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What's this?
It is the first golf all away with this idea of the old school of a internal combustion engine. E golf instead of just being driven by an electric motor is powered by a battery pack sends 113bhp to the front wheels. The objective is to get from zero to 37 mph in 4.2 seconds to about six seconds later, 62 hours at 87 miles and top mph. Prices start at £ 25.845 (including government subsidies EV) when it lands in the UK this summer.
Does not sound very fast.
Frankly, driving in the real world, the E-Golf not only feels faster than these figures suggest, but soon-point. It is a fabulous drink instant torque - £ 199 m away, no less - what the E-Golf away from the lights is a real kick. There is so much spin on tap, in fact, that then also rotate the wheels when you get too lairy accelerator.
Speaking of chokes, VW says its electric motor is foot Twitch-of-right to rotate five times faster than a conventional gasoline engine torque at the wheels. Which means the thing has seriously Pokey answers. Detect an accelerator vacuum product to be there. Not quite go as we know, but it's quite lovely all the same.
Has strange rain brake?
Yes, but you can see the aggressiveness of the energy harvesting system to change to drag from the almost non-existent at a fairly fast high as soon as you lift off the gas. The latter mode requires something like a recalibration of the brain and the right foot, but when once you have acclimated much point in town, and it means that almost never really hit the brake pedal.
But if you do not like, you can select the effect regenerative braking, at which point the e-Golf feels like, well ... like any other field: refined, solid, good draw, with all nav / music / goodies VW interiors we've come to expect. And of course it is very quiet, the only sign of life of the drive train a weak moan of science fiction at highway speeds.
How far will you go on a charge?
VW quotes a range of 118 miles - claims that his country is 30 percent more efficient than competitors such as the Nissan Leaf - but as always with electric vehicles, it depends on how you drive.
In a mix of city and highway fairly sensible things, we have a little less than 100 miles on a single charge. Add air conditioning and test a three-digit number and can be half that number. But that's not what the e-Golf is the case a smooth and not hypocritical: makes you question how much power you really need to chew through.
Do you really need air conditioning full blast (within 15 miles of your area), or you could open a window? The full 113bhp on tap is needed when finished crawling traffic, or it could drop its course in "Eco" mode or "Eco +" select even more power and increasing range? It's not like traditional TG wanted emotions, but it is rare but addictive.
On the issue of reach, please inform me of the battery.
It is a noble work of lithium ions with a 24.2kW capacity and weighing 318kg. The masses have no adverse effect on handling, but as the battery, effectively hidden down between the axles under the feet of the passengers.
That there is no place to store their feet?
No, that's legroom is identical to the normal motor Gulf. Space for battery developed in the MQB architecture from the beginning, so there is no compromise to pack electrical Gubbins E-Golf. As expected from VW, this is not a bodge job: each course components was optimized to use as little energy as possible. Slippier is also the standard car, with a drag coefficient of 0.28 compared with 0.31 diesel Golf.
So should I buy?
As always with electric vehicles, it depends on what your car. A realistic range 100 odd miles is more than enough for most everyday commuting needs, and corresponds roughly to the dirt cheap motoring. VW hopes that with the right energy tariff, you will pay 5 pence per mile for electricity: If the math is correct TG a petrol car averaging 30mpg will cost about 15 pence per mile at current fuel prices in the United attached.
But if you drag regularly from Birmingham to Cornwall, the e-course will not work for you: while it may be 80 percent fast charge in just 30 minutes, will have 13 hours to charge the battery in the house edge. And, of course, that requires a driveway, or at least a parking area with convenient plug: Your local police may not be very happy with that hang flexion third floor flat in the street below him.
But if the glove fits, by all means use them. The e-Golf is an electric vehicle that does not work for the city of those responsible for the bills, but for most of us most of the time. With the possible exception of the Tesla Model S - which is aimed at a completely different end of the market - is the most powerful electric car of all time.
