2017 Volkswagen e-Golf

It’s hard out there for an electric car. Enthusiasts tend to doubt the driving chops, consumers are unsure about the ability of EVs to serve the diverse needs of the American driver, and, to make kicking the fossil-fuel habit even harder, electric powertrains still command a significant premium—they can put a lightly equipped compact car on the same price tier as a loaded entry-luxury sedan. Volkswagen hasn’t solved all those problems with its newly updated—and 10Best Cars­–winning—e-Golf, but it has taken several steps in the right direction. For one thing, the e-Golf looks essentially the same as a regular Golf, so it doesn’t require the social sacrifices demanded by, say, a Toyota Prius Prime. For another, it retains virtually all the dynamic prowess that makes the Golf family the Mountbatten-Windsors of the compact-car segment. The e-Golf would need a battery upgrade to compete with the Chevrolet Bolt EV and Tesla Model 3 for range, but for drivers with a small travel radius or room for more than one car in the stable, the e-Golf will serve well.

HIGHS

Drives like every other Golf, looks like any other Golf, carries cargo like any other Golf.

LOWS

Limited range, big price.

VERDICT

A significant refresh makes the e-Golf better and more practical than ever, but it still can’t compete with the best in the class for range.

What’s New for 2017?

The e-Golf sees significant upgrades for 2017, the most important of which is an updated battery with an EPA-rated 125 miles of EV range, compared with the outgoing model’s 83 miles. The electric motor also receives updates and now puts out more horsepower and more torque, good for significantly quicker off-the-line acceleration in our testing. A 7.2-kW onboard charger is newly standard this year, too. The car’s front end gets styling updates, and several pieces of active safety equipment, including adaptive cruise control, lane-keeping assist, and blind-spot monitoring, are now available in the upper trim level.

Trims and Options We’d Choose

It’s easy to spend quite a bit of money on an e-Golf (not taking the available $7500 federal tax credit into account), and the differences in standard equipment between the base SE trim and uplevel SEL Premium trim don’t even begin to account for the $6500 difference in price. We’d stick with the base model, which starts at $31,345. Standard equipment includes:

• Dual-zone automatic climate control
• Six-way partially power-adjustable front seats
• An 8.0-inch touchscreen infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto

We’d happily pay $995 for DC fast charging, which can charge the e-Golf’s battery to 80 percent in just an hour. That would bring the total cost before any applicable tax credits to $32,340.