There was a time, about 15 years ago, when we thought that electrified minivans were the future. They’d be mobile living rooms with self-driving functionality and plenty of gadgets for occupants to play with. While the segment has advanced, the promises never fully came to fruition.
There are only two minivans on the market in the United States right now that require charging: the Volkswagen ID.Buzz and the plug-in-hybrid version of the Chrysler Pacifica. Neither of them is cracking the top-20 hottest sellers list.
And it’s a shame, because they’re not bad vehicles, for what they are. So let’s compare, contrast, and pick a favorite.
Neither Of These Minivans Had A Great 2025
Can you remember ever seeing one of these minivans on the road? Okay, if it was a Pacifica, you’d have to check the badge to see if it was the hybrid or the more common, production-only version. But the ID.Buzz? The model should have been a slam dunk, as an electric hippie-mobile aimed at young drivers and nostalgic boomers alike. However, it only sold around 6,000 units last year.
The hybrid Pacifica reportedly made up around 12.8% of the nameplate’s sales last year. The minivan had a very strong 2025, proving the segment isn’t down for the count just yet, with 109,101 total sales. This would put the PHEV sales in the area of 14,000 units. Respectable for a niche product, but the car is clearly not a needle-mover.
Case in point, Stellantis recently discontinued the Pacifica PHEV, and Volkswagen has the ID.Buzz on hiatus until further notice. We don’t know what the sales goals were for these cars, but we think it’s safe to say dealers weren’t meeting them.
A Niche Within A Niche (Within A Niche)
It wouldn’t be entirely accurate to say that the Pacifica and the ID.Buzz are America’s only electrified minivans. The Toyota Sienna runs on a hybrid powertrain, but it’s a regular HEV, not a plug-in.
Additionally, the Mercedes-Benz VLE-Class will be coming sometime in 2027. This is a battery-electric minivan, and its very existence tells us that the concept does have legs, even if the ID.Buzz and the Pacifica PHEV haven’t set the market on fire.
The switch to a hybrid powertrain hasn’t hurt the Toyota Camry’s sales at all. However, automakers sold one PHEV for every five EVs last year, and one PHEV for every 10 HEVs. Electrified vehicles make up around 22% of the market overall, and the vast majority of those sales are HEVs.
Meanwhile, minivans actually had a strong year in 2025, with just under 400,000 sales total. But, the industry sold 8.77 million crossovers, setting a new record with a 53.5% market share. The minivan market is in a strange place. We keep a few around just for nostalgia, it seems.
The Pacifica PHEV Is Actually Weaker Than The Combustion Model
The Pacifica PHEV only produces 260 hp, despite packing the same base engine as the 287-hp combustion-only Pacifica. How do you add two electric motors and wind up with a front-wheel-drive vehicle that’s 27 hp weaker than its combustion-powered twin?
And while we’re on the subject, why add two motors and attach them both to the front axle? We thought the point of dual-motor systems was to create an all-wheel-drive configuration without worrying about how you’re going to engineer the drivetrain layout. While 260 hp might not make this plug-in the wimpiest thing on the market, it’s almost like Chrysler wanted to make sure nobody was having too much fun in this car.
2025 Volkswagen ID.Buzz
2025 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid
Engine
EV
3.6-Liter Hybrid V6
Power
282 hp
260 hp
Torque
402 lb-ft
262 lb-ft
Drivetrain
Rear-Wheel Drive
Front-Wheel Drive
That said, we did find a lot to like when we test-drove the first version of the PHEV a few years ago. We enjoyed the smooth, quiet ride, we appreciated the 30 miles of electric-only range. Plus, you can’t whine about 30 mpg combined fuel economy when gas is over $5 a gallon. The Pacifica is not a thrilling car, but what minivan is?
The ID.Buzz Is The Better Car, But It Doesn’t Make Sense At The Price
We could go on all day listing things we like about the VW ID.Buzz. It looks charming, pairing Summer of Love nostalgia with techy, Millennial optimism. It’s huge, packing up to 160 cubic feet of cargo space, compared with the Pacifica’s 140 cubic feet.
The ID.Buzz goes 234 miles on a full charge, which isn’t segment-leading, but it’s more than adequate. The ride is smooth and fun to drive, feeling stable and confident on the winding roads that California’s coastline has to offer.
One could go so far as to say that the ID.Buzz’s only major stumbling block was its $59,996 base price, with higher trims going for up to $69,995. The original Minibus was a hit because it was affordable and could pack your whole jam band on a budget.
The ID.Buzz is the better minivan. It’s roomier, it’s cheaper to drive, and it’s a lot more fun. But, at nearly $60,000 for a base model, VW is asking you to spend luxury sedan money on a practical family car. It found itself stuck between two buyer demographics with very little overlap.
The Pacifica Is Affordable, The ID.Buzz Not So Much
2021 – 2025 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid exteriorChrysler
Setting the zip code to the West Coast, the only offer we can find on the Volkswagen incentives page that is specific to the ID.Buzz, is a $7,500 customer bonus expiring on November 2, 2026. Volkswagen isn’t slashing prices or offering the minivan at 0% APR. The brand is acting as if the ID.Buzz is a huge hit – like this thing sells itself.
Chrysler, meanwhile, no longer lists the Pacifica PHEV on its build & price configurator, and we’re unable to find any new models left on the market. This suggests that dealers did a pretty good job of purging their remaining inventory last year. To list some low-mileage used models we found.
- A 13,000-mile 2021 Hybrid Pinnacle is selling for $32,900 in Minnesota.
- A 7,708-mile 2023 Hybrid Limited is selling for $35,590 in Oregon.
- A 32,956-mile 2023 Hybrid Limited is selling for $29,350 in Minnesota.
- A 22,639-mile 2025 Hybrid Select is selling for $35,590 in Ohio.
- A 38,270-mile 2024 Hybrid Select is selling for $25,990 in Ohio.
The CarBuzz Marketplace price-tracking tool sees a base 2025 Pacifica trending at just $36,619 from an MSRP of $51,055. That’s a fall-off of 28.3% in just one year on the market.
It’s worth noting that many of these minivans are already packing 100,000+ miles after just a few years on the road. This likely owes to the fact that the Pacifica PHEV has been offered through the Stellantis fleet car program. We would advise staying away from these high-mileage models, no matter the price, as they’ve likely been put through the wringer with lots of start-stop city traffic, serving as cabs and people-movers.
Remember that these listings are only provided to give you an idea of what’s out there. There’s no telling what will be available in your area when you’re ready to buy.
Meanwhile, used Volkswagen ID.Buzzes are still trending around their original MSRPs. Limited availability and dealers that don’t know their goose is cooked are keeping those prices nice and high, despite the EV segment’s tendency to depreciate like money is going out of style.
The ID.Buzz Is Cheaper To Own, But Still Too Expensive To Buy
Using CarEdge for maintenance costs and insurance and FuelEconomy.gov for recharging and refueling expenses, here’s how the annual ownership costs add up for each minivan.
2025 Volkswagen ID.Buzz
2025 Chrysler Pacifica PHEV
Maintenance
$359
$1,145
Insurance
$2,442
$2,031
Refueling/Recharging
$900
$1,450
Annual Ownership Costs
$3,701
$4,626
Driving an ID.Buzz will save you an average of $925 each year over a Pacifica PHEV, but does that really matter when the Volkswagen costs $23,380 more? At these rates, it would take you 25 years to make up the difference in ownership costs.
Give it a few years, and we might be recommending the ID.Buzz as a used gem. Right now, we simply can’t suggest it over a Pacifica PHEV at these prices, even if it’s the better car in many ways.
Sources: Chrysler, Volkswagen, Statista, CarEdge, FuelEconomy.gov.
