First Drive Evaluation
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VW gets some electric really feel.
In case you are keeping score, when we close the books on calendar-year 2014 there will be 13 distinct pure-electric automobiles for sale in the United States. And for the very first time, 1 of them will be wearing the familiar VW badge.
As with almost all other electric cars besides the Nissan Leaf and the Tesla Model S, the e-Golf is an adaptation of a vehicle obtainable with an internal-combustion engine. In contrast to the others, the electric Golf benefits from VW’s modular MQB architecture, designed to accommodate a range of automobile kinds and powertrains. And in contrast to the Leaf, a versatile platform supporting a special product, the electric Golf operates tough at seeking like the other members of its comprehensive family. Cosmetic distinctions are relatively subtle, restricted to LED headlamps and operating lights, modest badging, special 16-inch wheels, a revised front-grille shutter, a exclusive rear spoiler, and C-pillar air vanes.
In addition to having it appear like a garden-assortment Golf, the development team wanted the e-Golf to drive like one particular, and in basic they’ve been productive. In Typical mode, the e-Golf has the dynamic persona of its internal-combustion siblings, with a firm suspension, limited physique motions, much better-than-average transient response, and moderately brisk acceleration.
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The 264-cell, 24.2-kWh, lithium-ion battery pack weighs 688 pounds, and even even though the absence of a traditional engine mitigates that mass to some extent, the e-Golf is almost 370 pounds heavier than a simple Golf 5-door automatic, according to VW.
Electric motors give every thing they’ve got from the first rpm, but there’s not as a lot motive energy on tap as in the standard Golf’s 1.8-liter gasoline turbo 4. Torque is about even (199 lb-ft for the e-Golf, 200 on dinosaur juice), but the gas engine has a huge edge in horsepower, 170 versus 115. So even though the e-Golf gets out of the blocks without hesitation, arriving at 60 mph takes a claimed 10 seconds or so. On the other hand, VW says the e-Golf can reach 30 mph quicker than a GTI, which would imply about 2.5 seconds.
Eco Ops
So far we’re talking about Typical mode. But the e-Golf has other operating parameters to optimize the duration of its battery charge. For example, there are Eco and Eco+ modes, which successively limit horsepower and leading speed, from a Standard max velocity of 87 mph to 56 mph in Eco+. There are also presets for the regenerative braking technique, which entails 4 modes, each with a a lot more active level of regeneration.
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Availing oneself of all of these features whilst monitoring battery reserves might give the operator an illusion of perpetual motion, but of course that’s just what it is. Making use of Eco+ and the maximum regen setting and by no means exceeding the pace of an elderly migratory moose, a driver may exceed 100 miles on a single charge. But the reality isn’t really so compelling. VW forecasts an operating range of 70 to 90 miles, which is pretty typical for most present electric automobiles.
Recharging with the standard onboard method and household current will consume nearly an complete day, according to VW. The organization strongly recommends its $ 550, optional 240-volt wall-mount charger, which reduces charge time to less than 4 hours. VW says installation price will run anywhere amongst $ 300 to $ 1000, based on the residence.
Beyond that, the Golf includes a Combined Charging System capable of zapping up at SAE standard public DC quickly-charging stations. Volkswagen says the Golf can obtain an 80-% charge from 1 of these in roughly half an hour.
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As with other electrics from key makers, the e-Golf is presented as a premium model with a comprehensive array of features—navigation, leatherette-covered seats (heated up front), a rearview camera—and a hefty price tag tag: $ 36,265, which can be mitigated by numerous government subsidies. It will be much more extensively obtainable than some, such as the Chevy Spark EV and the Fiat 500e (each California and Oregon only), but the auto will still be restricted to the 11 California-mandate states (the ZEV Confederacy) and Washington, D.C.
The e-Golf is competent and quiet, sustaining VW’s dynamic virtues in a zero-emissions package. Interestingly, Volkswagen sees the car’s standout virtue as interior volume, which is unaffected by the battery pack that resides amidships beneath the floor.
But be that as it may, it adds up to a pleasant but costly Golf with the exact same limitation that affects other electrics—driving range. Believe of it as beginning every trip with about a quarter-tank of fuel, plus the possible uncertainty about exactly where you may possibly replenish your provide. That tends to make the Volkswagen e-Golf, like other electrics, strictly an urban warrior. Measured on that scale, it stacks up as effectively as any.
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