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Instrumented Test
Like people, cars benefit from good genetics. Fortunately for the Volkswagen e-Golf electric car, starting with a Golf as the foundation gives it excellent DNA. The wholeGolf range, including the GTI, has been a perennial 10Best Cars winner for the past decade. If a Golf two-door, four-door, or SportWagen can’t meet your automotive needs, then you either have a large family or we respectfully think you’re wrong.
New for 2016 is this entry-level e-Golf, the SE. It resets the starting point for the e-Golf to less than $30K, at $29,815—significantly below the continuing $36,415 SEL Premium model. Factor in tax credits from the federal and (some) state governments, such as Colorado, and the bottom line can drop into the teens. At that point, the e-Golf starts looking like a pretty attractive way to avoid gas stations forever. While electricity isn’t free, the e-Golf’s predicted annual energy cost, according to the EPA, is $550, or $650 less than it would take to fuel a VW Golf TSI automatic.
But more than cost, limited range is the biggest concern when considering an electric car. According to the EPA, there isn’t a single EV priced under $30,000 that can travel farther than 100 miles on a charge. (The Nissan Leaf SV, which has the newly available and larger 30-kWh battery pack, starts at $35,050 and can go 107 miles; the Chevrolet Bolt EV, which promises 200 miles, goes on sale late this year at an expected price of $37,500.)
The EPA estimates the e-Golf’s range at 83 miles. Yet the farthest we drove on a single charge was 52 miles, after which we recharged. The battery sucked up 19.0 kWh of electrons, or about 80 percent of the 24.2-kWh battery pack’s capacity. Which means that after driving 52 miles we had only 5 kWh left—something like 12 or 13 miles’ worth.
The SE comes with a 3.6-kW onboard charger, although buyers can opt to upgrade to a 7.2-kW unit for $1695. VW says the 7.2-kW charger (standard on the SEL) can replenish an empty battery in about four hours, drawing electricity from a 240-volt source. Figure twice as much time for the smaller charger.
The $6600 upgrade to the e-Golf SEL Premium also nets LED headlamps, leatherette upholstery, an upgraded 8.0-inch infotainment screen (versus the SE’s 6.5-inch unit), and navigation. Automated emergency braking, forward-collision warning, and hands-free park assist are bundled in a $395 package that’s also exclusive to the SEL Premium model.
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Inner Space
Inside, the e-Golf SE reminds you it’s the budget model with its cloth seats and a rubberized steering wheel one could only consider “multifunction” because it has a horn. The controls are familiar, however, as is the cabin. One deviation from the Golf norm is that a power meter replaces the tachometer; it visually indicates how much power the driver is tapping and the effectiveness of the regenerative braking. For the record, the e-Golf uses an indicated 20 percent of its available electric power when cruising at 70 mph.
Volkswagen’s MQB architecture allowed designers to package the electric drive components, notably the 701-pound, 264-cell battery pack, under the floor and the rear seats without encroaching into the passenger cabin. As far as passengers are concerned, the interior is the exact same size and shape as it is in an internal-combustion Golf—which is not the case with the Ford Focus Electric, which has reduced interior space to accommodate the battery pack.
Performance and Efficiency
A 115-hp AC motor supplies the go. Getting to 60 mph requires 9.4 seconds. That’s not quick, but this car weighs 211 pounds more than a 170-hp four-cylinder Golf TSIautomatic, which can hit 60 mph in 7.5 seconds. The e-Golf eventually will get to 85 mph, at which point the motor will be turning at 12,000 rpm. It stops from 70 mph in 175 feet and holds the road with a solid 0.86 g of grip, good enough to beat the gasoline version of the Ford Focus as well as the 2.0-liter Mazda 3. And the way that VW balances commendable performance with a comfortable ride is something all automakers should study.
The e-Golf’s most noteworthy performance is the slow drain of electrons from the battery pack. We averaged 94 MPGe over 157 miles, consisting mostly of short (20 miles or less) commutes and daily lunch outings. That’s a far cry from the EPA rating of 116 MPGe combined, but it’s still pretty darn efficient and 32 percent better thanthe Focus Electric we put through a similar routine recently. Only the BMW i3 (124 MPGe) and the Chevrolet Spark EV (119 MPGe) boast better EPA combined ratings. The one thing we’d like to see VW do with the e-Golf is to provide more aggressive regenerative braking in drive. To perform so-called “one pedal” driving, you have to select “B” with the shifter.
Most affordable electric cars carry a certain aura of eco-weenieness about them. They’re slow (we’ve covered that), quiet, and not built for Nebraska’s endless stretch of I-80. The e-Golf is no different. But around town, the instant torque—199 lb-ft at zero rpm—proves more than ample to set the pace when accelerating from a stoplight. Aside from the top speed and acceleration, the e-Golf surrenders little to gas-fired econoboxes, which is the most praise any non-purpose-built electric car can hope for. It must be in the genes.
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