Volkswagen ID. Buzz review: reliability & safety rating

The Volkswagen ID. Buzz was put through the rigours of the Euro NCAP crash test procedure in December 2022 and came away with the maximum five-star overall rating. But that shouldn't be a surprise given the ID.3, ID.4 and ID.5 that share the ID. Buzz's platform also received top marks. In fact, every new VW tested since 2016 been awarded a five-star score.

Volkswagen ID. Buzz reliability & problems

In theory, the relatively simple powertrain in an electric car should minimise the chances of anything mechanical going wrong. However, Volkswagen’s latest infotainment system – as fitted to the ID. Buzz – has suffered some widely reported glitches.

None of Volkswagen’s electric cars featured in our 2022 Driver Power owner satisfaction survey (the ID. Buzz is too new), but VW’s result isn’t exactly confidence-inspiring. It finished 18th out of 29 brands, with its in-car tech getting a hammering from owners. Reliability was rated similarly poorly, although the fact that 18.6% of all VW owners surveyed reported problems isn’t disastrous in itself.

Safety

As mentioned already, the ID. Buzz received the maximum five-star rating in Euro NCAP crash-testing, scoring 92% for adult occupants and 87% for children. Every ID. Buzz gets adaptive cruise control that keeps a safe distance from the car in front, autonomous emergency braking with pedestrian and cyclist detection, road-sign recognition, lane-keeping assistance and a contact system for the emergency services.