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Since the earliest moment anyone ever laid eyes on the Volkswagen ID Buzz, the hope was that the company would lean into its legacy and sense of whimsy and offer the dang thing as a camper. This has taken VW longer than anyone would’ve expected—it’s had quite a bit on its plate as of late, after all—but it’s finally come around. Meet the ID California Cruise.
First off, you’ll notice the German plates on the vehicle in these images. That’s because the ID California Cruise’s first port of call won’t be the Golden State, believe it or not—it’ll be Germany. That said, Volkswagen is planning on introducing a “Tourer” flavor of the Buzz as it returns to the U.S. market for the 2027 model year, and that one will include a bed you can sleep on. All that to say, the Cali Cruise looks to be the same camper we’ll get, just with a lamer name and a more compact footprint.
This particular model is based on the ID Buzz Pro, with a number of tweaks to suit the needs of campers. There’s the aforementioned mattress, fold-out table with two chairs, and blackouts on all windows. This van will also feature an exclusive California mode that allows you to run all power and lighting through the car and use climate control for extended periods when stationary. VW quotes 48 hours of continuous HVAC use on a full battery.
Volkswagen
Buyers will also get an electrochromic glass roof, which means it can change from opaque to transparent with the touch of a button. Normally I find these roofs gimmicky, but in a space you’d actually be living in, that seems quite useful.
The ID California Cruise will retail for about 60,000 euros, which works out to about $70,000. As seen here, the package is applied to the short-wheelbase version of the Buzz, which we don’t get on this side of the pond, packing a 79-kWh battery rated for a max range of 285 miles in the Buzz Pro. Considering the U.S. long-wheelbase model effectively started just over $60,000, we’d hope Volkswagen could figure out a way to offer our Tourer counterpart for a reasonable price. A mattress can’t cost that much, right?
Volkswagen
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Backed by a decade of covering cars and consumer tech, Adam Ismail is a Senior Editor at The Drive, focused on curating and producing the site’s slate of daily stories.
