"The Button" Golf GTE Ad Is About Laughing Like a Bond Villain

You know how every old Bond movie has a big red button that activates the laser or lava it that's supposed to kill him. Yeah, the kind of stuff they made fun of in Austin Powers. Well, VW captured that tongue-in-cheek humor in the video it made with global agency Adam&Eve/DDB.

The visuals are pretty sweet, capturing the style of movies from many different eras, going even back to black and white.

However, we think it would have been better if the driver laughed out loud too at the end of the clip. Being responsible, which is the message they are trying to get across, doesn't mean that you shouldn't enjoy it. After all, you're not hurting anybody!

So what's the GTE button? Well, this car isn't like your Prius... well, it is a bit like the Prius Prime in a way, but that's not the point. Essentially, the car has two engines, an electric one and a 1.4 TSI turbo, both of which can power it independently. In GTE mode, both are called to action and deliver the total output of 204 PS and 350 Nm (258 lbs-ft) of torque. This offers you the capability to cover 0 to 62 in 7.6 seconds and a top speed of 138 mph.

Of course, Volkswagen would lead you to believe that you can have your cake and eat it. But you'd have to be a great hyper-miler to get the claimed 166 mpg, and we're not too happy about the curb weight of 1,615 kg (3560 lbs).

“Clearly, we are not encouraging people to drive irresponsibly – indeed the idea behind the Golf’s advanced hybrid GTE powertrain is to maximize range – but the Golf’s petrol+electric potential is something we are rightly proud of. We hope the gentle nod to various movie genres in the new TV campaign will make people smile, while also making them reappraise their views on hybrids,” Volkswagen National Communications Manager Glyn Butterworth explained.