Hey Volkswagen, what took you so long? You've been teasing us with re-creations of your iconic Microbus for more than 20 years now. The Microbus Concept unveiled at the 2001 Detroit Show dripped with all the right cues—a wheel at each corner, two-tone paint on the upper body that plunged down the front of the car, and vents in the D-pillars. It was supposed to be built on the T5 Transporter platform and on the road by 2005.

Instead, in 2008 we got the unloved Routan, a Chrysler minivan in lederhosen.

You pulled the wraps off the Bulli Concept, a smaller minivan that even appropriated the German nickname for the original Microbus, at the 2011 Geneva Show. It vanished without a trace. And it's probably best we forget about the cheesily named BUDD-e, the first concept vehicle to be built on your MEB electric vehicle architecture and unveiled at CES in Las Vegas in 2016. It had none of the charm of a Microbus.

Then you rolled out the ID Buzz Concept in 2017. We liked it. A lot. And this celebration of the Microbus was, we were told, The One. The production version, you said, would be almost identical.

Although it's electric-powered like the Buzz Concept, the ID Buzz that's about to hit the road in Europe shares little with it visually beyond a general styling theme and package format. It's more tautly surfaced and boxier than the Buzz Concept, especially at the rear, where crisp corners help manage airflow, contributing to an impressive 0.29 drag coefficient claim.

Sure, it still has a wheel at each corner and vents on the D-pillar, but the visual links to the original Microbus are even more tenuous. The optional two-tone paint scheme—white over yellow, orange, green, or blue—does a lot of the heavy lifting here. In a monochrome finish, the Buzz doesn't snap the retro synapses quite as convincingly.

That said, you can't help but wonder why it's taken Volkswagen so long to finally get into production a vehicle pundits have been calling a no-brainer for more than two decades. And why U.S. customers won't be able to buy one until early 2024. Clearly, someone in Wolfsburg has been overthinking this whole deal.

Two versions of the ID Buzz will be available in Europe at launch: the five-seat ID Buzz minivan and the ID Buzz Commercial, which features steel side panels rather than glass windows, just one sliding door, and standard three-abreast seating ahead of an internal bulkhead between the B-pillars, behind which is a flat floor and 137 cubic feet of load space.

Both roll on a 117.7-inch wheelbase and are powered by a single 204-hp, 229-lb-ft electric motor driving the rear wheels and fed by a 77-kWh battery pack that Volkswagen claims delivers between 250 miles and 264 miles range on the WLTP cycle.

America gets neither of these models. The U.S.-spec ID Buzz, which is expected to go on sale in the second quarter of 2024, will be almost a foot longer in wheelbase to accommodate a third row and six or seven passengers. The entry-level models will have a single motor driving the rear wheels. Upscale models will have dual motors with a total system output of 295 hp and 339 lb-ft, as well as all-wheel drive.

However, if our experience behind the wheel of the Euro-spec ID Buzz is any guide, it promises to be the most characterful Volkswagen EV on sale in the U.S. And our experience with the five-seat Buzz made us wonder whether Volkswagen of America may have missed a trick in not requesting it be homologated for the U.S. in addition to the longer three-row model.

VoA says the decision was based on extensive clinics with U.S. minivan customers, who all demanded a six- or seven-passenger vehicle. But the standard-wheelbase ID Buzz is arguably a minivan for those who wouldn't normally buy a minivan, a trendy lifestyle vehicle for active couples who don't want an SUV and don't need a 21st century substitute for the Wagon Queen Family Truckster.

With an overall length of 185.5 inches, the standard-wheelbase ID Buzz is the biggest vehicle yet of VW's MEB electric vehicle architecture. Yet it feels surprisingly wieldy to drive around town. The 229 lb-ft of torque available from the rear-mounted motor starting at 0 rpm ensures quick acceleration away from traffic lights. The low-speed ride is compliant—the best of the MEB vehicles we've driven so far—and the steering is light and accurate.

On paper, the 3.4 turns lock-to-lock suggests the steering is somewhat low-geared. It's not: That lock-to-lock number is a function of the wide arc through which the front wheels pivot, delivering a turning circle of just 36.4 feet.

Our well-equipped test car rolled on 20-inch wheels—19s and 21s will also be available on U.S. cars—fitted with 235/50 Continental Eco Contact 6Q tires up front and 265/45 items at the rear. VW engineers say the larger rear tires are fitted for traction and load carrying, while the smaller front tires allow the steering angles that enable the ID Buzz's impressive turning circle.

The regular Buzz will tote a maximum payload of 1,166 pounds, while the Buzz Commercial will carry 1,428 pounds. Maximum towing capacity for each is 2,200 pounds.

The ID Buzz bowls comfortably along at freeway speeds. The rolling ride is good, and although there's a rustle of wind past the A-pillars, overall noise levels are relatively low. But without any mechanical hubbub from an internal combustion engine or a transmission to run interference, different road surfaces elicit a variety of hums and roars from the tires.

The low center of gravity, shocks that deliver good body control, and a new multilink rear axle with a lower roll center help the ID Buzz feel composed when hustled along a winding two-lane. Despite the relatively high seating position, head toss is commendably low, increasing passenger comfort.

The boxy Buzz changes direction surprisingly well, with minimal fuss, providing you understand the default handling mode is understeer and more understeer: Once you've committed to a corner, there's little you can do other than lift off the accelerator and get some weight onto the front axle to help the front tires bite and tighten your line. Smoothness and accuracy are the keys to making this Volkswagen flow down the road with any speed.

It's out of the city, at higher speeds on the freeway and on the back roads, that you become aware the Buzz's single 204-hp motor has its work cut out humping around a 5,448-pound brick on wheels. VW claims a 0-60-mph time of just over 10 seconds, which makes it significantly slower than any ICE or hybrid minivan currently on sale in America. Freeway merging thus requires some planning and forethought.

For context, the single-motor Volkswagen ID4 SUV, which shares the entry-level ID Buzz's powertrain, is 789 pounds lighter and will hit 60 mph in 7.4 seconds. In terms of the ICE-powered minivan rivals, the 280-hp Honda Odyssey, which weighs almost 1,000 pounds less despite being 20 inches longer overall and having room for seven passengers, nails 60 mph in just 6.6 seconds.

There's no getting around it: The ID Buzz, which, incidentally, has a top speed of just 90 mph, is slow.

Of course, no one expects a minivan to drive like a sports car. And yet, puzzlingly, VW offers a Sport drive mode in the Buzz. Though it apparently changes things like accelerator response and steering effort and stability control thresholds, its only noticeable effect is to increase the level of lift-off regeneration, which ironically makes the Buzz feel less fluid on roads where you want it to flow. However, the increased lift-off regen helps disguise the weakest link in the Buzz's dynamic armory—its brakes.

Like all MEB cars, the ID Buzz has drum brakes on the rear axle. Volkswagen claims that because much of the braking in the MEBs is done via regen, discs are not needed. Drums also, say engineers, eliminate the need to have the pads periodically brush the rotors in wet weather, as most modern disc brake systems do, to ensure optimum performance, and there's no chance of rust buildup on the rotors.

It all superficially (no pun intended) makes sense. The problem is in the execution. The ID Buzz's brake-pedal travel is long, and worse, the feel is inconsistent. There's a noticeable step-change in retardation, presumably at the hand-off point between regen and mechanical braking that occurs when the rate of deceleration exceeds 0.30 g.

The ID Buzz is thus unquestionably best driven in a relaxed frame of mind. Then you can enjoy the ride, the good seats, and the impressive all-round visibility. There's a ton of room in the second row, even for adults over 6 feet tall, though the seat itself is much firmer than either of the front pews and offers less support.

Split 60/40, the second-row seat slides fore and aft through nearly 6 inches of travel and folds flat, though not flush with the load space floor. Instead, Volkswagen offers an optional storage unit that sits on top of the floor and has an upper surface that aligns perfectly with the seat backs when folded. The rear hatch's load lip is just 2 feet above the ground; Volkswagen has done a good job of packaging the rear motor underneath the load space floor.

Other clever touches include the center console that includes a cubby with removable dividers, one of which has a built-in bottle opener, and the other of which can be used to scrape ice off the windshield. The console includes a slide-out drawer at the rear, and a flip-out storage bin at the front, and the entire thing can be unclipped from the floor and removed from the car.

The sliding rear doors are power operated, and each contains a USB-C port, as does the passenger-side front door. Two more USB-C ports are in the dash, just to the right of the steering column. The windows in the rear doors are fixed for now, but power windows are planned and could be available when the U.S.-spec extended-wheelbase model goes on sale in 2024.

Although it shares a lot of hardware with the ID.4 SUV, most notably the digital instrument panel, the 10.0-inch central touchscreen, the steering wheel, and other switchgear, the airy Buzz interior looks more upscale than that of any other MEB Volkswagen, especially with the splashes of yellow, orange, green, or blue on the dash, doors, and seats that complement the exterior color as part of the available interior styling pack.

There's still too much hard plastic evident, however, most notably on the door trims. Not all the plastic in the Buzz cabin is bad: Some of the seat trim, the floor coverings, and the roof lining are all made from recycled plastics. What looks like leather is synthetic material.

Volkswagen Group's push into in-house software development has run into major problems, with the new premium EV platform intended to underpin upcoming Audi, Porsche, Bentley, and Lamborghini models said to be running two years behind schedule as a result. The Buzz's user interface is powered by the new ID.Software 3.2 system, but it's still clunkier and buggier than most rival setups—the voice activation system kept randomly asking us for instructions, for example.

One positive from the software upgrade is the battery will now accept a charge rate up to 170 kW, a big step up from the 125-kW maximum on current MEB models. That means it can be taken from a 5 percent charge to 80 percent in just 30 minutes.

Based on the positive reactions it drew from passersby on our test drive in and around Copenhagen, Denmark, the ID Buzz successfully channels the fun vibe of the old Microbus, providing you choose the two-tone paint scheme. It's practical, too, a comfortable, maneuverable, appropriately sized electric vehicle that can effortlessly carry five people and their stuff. Or, with 77.9 cubic feet of load space available with the second row folded flat, just a whole lot of your own stuff.

But the Buzz needs brakes with better feel, Volkswagen's user interface is still clunkier than it should be, and the single motor needs more power to cope with the ID Buzz's mass. The first two issues are software- rather than hardware-related and so should be easily fixable. And VW sources confirm a power boost for the rear motor is on the way, and should be in production by the time the extended-wheelbase models arrive in the U.S.

That's why, despite the annoyances, the standard-wheelbase ID Buzz is a minivan that makes you smile, just like the old Microbus, which, truth be told, had plenty of flaws. While most minivans struggle to be anything but appliances, there is a coolness and quirkiness, a charming mix of style and practicality to the ID Buzz that's hugely appealing.

Will the ID Buzz's bigger, heavier, three-row sibling, the one that's coming to America, sized to rival Toyota's Sienna, Honda's Odyssey, Kia's Carnival, and the Chrysler Pacifica, have quite the same appeal? We'll have to wait until 2024 to know for sure.