Volkswagen ID. Buzz vs Mercedes-Benz Sprinter

What's the difference?

You might call it six degrees of Kombi separation. Somewhere, somehow just about all of us have a VW bus lurking in our family and friends' back story. And this is the latest version of that familiar box on wheels to hit the Aussie market.

It’s the premium, sportier, AWD GTX version of the pure-electric Volkswagen ID.Buzz.

This one-box wonder hits the retro-futurist ball out of the park and we attended its local launch to explore whether what’s under the skin supports the promise of its stunning exterior.

The Mercedes-Benz Sprinter has long been a formidable competitor in the Light Duty (3501-8000kg GVM) division of Australia’s highly competitive Heavy Commercial vehicle market.

The popular range offers a choice of panel van, cab-chassis and minibus body styles, four turbo-diesel engine variants (plus an all-electric drivetrain), three wheelbase lengths and for panel vans plus the choice of two roof heights.

An extensive overhaul of the Sprinter range in 2024 brought extra safety technologies, new comfort and convenience features and other benefits, which Mercedes-Benz claims can help drivers work more efficiently. We recently put one of the latest models to the test.