Express.co.uk: The Volkswagen e-Golf charges into new era of electric cars
VOLKSWAGEN is expanding its seventh generation Volkswagen Golf beyond the Bluemotion 88mpg turbo-diesel with this e-Golf; a fully electric, plug-in variant.
VOLKSWAGEN is expanding its seventh generation Volkswagen Golf beyond the Bluemotion 88mpg turbo-diesel with this e-Golf; a fully electric, plug-in variant.
With the e-Golf, Volkswagen is looking to get more involved with electric cars
Unlike previous entrants to the electric vehicle market, which have targeted their cars at the “green” customer, Volkswagen is candidly claiming customers will choose the e-Golf for its low fuel and operating costs and the fact that it looks like any other Golf rather than an eco car.
For this reason VW also expects a significant proportion of e-Golf customers to be company car drivers, looking to keep both fuel and tax costs to a minimum.
In total, Volkswagen sells 65,000 Golfs a year, although the e-Golf is likely to add less than 1,000 sales to the annual Golf total.
However, the e-Golf’s presence is vital to the brand and marks an intent by VW to get far more involved in electric and hybrid vehicles.
Sit behind the wheel and it becomes a lot more obvious that you are in an electric car
Because of its similarity to a conventional Golf, the only real giveaways are the C-shaped front LED daytime running lights, and these become obvious only when the car is in use.
Indeed even the plug-point uses the same filler cap as a diesel or petrol Golf. Sit behind the wheel and it becomes a lot more obvious that you are in an electric car.
Where the rev-counter sits in a regular Golf is a gauge showing the amount of battery use or brake-energy regeneration plus a very obvious range indicator.
Slightly further from the line of sight are a few extra buttons to control functions found only on a plug-in car, such as the level of power the motor and batteries deliver. You cannot even tell where the batteries are stored.
The boot is almost identical in volume to all other Golfs as the batteries are where the fuel tank and exhaust would normally go.
In basic terms the e-Golf is powered by an 85kW motor (equivalent to 115bhp) coupled to batteries that give it a 118-mile range.
The result is a car with 0 to 60mph in 10.4 seconds and a top speed of 87mph in “normal” driving mode.
In “normal”, the range drops by about 10 per cent. Should you activate the “eco” mode, power drops to 95bhp and top speed drops to 74mph but the range is extended.
In “eco+” these figures drop to 75bhp and 56mph, not to mention doing without air conditioning but at this point you are most likely to achieve the claimed maximum range.
While it is difficult to compare economy figures between a car that is plugged in and one that uses a liquid fuel, Volkswagen claims the e-Golf costs approximately £3 to travel 100 miles and in energy use it is equivalent to a 200mpg diesel car.
Alongside the issue of range, the time to recharge puts people off buying an electric car and the e-Golf is similar to its rivals in this.
Plugged in to a regular three-pin socket using the six-metre cable, the e-Golf takes 13 hours to recharge but with a special home charge point installed it is only eight hours; and only 30 minutes to gain an 80 per cent fill from a fast-charge point.
To drive though, the e-Golf is surprisingly complicated.
While you can just put the car in drive and use it like any other automatic hatchback, to get the best range out of the batteries there are four different modes to recover energy from the brakes that sit alongside the aforementioned eco-power modes.
What’s more, instead of these modes being offered in sequence through the “gear” selector, three are offered by pushing the lever to the left or right and the fourth can be activated by pulling back on the lever. This final mode offers maximum power regeneration, acts as a brake and will, eventually, stop the car.
In reality it is best to pick a mode that suits your driving style or situation and then stick with it because if you swap between different levels of regeneration you can find yourself expecting to brake but coasting instead, or vice versa. That aside, the driving experience is excellent.
The immediate shove off the line from the electric motor is slightly addictive and can beat a lot of traditionally fast cars up to 30mph from traffic lights, should you choose to be that juvenile.
This power continues up to motorway speeds but the difference to other cars is less noticeable at higher speeds. Because there is no engine or exhaust, refinement is second to none.
As for a fun-factor, the steering is just like the regular Golf with a good, although not amazing, level of feedback. However, the car is very stable and has little body roll.
The e-Golf is based on the SE trim level of a regular Golf but adds sat nav which also links to a phone app so you can either heat or cool your car remotely as well as keep track of charging and even where you last parked the car.
While the e-Golf may not be as easy to use as the Nissan Leaf, its prime rival, it is a more attractive car and if you like minimal fuel costs without looking like you are penny pinching the e-Golf is the way to go.
Logbook lowdown
Price: £25,845
Engine: Electric motor – 85kW (115bhp)
Power: 0 to 60mph in 10.4 seconds, 87mph top speed
Fuel economy: £3 per 100 miles
CO2 emissions: 0g/km
Rivals: BMW i3, Toyota Prius, Nissan Leaf, Vauxhall Ampera, Volkswagen Golf Bluemotion
Rating: 8/10
Unlike previous entrants to the electric vehicle market, which have targeted their cars at the “green” customer, Volkswagen is candidly claiming customers will choose the e-Golf for its low fuel and operating costs and the fact that it looks like any other Golf rather than an eco car.
For this reason VW also expects a significant proportion of e-Golf customers to be company car drivers, looking to keep both fuel and tax costs to a minimum.
In total, Volkswagen sells 65,000 Golfs a year, although the e-Golf is likely to add less than 1,000 sales to the annual Golf total.
However, the e-Golf’s presence is vital to the brand and marks an intent by VW to get far more involved in electric and hybrid vehicles.
Sit behind the wheel and it becomes a lot more obvious that you are in an electric car
Because of its similarity to a conventional Golf, the only real giveaways are the C-shaped front LED daytime running lights, and these become obvious only when the car is in use.
Indeed even the plug-point uses the same filler cap as a diesel or petrol Golf. Sit behind the wheel and it becomes a lot more obvious that you are in an electric car.
Where the rev-counter sits in a regular Golf is a gauge showing the amount of battery use or brake-energy regeneration plus a very obvious range indicator.
Slightly further from the line of sight are a few extra buttons to control functions found only on a plug-in car, such as the level of power the motor and batteries deliver. You cannot even tell where the batteries are stored.
The boot is almost identical in volume to all other Golfs as the batteries are where the fuel tank and exhaust would normally go.
In basic terms the e-Golf is powered by an 85kW motor (equivalent to 115bhp) coupled to batteries that give it a 118-mile range.
The result is a car with 0 to 60mph in 10.4 seconds and a top speed of 87mph in “normal” driving mode.
In “normal”, the range drops by about 10 per cent. Should you activate the “eco” mode, power drops to 95bhp and top speed drops to 74mph but the range is extended.
In “eco+” these figures drop to 75bhp and 56mph, not to mention doing without air conditioning but at this point you are most likely to achieve the claimed maximum range.
While it is difficult to compare economy figures between a car that is plugged in and one that uses a liquid fuel, Volkswagen claims the e-Golf costs approximately £3 to travel 100 miles and in energy use it is equivalent to a 200mpg diesel car.
Alongside the issue of range, the time to recharge puts people off buying an electric car and the e-Golf is similar to its rivals in this.
Plugged in to a regular three-pin socket using the six-metre cable, the e-Golf takes 13 hours to recharge but with a special home charge point installed it is only eight hours; and only 30 minutes to gain an 80 per cent fill from a fast-charge point.
To drive though, the e-Golf is surprisingly complicated.
While you can just put the car in drive and use it like any other automatic hatchback, to get the best range out of the batteries there are four different modes to recover energy from the brakes that sit alongside the aforementioned eco-power modes.
What’s more, instead of these modes being offered in sequence through the “gear” selector, three are offered by pushing the lever to the left or right and the fourth can be activated by pulling back on the lever. This final mode offers maximum power regeneration, acts as a brake and will, eventually, stop the car.
In reality it is best to pick a mode that suits your driving style or situation and then stick with it because if you swap between different levels of regeneration you can find yourself expecting to brake but coasting instead, or vice versa. That aside, the driving experience is excellent.
The immediate shove off the line from the electric motor is slightly addictive and can beat a lot of traditionally fast cars up to 30mph from traffic lights, should you choose to be that juvenile.
This power continues up to motorway speeds but the difference to other cars is less noticeable at higher speeds. Because there is no engine or exhaust, refinement is second to none.
As for a fun-factor, the steering is just like the regular Golf with a good, although not amazing, level of feedback. However, the car is very stable and has little body roll.
The e-Golf is based on the SE trim level of a regular Golf but adds sat nav which also links to a phone app so you can either heat or cool your car remotely as well as keep track of charging and even where you last parked the car.
While the e-Golf may not be as easy to use as the Nissan Leaf, its prime rival, it is a more attractive car and if you like minimal fuel costs without looking like you are penny pinching the e-Golf is the way to go.
Logbook lowdown
Price: £25,845
Engine: Electric motor – 85kW (115bhp)
Power: 0 to 60mph in 10.4 seconds, 87mph top speed
Fuel economy: £3 per 100 miles
CO2 emissions: 0g/km
Rivals: BMW i3, Toyota Prius, Nissan Leaf, Vauxhall Ampera, Volkswagen Golf Bluemotion
Rating: 8/10
