Photo: Volkswagen
On Tuesday, March 11th, Volkswagen UK announced advanced sales of the latest Golf version, the all-electric e-Golf. Orders for the car can already be placed, but only through 24 specialized retailers who are equipped to sell the electric vehicles.
The e-Golf is Volkswagen's first-ever full-production car that runs only on electricity. Mechanically and cosmetically, it looks like any family car, but the powertrain is all-new and includes a battery that can reach 80% charge in just 35 minutes.
As standard, the e-Golf costs £30,845, but because the UK Government has a £5,000 electric car brand in place, you only need to pay £25,845. Its biggest rival, the Vauxhall Ampera, is about £3,000 more expensive at £33,750 (without the grant).
So what do you get in terms of equipment? As it turns out quite a bit, at least by Volkswagen standards. It comes as standard with LED headlights, which use up less power, plus 2Zone climate control, front and rear parking sensors, e-specific ‘Tilleves’ alloy wheels and Discover Pro satellite navigation and an eight-inch colour touchscreen.
Power comes from a 115 PS electric motor with 270 Nm of torque. Acceleration from 0 to 62mph takes just 10.4 seconds, being comparable to a 1.6 TDI engine. The bad news is it's not going to feel as sporty as a regular Golf, since 218 kilograms of "battery" has been added to the underbody of the car, which makes it quite heavy.
But you don't buy an EV to go fast, do you? You buy it to be "green" and also save money on gas. On a full charge of that 26.5 kWh battery, you can expect to travel up to 118 miles. However, this is influenced by road condition and your driving style, so you could see that figure drop to below 100 miles in the real world. Two economy driving modes called Eco and Eco+ are available at the touch of a button. Eco’ cuts peak power to 70 kW / 95 PS, reduces the output of the air conditioning system and modifies the accelerator response. Top speed is reduced to 74 mph and 0-62 mph takes 12.1 seconds. ‘Eco+’ limits maximum power to 55 kW / 75 PS and top speed to just 56 mph, while the accelerator response is much reduced and the air conditioning disabled completely.
As standard, the e-Golf costs £30,845, but because the UK Government has a £5,000 electric car brand in place, you only need to pay £25,845. Its biggest rival, the Vauxhall Ampera, is about £3,000 more expensive at £33,750 (without the grant).
So what do you get in terms of equipment? As it turns out quite a bit, at least by Volkswagen standards. It comes as standard with LED headlights, which use up less power, plus 2Zone climate control, front and rear parking sensors, e-specific ‘Tilleves’ alloy wheels and Discover Pro satellite navigation and an eight-inch colour touchscreen.
Power comes from a 115 PS electric motor with 270 Nm of torque. Acceleration from 0 to 62mph takes just 10.4 seconds, being comparable to a 1.6 TDI engine. The bad news is it's not going to feel as sporty as a regular Golf, since 218 kilograms of "battery" has been added to the underbody of the car, which makes it quite heavy.
But you don't buy an EV to go fast, do you? You buy it to be "green" and also save money on gas. On a full charge of that 26.5 kWh battery, you can expect to travel up to 118 miles. However, this is influenced by road condition and your driving style, so you could see that figure drop to below 100 miles in the real world. Two economy driving modes called Eco and Eco+ are available at the touch of a button. Eco’ cuts peak power to 70 kW / 95 PS, reduces the output of the air conditioning system and modifies the accelerator response. Top speed is reduced to 74 mph and 0-62 mph takes 12.1 seconds. ‘Eco+’ limits maximum power to 55 kW / 75 PS and top speed to just 56 mph, while the accelerator response is much reduced and the air conditioning disabled completely.
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