VW Golf GTE v eGolf review...

billy few mates · 28-09-2017 08:36PM #1

https://youtu.be/FJ9GF4UtAPQ

My head says GTE, my heart says eGolf....

unkel · 28-09-2017 09:29PM

If you like to drive over 150km/h or need to drive over 150km in the one go all the time, you need to buy the GTE or a proper GTI.

If not the eGolf wins hands down

grange girl · 29-09-2017 05:04PM

I agree, unkel. The GTE is great if you need the petrol backup but otherwise, driving electric is great and go for it!

Shefwedfan · 30-09-2017 09:30PM

The range of 200km is low, seeing as I can do 140km no problem in older model......

There is a couple of similar reviews, all say the same, the eGolf is better than GTE

01-10-2017 03:49PM

The Egolf could do with a serious power upgrade !

thierry14 · 01-10-2017 04:42PM

[Deleted User] wrote: »

The Egolf could do with a serious power upgrade !

Exactly

No reason for it not to be 200bhp or more

Its like VW don't want it to be appealling

I'm sure with financial clout they have they could have 40kwh+, 300km range, 250bhp, 0-60 sub 6 secs out in a few months if they wished

Bloody Nissan Leaf 2018 has better power/range

Shefwedfan · 01-10-2017 09:18PM

Deleted User wrote: »

The Egolf could do with a serious power upgrade !

Why? Have you driven one?

unkel · 01-10-2017 10:34PM

eGolf has 136BHP and does 0-100km/h in 9s

That's the same aceleration as the extremely light weight original Golf GTI Mk1

And most EVs are quicker in real life than their official figures. Leaf is officially almost 12s, but has been clocked at about 10s. Ioniq is officially 0-100km/h in 9.9s but has been clocked to do 0-60mph in 8.1s. I'd say the eGolf does about 8s too.

Of course more power is always quicker and better and I haven't driven the eGolf myself, but it would be absurd to call it slow. 8s is probably quicker than about 90% of all cars on the road in this country.

Shefwedfan · 02-10-2017 11:04AM

thierry14 wrote: »

Exactly

No reason for it not to be 200bhp or more

Its like VW don't want it to be appealling

I'm sure with financial clout they have they could have 40kwh+, 300km range, 250bhp, 0-60 sub 6 secs out in a few months if they wished

Bloody Nissan Leaf 2018 has better power/range

Why would you need it to be 200bhp? Have you even drove the current eGolf or the older model? I find the performance better than my old 2.ltr TDi

In terms of range to remember the eGolf was only released in 2014. They have actually done fairly well to get to 35.8kWh battery in 3 years.

Think about it, Nissan released the Leaf in 2011 and are only getting to 40kWh battery now.

VW have also switched all dev now to ID. The current eGolf will be final version.

thierry14 · 02-10-2017 11:13AM

unkel wrote: »

eGolf has 136BHP and does 0-100km/h in 9s

That's the same aceleration as the extremely light weight original Golf GTI Mk1

And most EVs are quicker in real life than their official figures. Leaf is officially almost 12s, but has been clocked at about 10s. Ioniq is officially 0-100km/h in 9.9s but has been clocked to do 0-60mph in 8.1s. I'd say the eGolf does about 8s too.

Of course more power is always quicker and better and I haven't driven the eGolf myself, but it would be absurd to call it slow. 8s is probably quicker than about 90% of all cars on the road in this country.

Rest of the post is true

Ioniq does not do 0-100 in 8.1

Maybe down a mountain or behind a 150kmh gail

Every auto test i have seen puts it in high 9's, huge difference between that and 8.1

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=TROwTnHnrso

KCross · 02-10-2017 11:18AM

Shefwedfan wrote: »

Why would you need it to be 200bhp? Have you even drove the current eGolf or the older model? I find the performance better than my old 2.ltr TDi

In terms of range to remember the eGolf was only released in 2014. They have actually done fairly well to get to 35.8kWh battery in 3 years.

Think about it, Nissan released the Leaf in 2011 and are only getting to 40kWh battery now.

VW have also switched all dev now to ID. The current eGolf will be final version.

eGolf review here. He seems impressed all round with it and should have similar range to the 2018 Leaf (a little less probably).

Likewise with the Golf GTE

I think its also a pretty decent effort from VW to get the eGolf to where it is when, presumably, it was never designed with EV in mind, so to cram 36kWh of battery in there and maintain the mainstream appeal of a Golf is impressive I think (unlike Ford's effort of converting the Focus to EV :rolleyes:)

One would hope that a VW EV designed from the ground up will be even more impressive. It does show that once the big German brands decide they want to do it they will have no problem doing so (notwithstanding the battery shortage issues, which will be addressed in time).

Now if they could only make the eGolf a bit more affordable. Its all well and good to say its comparable to a GTD but thats not the majority. VW need an EV in the Leaf price bracket.

Shefwedfan · 02-10-2017 11:30AM

KCross wrote: »

Now if they could only make the eGolf a bit more affordable. Its all well and good to say its comparable to a GTD but thats not the majority. VW need an EV in the Leaf price bracket.

To be honest no they don't. This was posted on facebook.

https://cleantechnica.com/2017/09/30/europe-august-2017/

eGolf is out selling everything bar the Zoe. In the US the waiting list is huge for eGolf.

Answer me this. If you are in market for a Micra or Clio, would you really go in and test drive a Golf and expect to pay the same price? Not in a hope.

The eGolf is for a different car class and to be honest Ireland seems to be the only country that automatically think Electric car and then cheap. Why do you need to move down in class of car just so you can drive electric?

VW are 100% right, why would you degrade the Golf name by dropping the price. That is what Nissan have done and to be honest have ruined the Leaf. The depreciation is massive, look at the eGolf and they are holding there value.

In the US, the comparison is between eGolf or Tesla 3. Not eGolf v Leaf.

KCross · 02-10-2017 11:42AM

Shefwedfan wrote: »

To be honest no they don't. This was posted on facebook.

https://cleantechnica.com/2017/09/30/europe-august-2017/

eGolf is out selling everything bar the Zoe. In the US the waiting list is huge for eGolf.

Answer me this. If you are in market for a Micra or Clio, would you really go in and test drive a Golf and expect to pay the same price? Not in a hope.

The eGolf is for a different car class and to be honest Ireland seems to be the only country that automatically think Electric car and then cheap. Why do you need to move down in class of car just so you can drive electric?

VW are 100% right, why would you degrade the Golf name by dropping the price. That is what Nissan have done and to be honest have ruined the Leaf. The depreciation is massive, look at the eGolf and they are holding there value.

In the US, the comparison is between eGolf or Tesla 3. Not eGolf v Leaf.

I said, "VW need an EV in the Leaf price bracket."
I didn't say they should devalue the Golf brand.

I do think they should make the eGolf more affordable though. As you have pointed out, if its selling well then they don't have to and the reality is they probably don't have the battery capacity to sell more so why reduce the price. The market is not yet mature enough for price battles to occur.

Shefwedfan · 02-10-2017 11:46AM

KCross wrote: »

I said, "VW need an EV in the Leaf price bracket."
I didn't say they should devalue the Golf brand.

I do think they should make the eGolf more affordable though. As you have pointed out, if its selling well then they don't have to and the reality is they probably don't have the battery capacity to sell more so why reduce the price. The market is not yet mature enough for price battles to occur.

They already have a car out in the Leaf price bracket

http://www.volkswagen.co.uk/new/up-pa/which-model-compare/details/2800#!#overview

KCross · 02-10-2017 11:49AM

Shefwedfan wrote: »

They already have a car out in the Leaf price bracket

http://www.volkswagen.co.uk/new/up-pa/which-model-compare/details/2800#!#overview

Seriously!?
18kWh?

You think thats the VW competition for 2018 Leaf!

KCross · 02-10-2017 11:54AM

Shefwedfan wrote: »

To be honest no they don't. This was posted on facebook.

https://cleantechnica.com/2017/09/30/europe-august-2017/

eGolf is out selling everything bar the Zoe. In the US the waiting list is huge for eGolf.

Just looking into that article a bit more. You need to flick it to the YTD figures rather than the August figures. It paints a very different picture so I don't think your statement of "eGolf is out selling everything bar the Zoe" is really true.

I suspect August(Q2/Q3 in general) would have been very bad for the Leaf in anticipation of the Sep reveal of Leaf II.

Shefwedfan · 02-10-2017 11:59AM

KCross wrote: »

Seriously!?
18kWh?

You think thats the VW competition for 2018 Leaf!

You said "VW need an EV in the Leaf price bracket."

The e-Up is in the price range and to be fair 75-103miles in summer is similar to what the current 24kWh Leaf is getting. You never mentioned anything about the 2018 model.

e-Up's range depends on how you drive. Measured on the New European Drive Cycle, the new VW e-Up electric car has a theoretical range of 99 miles. However, wary of over-stating the case and being pilloried by stranded customers, VW revises that figure, suggesting that a more realistic expectation should be 75-103 miles in summer and 50-75 miles in winter.
https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-review/volkswagen/e-up

KCross · 02-10-2017 12:01PM

Shefwedfan wrote: »

You said "VW need an EV in the Leaf price bracket."

The e-Up is in the price range and to be fair 75-103miles in summer is similar to what the current 24kWh Leaf is getting. You never mentioned anything about the 2018 model.

e-Up's range depends on how you drive. Measured on the New European Drive Cycle, the new VW e-Up electric car has a theoretical range of 99 miles. However, wary of over-stating the case and being pilloried by stranded customers, VW revises that figure, suggesting that a more realistic expectation should be 75-103 miles in summer and 50-75 miles in winter.
https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-review/volkswagen/e-up

Whatever!

We're OT.

Shefwedfan · 02-10-2017 12:06PM

KCross wrote: »

Just looking into that article a bit more. You need to flick it to the YTD figures rather than the August figures. It paints a very different picture so I don't think your statement of "eGolf is out selling everything bar the Zoe" is really true.

I suspect August(Q2/Q3 in general) would have been very bad for the Leaf in anticipation of the Sep reveal of Leaf II.

You said "Now if they could only make the eGolf a bit more affordable. Its all well and good to say its comparable to a GTD but thats not the majority. VW need an EV in the Leaf price bracket."

My point is they don't need to as the current eGolf is selling. Correct?

The YTD figures would not be great as new eGolf is only started shipping as well.....

I use the figures more of a guide to how the eGolf is selling outside of Ireland........

KCross · 02-10-2017 12:10PM

Shefwedfan wrote: »

You said "Now if they could only make the eGolf a bit more affordable. Its all well and good to say its comparable to a GTD but thats not the majority. VW need an EV in the Leaf price bracket."

My point is they don't need to as the current eGolf is selling. Correct?

The YTD figures would not be great as new eGolf is only started shipping as well.....

I use the figures more of a guide to how the eGolf is selling outside of Ireland........

I agree, said so in post 13.

Wisesmurf · 02-10-2017 12:16PM

The thing about the E-Golf is it looks like a normal Golf. That is the thing that will help it sell (that and it being a VW I assume).

It might ruffle a few feathers but the Leaf and Ioniq are not conventionally good looking cars and in my opinion the I3 is hideous looking.

I'm sure my next car will be an electric car but the missus won't consider the Leaf or Ionic (I'd love an Ioniq). The more these cars start to look like normal cars the more they'll be adopted.

Shefwedfan · 02-10-2017 12:20PM

KCross wrote: »

I agree, said so in post 13.

:P Sorry I had posted before I seen....

Going forward the I.D seems to be answer to all questions.

It is not a single car either. They seem to have 5 across the range
http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1111692_volkswagens-5-electric-cars-start-in-2019-what-we-know-so-far

The choice I think you are looking for.

I would love to tour the Australian outback in the buzz :cool:

Shefwedfan · 02-10-2017 12:25PM

Wisesmurf wrote: »

The thing about the E-Golf is it looks like a normal Golf. That is the thing that will help it sell (that and it being a VW I assume).

It might ruffle a few feathers but the Leaf and Ioniq are not conventionally good looking cars and in my opinion the I3 is hideous looking.

I'm sure my next car will be an electric car but the missus won't consider the Leaf or Ionic (I'd love an Ioniq). The more these cars start to look like normal cars the more they'll be adopted.

Exactly, to gain mass up take electric cars need to look like "normal" cars.

One of the things I love about the eGolf is you would never think it is electric. More or less it is exact same as Diesel/Petrol Golf apart from a few tweaks.

Just because you are driving an electric car you don't need to shout it from the roof tops.

Casati · 02-10-2017 01:35PM

unkel wrote: »

eGolf has 136BHP and does 0-100km/h in 9s

That's the same aceleration as the extremely light weight original Golf GTI Mk1

And most EVs are quicker in real life than their official figures. Leaf is officially almost 12s, but has been clocked at about 10s. Ioniq is officially 0-100km/h in 9.9s but has been clocked to do 0-60mph in 8.1s. I'd say the eGolf does about 8s too.

Of course more power is always quicker and better and I haven't driven the eGolf myself, but it would be absurd to call it slow. 8s is probably quicker than about 90% of all cars on the road in this country.

Really? You are saying on average ev's are 20% faster to 100kmph than the manufacturers figures? Manufacturers are not know for dumbing down performance and economy claims so why do you presume they do it only for e.v's?

billy few mates · 02-10-2017 09:47PM

KCross wrote: »

eGolf review here. He seems impressed all round with it and should have similar range to the 2018 Leaf (a little less probably).

Likewise with the Golf GTE

I think its also a pretty decent effort from VW to get the eGolf to where it is when, presumably, it was never designed with EV in mind, so to cram 36kWh of battery in there and maintain the mainstream appeal of a Golf is impressive I think (unlike Ford's effort of converting the Focus to EV :rolleyes:)

One would hope that a VW EV designed from the ground up will be even more impressive. It does show that once the big German brands decide they want to do it they will have no problem doing so (notwithstanding the battery shortage issues, which will be addressed in time).

Now if they could only make the eGolf a bit more affordable. Its all well and good to say its comparable to a GTD but thats not the majority. VW need an EV in the Leaf price bracket.

Nice reviews...

unkel · 02-10-2017 09:52PM

thierry14 wrote: »

Ioniq does not do 0-100 in 8.1

I said 0-60mph (97km/h). And yes it does:

Linky

It always felt a good bit quicker than the official 9.9s to me (in sport mode only, it does not feel quicker than the official 10.2s in normal mode) and I have a fairly good feel for guessing these figures. That's why I went to look for back up of what I felt.

Several clips on youtube where Ioniq does about 8s from 0-100km/h too, but these are harder to verify obviously than the above website, which is impartial

Casati wrote: »

Really? You are saying on average ev's are 20% faster to 100kmph than the manufacturers figures?

I've found the figures for Ioniq and Leaf and given that the eGolf has a better power to weight than Ioniq, I assume it will be at least just as quick. That said it could very well be electronically limited. So I'm the first to say that the real acceleration of the eGolf is unknown. And with any of these FWD EVs, you need perfect traction to make these figures. Speaking as an Ioniq owner, you certainly don't get perfect traction all of the time. I'll probably fit different tyres to improve traction once these ones are on the way out.

billy few mates · 04-10-2017 01:35PM

Just looking at the charging time for the eGolf...
17 hours on a standard three pin plug.
10 hours on a standard EV charger
45 minutes (to 80%) fast charger.

Presumably those figures for the first two are from zero charge to 100% fully charged?

How plentiful are the fast chargers?
If for example I wanted to drive to Limerick in an eGolf, would I be able to find a few of these on the way so I could plan a 45 minute tea break to recharge the battery or do I need to be planning on having to stop somewhere for a long period to charge up?

Those charge points that I see dotted all over the place in public car parks and on the side of the road, are they fast chargers or how long realistically would I have to plug into one of them to get a decent charge?

I don't mind planning a stop for a charge on a journey from Dublin to Limerick (for example) but my 'range anxiety' would be the fear that when I got to the Barack Obama Plaza (for example) I would find a queue of other EV owners with a similar idea ahead of me or the charger out of service.

KCross · 04-10-2017 01:54PM

billy few mates wrote: »

Just looking at the charging time for the eGolf...
17 hours on a standard three pin plug.
10 hours on a standard EV charger
45 minutes (to 80%) fast charger.

Presumably those figures for the first two are from zero charge to 100% fully charged?

How plentiful are the fast chargers?
If for example I wanted to drive to Limerick in an eGolf, would I be able to find a few of these on the way so I could plan a 45 minute tea break to recharge the battery or do I need to be planning on having to stop somewhere for a long period to charge up?

Those charge points that I see dotted all over the place in public car parks and on the side of the road, are they fast chargers or how long realistically would I have to plug into one of them to get a decent charge?

I don't mind planning a stop for a charge on a journey from Dublin to Limerick (for example) but my 'range anxiety' would be the fear that when I got to the Barack Obama Plaza (for example) I would find a queue of other EV owners with a similar idea ahead of me or the charger out of service.

You need to look here:
https://www.esb.ie/our-businesses/ecars/charge-point-map

The "CCS" checkbox is the one you need to turn on to see the rapid chargers(blue icons) and charge at about 45kW
The "Type 2" checkbox (green icons) are the slower chargers and will charge an eGolf at <7kW. Not sure if the eGolf has 3.3 or 6.6kW charger on board.

3-pin socket home charging would be at about 2kW
Proper 32A home charge point would be at 7kW and obviously 16A charge point is half that.

KCross · 04-10-2017 02:44PM

Looking at the Irish VW spec the 2017 eGolf is €37k after grant inc metallic and delivery charges.

https://www.volkswagen.ie/content/dam/vw-ngw/vw_pkw/importers/ie/downloads/product-guides/171002-new-e-golf-september-2017.pdf/_jcr_content/renditions/original./171002-new-e-golf-september-2017.pdf

Only has 3.6kW standard charging. I don't see any option to upgrade that to 7kW. Thats unfortunate particularly since its a 35.8kWh battery. You'd think with a battery that size they'd have 7kW home charging as standard.

Looks like they will also allow towing.

Shefwedfan · 04-10-2017 04:42PM

billy few mates wrote: »

Just looking at the charging time for the eGolf...
17 hours on a standard three pin plug.
10 hours on a standard EV charger
45 minutes (to 80%) fast charger.

Presumably those figures for the first two are from zero charge to 100% fully charged?

How plentiful are the fast chargers?
If for example I wanted to drive to Limerick in an eGolf, would I be able to find a few of these on the way so I could plan a 45 minute tea break to recharge the battery or do I need to be planning on having to stop somewhere for a long period to charge up?

Those charge points that I see dotted all over the place in public car parks and on the side of the road, are they fast chargers or how long realistically would I have to plug into one of them to get a decent charge?

I don't mind planning a stop for a charge on a journey from Dublin to Limerick (for example) but my 'range anxiety' would be the fear that when I got to the Barack Obama Plaza (for example) I would find a queue of other EV owners with a similar idea ahead of me or the charger out of service.

I charged mine at weekend from 6km left on battery. It was on granny cable and it said 9 hours to charge.

Dublin to Limerick is 210m(well from my house). You should be able to do that on a single charge. Not if planning on going 120km, you will need to find the sweet spot for car, mine is around 110km.

I do know in the Leaf the distance tool is not great. I have found on eGolf it is more or less spot on. Well after the initial 10km. So mine will start off with 190km and then I will drive for 10-20 mins and it will give me more or less the right distance.

Have done a couple of trips now to Cavan. It is more or less on the limit of my eGolf hence getting down to the 6km. But I can put into maps the destination, then it will show up on car distance to destination and how many km left. It puts it in section beside speedo so really handy to check as going along. So sometimes I need to flick off the old heating and I get in range.

Also you have 3 different modes(Normal, Eco, Eco+). For the Cavan trip I normally just flick it into Eco to give me that bit of extra distance. Eco mode just restricts the acceleration a bit and also you cannot go over 120km. The air con gets restricted as well.

Then if I get to really worry like last weekend because I didn't charge the car the night before I will flick to Eco+(only for last 30km which was on back roads anyway). It really slows down acceleration, restricts to 90km and no heating etc allowed. Only very rare time I use that mode.

billy few mates · 04-10-2017 05:44PM

Thanks Shefwedfan, great information there. I wonder how many people (possibly like me) would be needlessly put off EVs over range anxiety issues that really aren't an issue? Perhaps the manufacturers should do more to allay our fears?
I'd love the opportunity to borrow one for a day or so to see how I'd manage that particular trip that's the main stumbling block to me buying a full EV, once I'd seen for myself that it was easily manageable I'd be more likely to take the plunge and buy one.
Guesstimated figures on a website will always be taken with a pinch of salt (especially after dieselgate), if I thought I'd never be able to do that trip there and back without a lot of careful planning and a good deal of luck I probably wouldn't buy one, if I thought I'd be able to do it with the minor inconvenience of a short tea break on the way, I think I probably would.

VW Golf GTE v eGolf review...

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