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Forbes
9 hours ago
- Automotive
- Forbes
Advances In LiDAR And Radar Accelerate Driving Autonomy
17 June 2025, Hamburg: Anjes Tjarks (Alliance 90/The Greens), Hamburg's Senator for Transport and ... More Mobility Transition, speaks at the presentation of the autonomous "Volkswagen AD" in Hamburg's Hafencity. Volkswagen is presenting the series version of its autonomous electric van ID Buzz for the first time in Hamburg. Prototypes are already being tested on the streets of Hamburg by the ridesharing subsidiary "Moia", so far still with a safety driver on board. Photo: David Hammersen/dpa (Photo by David Hammersen/picture alliance via Getty Images) Volkswagen recently announced the launch of the L4 (Level 4 autonomy with no human driver in designated locations, times and driving conditions) AD microbus. The business model is to work with existing transportation and mobility companies (private and public), by providing the hardware (vehicle, sensors, compute) and autonomous driving software stack (including fleet management software). The first set of 500 vehicles is slated for delivery in 2026 to Uber for ride-hailing trials (with a human driver) in Los Angeles, Fully autonomous ride hailing is planned for 2027. The AD is currently offering ride share services In Hamburg, Germany, through MOIA, a 'technology company of the Volkswagen Group which develops on-demand ride-pooling services to redefine mobility for people in urban areas'. Volkswagen has attempted to enter the autonomous mobility market since 2020 with ambitious plans and $Bs in investments - both, internal (the CARIAD software division), and external (co-investment in Unfortunately, these were delayed or dissolved, led to board tensions and senior executive changes, and slowed the effort. This is similar to the experience at other OEMs like Ford and GM Cruise. Volkswagen is re-entering the space at a time when technology giants (Waymo-Alphabet, Zoox-Amazon and Tesla) are already significantly ahead. Even the Sam Altman-led OpenAI, (the company that started off as a non-profit venture and now also has a for-profit division) announced recently on a podcast that 'We have some new technology that could just do self-driving for standard cars' (see minute 6 of the podcast). So can a century old automaker (and other automakers) prevail in this market, dominated by technology companies? In Volkswagen's case: Valeo As a global, publicly listed (~$25B/year in revenues), Tier 1 supplier to automotive OEMs, Valeo supplies a wide range of products in electrification, driving assistance systems, interior cabin experience and lighting groups. Products include mechanical, electrical, sensing and electronic components, spanning from motors and lighting assemblies to ultrasonic, camera, radar and LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging). The SCALA™ series of LiDARs is one of these products, with the second generation (SCALA 2) version designed into the Mercedes S-Class (see Figure 1) to support its L3 autonomy (self driving under certain conditions with human driver ready to take over in 10 seconds) feature (Drive Pilot) at a maximum speed of 95 km/h (60 mph). SCALA 2 achieves a 80 m range for brick and tire debris size objects and 300,000 pps (points per second, a metric akin to resolution or pixels in a camera) in a ~ 600 cm³ volume with a square optical format. Figure 1: 05 May 2022, Berlin: Mercedes is the first manufacturer in Germany to start selling a ... More system for highly automated driving that can completely take control in gridlocked traffic on the autobahn. Photo: Carsten Koall/dpa (Photo by Carsten Koall/picture alliance via Getty Images) Valeo's next-generation version, the SCALA 3, uses a similar platform as the SCALA 2, but delivers significantly higher range (200m) and resolution (12.5M pps) performance in a ~1200 cm³ volume, with a 45 mm height and rectangular format, suitable for roof or behind-the-grill mounting, see Figure 2). Figure 2: SCALA 3 LiDAR (Left) and Point Cloud Image for Rooftop Mounted Version (Right) The higher performance of the SCALA 3 is expected to increase the allowable L3 speeds for the Drive Pilot to 130 km/h (80 mph). SCALA 3 is expected to start production in 2025, and has been selected by Stellantis (launch of Stella AutoDrive for L3 at initial speeds of 37 mph in 2026). It has also been selected by 3 other global OEMs to support L3 and L4 autonomy features. Per Antoine Claudepierre, V.P of LiDAR Business Development, one of these is a leading Asia-based automotive OEM (to start production in 2026 for L3 vehicle). Valeo has previously supplied LiDAR for Honda's L3 efforts. On the imaging radar front, Valeo announced a design win with a leading European OEM, with production slated for 2028. The goal is to increase allowable speeds for unsupervised Highway Pilot to 130 km/h. Apart from the imaging radar, the sensor suite will also use a LiDAR (supplier evaluation ongoing). Given the discussion above, its seems likely that this is for the Mercedes Drive Pilot. As a Tier 1 supplier, Valeo has collaborated with Mobileye since 2015 on front-facing cameras and other driver assist solutions. In September 2023, the companies announced a collaboration to industrialize imaging radar for autonomy where 'automakers gain access to the latest cutting edge technology from Mobileye that they can trust will exceed industry expectations as we have proven before, while benefiting from the customization, industrialization, testing and support capabilities brought by Valeo'. The two companies have also collaborated on delivering ADAS features to OEMs like Volkswagen, with Valeo as the Tier 1 and Mobileye as the Tier 2 supplier. Mobileye has been developing its imaging radar (Mobileye Imaging Radar™) since 2018 and separately announced a design win with a major OEM for L3 capability (at or > 130 km/hr) to launch in 2028 (Mercedes again??). More on this later in the Mobileye section. Innoviz Technologies Innoviz has been chosen as the LIDAR supplier for L4 autonomous driving in the Volkswagen microbus. With launch of this capability planned for 2026 in select cities like Los Angeles and Hamburg, Innvoiz is currently ramping up production of its InnovizTwo short and long range LiDARs. Each will use a total of nine InnovizTwo LiDARs (6 short and 3 long range). Innoviz uses 905 nm SPAD (Single Photon Avalanche Diodes) based detectors and edge emitting laser arrays, along with MEMs (Micro Electro Mechanical) mirror scanners in the InnovizTwo LiDAR family. The InnovizTwo short range LiDAR has a range of 100 m and a high vertical Field of View (FoV) of up to 90°. The long range version has a range of 300 m, a 120°x43° maximum FOV, minimum angular resolution of 0.05°x0.05°, 20 Hz frame rate and a physical volume of 825 cm³. Figure 3 shows the InnovizTwo, and point clouds at short and long range: Figure 3: InnovizTwo (Left), Point Cloud at Short Range (Middle), Point Cloud at Long Range (Right) InnovizTwo is also resilient to optical path obscurations (mud, rain, insect splatter), a critical requirement for autonomous operation. Per Mr. Kielaf, having such capabilities in an L4 vehicle (no human driver) is an absolute requirement since loss of perception at high speeds can be lethal. The optical design of the InnovizTwo LiDAR ensures redundancy in the optical path for the transmit and receive path for each pixel. As an example if the window is 25% covered, no single pixel will be 'dead' and some pixels will lose about 7% of the range performance. Innoviz was selected by Audi (a Volkswagen brand) to deliver LiDAR as a Tier 1 supplier in 2023. Achieving this designation has many benefits - direct relationships with the OEM, transparency and integration smoothness, visibility into other program opportunities, direct performance and product feedback, higher profit margins and credibility for other OEMs. But it has its own challenges as well - intensive audits on multiple fronts - manufacturing, costs, quality and production strategy. Innoviz has a manufacturing facility in Israel. However, it is not automotive-certified, and achieving this takes time and investments. Innoviz announced a partnership with Fabrinet, a publicly listed contract manufacturer with automotive grade certification, and a specialist in high volume manufacturing of precision opto-mechanical-electrical products. Its factories in Thailand can scale manufacturing to automotive volumes and quality as demand grows. This positions Innoviz to deliver as a Tier 1 supplier to the Volkswagen L4 program as it scales up. Apart from the Volkswagen and Audi selection, Innoviz is also the preferred LiDAR supplier to Mobileye for their different autonomy applications. The company also announced recently that 'it has signed a Statement of Development Work (SoDW) agreement with a Top 5 passenger automotive manufacturer. Through this SoDW, Innoviz will supply advanced LiDAR units for the OEM's L3 highly automated series-production program with target SOP of 2027'. Mercedes Again?? According to Omer Kielaf, CEO of Innoviz, the company's success in getting designed into major OEM platforms 'are our history of deep working relationships, disciplined project management, investing in becoming a Tier 1 designated supplier, the cost-performance-durability-size of the InnovizTwo LiDAR, and the ability for customers to source short and long range lidars from the same supplier'. Mobileye One of the biggest success stories of high tech from Israel in the last decade, Mobileye is today a Nasdaq listed company (occurred in 2022 after its spin-off from Intel which had acquired the company earlier). With a market capitalization of ~$15B and revenues of $1.8B/year, it is easily the leading player in the pure play autonomy landscape. Its customers include 50 automotive OEMs who use their ADAS-based solutions (cameras, chips, software) across 1200 car models and 190M cars. The goal is to support ADAS, L2, L3 and L4 capabilities through a combination of semiconductor chips, crowdsourced data from its mounted camera units, sensor integration (internal and external) and AI based software for path planning and drive policy. These products are listed below: Mobileye had a development program for a proprietary 1320 nm FMCW (Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave) which it presented at CES 2023. In late 2024, it discontinued this effort claiming that this development was less essential to its future efforts, and 'that the availability of next-generation FMCW lidar is less essential to our roadmap for eyes-off systems'. It cited as reasons the progress on its EyeQ6-based computer vision perception, performance of its imaging radar, and better-than-expected cost reductions in third-party time-of-flight (ToF) LiDAR units. The Mobileye Imaging Radar™ draws on IP during its tenure within Intel. Mobileye believes that its imaging radar is a perfect complement to cameras, especially in bad weather and will play a big role in compensating for loss of LiDAR and camera sensitivity. The core of the radar is the proprietary design of radio-frequency integrated circuits (RFIC), embedded in a unique architecture where the entire radar signal is sampled and digitally processed by a dedicated proprietary processor. It has 1500 channels (virtual antennas), 20 Hz frame rate, 100 dB dynamic range and an angular resolution of 0.5°. The resolution is twice that of other imaging radars on the market enabling small object hazard detection, segmentation and identification at 130 m range (at speeds of 130 km/hr, presumably for L3 or L4, this is an OEM requirement). Larger objects like pedestrians and traffic poles can be detected at a 300 m range. Costs are expected to be in the $100 range. At short range, a combination of these radars can address a 360° FoV. In essence, this radar delivers essentially the same type of 3D point cloud and axial velocity information as a FMCW LiDAR, but at 100X lower angular resolution. It can detect most objects and their axial velocities, but not identify or classify them. The big advantage of course, is that performance is not degraded in bad weather and it costs 5-10X lower than a LiDAR. It is also more compact and can be gracefully designed into the vehicle body. Figure 4 shows a point cloud generated by the imaging radar. Figure 4: Point Cloud (dots) Superimposed on a Camera Image from Mobileye Imaging Radar. Colored ... More Dots Represent x-y-z Position. Doppler Velocity for Each Point is Also Provided. According to Dan Galves, Chief Communications Officer, 'Our imaging radars were designed as a key technology pillar to enable high-precision hands-off, eyes-off driving in both robotaxis and privately-owned vehicles, with a cost that supports scale. By adding a perception layer based on imaging radars, fully independent of cameras and LiDAR, Mobileye delivers a scalable, safe and cost-efficient solution to support the global deployments of consumer AVs and robotaxis - no matter where they drive.' Automotive OEMs are entering the autonomous car revolution once again. The challenge for them is not the technology - that exists. It is to find business models that unleash meaningful revenues and profits demanded by their shareholders (unlike the tech giants who have massive profits on their core business, and autonomous driving is just another BET). On the L3 front, it is a feature they can sell to consumers by the millions, and at reasonable cost and profits. Leveraging this into L4 capability for autonomous ride-hailing services will require competing aggressively with technology giants already deep in the game. It will be interesting to see how this war unfolds.
Car and Driver
10 hours ago
- Automotive
- Car and Driver
Hyundai Ioniq 9 vs. Volkswagen ID.Buzz Tested: 3-Row EVs Compared
The EV landscape is starting to offer variety for buyers looking for a versatile three-row vehicle. Previously, only a select few EVs could seat more than five people, but now there's a raft of entries in a variety of forms. Look at these two new options, for instance: The Volkswagen is a retro yet modern take on the old Microbus, while the Hyundai Ioniq 9 is a futuristic-looking SUV that now serves as the flagship of the Korean automaker's electric subbrand. They couldn't really look more different from each other, but they're competitors nonetheless thanks to their price points, intended missions, and specifications. For this test, we matched up the top dual-motor versions of these electric family-mobiles. The Volkswagen's optional 4Motion all-wheel-drive setup produces 335 horsepower, while the Hyundai's most potent setup has 422 horsepower. They may be priced like luxury vehicles, with both coming in above $70,000, but they are also equipped like them. The Ioniq 9's fully loaded Calligraphy trim has power-operated second-row seats, multicolor ambient lighting, a head-up display, and a Bose premium audio system. The we tested was also in its top trim, called Pro S Plus. view exterior photos Michael Simari | Car and Driver view interior Photos Michael Simari | Car and Driver Interior and Exterior Both vehicles have distinctive design themes inside and out. The is instantly recognizable both as a van and as a throwback, with its two-tone paint scheme, slab-sided bodywork, and chunky wheel designs. The Ioniq 9, meanwhile, incorporates the same pixelated motif as the smaller Ioniq 5 and Ioniq 6 models, with little squares found everywhere from the headlights to the center console to the steering wheel. Its shape is almost wagon-like, and the odd-looking rear end has Volvo-style vertical taillights. Inside, it's tough to choose between the two in terms of build quality and materials. The Ioniq 9 is plush and straightforward in its approach, with soft leather and interestingly textured inserts in the dashboard. It has a familiar set of easy-to-use controls and navigable screens for the gauge cluster and central infotainment display. The Buzz, meanwhile, is more kitschy thanks to its colored panels and an interesting mix of plastic and rubber materials. We don't prefer its user interface, as the touch-sensitive buttons on the steering wheel and the sometimes confusing infotainment menus don't make it simple to operate the radio or the navigation system on the fly. view interior Photos Greg Pajo | Car and Driver view interior Photos Greg Pajo | Car and Driver It's immediately clear, however, that the feels far more spacious inside. It's a minivan, after all, and the second- and third-row seats are more accommodating for adults. Even the third-row seats have a reasonably upright seating position with plenty of headroom. The Ioniq 9's second-row seats are quite comfy and feature lounge-style extendable ottomans in the top Calligraphy trim, but the functionality of this feature is questionable, as there's really only enough room for kids to be able to stretch their legs with the footrests extended. The Ioniq 9 has the advantage in terms of ease of cargo adaptability. The second- and third-row seats fold flat at the push of a button, creating a relatively expansive load floor. While the might appear to be a cargo-carrying maven on paper, the configurability of the seats is clunky. To collapse the seats, which don't fold flat into the floor, you have to pull various straps. Behind the third row is a false cargo floor with bins underneath that creates a flush surface with the folded third-row seatbacks, which is a bit of a weird solution. view exterior photos Michael Simari | Car and Driver Powertrain and Performance If the words "dual-motor, all-wheel-drive powertrain" are starting to sound repetitive, then you've probably been reading a lot about EVs. Both the Ioniq 9 and the use this ubiquitous setup, although there are notable differences in their performance. Although both models come standard with lower-powered single-motor, rear-wheel-drive configurations, the Ioniq 9's top dual-motor configuration has 422 horsepower, far more than the 335 horsepower. Hyundai Ioniq 9 Calligraphy HIGHS: Comfortable and quiet ride, strong acceleration, good EPA range, fast charging. LOWS: Third-row space is compromised, interior is too similar to cheaper Ioniq models, weird styling isn't for everyone. VERDICT: The Ioniq 9 delivers a complete package, with the range, features, and performance to please most buyers. Both test vehicles weigh over 6000 pounds, with the coming in at 6174 pounds and the Ioniq 9 at 6034 pounds. That makes them considerably heavier than conventional gas-powered minivans and three-row SUVs, but their electric motors are still powerful enough to provide snappy acceleration. The Hyundai is the hot rod of the two, getting to 60 mph in 4.4 seconds and running the quarter-mile in 13.1 seconds at 104 mph. The meanwhile, got to 60 mph in 5.5 seconds and ran the quarter-mile in 14.2 seconds at 97 mph. view exterior photos Greg Pajo | Car and Driver Despite being more powerful, the Ioniq 9 also holds the edge in terms of range. The EPA rates the Ioniq 9 at 311 miles and the at 231 miles. The Buzz delivered just 190 miles of range on our real-world 75-mph highway test, and while we haven't yet tested the Ioniq 9's highway range, we expect it to easily beat the Volkswagen's. Driving Experience The Ioniq 9 provides a cushier ride. This vehicle is supremely smooth and floats over bumps, while the Volkswagen rides firmly and transmits a bit more road texture into the cabin. Both are quiet and comfortable on the highway, with the VW letting in a bit of extra wind noise because of its blunt front end. view interior Photos Greg Pajo | Car and Driver view interior Photos Greg Pajo | Car and Driver Though neither of these family-mobiles is intended to be sporty, they don't completely keel over when you take them on a twisty road. As you'd expect from such a tall, upright vehicle, the exhibits plenty of body roll and managed only 0.80 g on the skidpad compared with the Ioniq 9's 0.88 g. One editor commented that "the Buzz is best when you drive it like an old Microbus." The Hyundai is more planted and doesn't feel like as much of, well, a bus. But we like the VW's steering better, as it's a bit more communicative and better weighted compared with the Hyundai's numb, light-effort helm. Volkswagen 4Motion Pro S Plus HIGHS: Charming personality, tons of passenger space, pleasant driving experience. LOWS: Annoying screens and controls, lack of cargo configurability, unimpressive range. VERDICT: The is the emotional play, with tons of charisma, but its feature content and range performance don't measure up. While driving the Ioniq 9 feels much like driving a Hyundai Palisade, only quicker and quieter, the has an entirely distinctive feel unlike any other modern vehicle. The high seating position and the view out the expansive front windows will be delightful to some and off-putting for others, but we count ourselves in the former camp. It's altogether nostalgic and charming and will put a smile on your face. view interior Photos Michael Simari | Car and Driver view interior Photos Michael Simari | Car and Driver And the Winner Is . . . The Hyundai Ioniq 9 is the logical choice between the two, and it takes the win thanks to its superior performance, intuitive user interface, and overall competence. Yes, the Hyundai costs more, but it has far more features than the Volkswagen and delivers more driving range and faster charging. It's the vehicle we'd want to live with every day. The on the other hand, is the irrational choice, as it tugs on our heartstrings but just isn't quite well equipped enough, versatile enough, or technologically advanced enough to keep up with its newer three-row competitor. Michael Simari | Car and Driver Want to see these vehicles' specs side-by-side? Check out the Hyundai Ioniq 9 & Volkswagen on our new compare tool. Compare Cars Specifications 2026 Hyundai Ioniq 9 Performance Calligraphy Design Vehicle Type: front- and rear-motor, all-wheel-drive, 6-passenger, 4-door wagon PRICE Base/As Tested: $79,090/$79,570 Options: carpeted floor mats, $245; CCS to NACS charging adapter, $235 POWERTRAIN Front Motor: permanent-magnet synchronous AC, 211 hp Rear Motor: permanent-magnet synchronous AC, 215 hp Combined Power: 422 hp Combined Torque: 516 lb-ft Battery Pack: liquid-cooled lithium-ion, 110 kWh Onboard Charger: 11.0 kW Peak DC Fast-Charge Rate: 350 kW Transmissions, F/R: direct-drive CHASSIS Suspension, F/R: struts/multilink Brakes, F/R: 14.2-in vented disc/13.6-in vented disc Tires: Hankook Ion Evo AS SUV 285/45R-21 113V M+S Sound Absorber DIMENSIONS Wheelbase: 123.2 in Length: 199.2 in Width: 78.0 in Height: 70.5 in Passenger Volume, F/M/R: 58/61/37 ft3 Cargo Volume, Behind F/M/R: 87/47/22 ft3 Curb Weight: 6034 lb C/D TEST RESULTS 60 mph: 4.4 sec 100 mph: 12.0 sec 1/4-Mile: 13.1 sec @ 104 mph Results above omit 1-ft rollout of 0.3 sec. Rolling Start, 5–60 mph: 4.6 sec Top Gear, 30–50 mph: 2.3 sec Top Gear, 50–70 mph: 3.0 sec Top Speed (gov ltd): 129 mph Braking, 70–0 mph: 173 ft Roadholding, 300-ft Skidpad: 0.88 g C/D FUEL ECONOMY AND CHARGING Observed: 62 MPGe EPA FUEL ECONOMY Combined/City/Highway: 85/91/79 MPGe Range: 311 miles 2025 Volkswagen Pro S Plus 4Motion Vehicle Type: front- and rear-motor, all-wheel-drive, 6-passenger, 4-door van PRICE Base/As Tested: $69,545/$72,035 Options: panoramic glass roof, $1495; two-tone paint, $995 POWERTRAIN Front Motor: induction AC, 107 hp, 99 lb-ft Rear Motor: permanent-magnet synchronous AC, 282 hp, 413 lb-ft Combined Power: 335 hp Battery Pack: liquid-cooled lithium-ion, 86 kWh Onboard Charger: 11.0 kW Peak DC Fast-Charge Rate: 200 kW Transmissions, F/R: direct-drive CHASSIS Suspension, F/R: control arms/multilink Brakes, F/R: 15.0-in vented disc/13.0-in drum Tires: Continental ProContact TX10 F: HL235/50R-20 107T M+S + R: HL265/45R-20 111T M+S + DIMENSIONS Wheelbase: 131.1 in Length: 195.4 in Width: 78.1 in Height: 76.2 in Passenger Volume, F/M/R: 54/60/49 ft3 Cargo Volume, Behind F/M/R: 146/76/19 ft3 Curb Weight: 6174 lb C/D TEST RESULTS 60 mph: 5.5 sec 1/4-Mile: 14.2 sec @ 97 mph 100 mph: 16.3 sec Results above omit 1-ft rollout of 0.3 sec. Rolling Start, 5–60 mph: 5.4 sec Top Gear, 30–50 mph: 2.2 sec Top Gear, 50–70 mph: 3.3 sec Top Speed (gov ltd): 101 mph Braking, 70–0 mph: 174 ft Roadholding, 300-ft Skidpad: 0.80 g C/D FUEL ECONOMY AND CHARGING Observed: 78 MPGe 75-mph Highway Range: 190 mi EPA FUEL ECONOMY Combined/City/Highway: 80/87/74 MPGe Range: 231 mi C/D TESTING EXPLAINED Reviewed by Joey Capparella Deputy Editor, Rankings Content Despite being raised on a steady diet of base-model Hondas and Toyotas—or perhaps because of it—Joey Capparella nonetheless cultivated an obsession for the automotive industry throughout his childhood in Nashville, Tennessee. He found a way to write about cars for the school newspaper during his college years at Rice University, which eventually led him to move to Ann Arbor, Michigan, for his first professional auto-writing gig at Automobile Magazine. He has been part of the Car and Driver team since 2016 and now lives in New York City. Read full bio
The Drive
19-06-2025
- Automotive
- The Drive
2025 Volkswagen ID Buzz Pros and Cons Review: Power of Love Over Logic
The latest car news, reviews, and features. As an automotive journalist, nostalgia-packed cars are simultaneously the best and worst to review. It's easy for the new and cute thing to influence how you feel about it before getting behind the wheel, especially an icon of the car world like a Mazda Miata, Ford Bronco, or a Porsche 911. In the case of the 2025 Volkswagen ID Buzz, its smile-inducing shape and playful two-tone exterior make you want to love it. It's adorable, it's fun, and it tugs your heartstrings even if you weren't a peace-loving teenager in the late '60s. But then again, this EV isn't your parents' (or grandparents') VW Bus. It's shaped like one, it's colored like one, the marketing folks tell you it's one, but it isn't one. So if friend-shaped, why not friend? Here's why: Jerry Perez We typically start these reviews with the Pros, but I'm making an executive decision to start this one with the negatives. This way, you wrap up your precious reading time with something positive. See? The ID Buzz's charm is already getting to me. Let's talk about usability. Over my weeklong test, I struggled to get a sense of what the average ID Buzz owner would do on a daily basis. Are they buying this to transport people, are they hauling stuff, or are they just using it as a nifty Sunday ride? Our editor Andrew Collins recently put an ID Buzz to the test with a bunch of stuff to haul and several of his fur babies. He concluded that while the van offers ample cargo room, it's not exactly easy to adapt on the fly, like a minivan with a disappearing third row or easily removable seats. Jerry Perez If you're hauling kids, they'll need to be old enough to climb into the ID Buzz on their own, as it sits considerably higher than the average van, and maybe even higher still than the average SUV. Climbing up into the cabin—whether it's the front or rear—is more akin to hopping into a full-size pickup truck. While the cabin ergonomics are fine , VW's awful window switches strike again. Just like the ID. 4 I previously drove, the ID Buzz has two switches to operate four windows. You must first use a different switch to select which windows you want to operate, front or rear. This is infuriating and stupid, just like the teeny-tiny sliding rear windows, which remind me that family duty ain't this EV's main purpose. Their functionality is more like a vent than a normal window, letting some air into the rear cabin but not big enough to reach out and grab a bag of grub from the drive-thru. Why VW couldn't give it full-size windows like in a normal van is beyond me. The massive sliding door panels certainly have the real estate. Jerry Perez The Buzz's 231-mile range isn't horrible, but once you factor in possible cold weather and other driving conditions, you're leaning closer to 200 than 250. That isn't ideal for a $70,000 vehicle. Pair this with my test car's inability to connect to a fast charger, and I was having to watch every mile I traveled. Due to a technical malfunction that VW didn't elaborate on, I could physically insert the connector plug into the van's port, but the software prevented it from receiving a charge from a source higher than a 120-volt outlet. This meant my creamsicle-colored ID Buzz could only charge at home. I know it's been said before, but what a cool-looking ride this is. I'm used to catching stares in exotic machinery, typically low-riding and with two doors, but the ID Buzz is the opposite of that! It's a freaking electric minivan, for Pete's sake. At the end of the day, people like cool cars, but people love cars that make them smile. Who doesn't like to smile? The ID Buzz makes people smile, and that translates behind the wheel, too. Jerry Perez Then there's the driving experience. Despite it being the size of a cargo container, the driving experience is rather sprightly. The 'little' bus is quick on its feet and provides the driver with enough reassurance to carry speed through a corner and even do a full lap of a roundabout at speed. Despite its long, heavy roof sitting 76 inches off the ground, body roll isn't outrageous, and the firm suspension keeps handling manageable when the road gets twisty. It's also flat-out comfortable. There isn't a bad seat in the house, whether you're driving, riding shotgun, or sitting on the second-row captain chairs (bench seat also available), or the third-row seats. In fact, the third-row bench is so comfortable, it was actually recalled for being 'too wide.' Unfortunately, due to its range, you likely won't be sitting on any seat for more than a couple of hours at a time, but hey, at least you'll have a nice throne while waiting for it to charge. Jerry Perez Like a lot of cool cars out there, the 2025 VW ID Buzz has a big question mark hanging over it when it comes to usability and overall purpose. It's an EV with limited range, and it's expensive, but then again, it succeeds on various other fronts, and it makes people smile. How can you hate a car for having a personality, especially nowadays, when there are so many bland cars, both electric and gasoline-powered? I can't recommend you buy one out of necessity, but I can recommend you buy one if you absolutely love the idea of one. 2025 Volkswagen ID Buzz Specs RWD AWD Base Price (as tested) $69,545 ($71,545) Powertrain single-motor rear-wheel drive | 1-speed auto | 91-kWh battery dual-motor all-wheel drive | 1-speed auto | 91-kWh battery Horsepower 282 335 Torque 413 lb-ft 99 lb-ft (front) 413 lb-ft (rear) Seating Capacity 7 6 Cargo Volume 18.6 cubic feet behind third row | 75.5 cubic feet behind second row | 145.5 cubic feet behind first row << Curb Weight 5,968 pounds 6,197 pounds Max Payload 1,113 pounds 948 pounds Max Towing 2,600 pounds 3,500 pounds EPA Range 234 miles 231 miles Max Charging Rate 200 kW << Score 6.5/10 It's unclear to me who would buy one of these, but I'm pretty clear on why they'd buy one. Email the author at jerry@
The Verge
18-06-2025
- Automotive
- The Verge
VW subsidiary Moia announced today the series production version of
Check out the robotaxi version of Volkswagen's ID Buzz. the fully autonomous ID Buzz minivans that will comprise the company's robotaxi fleet in Los Angeles in 2026. If you've ever ridden in a Waymo, you'll recognize a few familiar designs, like 'start/stop' buttons, an external keypad for entry, and plenty of cameras inside and out the vehicle. I also noticed a bunch of smart choices, like luggage carriers in place of a front passenger seat and linoleum flooring for the passenger who inevitably spills their full Starbucks drink (or vomits, I guess). 1/8
The Verge
17-06-2025
- Automotive
- The Verge
Check out the robotaxi version of Volkswagen's ID Buzz.
VW subsidiary Moia announced today the series production version of the fully autonomous ID Buzz minivans that will comprise the company's robotaxi fleet in Los Angeles in 2026. If you've ever ridden in a Waymo, you'll recognize a few familiar designs, like 'start/stop' buttons, an external keypad for entry, and plenty of cameras inside and out the vehicle. I also noticed a bunch of smart choices, like luggage carriers in place of a front passenger seat and linoleum flooring for the passenger who inevitably spills their full Starbucks drink (or vomits, I guess).
