Volkswagen ID Buzz Cargo

Is the commercial version of our 2023 Car of the Year the ultimate zero-emissions urban delivery vehicle? On sale Now Price from £39,625 (excl VAT)

- Neil Winn

IF YOU'RE THE owner of a mobile coffee shop, a flower delivery service or any other forward thinking, sustainably minded yet imageconscious business, pay attention, because we've got something special for you.

It's called the Volkswagen ID Buzz Cargo and it's the commercial version of our current Car of the Year. Notice we didn't say 'van' variant; that's because the Buzz is based on the same underpinnings as Volkswagen's current range of electric cars. That approach gives the Cargo a number of in-built advantages over traditional van-based commercial vehicles, but it also brings some drawbacks - as you'll see.

The Cargo uses the same 201bhp electric motor as the passenger variant, powering the rear wheels and fed by a sizeable (77kWh) battery. For a load lugger, it's genuinely sprightly (0-62mph takes just 10.2 sec), and it has an impressive official range of 256 miles.

For reference, the Cargo's closest rival, the Vauxhall Vivaro-e, has to make do with a significantly less powerful 134bhp motor, a 0-62mph time that is more than two seconds slower and a 205-mile range.