VW ID. BUZZ Concept Car

The ID. Buzz gazes to the future as much as the past. A large iPad-style tablet controls infotainment features and can be removed to use on the go, augmented reality projects info like navigation arrows directly onto the road surface, while the steering wheel’s centre features capacitive buttons and can disappear into the dash on the go. That’d normally be the stuff of nightmares, yes, but I.D. Pilot mode is fully autonomous, with an arsenal of scanners, sensors and cameras scanning the road and data from other traffic beamed in via the Cloud. Just chill out and watch the miles ease by.

Families have been swapping versatile MPVs for less practical but cooler SUVs for years now, so it’s awesome that the ID. Buzz injects MPVs with a dose of surf attitude. It’s huge inside with space for as many as eight seats (even the biggest SUVs like the Tesla Model X max at seven) and plenty of space to load surfboards or mountain bikes, depending on how everything’s configured. Both front seats also rotate to face a veritable train carriage of living space in the rear, with reclining seats, fold-out tables and more storage cubbies than a gym locker room.

Electric power gives VW freedom to recapture the original Microbus look much more faithfully than it could with the recent Golf-based Beetle – the battery and electric motors are tucked way down low, so welcome-back bluff front end and wheels stretched to all four corners, we missed ya. Single or twin electric motors give the ID. Buzz either rear-wheel drive (like the original) or all-wheel drive and up to 369bhp – way more than the Golf GTI. No wonder the big bus scoots from 0-62mph is just five seconds. Find a 150kW charger and you’ll be juiced to 80% in around 30 minutes, and be good for around 300 miles of stress-free cruising – enough to hit the beach wherever you are in the UK.