Overview
VOLKSWAGEN Group Australia (VGA) appears to have an enviable reputation among the German brand’s many global markets due to the high take-up rate of the performance variants – flagship vehicles that also happen to also be the most profitable in each model range.
With the Golf, for example, half of all Australian sales volume is accounted for by the Golf GTI and Golf R – each taking 25 percent. So, it’s perhaps no surprise that VGA expects this new ID.Buzz GTX – VGA’s first-ever sporting ‘commercial’ vehicle – will make up at least 20 percent of total ID.Buzz sales, based on initial ordering patterns.
At that level, it means Australia has potentially the highest take-up rate of Buzz GTX as a percentage split in the world. But is this top-shelf, top-priced sporting van worthy of that level of popularity and adoration? Or is it all just red-coloured garnish and an overly stiff ride?
Rifling through its specification sheet tells a positive story. The GTX features every optional extra available for LWB Pro as standard equipment, yet costs only $5330 more than a fully loaded Pro. For many, there will definitely be value in what that five grand’s worth delivers in the GTX – rear-biased AWD, 40kW more power, 1.5 seconds faster to 100km/h, sports suspension, and GTX-exclusive styling and design elements.
Styling changes include 21-inch ‘Townsville’ alloy wheels (with Hankook Ventus S1 Evo 3 tyres – 235/45R21 front, 265/40R21 rear) along with distinctive boomerang-shaped LED running lights in the front bumper, unique Mono Silver metallic paint for its upper (optional) two-tone, plus a hero Cherry Red colour.
There’s also LED Matrix front lighting with a full-width light bar, and essentially the same reflected in red lighting across the tailgate, combined with sequential rear indicators; and the GTX gets a panoramic glass roof with ‘smart glass’ (it turns opaque when you ‘close’ it), and easy open/close electric sliding side doors and tailgate.
Only five GTX colours are offered (white, red, metallic silver, pearl black, metallic dark blue, and red/silver two-tone), with the two-tone costing $4090 extra, as per the regular Buzz Pro.
Inside, the GTX gets black headlining and black ArtVelours microfleece seat fabric with red stitching, as well as a red-stitched sports steering wheel, a head-up display, 30-colour ambient lighting, and a decent 13-speaker Harman Kardon stereo with subwoofer.
While the Pro and Cargo variants took over two years to reach Australia, the Buzz GTX only launched in Europe last August, so VGA finally appears to be clawing its way back with new-model wait times.
The benefit of this delay, however – including holding back customer deliveries until April ’25 for the standard Buzz – is that all variants now get the latest software, such as much-needed wireless Apple CarPlay/Android Auto.
Driving Impressions
The bespoke electric MEB platform that underpins a multitude of Volkswagen Group products (VW ID.4 and ID.5, Skoda Enyaq and Elroq, Cupra Born and Tavascan, and Audi Q4 e-tron, as well as ID.Buzz), along with some European Ford EVs (Capri and Explorer) is wildly variable when it comes to wheelbase length.
And also wildly variable when it comes to ride quality…
The pinnacle of MEB’s ride-suppleness hierarchy belongs to the Skoda Enyaq and Cupra Born, though the recent VW ID.4 Pro with adaptive dampers and (only) 19-inch wheels seems impressively attuned to country Aussie surfaces.
Yet the bottom of that long list is unfortunately occupied by the people-moving ID.Buzz Pro – particularly the SWB five-seat version wearing optional 21s.
Perhaps to mitigate any excessive side-to-side movement from its tall body, the regular Buzz’s ride is frustratingly unyielding – jiggling around and deflecting off bumps, but also with a degree or vertical agitation and even some suspension bucking over poor surfaces.
Rarely has a vehicle been crying out for adaptive damping more than an ID.Buzz Pro.
Yet the ‘sports’ suspended GTX isn’t all that. Sure, it’s still knobbly, lumpy and quite firm, but the higher-quality dampers and componentry that constitute its sporting description make it feel more polished and more dynamically cohesive on all surfaces, with less vertical movement.
Being exclusively a long-wheelbase seven-seater also helps the GTX’s ride. And then there’s its rear-biased AWD system and its traction advantage.
The way it delivers power to the ground is deliciously satisfying – sending 545Nm to the rear wheels and 134Nm to the front – so providing you have the GTX pointing where you want to go in a corner, you can simply mash the stainless-steel power pedal (with a cute little ‘play’ symbol) and it will haul itself forward with precision and a line-tightening whiff of oversteer adjustment.
With power bumped from 210 to 250kW, plus 134Nm more torque and AWD at its disposal, the GTX is good for 0-100km/h in a claimed 6.4 seconds (compared to 7.9 seconds for the LWB Pro). Its grunt delivery is impressively smooth, yet urgent enough to feel quick, and that’s despite weighing 2771kg.
If you’re a little bit patient with the GTX in tighter corners, it’s surprising what this tall, heavy bus is capable of dynamically. But its one-setting regenerative braking (accessed via twisting the gearshift selector to B) isn’t on the same page and really should provide stronger retardation – both for handling and for energy recuperation.
The GTX also steers noticeably better than the regular ID.Buzz. Thanks to the chassis-tuning efforts from Volkswagen’s performance division (who also tune the dynamics of the Golf GTI and R), the Buzz GTX’s steering feels more consistent in its weighting and response, with better feel around straight ahead and a more natural progression when turning in.
In all areas relating to the way the Buzz drives, the GTX represents a step up – finally giving this traffic-stopping retro-modern electric MPV the dynamics to justify both its price and the amount of public interest in it.
The rest of the package is unchanged from a well-optioned LWB Pro, meaning outstanding seven-seat space and comfort, enormous luggage capacity and flexibility, and tremendous vision – especially looking forward through its expansive bay window.
The GTX is also a match with the LWB Pro for range – its (conservative) WLTP claim of 450km being bang on the LWB Pro’s 452km. Driven briskly on the Australian launch roads around Crescent Head on the NSW mid-north coast, the GTX averaged between 22.0 and 23.3kWh/100km, meaning a real-world range of around 369 to 391km when driven enthusiastically.
That bodes well for getting close to the 450km claim (or better) in normal urban driving.
Servicing is highly competitive, capped at $687 for every 24 month/30,000km interval, with servicing plans covering six years ($1450), eight years ($1850) or 10 years ($2250).
And if you compare the ID.Buzz GTX’s $109,990 list price (before on-road costs) to other electric seven seaters – Kia EV9 AWD ($107-121K) and Volvo EX90 ($125-135K) – its relative value for money begins to overshadow the concept of this Volkswagen van costing $110K.
While the EV9 and EX90 possess a fair amount of plushness and overall luxury, as well as dynamic suaveness, I think the ID.Buzz GTX has enough visual personality and driving ability to underpin its outstanding seven-seat capability.
As an SUV alternative, the GTX gives the ID.Buzz its best shot yet at arguing such a case.
