One’s a retro icon, electrified, the opposite’s a quick, smooth luxurious seven-seater—however they each qualify as minivans in case you squint.
Bear in mind minivans? The vastly sensible household automobiles with three rows of seats, excellent cabin entry, sliding aspect doorways, and options like hidden flooring compartments and vanishing third rows? They hit their top of recognition in North America round 2000, then misplaced favor as supposedly safer SUVs with extra rugged proportions gained favor.
Now, two new electrical minivans—the retro Volkswagen ID.Buzz and the posh Lucid Gravity—have joined the 4 gasoline entries that make up a shrunken, if regular, section. These are the Chrysler Pacifica, Honda Odyssey, Kia Carnival and Toyota Siena. For 2025, the Toyota is obtainable solely as a hybrid, whereas the Kia and Chrysler have optionally available hybrid variations, although the Pacifica “Hybrid” is definitely a plug-in hybrid with 30-plus miles of electrical vary.
The VW ID.Buzz has been a very long time coming; it was first proven as an idea in January 2017, and manufacturing was confirmed that August after a rapturous reception. It arrived at US sellers early in 2025, although a model with a shorter wheelbase went on sale in Europe 18 months prior, as did industrial variations with out the passenger seats or aspect home windows.
Making everybody smile
The principle promoting level of the ID.Buzz could also be that it makes individuals grin after they see it. VW has well provided two-tone variations of most colours, with the physique under the beltline painted in quite a lot of shades together with a vibrant blue, a chrome yellow, and some others, paired to a white or gray higher physique—similar to the legendary Microbus of the Sixties.
The Buzz is tall, vertical and slab-sided. Combining its quick entrance nostril with a set glass panel between the forefront of the front-door window and the windshield pillar cleverly disguises a substantial distance between the motive force and entrance passenger and the bottom of the windshield. That is designed to offer the sort of security crush zone notably absent from the unique Kind 2, which continued for a number of many years after its 1950 launch with the motive force’s ft simply 18 inches or so from a possible crash.
Photos courtesy of Volkswagen of America.
The Buzz has two drawbacks. It’s dear for a VW, with a beginning value of $61,500 for the bottom Professional S trim, and high-end variations approaching $75,000. That’s partly attributable to its restricted numbers. International manufacturing capability at VW’s manufacturing facility in Hannover, Germany, for the passenger and industrial variations of the Buzz mixed, is barely over 100,000, which isn’t rather a lot to serve dozens of worldwide markets without delay.
Worse, its vary isn’t nice. Rated at 234 miles in rear-wheel-drive type, or 231 miles in case you add the optionally available entrance motor for all-wheel drive, it loses out on vary towards three-row EV crossovers, from the Hyundai Ioniq 9 (320 to 335 miles) and Kia EV9 (230 to 304 miles) to the large Cadillac Escalade IQ, with its estimated 460 miles.
The usual mannequin of the ID.Buzz bought within the US has a 210-kilowatt (282-horsepower) motor that drives the rear wheels, rated at 413 lb-ft of torque. Optionally available 4Motion all-wheel drive provides a second, 40 kW (53 hp) motor to energy the fronts, rated at 99 lb-ft. Regrettably, it makes use of VW’s complicated, inconsistent person interface, which is now faster to reply however stays perplexing.
Intelligent engineering, quick and smooth
The Lucid Gravity is the long-awaited follow-up to the Lucid Air, the low, smooth, very-long-range electrical luxurious sedan from startup Lucid Motors. The Air is a stunning automobile, and the efficiency of its high-performance Sapphire variant is simply bonkers. It’s a quiet, comfy, capacious four-seat luxurious sedan that may speed up from 0 to 60 mph in 2.0 seconds, maybe much less.
Lucid and the Air had a really lengthy gestation interval, and luxurious sedans have waned in reputation in comparison with SUVs. Now the Gravity is right here, an addition for which the corporate quadrupled the ground area of its Arizona manufacturing facility. Lucid expects Gravity gross sales to be a a number of of Air gross sales, which have remained round 10,000 a yr globally.
The corporate has equipped battery packs and powertrains to the Method E electrical racing collection, and its passenger automobiles are recognized for his or her excellent EV engineering. Its energy models are remarkably compact for his or her output; its automobiles are smooth, slippery, and low-drag on the surface, surprisingly capacious on the within. And one mannequin of the Air will get the highest vitality effectivity ranking of any automobile bought within the US.
Photos courtesy of Lucid.
The launch Grand Touring model of the Gravity has a complete energy output of 618 kW (828 hp) and torque of 909 lb-ft. Not surprisingly, which means it may well speed up from 0 to 60 mph at a quoted 3.4 seconds in Dash mode. Fortunately, whereas it’s quick and clean, the facility is delivered in an unfussed method; the explosive, kick-you-in-the-kidneys thrust off the road present in efficiency Teslas is totally absent within the Gravity. In the meantime, the perfect we will say concerning the driving traits of the ID.Buzz is that they’re unremarkable.
Relying on its spec, the Gravity comes with an EPA vary of as much as 450 miles. It affords a startling 120 cubic ft of inside quantity (with the entrance trunk quantity included) within the five-seat mannequin, and a second row that folds flat. For households that need sixth and seventh seats, an optionally available third row that vanishes under the cargo flooring lowers quantity by solely 6 cubic ft.
The Gravity has some drawbacks of its personal, although. It too is dear. The primary model (the one one now on sale) is the high-end Grand Touring mannequin, which begins at $95,000. The Gravity we examined in Aprilwith 10 separate choices, stickered at a cool $125K. Because it did with the Air, Lucid is anticipated to introduce decrease trims—most likely together with a rear-wheel-drive Pure mannequin—in the end, as soon as demand for the high-end model is glad.
Its different disadvantage might need to do with whether or not it’s perceived as a minivan or not. The Gravity doesn’t have sliding aspect doorways, although the rear doorways are remarkably lengthy, which makes third-row entry a breeze. Lucid execs largely shrug when requested concerning the dreaded “minivan” epithet; they really feel it is going to be an interesting household car, whether or not customers see it as a decrease SUV or a smooth minivan. Presumably even, heaven forbid, a wagon?
Larger however much less reasonably priced
When the unique Dodge Caravan and Plymouth Voyager minivans hit the market in 1984, a foremost promoting level was their monumental inside quantity and ease of entry—much better than the wagons of the day—for not far more cash than some other car. Chrysler constructed its first-generation minivans on the ever present, high-volume Okay-Automotive chassis that spawned dozens of fashions and saved the corporate from its first chapter.
Like all different vehicles, minivans have expanded enormously over the previous few many years. At present’s Chrysler Pacifica is each longer and wider than a Chevrolet Tahoe full-size SUV of 25 years in the past. To compete, each the ID.Buzz and the Gravity adopted swimsuit—that means they want very giant battery capacities to maneuver large sq. automobiles by way of the Air.
The Lucid is clearly far, far forward of the Volkswagen in effectivity; the corporate quotes a drag coefficient for the Gravity of 0.24, which is exceptional for a car that giant—although drag figures from completely different makers can’t be in contrast attributable to various strategies of measurement. Lucid says it will get a spread of as much as 450 miles from its 123 kWh battery.
The Gravity is anchored firmly on the luxurious finish of the dimensions and the ID.Buzz is one thing of a retro specialty car for the customer who actually, actually loves the appears.
The quoted drag coefficient for the VW ID.Buzz is a good 0.29, however its ranges of 234 (RWD) or 231 miles (FWD) are little greater than half the Gravity’s—from a battery with 75 % the capability, at 91 kWh. Each vehicles should use giant batteries, and that prices cash.
A smaller and smaller proportion of US households capable of afford a brand new car in any respect—the sales-weighted common transaction value stays at its post-pandemic excessive round $48,800—and neither of those automobiles goes to handle the necessity for reasonably priced, compelling smaller EVs that compete with to their gasoline counterparts.
However, minivans themselves aren’t a very giant section, and so they’re costly too. When this text was written, the bottom record value for any gasoline minivan was just below $40,000, for the bottom Kia Carnival and Chrysler Voyager fashions. Quantity was nothing to put in writing dwelling about both—your complete class of 4 fashions bought simply over 300,000 models in 2024. (Gross sales blipped up within the first quarter of 2025; we’ll see if that lasts.)
EV minivans received’t be an enormous class any time quickly. The Gravity is anchored firmly on the luxurious finish of the dimensions and the ID.Buzz is one thing of a retro specialty car for the customer who actually, actually loves the appears. Nonetheless, the Volkswagen ID.Buzz and Lucid Gravity ought to broaden the marketplace for EVs no less than incrementally. They’re one other proof level displaying that electrical powertrains are suited not simply to smaller automobiles however to different segments, together with the bigger ones.
Lucid and Volkswagen offered airfare, lodging and meals to allow Charged to carry you this first-person drive report on their automobiles.
This text first appeared in Subject 72: April-June 2025 – Subscribe now.
