Motor Trend gave the VW e-Golf electric car its highly coveted Car of the Year award this year. Just about every other major automotive publication has raved about the new e-Golf as well, but—in the real world—is it really that good? Volkswagen gave me the keys to a blue e-Golf for a week and let’s just say that I loved it so much that I didn’t want to give it back. Read on to find out why. The Volkswagen Golf has always been one of the more sportier offerings in the compact segment and for the 2015 model year, VW completely reworked the new Golf. The 2015 Golf also sees the introduction of the first electrified version. In a segment that continues to gain strength, the e-Golf faces competition from established competitors, like the Nissan Leaf and newer models like the Kia Soul EV, but how does it stand out?
By feeling and driving almost exactly like its fossil fuel powered siblings. The e-Golf is powered by a 117 horsepower electric motor with 199 lb-ft. Although 117 horsepower doesn’t sound like much, consider the fact that you have almost 200 lb-ft. ’s instantly available and you’ll understand why the e-Golf is so much fun to drive. Accelerating from a stop light is so smooth and the silent electric motor makes you feel like you’re driving in a car that costs thousands more. There are also three different driving modes and three regenerative brake modes that you can set. Speaking of the battery, the e-Golf has a driving range around 83 miles between charges. The car does come standard with a DC Fast Charger which allows the battery to be recharged up to 80 percent in only 30 minutes. Luckily there is a DC Fast Charger near my office, so I had no problems with my 32-mile daily commute. Towards the end of my week with the e-Golf I asked VW if it was possible to extend the review, since I was so impressed with the e-Golf. That is something that I rarely do. The e-Golf was just so easy to live with and a joy to drive. VW’s first electric car in the U.S. 33,450 before any federal or state tax credits are applied.
We did get a second-generation RAV4 when my wife was pregnant, in anticipation of our growing family, but we had to ditch it after the twins were born. After several months it was clear that with two babies we needed something much bigger, at least through the infant years, when carting around twin strollers and portable playpens everywhere we went seemed to be a necessity. So we traded it for a proper mothership (aka minivan). Fast forward eleven years to the present, we now have a fully electric version of the Gen 3 RAV4, which has evolved from the previous generation in size as well as from a drivetrain and refinement perspective. PHEV pickup entering the market in the near future, the 25mpg Ram 1500 Quad Cab diesel is currently the leading candidate for eventually replacing my aging '07 Ram 1500 Hemi. As we pulled into the Enterprise facility, I crossed my fingers and hoped for a RAV4.
So when I spotted a blue fourth-generation RAV4 on the lot, I simply had to have it. How can I make it mine? I sympathized. It was only 10am or so, but I swear the guy already had a 5 o'clock shadow and seemed a bit stressed. I pulled out my driver's license and credit card. I asked, facing the window for a moment.. He quickly glanced out at the lot, then turned his focus back to the terminal. In a few minutes we were strolling toward the metallic blue RAV4. During the ding and scratch inspection, I spotted an AWD badge on the rear door. I muttered. He heard me, and asked why I was renting. I told him we have three EVs and a guzzling V-8 truck, neither of which were ideal for the trip. He asked if I had a 500e and if I was using my free rental days. I said no, but that I thought that providing the rental program is a brilliant move by Fiat.
2.50 a gallon, we chatted briefly about EVs (he was curious about the RAV4 EV and Volt), then bade each other farewell, and I started my week on ICE. After a whole year of driving EVs almost exclusively, save for occasional in-town trips with the pickup, it's become a bit unsatisfying to drive a car powered exclusively by a 4-cylinder internal combustion engine. My wife was disgusted. I was ready to argue at first, because I thought that the fit and finish of our rental was comparable to, if not better than her RAV4 EV. But I grunted in agreement instead, and figured she was turned off by the low-tech analog instrumentation and influenced unknowingly by the intrusive egg-beater sound of the 4-cylinder and aggravated by the transmission's seemingly nonstop, jerky gear-hunting. The silence of the electric drivetrain she has grown accustomed to goes a long way in boosting the perceived quality of the vehicle it's powering.
