We’re big fans of the Volkswagen ID Buzz at CarThrottle. Its blend of hugely characterful styling and enormous practicality make it one of the most likeable EVs on sale, and a recent update has ironed out a lot of the issues that early cars had.
However, with a starting price of £59,035, it’s not exactly cheap. Over in mainland Europe, VW has just made some strides towards making it more accessible with the introduction of a new entry-level model that gets rid of some of the frills for a hefty discount.
Called the Freestyle, in its home country of Germany, it starts at €49,998 – around £41,500. The German and British Buzz ranges don’t quite line up, with Germany getting a couple of other interim versions, but that’s around €11,000 (approx. £9,000) less than the model roughly equivalent to our entry-level Buzz.
VW ID Buzz Freestyle – rear
For that significantly reduced outlay, you’ll get unpainted plastic bumpers (remember those?), and just two colour choices: the no-cost Candy White, or the €1,035 option of Mono Silver. You do get those nifty ‘Freestyle’ decals on the side free of charge, though.
Similarly, on the inside, there’s none of the jolly two-tone pastel hues or big, architectural sunroofs of more expensive Buzzes – you’re limited to practical, hard-wearing grey fabric. The standard wheels are even steelies with plastic hubcaps, which we recommend immediately removing for an ultra-spartan look.
VW ID Buzz Freestyle – interior
There are a couple of downsides. You’ll have to settle for a lower-powered motor, sending just 168bhp to the back wheels, so pace won’t be particularly forthcoming. A smaller 59kWh battery makes for a quoted 204-mile range.
It’s also currently only available on the shorter-wheelbase five-seater Buzz, which is a bit of a shame for something that could otherwise see service as a more affordable electric people-mover. The biggest disappointment, though, is that the Freestyle is only available in certain left-hand drive European markets. Volkswagen UK has confirmed to us that UK sales aren’t currently on the cards, so we’ll have look jealously across the Channel at this one.
