Volkswagen knows what it takes to make a great van, whether we’re talking commercial goods-hauler or MPV-cum-weekend camper. Sometimes that means working with the aftermarket to create a versatile van to take on multiple roles with little to no owner conversion necessary, something like the Caddy with flip-up rear bench. VW’s latest piece of van kit doesn’t even require a flip, permanently dividing the ID. Buzz into a split-personality cargo-MPV that seats a family of five while carrying all means of tools and packages in a discrete compartment. On the downside, it deletes the e-bus’ ability to work with readily available aftermarket camper hardware.
Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles starts the introduction to its latest van offering by reviewing that the ID. Buzz comes standard as a five-seat passenger vehicle for everyday driving and leisure. That van is optimized for transporting people and can be optionally upgraded into a six- or seven-seater.
The ID. Buzz Cargo, meanwhile, comes with a three-seat bench in the driver’s cab, separated from the open cargo compartment by a partition just behind it. It’s designed for businesses, trade workers and professional entities to safely pack in as much cargo as possible.
Volkswagen
The all-new ID. Buzz option, which we’ll call the ID. Buzz MF (that’s … “multifunctional”) melds those two Buzz specs into one dual-purpose machine. It features a full five-seat van cabin with two cab seats and a three-seat rear bench. While any old five-seat ID. Buzz could carry cargo in the tailgate load area, the MF comes equipped with a hard partition fully separating the passenger cell from the heavy loads in back.
So VW’s little electric van can deliver heavy packages or carry heavy tools on the way to or from dropping the kids off at school. Owners are free to load the tailgate compartment straight up to the ceiling without worrying about anything falling, sliding or soaring into the passenger compartment.
VW Commercial Vehicles
The reason we had to give the van our own name is that Volkswagen introduces it rather mundanely as a basic partition option on the ID. Buzz order sheet. That might be technically true, but a van this slick and multifunctional deserves its own model name, and we’d say “ID. Buzz MF” gets the job done.
The newly available partition was developed in collaboration with Dutch supplier Snoeks Automotive, a VW Group partner for the past 70 years, and can now be selected as a configuration option for new ID. Buzz orders placed with Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles. It is then installed directly at the factory.
Instead of the hard, cold metal you might expect in a dedicated cargo van, the partition wall is made from a soft-touch Compax composite that VW describes as durable and lightweight, nicely suited to both the passenger side and cargo hold. It includes a wide central window that ensures the driver’s rear view remains uninterrupted … unless he or she packs cargo clean to the roof and blocks it. An under-floor storage compartment in the load area houses the electric charging cable to keep it out of the way but ready for use.
VW Commercial Vehicles
Volkswagen notes that the partition does not impede the operation of the rear passenger seatbelts or side airbags. It also says the air conditioning operates more efficiently owing to the smaller volume of the walled-off passenger compartment.
It isn’t all peaches and rainbows, of course. As interesting of a dual-purpose van option as the ID. Buzz MF is, splitting the van in half ultimately eliminates compatibility with RV kits like the Ququq camper-in-a-box we tested out in 2024. You can’t lay out a bed from the front seat backs to the tailgate when there’s a hard, immobile wall directly in the middle. You also lose the ability to carry oblong items atop the folded rear seats.
In this case, our “MF” designation might take on a different meaning.
The new partition option launched this week and is available in Germany for a price of โฌ1,856.40 (approx. US$2,200), which includes the installation of the charging cable storage compartment and VAT. It can be ordered for specific trims of both short- and long-wheelbase ID. Buzz variants.
Source: VW Commercial Vehicles