professional. For a lot of, there will certainly be worth in what that 5 grand’s price delivers within the GTX – rear-biased AWD, 40kW extra energy, 1.5 seconds sooner to 100km/h, sports activities suspension, and GTX-exclusive styling and design components.
Styling adjustments embody 21-inch ‘Townsville’ alloy wheels (with Hankook Ventus S1 Evo 3 tyres – 235/45R21 entrance, 265/40R21 rear) together with distinctive boomerang-shaped LED operating lights within the entrance bumper, distinctive Mono Silver metallic paint for its higher (non-compulsory) two-tone, plus a hero Cherry Pink color.
There’s additionally LED Matrix entrance lighting with a full-width mild bar, and basically the identical mirrored in pink lighting throughout the tailgate, mixed with sequential rear indicators; and the GTX will get a panoramic glass roof with ‘good glass’ (it turns opaque while you ‘shut’ it), and straightforward open/shut electrical sliding facet doorways and tailgate.
Solely 5 GTX colors are provided (white, pink, metallic silver, pearl black, metallic darkish blue, and pink/silver two-tone), with the two-tone costing $4090 additional, as per the common Buzz Professional.
Inside, the GTX will get black headlining and black ArtVelours microfleece seat material with pink stitching, in addition to a red-stitched sports activities steering wheel, a head-up show, 30-colour ambient lighting, and an honest 13-speaker Harman Kardon stereo with subwoofer.
Whereas the Professional and Cargo variants took over two years to succeed in Australia, the Buzz GTX solely launched in Europe final August, so VGA lastly seems to be clawing its manner again with new-model wait occasions.
The advantage of this delay, nonetheless – together with holding again buyer deliveries till April ’25 for the usual Buzz – is that each one variants now get the most recent software program, akin to much-needed wi-fi Apple CarPlay/Android Auto.
Driving Impressions
The bespoke electrical MEB platform that underpins a large number of Volkswagen Group merchandise (VW ID.4 and ID.5, Skoda Enyaq and Elroq, Cupra Born and Tavascan, and Audi This fall e-tron, in addition to ID.Buzz), together with some European Ford EVs (Capri and Explorer) is wildly variable in the case of wheelbase size.
And in addition wildly variable in the case of experience high quality…
The head of MEB’s ride-suppleness hierarchy belongs to the Skoda Enyaq and Cupra Born, although the latest VW ID.4 Professional with adaptive dampers and (solely) 19-inch wheels appears impressively attuned to nation Aussie surfaces.
But the underside of that lengthy checklist is sadly occupied by the people-moving ID.Buzz Professional – significantly the SWB five-seat model carrying non-compulsory 21s.
Maybe to mitigate any extreme side-to-side motion from its tall physique, the common Buzz’s experience is frustratingly unyielding – jiggling round and deflecting off bumps, but in addition with a level or vertical agitation and even some suspension bucking over poor surfaces.
Hardly ever has a automobile been crying out for adaptive damping greater than an ID.Buzz Professional.
But the ‘sports activities’ suspended GTX isn’t all that. Certain, it’s nonetheless knobbly, lumpy and fairly agency, however the higher-quality dampers and componentry that represent its sporting description make it really feel extra polished and extra dynamically cohesive on all surfaces, with much less vertical motion.
Being solely a long-wheelbase seven-seater additionally helps the GTX’s experience. After which there’s its rear-biased AWD system and its traction benefit.
The way in which it delivers energy to the bottom is deliciously satisfying – sending 545Nm to the rear wheels and 134Nm to the entrance – so offering you may have the GTX pointing the place you need to go in a nook, you possibly can merely mash the chrome steel energy pedal (with a cute little ‘play’ image) and it’ll haul itself ahead with precision and a line-tightening whiff of oversteer adjustment.
With energy bumped from 210 to 250kW, plus 134Nm extra torque and AWD at its disposal, the GTX is nice for 0-100km/h in a claimed 6.4 seconds (in comparison with 7.9 seconds for the LWB Professional). Its grunt supply is impressively easy, but pressing sufficient to really feel fast, and that’s regardless of weighing 2771kg.
When you’re a bit bit affected person with the GTX in tighter corners, it’s stunning what this tall, heavy bus is able to dynamically. However its one-setting regenerative braking (accessed through twisting the gearshift selector to B) isn’t on the identical web page and actually ought to present stronger retardation – each for dealing with and for power recuperation.
The GTX additionally steers noticeably higher than the common ID.Buzz. Due to the chassis-tuning efforts from Volkswagen’s efficiency division (who additionally tune the dynamics of the Golf GTI and R), the Buzz GTX’s steering feels extra constant in its weighting and response, with higher really feel round straight forward and a extra pure development when handing over.
In all areas regarding the best way the Buzz drives, the GTX represents a step up – lastly giving this traffic-stopping retro-modern electrical MPV the dynamics to justify each its worth and the quantity of public curiosity in it.
The remainder of the bundle is unchanged from a well-optioned LWB Professional, which means excellent seven-seat area and luxury, huge baggage capability and adaptability, and great imaginative and prescient – particularly wanting ahead by way of its expansive bay window.
The GTX can be a match with the LWB Professional for vary – its (conservative) WLTP declare of 450km being bang on the LWB Professional’s 452km. Pushed briskly on the Australian launch roads round Crescent Head on the NSW mid-north coast, the GTX averaged between 22.0 and 23.3kWh/100km, which means a real-world vary of round 369 to 391km when pushed enthusiastically.
That bodes nicely for getting near the 450km declare (or higher) in regular city driving.
Servicing is very aggressive, capped at $687 for each 24 month/30,000km interval, with servicing plans masking six years ($1450), eight years ($1850) or 10 years ($2250).
And should you evaluate the ID.Buzz GTX’s $109,990 checklist worth (earlier than on-road prices) to different electrical seven seaters – Kia EV9 AWD ($107-121K) and Volvo EX90 ($125-135K) – its relative worth for cash begins to overshadow the idea of this Volkswagen van costing $110K.
Whereas the EV9 and EX90 possess a good quantity of plushness and total luxurious, in addition to dynamic suaveness, I feel the ID.Buzz GTX has sufficient visible persona and driving skill to underpin its excellent seven-seat functionality.
As an SUV various, the GTX provides the ID.Buzz its finest shot but at arguing such a case.
