What it's like and how much it costs to live with a Volkswagen e-Golf over six months. Electric car sales are on the up, and that position is changing rapidly. I ran the e-Golf as our commuter vehicle over six months, and although my work-home trip is shorter than Keith WR Jones's Nissan Leaf (18 miles versus 76 miles), it accurately reflected the typical use of these cars. We worked out how much it cost, and factored in range anxiety as an issue on longer drives. The main question that needed answering was whether the e-Golf good enough to convert people who haven't so far been impressed by electric cars? Did we add any options? Options-wise the Parkers e-Golf had a few. We went for those which made life a little easier. There's a heat pump (£830), which is said to reduce the heating system's electric power usage by recycling heat from ambient air and waste heat from the drivetrain components. Volkswagen claims that this alone can increase potential range by up to 36% in cold conditions.
In addition, we added the Winter Pack (£400) - headlight washers, heated front seats, heated windscreen washer jets and low washer fluid warning light - which really should come as standard on a UK car. Also, we couldn't resist the Active Info Display (£495), which replaces the traditional dials with a 12.3-inch high resolution TFT dash display screen with customisable menus. Finally, keyless entry - including Start/Stop button on centre console (£375) - and carpet mats, front and rear, (£85) bring the price as tested to £30,700 (including government grant). What's involved in fitting a wallbox? Like the Zoe and Leaf, the e-Golf uses a Type 2 connection for domestic wallboxes - and that gives you a flow of up to 7kWh, the maximum allowed for a home connection. For the Volkswagen e-Golf, that means a seven-hour recharge to fully charge from empty. What does the wallbox installation involve? We chose to go with Pod Point for our wallbox.
The unit was what Pod Point calls a Tethered unit, and it weighs-in at £859 (or £359 after the government grant has been applied). What this means is that the the cable is attached to the wall unit, negating the need to use the car's own cable. In the first instance a site survey needs to be undertaken in order to ascertain that your electricity supply is up to the task of delivering 7kWh for a sustained period of time. It's also at this point you need to decide if you want it installing inside your garage (if you have one), or on an external wall. According to our Pod Point engineer, the most popular location for a wallbox is on an external wall. And how did the e-Golf work out? Very well indeed. It takes seconds to plug in, and there's no messing about getting leads out of the boot to make it happen.
More than that, when the weather is bad I don't have worry about getting my hands muddy or wet, as the cable wraps neatly around the unit as an all-in-one. I have to say that I might not be the most suitable long-term owner of an e-Golf in one important respect. I like a 'spirited' drive, and although the performance can't be faulted, it can take a toll on the indicated range. I remember one recent finish when a late finish in the office drew 50 miles range out of it - I live 18 miles away. But I've been playing with my driving styles and the drive modes available, and despite being a 60-70mph commute, I can get much closer to the anticipated range with a little effort. For one, the use of air conditioning becomes optional, rather than expected. Switch it off, and you get 10 more miles.
