In a dual world premiere, Volkswagen presented two new and extremely efficient electric cars at the International Motor Show (IAA) in Frankfurt: the e-up! Golf. This means that Europe's most successful carmaker is transitioning two high-volume production models to the age of electric mobility. Both zero-emissions cars offer unlimited everyday practicality, each has four doors, and they are attractively equipped. Standard features: automatic climate control with parking heater and ventilation, radio-navigation system, windscreen heating, LED daytime running lights and, in the e-Golf, the Volkswagen brand's first use of LED headlights. The two newcomers are also leaders in energy efficiency: the e-up! 11.7 kWh of electricity per 100 km - this makes it the new world champion in efficiency. The e-Golf, positioned two classes higher, attains an excellent value of 12.7 kWh. Given an electricity price of €0.258 per kWh (Germany, as of 31st July 2013), driving 100 km with the e-up! €3.02, and with the e-Golf it is around €3.30.
Made in Germany. Innovative drive technologies are core competencies at Volkswagen. Therefore, the e-motors, gearboxes and lithium-ion batteries of the e-up! Golf are developed in-house, and they are manufactured in large Volkswagen component plants in Germany. Typical Volkswagen. All Volkswagen are intuitive to operate, extremely practical in everyday use and sophisticated, and these traits have been fully transferred to the brand's new e-vehicles. The zero-emission cars from Volkswagen are manufactured with the same high-volume production systems as their counterparts with combustion engines. Golf data. The e-Golf, which is being presented in a world premiere in Frankfurt, is driven by a 85 kW / 115 PS electric motor. The motor produces its maximum drive torque of 270 Nm as soon as it starts off. The results: the front-wheel drive e-Golf reaches 100 km/h in 10.4 seconds. On a motorway, the speed of the five-seat front-wheel drive car is electronically limited to 140 km/h. Also making its debut in a world premiere at the IAA is the four-seat e-up! Its electric motor produces 60 kW / 82 PS. This motor transmits 210 Nm of torque to the driven front axle from a standstill.
It completes the sprint to 100 km/h in 12.4 seconds. Top speed: 130 km/h. Driving ranges tailored for commuters. 160 km on one battery charge (18.7 kWh), while the e-Golf with its larger battery (24.2 kWh) has a range of 190 km. And they are driving ranges that make sense. In Germany, for example, studies by the Federal Ministry for Transport, Building and Urban Development found that around 80 per cent of all car drivers in Germany drive fewer than 50 km daily. Quick charging. The fastest CCS charging stations (direct current) shorten the time needed to charge the battery of an e-up! Golf to 80 per cent capacity to just around half an hour. Powertrain and fuel strategy. Over the past decade, Volkswagen has already systematically sketched out a schedule for the future in its powertrain and fuel strategy, which included starting points for electric vehicles like the e-up! Golf. This strategy sets up a timeline with realistic time windows for the introduction of alternative drive systems such as the hybrid, electric and hydrogen-based systems. In this scenario, the all-electric drive system - which will be demonstrated by the new e-up! Golf - represents an indispensable and sensible supplemental drive system. That is because electric cars utilise renewable energy sources and enable zero-emissions mobility in metropolitan areas. Nonetheless, well into the future Volkswagen will continue to promote an intelligent mix of the most efficient drive systems. Driving at the pace of the big city. The fact is that the target group for electric cars is growing, because a paradigm shift has begun. Sustainable mobility is having an increasing impact on people's actions. Yet the products for implementing this environmental awareness must be practical and fun as well - such as the e-up! Golf which accelerate to big city pace in just a few seconds. The new zero-emission Volkswagen cars therefore have the potential for irreversibly charging up the electric car segment with innovative technology, a high level of everyday practicality and a dynamic driving feeling.
Volkswagen executives question whether, with 210kW, you need more, and they may be right. It's not a fault-free unit, however. Step-off acceleration is merely acceptable; the engine has to overcome a second or two of delay, which is be expected as long as Volkswagen continues to utilise a single (large) turbo. A bi-turbo arrangement would be more complex but would have the effect of minimising the noticeable turbo lag. While the 210TDI is admittedly strong, we don't think the 170TDI or 190TDI units will feel slow by comparison. As we've noted in the Amarok V6 ute, the transition from 165kW/550Nm to 190kW/580Nm in that vehicle was noticeable only if you were looking for differences in power delivery. No trouble in the engine department, then - what about the ride and handling? When Morocco's roads are sealed, they do a good imitation of Australian bitumen quality. Hence, driving the Touareg for the first time in North Africa gave better insight into ride and handling than normal international launches, which so often take place on the glassy-smooth pavement of Portugal or Spain.
So it was possible to tell that one of the outgoing Touareg's best characteristics has been maintained - a wafty, luxurious ride quality untroubled by urban ruts and regional washouts, at least when fitted with air suspension. On air, in Comfort or Normal mode, the Touareg cuts a relaxed canter, traversing crappy surfaces with little intrusion into the cabin. Bump the drive mode dial into Sport and better body control is evident, though the German-spec cars we tested also have active sway bars to help cut out roll in corners. Though the damping is tighter in Sport, the air-sprung Touareg is never uncomfortable. The air setup will pay dividends if you want to take the Touareg off-road, as we did. Conventional steel springs will be fitted to the 170TDI base model but it is likely the initial 190TDI and follow-up 210TDI will come to Australia riding on air, which we think will be worthy of the additional spend.
