VW e-Golf

SmithySeller · 04-06-2020 11:54am

C@t wrote: »

I actually did get two cables in the boot, I haven’t used the 3-pin yet, it’s the other “Mode 3” cable that’s 20A. I knew the 3-pin would be slow, I just wasn’t expecting the other one to be nearly as slow!

Yep, same as that, 2 cables, 3 pin and 20amp...

C@t · 04-06-2020 12:25pm

SmithySeller wrote: »

Yep, same as that, 2 cables, 3 pin and 20amp...

Did you query it with your dealer/VW?
In the UK it looks like they get the 32A cable as standard, I wonder if they’re just offloading the 20A ones on us! Seems like a silly move though, why give us a 7.2kW onboard charger but limit it’s usefulness by the supplied cable..? They aren’t even trying to sell the 32A as an upgrade..

charlieIRL · 04-06-2020 2:01pm

Eoin Kavanagh 64 wrote: »

You can opt to buy a 3 phase 32A cable which may somewhat future proof yourself when you change to your next EV at about €200, but real world difference between what you have now and a 32A cable may reduce the 5 hours down to 4.2 hours.

The 32a cable makes a huge difference when charging mine on my home / work charger - it nearly halves the time to charge compared to the 20a. VW said the 20a is all they supply with the car and won't give you a 32a one.

charlieIRL · 04-06-2020 2:02pm

BTW - only seen my second e-golf out and about on the road this morning, they are still quite rare.

Mupchease · 04-06-2020 4:14pm

charlieIRL wrote: »

BTW - only seen my second e-golf out and about on the road this morning, they are still quite rare.

I’ve started seeing a few more on the m50 but I seen two navy ones around Lucan / Clondalkin area frequent enough. I still haven’t seen another black one with the light pack I would have thought my choice would have ended up common enough.

Shefwedfan · 01-07-2020 8:42am

L-M wrote: »

I’ve had that heater component fail on two cars. It sits on top of the battery apparently. Strange. Must be a common fault.

Hi sorry to pull this back up. car is going in for service. What is component that failed? My air con is terrible

Thanks

Dayor Knight · 01-07-2020 12:56pm

Can anyone here give your experience with range achieved in real world driving?

I have a few longer range trips per year and am wondering if they would be feasible in the eGolf.... I know I'd have to stop and charge up either once or twice on journey. I don't think it's a runner, but don't want to dismiss it out of hand just yet. Have you taken a long journey in one of these e.g. to the West , Southwest or Northwest, and how did you get on?

Thanks.

Shefwedfan · 01-07-2020 1:20pm

Dayor Knight wrote: »

Can anyone here give your experience with range achieved in real world driving?

I have a few longer range trips per year and am wondering if they would be feasible in the eGolf.... I know I'd have to stop and charge up either once or twice on journey. I don't think it's a runner, but don't want to dismiss it out of hand just yet. Have you taken a long journey in one of these e.g. to the West , Southwest or Northwest, and how did you get on?

Thanks.

Driven a number of times in the Gen 1 and now the Gen 2. It is supposed to be 90km door to door. In the Gen 1 I would just about make it down on a full charge

In the Gen 2 I am hammering it down the road :P but will end up with about 40km left. If I took it like I drove the Gen 1 I would probably end up with half the battery

What sort of distance you talking about?

Dayor Knight · 01-07-2020 2:00pm

Shefwedfan wrote: »

Driven a number of times in the Gen 1 and now the Gen 2. It is supposed to be 90km door to door. In the Gen 1 I would just about make it down on a full charge

In the Gen 2 I am hammering it down the road :P but will end up with about 40km left. If I took it like I drove the Gen 1 I would probably end up with half the battery

What sort of distance you talking about?

Thanks for the info, it gives me the picture I need.

My longer trip is about 350 km in total, but only occasional. Seems like the infrastructure is not really there yet to support that. I'd say I'd have to keep my Golf TSi for the long trips! (two golfs in the driveway!?). eGolf sounds like a super car as long as you have an alternative for the longer journeys.... I may wait and see on the ID 3 at this point. Weighing up various options though, including hanging on to the Tsi for while. I do love the sound of the eGolf though for all the regular driving.

Shefwedfan · 01-07-2020 2:14pm

Dayor Knight wrote: »

Thanks for the info, it gives me the picture I need.

My longer trip is about 350 km in total, but only occasional. Seems like the infrastructure is not really there yet to support that. I'd say I'd have to keep my Golf TSi for the long trips! (two golfs in the driveway!?). eGolf sounds like a super car as long as you have an alternative for the longer journeys.... I may wait and see on the ID 3 at this point. Weighing up various options though, including hanging on to the Tsi for while. I do love the sound of the eGolf though for all the regular driving.

Have you checked if Ionity is on the route?

Philippe14 · 01-07-2020 2:23pm

I have never driven to the limit of the battery yet, but the ranges it gave we while I was driving was between 150km and 200km with a full battery.

The shorter was in winter time on a near empty motorway driving over 110km/h. The longer was still in winter time, but while driving in traffic (still motorway) at speeds around 90km/h. I have not yet done enough driving in warmer weather to really have an idea.

On the one or two times you need the longer trip, you can drive a bit slower or even set yourself behind a lorry/bus. That'll be a bit slower but can greatly improve the range. So I'd say one charge along the route can be enough if it is reasonably close to the middle. Otherwise, a couple of (smaller?) charges could work.

Eoin · 01-07-2020 2:35pm

Dayor Knight wrote: »

Can anyone here give your experience with range achieved in real world driving?

I have a few longer range trips per year and am wondering if they would be feasible in the eGolf.... I know I'd have to stop and charge up either once or twice on journey. I don't think it's a runner, but don't want to dismiss it out of hand just yet. Have you taken a long journey in one of these e.g. to the West , Southwest or Northwest, and how did you get on?

Thanks.

I did my first long-ish (i.e. not just around the locality) trip last weekend on the motorway. The range flew down at motorway speeds, and I think I was looking at a range of about 150km. Aircon was off, adaptive cruise control was on. Maybe driving with that off, and driving smarter while going up and downhill might have made a difference. If the weight of the car's contents makes a big difference to range, then I wouldn't be helping things there (especially after lockdown).

I was on the M9, so was able to top up in Kilcullen for a few mins and use the fast charger.

Shefwedfan · 01-07-2020 2:37pm

Eoin wrote: »

I did my first long-ish (i.e. not just around the locality) trip last weekend on the motorway. The range flew down at motorway speeds, and I think I was looking at a range of about 150km. Aircon was off, adaptive cruise control was on. Maybe driving with that off, and driving smarter while going up and downhill might have made a difference. If the weight of the car's contents makes a big difference to range, then I wouldn't be helping things there (especially after lockdown).

I was on the M9, so was able to top up in Kilcullen for a few mins and use the fast charger.

Weight is not the issue. Speed is. Doing 120-130km/h will drop range massively.

L-M · 01-07-2020 2:43pm

Shefwedfan wrote: »

Hi sorry to pull this back up. car is going in for service. What is component that failed? My air con is terrible

Thanks

This is a component on the battery, nothing to do with heating the car.

Eoin · 01-07-2020 2:46pm

It was more in the 100-110 range - is it worth chopping another 10km/h off that for occasions where it might save needing to stop off for a boost?

the perfect ten · 01-07-2020 3:17pm

charlieIRL wrote: »

The 32a cable makes a huge difference when charging mine on my home / work charger - it nearly halves the time to charge compared to the 20a. VW said the 20a is all they supply with the car and won't give you a 32a one.

So if you are getting a home charger installed, should you opt for one with an untethered 32A cable so you can take it with you on the road?

C@t · 01-07-2020 3:41pm

the perfect ten wrote: »

So if you are getting a home charger installed, should you opt for one with an untethered 32A cable so you can take it with you on the road?

An untethered charge point doesn’t come with any cable, so you’d have to buy the charge point and a separate 32A cable to use at home and on the road.

Dempsey · 01-07-2020 4:06pm

Dayor Knight wrote: »

Can anyone here give your experience with range achieved in real world driving?

I have a few longer range trips per year and am wondering if they would be feasible in the eGolf.... I know I'd have to stop and charge up either once or twice on journey. I don't think it's a runner, but don't want to dismiss it out of hand just yet. Have you taken a long journey in one of these e.g. to the West , Southwest or Northwest, and how did you get on?

Thanks.

My commute to work is 92km/70mins one way, 50/50 Motorway/National Roads.

During the summer, I charge to 70% and I get there with ~20%
During the winter, I charge to 80-90% and I get there with ~20% (During freezing conditions, 90%)

Mainly driven in Eco Mode and normal driving style, I could eek out a few more % easily by changing a few things but I'm not bothered

Long Range Trips can be worked out with ABRP App to see what you'll need to do given the weather conditions etc. I have done much longer road trips and it just takes a little extra planning which is quickly figured out tbh, i.e. plan charging around eating/shopping/or doing something else and any inconvenience is minimized.

Shefwedfan · 01-07-2020 4:12pm

the perfect ten wrote: »

So if you are getting a home charger installed, should you opt for one with an untethered 32A cable so you can take it with you on the road?

I have one tethered and one untethered

I should have went both untethered.....just because the eGolf and OUtlander has different connections

Dayor Knight · 01-07-2020 8:53pm

Dempsey wrote: »

My commute to work is 92km/70mins one way, 50/50 Motorway/National Roads.

During the summer, I charge to 70% and I get there with ~20%
During the winter, I charge to 80-90% and I get there with ~20% (During freezing conditions, 90%)

Mainly driven in Eco Mode and normal driving style, I could eek out a few more % easily by changing a few things but I'm not bothered

Long Range Trips can be worked out with ABRP App to see what you'll need to do given the weather conditions etc. I have done much longer road trips and it just takes a little extra planning which is quickly figured out tbh, i.e. plan charging around eating/shopping/or doing something else and any inconvenience is minimized.

Thanks for that info. Appreciated.

AmberGold · 01-07-2020 9:04pm

Driving across Snowdonia in Eco Mode and taking it handy Iast September I reckon I got close to the 200k. Fantastic car.

charlieIRL · 02-07-2020 11:27am

My commute is 60kms to work, mixture of back roads, R roads and I think approx 16kms motorway. the eGolf range really suffers when you go above 100kms/hr so more suited to R roads. Saying that i get 15.2kWh/100km consistently on my commute.

Yesterday I had to go from Tullamore to Nenagh and then back to Athlone, 160kms trip and al lon 80kph roads, didn't spare it and i managed 13.2kWh/100kms and a range of 260kms (Ive an executive model with larger wheels). Drove the full route in Eco+ and D3 though. 220-230kms is normal this time of year though

In winter when you need heat, even after pre-heating, the range really really suffers, can drop as low as 150kms on a full charge.

Dayor Knight · 02-07-2020 12:47pm

Thanks for the info on your experience, AmberGold and CharlieIRL. Very helpful.

bodgerfederer · 02-07-2020 3:38pm

In winter when you need heat, even after pre-heating, the range really really suffers, can drop as low as 150kms on a full charge.[/QUOTE]

not if you get one with a heat pump:)

i don't find long trips a problem. i've a trip to waterford and a trip to beyond sligo i do 3/4 times a year each.

waterford i stop in gorey for 20 min ionity charge. possibly i might not even need to but why risk the stress?

sligo i was concerned about but i now go via athlone ionity and fill her up to 100%. it takes longer but is a nicer drive than the n4 (like, a really fun drive from athlone to skreen via the n61). on saturday might attempt it with a bike rack and 3 bikes...or i might chicken out and leave them at home:)

honestly, the longer trips aren't that much of a big deal. you plan and accommodate and for me these trips aren't that regular. the car is so lovely to drive it more than makes up for it.

what i would say is that the range does take away spontaneity. if, say, i'm away for a break with the mrs i might not always have the option of jumping in the car and going somewhere.

for this same reason i came to the conclusion that i won't stay in a hotel that doesn't offer destination charging (even if just a 3pin plug option). this solves the problem but limits where you can stay.
on the plus side i'm staying in the mount falcon hotel next week which i only found because it came up on plugshare!

Eoin · 02-07-2020 5:18pm

bodgerfederer wrote: »

honestly, the longer trips aren't that much of a big deal. you plan and accommodate and for me these trips aren't that regular. the car is so lovely to drive it more than makes up for it.

Totally my feeling on it too - I'd say I barely do more than 4 or 5 trips a year that are more than a full charge's distance away. And of those trips, only 2 would be a bit of pain to stop off for 30 min as it's an early start to drive to Norn Iron for work. It's definitely worth the trade off.

bodgerfederer wrote: »

which i only found because it came up on plugshare!

This is great! I hadn't seen this site before now.

unkel · 02-07-2020 11:27pm

bodgerfederer wrote: »

for this same reason i came to the conclusion that i won't stay in a hotel that doesn't offer destination charging (even if just a 3pin plug option). this solves the problem but limits where you can stay.

Very few hotels now have neither a charge point nor provide a 3 pin socket for charging. Places know full well that they will lose a significant and quickly increasing chunk of business if they don't

charlieIRL · 03-07-2020 11:41am

Trips up to 200 kms are absolutely fine for me on a single charge if i don't use the motorway and have a reasonably sensible right foot. With the amount of camera vans around now, it makes sense to keep to limits, safer anyway!!

Even my family now know if we want to use the eGolf for a longer trip (pre-lockdown) that we have to allow for a few mins charge somewhere on either a fast charger for a few mins or park at a slower one and head off for a while.

Only time i can't use it is when heading west or north west but i see there is a new FCP in Sligo so that helps when we head to Strandhill or Rosses Point. If there was one in Ballina it would be fantastic.

unkel · 03-07-2020 11:58am

^^^ that

And when the family know you're saving substantial money and produce zero emissions when taking the EV, they'd be even more on board (or they should be anyway

). And with the charging for charging, the public charging network now is under a lot less pressure than it was this time last year, even though there are far more EVs out there now.

bodgerfederer · 03-07-2020 3:00pm

charlieIRL wrote: »

Trips up to 200 kms are absolutely fine for me on a single charge if i don't use the motorway and have a reasonably sensible right foot. With the amount of camera vans around now, it makes sense to keep to limits, safer anyway!!

Even my family now know if we want to use the eGolf for a longer trip (pre-lockdown) that we have to allow for a few mins charge somewhere on either a fast charger for a few mins or park at a slower one and head off for a while.

Only time i can't use it is when heading west or north west but i see there is a new FCP in Sligo so that helps when we head to Strandhill or Rosses Point. If there was one in Ballina it would be fantastic.

100% Charlie; as I said I do dublin-skreen (Mayo) and the trip is no problem with a stop. I think I could even go n4 now as new Esb chargers have gone in and an EasyGO in Longford. But that drive up the n61 is fun!
The problem is that once you get there you ain’t going anywhere until your in-laws 3pin plug has charged you back up!

L-M · 03-07-2020 6:28pm

unkel wrote: »

Places know full well that they will lose a significant and quickly increasing chunk of business if they don't

That’s kind of hilarious to read, when you consider the amount of EV owners on this island.

unkel · 03-07-2020 7:07pm

L-M wrote: »

That’s kind of hilarious to read, when you consider the :eek:amount of EV owners on this island.

So, Mr Businessman, why do you think there are any chargers at all at hotels?

KCross · 03-07-2020 8:52pm

L-M wrote: »

That’s kind of hilarious to read, when you consider the amount of EV owners on this island.

It’s early days alright but I saw 4 Tesla’s and a Mini-e parked at Decathlon’s 10 chargers today!

I’d imagine they like customers who spend €50k+ on their cars!..... they didn’t put in 10 chargers for the crack!

As more and more get EVs they will pick hotels based on chargers being available.

liamog · 03-07-2020 9:13pm

I've been emailing campsites to make sure we can plug our car in!

Outkast_IRE · 03-07-2020 9:24pm

KCross wrote: »

It’s early days alright but I saw 4 Tesla’s and a Mini-e parked at Decathlon’s 10 chargers today!

I’d imagine they like customers who spend €50k+ on their cars!..... they didn’t put in 10 chargers for the crack!

As more and more get EVs they will pick hotels based on chargers being available.

Just so its clear , the Councils in virtually every area are ensuring that a certain % of EV chargers are going in to every new commercial development its part of the planning permission.

But as you said i would agree its no harm in attracting some customers who like to spend.

L-M · 04-07-2020 8:40am

unkel wrote: »

So, Mr Businessman, why do you think there are any chargers at all at hotels?

There’s no logic to it. If there are enough EVs to warrant having chargers at hotels, there’ll never be enough chargers. The hotel has 5 and 6 people staying there have EVs, what happens then? And they obviously can’t have 200 chargers.

I’m all for chargers around hotels, as in in Petrol stations etc, but to say hotels will lose “huge chunks of business” because they don’t have chargers is mad.

Unless rental companies start putting out EVs for tourists, or our domestic sales of EVs increase, there be no “huge chunks” of business lost. Unless of course Mr Unkel et all decide to staycation for ever.

unkel · 04-07-2020 2:20pm

L-M wrote: »

There’s no logic to it.

So hotels are just installing chargers for the hell of it?

Of course there is logic to it. Hotels can install chargers very cheaply if they take up Tesla's offer. And whatever balance of the cost they end up paying themselves, they can deduct as expenses for tax reasons in one go. It's a smart business investment. I thought that was obvious.

I'm staying in a hotel in the west for a few nights next month. Costing me the guts of two grand. And you guessed it, I would have booked elsewhere if they hadn't had a car charge point (or a socket), even though I will barely need it as my car has a range of 300-400km

iomusicdublin · 04-07-2020 2:24pm

Can the battery be upgraded in this car?

KCross · 04-07-2020 3:13pm

iomusicdublin wrote: »

Can the battery be upgraded in this car?

Anything is technically possible but in reality it’s not financially viable or something that is routinely done with any EV.

Shefwedfan · 04-07-2020 4:28pm

iomusicdublin wrote: »

Can the battery be upgraded in this car?

Company in Austria have done it, 55kWh if I remember and that was in the Gen 1. It was never put on retail. More of a "look what we can do". THey are the same lads who made Arnie and electric Hummer

L-M · 04-07-2020 5:23pm

unkel wrote: »

So hotels are just installing chargers for the hell of it?

Of course there is logic to it. Hotels can install chargers very cheaply if they take up Tesla's offer. And whatever balance of the cost they end up paying themselves, they can deduct as expenses for tax reasons in one go. It's a smart business investment. I thought that was obvious.

I'm staying in a hotel in the west for a few nights next month. Costing me the guts of two grand. And you guessed it, I would have booked elsewhere if they hadn't had a car charge point (or a socket), even though I will barely need it as my car has a range of 300-400km

You said they’ll lose a huge chunk of business. You’re wrong.

iomusicdublin · 04-07-2020 5:49pm

I am thinking that in 2 - 3 years time when a 100kw battery pack costs 4,000 euro or less

unkel · 04-07-2020 10:57pm

L-M wrote: »

You said they’ll lose a huge chunk of business. You’re wrong.

My two grand is a fair chunk of their business. They would not have got it from me if I couldn't have charged my car. I was obviously not wrong there

Philippe14 · 06-07-2020 8:43am

unkel wrote: »

My two grand is a fair chunk of their business. They would not have got it from me if I couldn't have charged my car. I was obviously not wrong there

If what you said about being able to deduct pretty much all of it, then is gives a good business reason to do it. But I doubt most would be worried about losing a "good chunk" of business just because of chargers. If not you, someone else could have stayed, and even without you it would hardly make a difference in most of their yearly budget (except may be this year because of the lockdown, but no one would have planned just for that). There just aren't enough EVs yet to make it a compelling case in itself.

Overall, there are probably plenty of reasons to install chargers, whether in hotels or Decathlon or other places.

Some owners probably do believe in it (may be the actual owner has an EV). But for other it is regulation, for other it is greenwashing (especially if the grants and tax break pay for almost all of it), and some probably prepare for the future even if there is no immediate incentive yet (apart from the grants).

But the plan to drop diesel in the future does give visibility to EVs. So it is probably a good business plan to start getting equipped bit by bit rather than try to do all at once when there are going to be enough EVs.

06-07-2020 10:30am

Outkast_IRE wrote: »

...............

But as you said i would agree its no harm in attracting some customers who like to spend.

I doubt EV owners spend any more in hotels then non EV owners.

Mupchease · 08-07-2020 11:08am

I don’t see what a hotel has to lose by getting a charger. Its no harm and if you could book the charger it would definitely make me consider that hotel more than one without. Who wants to waste time stopping for a charge when on a holiday if possible.

Has anybody noticed any degradation yet on any of their cars ? 44k in and I haven’t noticed any.

unkel · 08-07-2020 11:22am

Mupchease wrote: »

Has anybody noticed any degradation yet on any of their cars ? 44k in and I haven’t noticed any.

In a mild climate degradation will be very low and gradual on pretty much all EVs bar ones with zero battery cooling (like Leafs)

Think ballpark remaining capacity of 80-85% after 10-15 years (typical life of a car)

Shefwedfan · 08-07-2020 2:02pm

unkel wrote: »

In a mild climate degradation will be very low and gradual on pretty much all EVs bar ones with zero battery cooling (like Leafs)

Think ballpark remaining capacity of 80-85% after 10-15 years (typical life of a car)

Never noticed any on my two, the only confirmation I have seen was a guy took a battery reading after it arrived and after 80k km or miles I cant remember took another and it had same battery left. According to the group it was mentioned VW "buffer" the battery more than rivals so even thought it had degradation it didnt affect range

bodgerfederer · 15-07-2020 1:29pm

Has anyone updated the maps in the infotainment? Saw someone on FB had done it.

It's 25 gig of maps!

https://webspecial.volkswagen.de/vwinfotainment/int/en/index/downloads/maps-download#/?car=a3e422d7-ab49-4a9e-aa71-37fe8035fe76

I'm assuming it's straight forward enough - download, unzip, put it on the SD card.

Just wondering if anyone has done it/found it worthwhile?

Shefwedfan · 15-07-2020 4:39pm

bodgerfederer wrote: »

Has anyone updated the maps in the infotainment? Saw someone on FB had done it.

It's 25 gig of maps!

https://webspecial.volkswagen.de/vwinfotainment/int/en/index/downloads/maps-download#/?car=a3e422d7-ab49-4a9e-aa71-37fe8035fe76

I'm assuming it's straight forward enough - download, unzip, put it on the SD card.

Just wondering if anyone has done it/found it worthwhile?

I done it on my old one eGolf.....It was easy enough

You need a 32GB card, dont go with lower or it wont work

AmberGold · 15-07-2020 10:39pm

Mupchease wrote: »

I don’t see what a hotel has to lose by getting a charger. Its no harm and if you could book the charger it would definitely make me consider that hotel more than one without. Who wants to waste time stopping for a charge when on a holiday if possible.

Stayed in the Kinglsey in Cork recently, Tesla charger was borderline useless, better off plugging into a wall socket.

VW e-Golf

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