You have probably heard that VW had to pull the ID Buzz off the market – for 2026 – on account of a disastrous 2025.

The “electrified” visual reincarnation of the much-loved Microbus of the ’60s and ’70s wasn’t loved much, chiefly on account of its $60k base price – easily three times the inflation adjusted price of a ’60s or ’70s Microbus, which was around $2,500 circa 1971 (the equivalent in today’s money of about $20,000). A large part of the appeal of the old Microbus being it was affordable. Being an EV, the ID Buzz was not.

But it was the meager 234 mile best-case driving range that left ID Buzzes sitting parked at VW dealerships for most of 2025.

Well, VW has arrived at a solution. It is bringing the ID Buzz back for 2027 – with a bed. At least now you’ll have a comfortable place to sleep while you wait.

Ironically, it will be called the Tourer rather than Camper. It’s ironic – because the meager range won’t allow for much touring since 234 miles isn’t very far. In gasoline terms, it’s the equivalent drivg range of about 7 gallons of fuel in a vehicle that gets about 35 MPG. Put another way, driving the ID Buzz is like driving a gas-engined vehicle with a half-empty tank and so having to stop twice as often – and then wait many times longer while the battery recovers charge.

The bed will come in handy.

But did VW stop to think how many people will want to spend time camping out at Wal Mart, Sheetz or wherever the charging kiosk is? Has anyone at VW considered that the whole point of camping – and touring – is to get away from wherever you are and (ideally) get to someplace new that’s far away from Wal Mart and Sheetz? The good news is many campgrounds do have electrical hook-ups. But you do have to get there first and the hook-ups they have aren’t high-voltage EV “fast” charger hook-ups, so you’ll be there for a few hours, at least.

Good thing about the bed.

Not so good thing about the price, though.

VW hasn’t yet officially released the pricing structure for the 2027 ID Buzz – which will supposedly be arriving at VW stores later this summer – but it is unlikely the base price will be less than it was in 2025, because it’s two model years later now and VW would lose even more money if it tried to sell this device in 2026 (for 2027) for even less than it cost to manufacture in 2025. It is likely the 2027’s price will be even higher than the ’25 model’s $60k price to start – if you want the bed – because options are generally not free.

The good news is you will get more than just a bed – assuming you want to buy in.

The 2027 ID Buzz Tourer will also get window blinds – so you’ll have some privacy when you’re camping out at Wal-Mart or Sheetz – as well asventilation panels to air the interior out, outdoor chairs and a table, plus (hilariously) a retractable tow hitch. It’s hilarious because as with any EV, if you hitch anything to the ID Buzz, thee distance you can drive before you run out charge will plummet by 30-50 percent, depending on how heavy whatever you’re pulling is (as well as how cold or hot it is outside). Even if you only lost 20 percent of the VW’s best-case, 234 mile fully charged driving range, you’d now only have about 187 miles of best-case driving range left. It’d be like driving around on a quarter tank of gas, with the needle just barely above empty – except filling up will take at least an hour or or so, assuming you can make it to the next “fast” charger before it rolls silently to a dead stop by the side of the road.

Good thing about that bed, again.

But probably not so good about what it’ll cost you. It’s just a guess, but packages typically add a couple thousand to the bottom line. In Europe, where VW also sells – tries to sell – the ID Buzz – the Good Night Package, which is essentially what the Touring package will be here in the United States, added just shy of $4,000 to the base price in 2025. So it will probably be at least that much here, this summer. That means a 2027 ID Buzz with the bed will probably sticker for around $65k.

It’s an expensive room for the night, isn’t it?

. . .

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