Volkswagen ID. Buzz 1st Gen

The ID. Buzz is Volkswagen's electric long-wheelbase three-row van, built on the company's MEB platform and launched in the US for the 2025 model year. It is the first vehicle to wear the Microbus nameplate in North America in two decades. Production runs at Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles' plant in Hanover, Germany; US-market vans are the LWB body with seating for six or seven, dual power-sliding doors, both second and third rows folding flat, and a fully removable third row.

The defining capability for backcountry use is the floor itself. With the third row out and the second row folded, the van opens into a continuous flat deck the length of the cabin. That is what has drawn aftermarket van-life conversion shops to the platform since its 2025 launch, and what Volkswagen is formalizing factory-side for 2027. The new Tourer 4Motion trim drops in the contents of the European market's Good Night Package: a fold-out mattress Volkswagen says sleeps two, blackout window shades, ventilation panels for the front side windows, an Overnight Mode software profile that adapts cabin systems for sleeping in the vehicle, an exterior table and chairs, captain's chairs in the second row, an electrochromic smart roof, and a retractable tow hitch. The trade-offs are the ones that come with any heavy electric van. Range is roughly 230 miles from the 91-kWh pack, charging tops out at 170 kW on a CCS port with a NACS adapter rather than a native NACS plug for the Tesla Supercharger network, and there is no air suspension or ride-height adjustment in the published spec. Ground clearance sits in passenger-van territory, not anything that runs technical terrain.

The 2027 lineup runs four trims. The base Pro S is rear-wheel-drive with a 282-hp single rear motor and 234 miles of range. The new entry-level Pro S 4Motion adds a front motor for dual-motor AWD at 330 hp and 231 miles. The Tourer 4Motion carries the same powertrain with the camping content as standard. The top Pro S Plus 4Motion adds the Pro S Plus equipment group (head-up display, expanded parking camera, 700-watt Harman Kardon audio). Every trim carries the brand's newer ID.S 6 infotainment, one-pedal driving, and the NACS-to-CCS adapter. Volkswagen skipped the 2026 model year for the US market entirely; 2027 dealer arrivals are expected between August and the end of 2026. Pricing has not been published. For reference, the 2025 lineup ran $61,545 to $72,540.

The market context the Tourer is selling against is the van-life conversion business that has been adapting customer 2025 ID. Buzz vans since launch. Volkswagen is no longer leaving that work to specialty shops; the 2027 Tourer is the company taking the conversion budget back inside the dealership.