After getting up today, there should be many people who click on various news and information apps to see how Messi, Neymar, and Mbappe rode the big Paris aircraft carrier to open up in the Champions League once again, and then angrily exclaimed "all blame Benzema".
But I'm curious how many people will notice that Volkswagen used 20 minutes of live broadcast time to release ID.Buzz on the official line in Hamburg at two o'clock in the morning - it is estimated that friends who pay attention to this small matter in China should be at most five figures.
This is also the reality of China's auto market. Europeans will reminisce about the weekends with their parents on a Microbus trip 50 years ago, while American hippies make fertilized eggs on T2, but our van enlightenment is from Changhe in 1982, and the real impression of Volkswagen MPV is only that sales have divened from 504 units in 2020 to 57 units last year' Matway, and three years ago, the T2 Kombi 56th Anniversary Edition, which has a trademark price of up to 700,000 yuan in parallel imports, Kombi is its name in Brazil.
From the Skoda Octavia station wagon, the Fiat 500 to the Alfa Romeo Giulia, there have been too many "must buy" to "next time" things in China in the past, making Volkswagen, which once dominated the Chinese car market, also extra cautious.
Although the ID.Buzz of this debut did not announce key information such as the time of listing and the price, from the situation revealed in the early stage, after the Hanover plant was put into operation in the first half of this year, it will open pre-sales in May and start delivery in Europe in July, while the timeline of the US and Canadian markets will be further behind, after all, the Germans hope to ID.Buzz the main sales long-wheelbase version in North America, and it will not be released until next year, landing on the other side of the ocean to get 2024.
As for the planning of the Chinese market... At present, there is no planning.
Although we have heard a lot of voices advocating the rise of MPV in recent years, in addition to the core models such as Wuling Hongguang, the joint venture brand can rely on the Buick GL8 and Honda's Alexandre and Odyssey, and even Toyota's brand belief cannot maintain the glory of Xena's price increase.
Especially let the public cold is the fate of its domestic MPV, Tuan only sold 6702 units last year, the status quo of Weiran is not hot is enough to make the German brand more vigilant, coupled with the ID. series in the case of rapid advancement in the country, in the face of chinese brands to encircle and suppress did not reproduce Volkswagen's high-speed progress in the European new energy market, so wolf castle executives are worried about the prospects of ID.Buzz in the East, there is no clear possibility of domestic production or import in the short term, it is also understandable.
Especially considering the price. The size of the production version of the ID.Buzz is about 20cm smaller than the concept car, the length of the 4712mm is between Tuian and Sharon, shorter than the ID.6 and Odyssey, the width data of the 1985mm is higher than that of the Metaway, and the height of the 1937mm car is also significantly higher than that of The Sharon and slightly shorter than the Maitze - so if the ID.Buzz import is introduced, the pricing is significantly higher than the 270,000-350,000 range of Sharon, and it is not surprising to me to sell to about 350,000-450,000.
Another point that can be used as a reference is that ID.4 started at 36950 euros after the German subsidy, which is much higher than the price of the Chinese version, and although the ID.Buzz has not yet given a pre-sale price, the previous overseas media estimated that the price was within 60,000 euros, so if the public is imported domestically according to this pricing standard, 300,000 ID.Buzz is not a dream.
Let go of some unrealistic fantasies and turn my attention back to the product itself.
In the early stage, Volkswagen held a media test drive of camouflaged engineering vehicles in Europe (interjected, driving Shipai also has professional writers in Germany, if Volkswagen friends see here, the next time there is this opportunity also remember to invite us), from the feedback I saw, the rear axle single motor not only reproduced the rear drive history of Microbus, and the domestic ID. series permanent magnet synchronous motor the same 150kW power, 310Nm torque is also praised in power smoothness.
But its performance is no surprise, 145km/h extreme speed is equivalent to the German version of Wuling Hongguang MINIEV, it is expected that the 2.2 tons of curb weight and ID.6 are flat, so 0-100km/h acceleration is also close to the level of 11 seconds - fortunately, it is not difficult to increase the dual motor version under the MEB platform, depending on whether the market has demand.
More importantly, ID.Buzz this seemingly round and rolling little fat mound has the flexibility of kung fu panda, although there is no direct technical assistance from the rear wheel steering, the turning radius under the 2988mm wheelbase is only 5.55 meters, which is comparable to compact cars such as golf and Fox, and it will be more convenient to flash around in the city.
After returning the topic to the design, the drivability of the ID.Buzz seems to be irrelevant again, after all, its tribute to the classic culture of the popular Microbus is the core selling point.
After a round of baptism of concept cars, imaginary drawings to spy photos, and camouflage cars, in fact, I have no surprises about the design of ID.Buzz, but the overall effect of the new car shape can still give 80 points. Due to the requirements of safety regulations, ID.Buzz of course can not be omitted like the originator, but the extremely short front and rear suspension space still allows it to restore the charm of the concept car, of course, if you look at the front of the car at a 45-degree angle, there will still be a little sharpness, but put it on the front side of the position, fluffy shape with the two-color design of the waistline, lubrication view feels in place.
However, in terms of details, ID.Buzz still bow to reality, such as the classic front round lights and rear vertical lights, which are replaced by the popular through-line light group, and the V-shaped line on the front face has also become a U-shape - and according to overseas netizens, there is no storage space on the concept car under the front cover of this electric vehicle, but is stuffed with accessories such as coolant.
Of course, volkswagen still has to show off the feelings, such as the front and rear car logos that are larger than the palms, in addition to not being able to light up, the recognition has been full, and the three decorations on the D pillar are reproduced from the Volkswagen T2. As for the choice of paint color, don't worry, although the official picture is only yellow, orange and Cargo blue, it is said that volkswagen will provide as many as 11 colors.
Compared with the high score of the shape, the interior of the ID.Buzz tends to be mediocre - of course, the Volkswagen Microbus from the T1, T2 to the Maitway era, has never been amazing, which is also a legacy.
If you simply evaluate it, ID.Buzz is the MPV version of ID.3, and the steering wheel, dashboard, and central control screen are all the same. Of course, under the same technical style, the large space ID.Buzz still gives the designer room to show off, such as the through-air conditioning outlet embedded in the wood grain trim panel, and the hollow storage compartment above the co-pilot's glove box.
In addition, the A-pillar of the ID.Buzz also has a triangular window, which should help this tall model greatly reduce blind spots. There is also a detail, the cup holder ID.Buzz is hidden in the panel under the center console, and the storage slot between the front seats can be moved and removed, which is convenient for cleaning and also leaves room for the front and rear occupants to move around.
However, after the electric sliding doors on both sides are opened, I think it is not convenient to exchange the position of the front and rear seats, because the chassis height of the ID.Buzz is very high compared with the Japanese MPV, and the vertical distance inside the car is low, which looks not much different from the 1.71-meter-high Odyssey. More importantly, Volkswagen's first model is a five-seat version, or according to Wuling's statement, it should be called a large five-seater, at least the legroom is extremely spacious, the rear seats and backrests can also be adjusted individually, and the small table board on the back of the front chair is also a small trick used by the public.
In the relatively boring car, Volkswagen added a little interest to the ID.Buzz as much as possible, such as the smiling face that had been used as an Easter egg before the release, the small seal of the body contour, and the trim of the same color as the body were also embedded with multi-color atmosphere lights. However, if the display car as a conference does not have a sunroof, I think ID.Buzz should not provide additional options, fortunately, it will not cause trouble for most overseas users.
Compared with the dull interior design, volkswagen prefers to tell the story of ID.Buzz materials, it is like tailor-made for Greta, the interior of the car is made entirely of sustainable materials, the seats, floor coverings and roof lining are also composed of recyclable materials, if it were not for the BMW i3 pearl jade in front, ID.Buzz could really become an environmental pioneer.
The technology part, on the contrary, does not have much to attract Chinese consumers, after all, we have been spoiled by various radical attempts by new forces to build cars, ID.Buzz OTA upgrades, driving aids that can automatically change lanes, and active memory route parking are not new, as for the Germans who are ready to use ID.Buzz to enter the field of mobility in 2025 and take the lead in launching L4-level autonomous driving sharing business, it is only a blank check.
Driver's Summary:
2022 is undoubtedly the first year of China's new energy MPV, and MPV is also very suitable for the trend of electrification, so Lantu Dreamer, Chase MIFA 9, as well as BYD, the ideal MPV are on the road, but they all have one thing in common - big.
In the case that the home MPV has always been a false proposition, car companies have defined the user group of the MPV at the business level, and no 5 meters in length can not show the aura. But for the huge capacity of China's automobile consumer market, ID.Buzz such a home MPV actually has a living space.
It may not reach the sales volume of ID.6, but if the real public can introduce domestic production, ID.Buzz can not only contribute 10,000-20,000 units to the ID. family, but also make up for the gap in the family field after Weiran, Tuan, and Sharon, and even occupy the market first-mover advantage before Toyota and Honda turn from hybrid MPV to pure electricity, which is far greater than the "selling such a point ID.Buzz not making money".
So, even though it may end up being "next time", I still selfishly hope that Volkswagen can be brave once, and Chinese consumers need a ID.Buzz - as long as the price can be pressed to within 300,000, I am willing to "buy when I come".
Wen | Louis
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