VOLKSWAGEN ID. BUZZ

SAYING that a passenger car “drives like a van” would probably be seen as a negative by a lot of people, but that would be to ignore two important facts. Firstly, modern vans are much closer to their car cousins than they were years ago. Things have moved on in all kinds of ways - from ride quality and refinement, to performance and technology. Secondly, vans are great to drive anyway!

- Steve Walker

The VW ID. Buzz drives like a van, which is to say that you've got that classic tall driving position (even taller than the ones people can't seem to get enough of in SUVs), great all-round visibility and a super-tight turning circle for something this large.

You do have to hoist yourself up into the driver's seat a little but, once you're there, the upright seating position is easy to get comfortable in, with lots of adjustment and a choice of armrests on which to prop an elbow.

The Comfort Seat Package on the car we've been testing is a pretty costly option, but it does retrim all seven of the seats in a flashier fabric and adds heating and massage functions up front. It’s a luxurious place to sit-out a long journey, while getting your back rubbed.

At a whisker under five metres long, the seven-seat ID. Buzz is a big car, but the view you get from the driver’s seat - along with that aforementioned 11.8m turning circle - makes it feel a lot more manageable on the road than many big SUVs with a smaller footprint.

The seating position also gives a good view down the sides of the car and you can even see a fair bit out of the distant rear screen, as long as there’s nobody too tall in the third row. But looking forward, the super-stubby bonnet means you don’t have any visual reference points beyond the base of the windscreen.