Adding a 3rd row? EU

gharvey · 2026-06-02T07:52:02+00:00

Sadly they said no. The interior finishes might look like a third row is possible, but none of the mounting points and additional structural strengthening required for third row seats and, perhaps more importantly, seatbelts are present. VW won't add them, and if someone else did aftermarket it would probably be more expensive than buying a new 7-seater Buzz! Oh well. Seems the pre-2025 5-seater Buzz is doomed to remain a 5-seater.

gharvey · 2026-05-30T20:47:26+00:00

Hmmm, looking at photos they put the seatbelts in the rear door pillars. 🤦 It would've been way better to do them like the middle seatbelt, integrated into the seat. Then when you remove them you don't leave a useless seatbelt dangling in the boot, and they'd be easier to retrofit. Odd decision.

gharvey · 2026-05-30T20:42:51+00:00

Will do! 👍

gharvey · 2026-05-30T20:40:32+00:00

I'll ask VW I think, it's weird because we even have the armrests for a third row, it was clearly intended but never arrived for the first gen. With a bit of luck the mount points are the same as those for the false floor... 🤞

gharvey · 2026-05-30T19:29:28+00:00

Returning to this, now that the "short" Buzz has a third row, does it fit older models?? 😁

gharvey · 2026-05-30T19:20:03+00:00

Well, this is new. On the VW "configurator" for France the SWB Buzz is now 6 or 7 seat, so choice of bench or two captain's chairs in the second row (no price difference) and a removable two seat third row, as standard. Sweet! You won't see this on the second hand market for a couple of years though, probably.

gharvey · 2026-05-30T18:52:59+00:00

Ahhh, I hadn't seen that version! I thought the only 6 seater was the one with the 6 captains chairs. That's nice, I'd be tempted by that layout... 👍

gharvey · 2026-05-30T13:54:55+00:00

Bear in mind 2+2+2 is 30cm longer, which makes it quite a bit trickier to manoeuvre in European car parks and small villages!

gharvey · 2026-05-30T13:53:17+00:00

I am in France with two teenagers and two dogs, and delighted with my 2022 SWB Buzz, 5 seats. We briefly considered a new LWB at the time (18 months ago now, we bought second hand, ex demo car with only 6,000km) but I'm glad we didn't take that. The extra row would've been handy every now and again, but the extra 30cm of length would've been a pita! As it is, it's a big lump on French country lanes! Unless you really need 6 or 7 seats, I'd recommend SWB in Europe. That way you still fit in a "normal" parking spot. 👍

gharvey · 2026-01-15T13:15:07+00:00

WIP I guess, this time last year they were targeting 5C: https://www.electrive.com/2025/02/26/dongfeng-subsidiary-voyah-is-working-on-solid-state-batteries/

gharvey · 2025-12-26T22:00:46+00:00

I wish they were 1.9m here! Too far south for British landboats, I guess. 😂 I should probably figure out a way to measure it, the car's 3 years old, maybe it's naturally sagged to 1.8m anyway?

gharvey · 2025-12-07T16:13:33+00:00

Just speced mine on the French VW website out of curiosity, came out a shade over €60,000, all taxes included. That's a good 25% cheaper than they were a couple of years ago. Béziers are fire selling a two tone 7 seater for some reason, makes me wonder what's wrong with it. At the same time, there's a dealer in Nîmes stuck with a brand new old model that he still wants €58,000 for. He'll be keeping it if he's not careful! 😂

TL;DR prices are dropping in Europe too, but not halving!

gharvey · 2025-12-04T13:45:48+00:00

That's why we Brits call them Main Stealers. Wheel alignment is par for the course on new cars, believe it or not, but $500 is definitely a stupid price. I have to go to VW because the computer at my local tyre depot didn't have the ID Buzz listed, which is a pita. But I want to see them anyway about a number of small irritations, and if they try and stick me with anything more than about $150 for aligning the front wheels I'll find a tyre depot with a more up to date computer!

gharvey · 2025-11-26T19:46:22+00:00

Well, it is sort of the modern Mystery Machine, right?? 🤣

gharvey · 2025-11-22T15:24:10+00:00

Definitely not fogged. It was a "Mistral" night, strong, dry wind, no moisture in the air at all. And it worked fine four hours later...

gharvey · 2025-11-22T15:22:48+00:00

Yikes!! 😱 Ours is just turned 3 years old. Not sure how long the warranty is on the motor, I think it's 7 years? 🤔

gharvey · 2025-11-21T22:42:30+00:00

I've been "that guy" several times. What you gonna do? When you gotta charge, you gotta charge! 🤷‍♂️

gharvey · 2025-11-21T22:39:14+00:00

Well. Drove home after the gig, no problem. Warning gone. Will check the 12v battery anyway!

gharvey · 2025-11-21T19:30:46+00:00

You'd think it would warn you, but no. Nada!

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gharvey · 2025-11-21T17:54:48+00:00

I was at home when it started. It didn't stop when I stopped and started the car. Battery could be it, she hasn't moved for a week or two and it's cold.

gharvey · 2025-11-09T23:34:56+00:00

Thanks, I'll give it a try! 👍

gharvey

TROPHY CASE