E-Golf: Versatile Fun To Drive Electric Vehicle

Affordable EVs are becoming more and more widespread in Canada and the Volkswagen e-Golf has inherited the excellence of its gas-powered sibling. Simply put, the Volkswagen e-Golf is the battery-powered version of the standard Volkswagen Golf. The e-Golf first arrived in late 2014 and occupied a prominent position in the car maker’s lineup. The brand has transferred to the Electric Vehicle realm recently and has deemed “diesel” to be a very dirty word. The e-Golf now incorporates a 35.8 kWh battery pack and has a pretty good range of 200 kilometres as a result. Overall, the e-Golf offers a lot of electric car for your money and that makes it worthy of taking a closer look. The e-Golf was also given a new and more powerful engine to go along with its brand new battery pack. The new powerhouse generates a total of 134 horsepower and 214 lb.-ft. These improvements are most obvious on the track, where the only Volkswagen EV currently available for purchase flexes its additional thrust power by means of a brisk acceleration.

It takes 8.5 seconds to get from 0 to 100 kilometres per hour and 5.4 seconds to accelerate from 80 to 120 kilometres per hour. The quarter-mile sprint takes a healthy 16.6 seconds at 133 kilometres per hour. If you loved the classic Golf, you’ll have no trouble feeling the same way about the e-Golf. A composed ride and engaging handling exist thanks to a skilful tuning of the chassis, and VW was able to carve out a roomy interior for five thanks to decades of experience with the same basic shape. The compact and urban-friendly overall package that is the e-Golf boasts a large and practical luggage compartment. It doesn’t come as a surprise that the e-Golf also doesn’t lose any cargo capacity when compared to its gas-powered brother. An easy-to-use, large touchscreen is included as standard across all models and is the cherry on top in an otherwise classy interior.

The e-Golf comes in two trim levels, with the base version offering an optional DC fast charger when the time comes to recharge the battery. It enables the owner to spend as little as four hours completely refuelling their e-Golf with power. The downside is that the DC charger, as great and practical as it is, requires a 240-volt source of electricity to work. There’s also an additional expense that comes with having to wire such a charging dock into one’s home. The upside is that the DC charger comes as standard on the higher trim level, which is still not the case with the Driver Assistance package, unfortunately. This package is one to choose, though, as it includes blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, lane-keeping assist, forward-collision warning and adaptive cruise control. The Volkswagen e-Golf is a car that doesn’t need to scream “This is an electric vehicle! ” at the top of its lungs in order to get noticed. It is a quiet vehicle altogether and there’s not really much noise to be heard from the electric motor. In that regard, it is no different from an internal-combustion, low-powered Golf. As a matter of fact, even the charge meter has the appearance of a classic fuel gauge. Overall, the e-Golf feels just like a normal Golf with a low centre of gravity, which is more than welcome when it comes to carrying speed on the highway on- and off-ramps. If its range works for your commuting needs, the Volkswagen e-Golf is absolutely the car for you.

It steers in sharply and the front differential lock helps mitigate understeer. The golfball gear stick feels robust and the six-speed is truly a pleasure to work with. Half of the time I was so engaged hooning the GTI up the mountain that it made me forget all about the fact that it’s a front-wheel drive. A FWD performance car can in fact be a lot of fun, and Volkswagen nailed it with the GTI. On the inside too the car is setup in a way where no clutter or other unnecessary features distract from an engaging driving experience. This includes the active info digital display, one that I found somewhat confusing in the electric models due to an overload of information, but looks significantly cleaner in the GTI showing just the info you need. I am sure the new GTI will be the next chapter in the performance hatch’ long lasting success story.

Driving four different variants of the 2018 Volkswagen Golf facelift provided me with a solid impression of the world’s all-time European bestseller. The minor cosmetic changes positively enhanced the car’s looks and the vast array of new safety and driving assistance systems ensure that future Golf owners are all up-to-date on the latest and greatest. I envy the diversity of the Volkswagen Golf and the many different faces it has, from completely quiet and clean to downright loud and angry. There is a Golf for everyone, no wonder it’s the brand’s all-time bestseller! But which one is right for you? I realize that the overload of information above might be a bit hard to digest so let me round up my advice for you. If you want a bit of everything but don’t want to compromise on performance, the GTE might be your best option. This is especially the case if your local institutional context is favorable. In many European countries for example, the GTE is made extra affordable through corporate leasing and government subsidies. As a private purchase the Golf GTI might be a more interesting option if it’s performance that you’re after.