VW’s extended range e-Golf sneaks under the radar
Keep your planet-saving smugness on the down low with this enigmatic electric
An expensive Golf that looks like a normal Golf? Amazing. #sarcasm
Hey, not everyone wants bleeping, strobing, space-machine. Or a Renault Twizy.
Some folk just want a planet-friendly car, along with all of the petrol and tax savings, that they can stick on the drive without all their neighbours coming round to make hemp jokes.
Fair enough, but why should I be excited about this new one?
Conversely, power! We’re not talking Tesla-levels of performance and range, but VW has still managed to boost both with a 35.8kWh battery.
It’s good for 186 miles of driving, but only if you trundle along at the kinds of battery-sipping speeds used for the New European Driving Cycle (NEDC) tests. Real world? You’ll get about 124 miles between top-ups.
That’s a big improvement on last year’s e-Golf and a slight edge over the 110-mile Nissan Leaf… but still short of the Renault Zoe’s 186 mile real-world range.
The new electro-Golf will hit 62mph in 9.6 seconds, too, which isn’t bad for an urban orientated all-electric. Best hope your neighbours don’t ask about the top speed, though: 93mph is going to kick off a fresh bout of snarky comments.
What about tech toys, though? I need things to press!
You won’t be disappointed. The e-Golf has all the same gear inside the cabin as the regular Golf. VW has chucked out the traditional instrument cluster and replaced it with a spangly 12.3in Active Info Display screen, bathing your eyeballs in all kinds of data as you drive.
There’s a 9.2in touchscreen in the centre console, with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto built-in. It’s rocking gesture controls for the first time, too. Just waggle your hand, rather than taking your eyes off the road. Neat.
You can kick back in gridlock with Traffic Jam Assist, which handles the throttle and brake up to 37mph so you don’t have to, and it’ll automatically slam on the brakes if some little oik tries to run out in front of you at slow speeds.
Alright, when can I get one? I know just where the charging point can go.
Don’t knock any walls through just yet – the e-Golf won’t be showing up in the UK until next summer, a few months after the regular Golf arrives.
You shouldn’t be hanging around waiting for it to charge once you do get behind the wheel, though. VW reckons it’ll hit 80% capacity after an hour with a 40kW fast charger, or fully charge on a 7.2kW wall charger in six hours.
Expect to splash out slightly more than the existing e-Golf’s £31k – but don’t expect anyone to notice that you did.
Tom Morgan-Freelander
Deputy Editor 
