Volkswagen E Golf Review And Range Test
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- čas přidán 7. 09. 2024
- Today James and I check out the 2018 Volkswagen e-Golf. We also include a full low temperature range test from 99% down to 0% to gauge just what this new version is capable of in real world driving conditions. Competing against the newly released Leaf we're hoping the e-Golf will perform well.
The heatpump isn’t necessary. It absolutely helps in slightly cold temperatures, everything below it’s basically using resistive heating, too. The way to go (if possible) is to heat it up while plugged in. If you use the app to start heating before you depart (or use the onboard planner) you not only get the comfort of a warm car from the getgo , additionally you need way less energy to maintain the temperature. The heatpump is nice if you have it, and as i said in some circumstances a great energy preserver, but it’s no magic range extender. 😉
Awesome work guys... Shame on VW for not pushing EV's.. I asked our local dealer awhile ago and they honestly laughed.. I walked out.. So so bad
It is very bad. You don't get that at a Renault/Nissan dealer
Thank you for the good video! The e-Golf is not to bad at all....but I don’t want to buy one, because of it’s Schnarchladung we say in Germany. You only can charge with 40kw CCS/DC and max. 7,2 kw on Typ2/AC. We drive a ZOE R210 and can charge up tp 43kw/AC. It is the better buy in my opinion, because in Germany we have thousands of AC 22kw chargers. Chargingspeed is the most important thing, range the second. Greetings from Germany, Uli
You can't compare cars just on their charging capabilities. The e-golf is way better build than a Renault Zoe, and also roomier. It drives better, and gives you a better experience in total. That's my opinion, and I own an e-golf and driven a Zoe. For long trips (> 500km daily) you need another car then either a Zoe or an e-golf. For normal (commuting, trips in the Netherlands) the e-golf's charging capabilities is more than sufficient.
I've seen two E-Golfs at two different dealers and saw one on the road towards home, I've made an appointment the day afterwards for a test drive which is later today and I've ordered a new E-Golf already and i'll get it in two months time. No complaints whatsoever here in Belgium.
Great review, highlighting both the good and the bad of this car from the perspective of the "average" car buyer (as opposed to the hardcore EV nerds who do most EV reviews). You guys have great chemistry and a wonderful sense of humor too.
Just saw this video, currently driving the EV experience VW E golf for the week. I agree with this video. Its an awesome car with so many perks. Too many to list compared to my Nissan Leaf 2017 model. I really want one when my lease is up. Brilliant song to test the sound system btw! I Shazamed it and blasted it out on my speakers! Thank you for the indirect recommendation :)
I want you to know that because of your videos, you have help me convert from a gas powered car to an electric, today, I ordered a 2018 Nissan Leaf, Thank you! p.s. from Quebec, Canada
gp2003gt that’s great news. You won’t regret it. The Leaf is, as advertised, simply amazing 😊👍🏻
I tested the Egolf same model as yours and I agree on your comments. Although I haven’t tested the new Leaf yet. Hopefully next week I’ll have a try.
Good show folks!
The new Leaf is amazing, glad you liked it :-)
Thanks for the range test & you guys are right the actions of the company effects the way people buying the product.
Glad you enjoyed it :-)
I wanted to buy one of these. I was quoted a six month build time! So I ordered a new leaf instead. It arrived in two weeks time. Pleased that I did considering it comes as standard with a heat pump. * 2.zero model.
The new Leaf is simply awesome :-)
Great video guys as always. I considered an e golf to replace my leaf but the extras you need cost so much, strange given the extras that are included aren’t what most ev drivers need. I ended up with an Ioniq with higher speck smaller battery yet better range. If Volkswagen really need to bring the price down, change their approach to selling them.
The Ionic is great, the range is incredible from such a small pack. What you say reflects VW's attitude to selling them.
It took me two days, but I finally saw the whole video!
Another good one - and very impressed with the car. Just a shame that VW don’t seem to want to sell it.
Meanwhile, it’s 4 years since I bought my Leaf and I’m not replacing it until November, but the service I’m getting from Nissan is exemplary - including from a dealership I only visit for a free recharge when I’m in town to watch the ice hockey!
Glad you liked it. Nissan really are industry leaders and the service which, once was hit and miss, has now improved massively. Good to hear you're having such a good time with it.
My local VW garage are not even interested in stocking any. Told me to try another dealership. Very frustrated indeed. Still can’t get hold of one 6 months later.
So looking forward to your Leaf 2018 vlog. I test drove the new Leaf a few weeks back. Absolutely loved it!!!
When my Kia Soul EV cable stopped working due to water ingress. Kia actually couriered a new one for me the next day. I received my Brand new cable FOC under warranty. Thats good service :)
Thats awesome, just like the Kia Soul, great EV
Great video ( as ever ). In Edinburgh, I got an e-golf test drive (1hour) in mid Oct 2017 and placed an order mid Nov. I then got an 8 hour test drive mid Dec. My car was built last week and is now being shipped to UK. Think I should have it 4months after the order.
Too long for sure, but not unbearable and I'm now looking forward to it more than ever thanks to this review/test - cheers
Iain McIntyre Lucky you, I ordered in mid October and have an unconfirmed build week of end of June, looking at 9 months!
Wow. I also ordered from Edinburgh, but in mid September. My estimated build week is currently late March.
Great video as always. Had a week with the 2015 e golf from polar plus. This is the 22kw version. Apart from the lack of range I found it quite good. It's very car like but I found this disadvantage as I love the dash in the leaf. The golf was just a bit bland. However I loved various aspects and the adaptive cruise control, headlights, and handbrake position and overall build quality were above my 30kw leaf. You did bring up a very good point at the end and that was the charging CSS method. I found that some of the ecotricity pumps were not that reliable and the lack if them was frustrating. The big question would I buy one. Well I would consider it but the 40kw Leaf looks the better bet when I come to change in 18 months time.
Completely agree, the new Leaf/Zoe are the way to go for sure
I absolutely disagree. The Leaf apparantly has battery cooling issues, and the Zoe is not comparable (smaller, build quality, options).
I find myself drawn to a secondhand Ioniq 38kWh over the eGolf. The more I look at it the more I believe that it is the perfect choice.
Golf is more well done car, feels very quality. Ioniq has better specs though. Had the same decision to make, went for golf. I dont regret.
Great review. You actually showed some practical things such as the seats folded! Having ordered an e-Golf I can agree with the huge waiting time. But the Ioniq is longer. I have also added the Heat Pump to my options. All I have to do now is wait until July! You didn't mention the diesel scrappage scheme that VW have been running.
Thanks for another great review. I tried to buy an eup!, and had a similar experience to your friend’s with VW dealers. Most of them didn’t even know about the PICG! I ended up buying a Smart for two EV, which is really fun to drive, but the remote app is really rubbish.
The smart ED, loved it, great fun and quirky. Sadly the dealer are very very poor
Great review! I was thinking of getting one of these if the new LEAF did not come out. I really do enjoy listening to you two. BTW, my Wife drives a 2014 Dacia Sandero Stepway and apart from the cabin design the car is definitely value for money in these financial conscious days. We took a gamble on this car brand new in 2014 after talking to a Renault dealer who advised us on it instead of a Megane. Now, all the mainstream car companies are offering similar design and size. Which leads me to say, I think the relationship of customer service with the dealer is a big deal breaker for me. After four years of driving the LEAF what influenced the decision for me to take the plunge was the relationship I built up with a customer service gentleman named Ola of Penge Ancaster cars. In fact, I went to visit him last weekend as the LEAF 2.0 has just arrived and he has already said he is going to try and get me into a new LEAF this Summer once the dealers are up to speed. Last point, his only complaint is that these days because of your brilliant work, he is saying we are turning up FAR TO informed. A customer ordered a LEAF 2.0 and it arrived Jan 31st to the showroom before the showroom had a car and before dealers went off for their training. The customer told them that she watched CZcams videos and was convinced. When are you going to do a review on the new LEAF please?
Actually we have purchased one, it's coming soon, it'll be a long, very informative review :-) Thanks for your kind words
James and Kate This is awesome. Great news. I look forward to your review. What are saying around May 2018 for your review?
Great Review like always. Test driving the new Nissan Leaf this Saturday
I think you'll order one straight away :-)
Nice video. Picking one of these up early next year. Luckily a heat pump comes standard here now. Nearly mandatory considering how cold it gets here in Norway at the peak of Winter.
11:30 "they do what?", haha I love Kate's reaction. Definitely support you guys being turned off by VW and by the dealer's poor performance.
It is the leaders of the car companies who are responsible for the scandal, not the department that designed this awesome EV. Let's show them that there IS demand for electric cars.
I'm also live in Hinckley. When Gijs got his eGolf , it stimulated my interest in getting an EV so a bit odd to stumble across your channel and see it here!
Neil Gascoigne welcome aboard. Have you had a chance to drive it yet??? It really is an excellent EV 😊👍🏻
James and Kate: Hi guys! Not yet but must ask! Work was recently purchased by Shell and we are about to get around 20 charging points installed there from our new sister company Newmotion, so EV route becomes more compelling. Fancy a new Leaf but on paper at least, price and driving position is a bit off putting. Need to actually go look rather than keep gawping at CZcams about it. 😄
Nice test, remember it also has 3 Break Regen modes as well. The app you drag it down to update it. In Norway the e-Golf has a delivery time of 8 month and it’s a huge EV seller in my country. I have both an e-Golf and a Tesla Model S 2017 and I miss a lot of features in my Tesla that my e-Golf 2015 has. You got the emissions test on monkeys wrong Not only VW “VW, BMW and Daimler denounce toxic diesel fume tests on monkeys”
All the best
PerS
Norway
Amazing video. You two are just great. Thanks so much.
Honestly I think we should look at what the car is. Everyone has skeletons in the closet (GM & the EV1, VW & Dieselgate etc.) and I don't think that should detract from the product. As for dealers, I have seen some who have no interest in them, but others I went to have very enthusiastic sales who loves EVs.
I agree with that, but a dealer with enthusiasm about EV's is rare, i've not seen one from VW yet
I know it's been over 5 years, but just so everyone knows - Travelling in B mode at 70mph is a massive no no, I was wondering why you had such low mls per kWh.
Cannot wait for New Leaf episode, guys, especially the e-NV200 with bigger battery pack 🙂 James, hope you said hello from me to Kate, after our meeting 😃
A very nice compliance car then. So many in the motor industry do not believe that EV's will prevail. I was at a talk given by a JLR bod about EV's and autonomous cars and I got the clear impression that the upcoming iPace is simply a compliance car.
Looking forward to the new Leaf episode.
Great honest review as always. I am amazed the heat pump isn't standard (same with base model Leaf). £25K still quite a lot of money really given that Nissan are knocking a fair bit off the new Leaf. My cousins have a 1.4TSI DSG Golf, very nice to drive apart from jerky stop start system and as quiet as an EV most of the time but put your foot down and the engine becomes audible. The Golf does feel very solid although I find VWs just a bit bland although I can't deny the quality. I have noticed than in very cold weather the ECO mode makes a lot of difference to the range of the Zoe and the heating is still adequate (getting 165 miles compared with 150 standard mode). It strikes me that in another five years the E-Golf will be the no brainer purchase in the range (assuming 200+ mile range, decent charging network and a price closer to £20K). The salesman will probably still try to sell you an ICE though. There is even a hack to put Android Auto on a Zoe - come on Tesla indeed. Everything will feel slow compared with the Tesla. I drive at night most of the time and the Zoe lights are shocking (not that good even after upgrading bulbs) - would like some Golf lights. My impression from your review is a total lack of commitment by VW in the UK to EVs at present - not even doing the groundwork for the future.
Driving a demo eGolf in an hour. Possible delivery delay of min 9 months from May '18. After watching this and having exhausted every new EV option due to unavailability or as in the case of the i3, ridiculously overpriced second hand asking prices, we're seriously considering selling our diesel and buying a used 1.4tsi Golf and keeping it for a couple of years until the UK EV market becomes a more serious proposition. Right now, we're at the bottom of the list for global EV deliveries. Thanks guys. :)
I ordered my e golf in December and will get it in the mid of May. In Austria it is quite easy to test drive it but the waiting list until delivery right now is 11 months
11 months, thats awful. You must be very frustrated.
James and Kate when I ordered it, it was 5-6 months. Still awful but bearable. Two days after I placed my order, they stopped selling it for one month due to the high demand.
Oh wow, that sound... amazing
VW are big about saying they want to go all out on Electric vehicles yet dealers are still trying to make it hard to buy one? After Diesel gate and Monkey gate you think they would be trying harder to get a greener image.
Completely agree... Vapourware..... Until we actually see a product
I think like many companies there is a difference between Execs and staff. The CEO is on record saying that his top managers are slow to adopt, but that he is replacing those who cannot see the future. However in NZ, I too spoke to the local agent (who had a model on show) and he walked away uninterested since he knew nothing.
They have a way to go - as do many car manufacturers.
I think that problems that sometimes occur with the car-net app are down to network connection. Not only does your phone have to have either a wi-fi or cellular connection the car also has to have a cellular network connection to Volkswagen. I sometimes find that I have a problem with it when my car is inside my garage but if I open my garage door (fortunately it has remote operation) the car net works fine again and with no more than a 15 to 20 second delay. I once left my dog in the car(for a short time only and in the shade with a couple of windows open a little) and she activated the motion alarm. Within seconds I received a email from Volkswagen to notify me followed a few seconds later by a notification on car-net, so it may not be perfect but it is not that bad either.
Excellent as always. Thank you James Kate.
Another great review! I agree I prefer the new LEAF. VW dealer experience is absolutely shocking! I can attest to that having owned an Audi A2 in the past... Good car, but I will never buy a VW-group again in my life both because of the appaling unethical behaviour of the company and downright negative customer experience. Don’t agree on the Chademo vs. CCS thing. CCS is the superior plug for several reasons. First, it is actually 2 plugs in 1 : Type 2 AC charging and DC rapid charging happen through the same plug. Also, because it is compatible with ultrafast charging, CCS has greater potential for future expantion and will therefore be the plug of choice in Europe. Your experience with bad CCS chargers is probably related to early Ecotricity chargers, that were below par. I have found CCS to be very reliable and easy to use , using them throughout Scotland, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany. There is a general misconception that there are not many CCS plugs in Europe. CCS has now surpassed Chademo in Europe (4200+ CCS locations, so even more plugs). www.ccs-map.eu I tried the first E-Golf and agree pretty much with the rest of the review. All the best, Fred.
Frederic Borloo ;
Enjoyed the review. I think it's fair to say that the LEAF app must have improved since you last used yours, e.g. I've not experienced any problems turning on heating and I have not got into a cold car once this winter.
Mk8 Golf doesn't come out for another 2 years. This is an update of the Mk7 that VW calls the Mk7.5.
Dealers recognize that there is no future profit in ‘ servicing ‘ EV cars. Just ask a dealer ‘What’s involved in a 20K mile service?’
Watch the facial expression, trying to justify the price quoted for service, when there’s really no need for one.
I know this feeling very well
dealers are nuts... I called Honda so I could go check out their new Clarity.. 47 miles of electric range.. and like a volt or ampera a generator for the rest.. so I asked the first sales person.. "what kind of range does it have on electric?" he said..." 200 miles" uh.... I asked him to check because that would be awesome.. I got a second call and asked that salesperson the same question.. he said.. "74 miles of ev range... " then he said he would check.. and I told him.. it is more like 47... so I asked that question that I get now and then in my volt "what happens if you run out of electricity???" he said.. "I don't know." wow, just wow.. I also asked Hyundai to call me back about the Ioniq electric.. (they don't sell it here in Arizona) I got 3 calls back all trying to sell me hybrids.. not good.. really horrible
Sadly thats the state of all dealers outside of Tesla, BMW, Renault and Nissan.
I think its a nice car why don't they wanna sell them ? Rather sell their other models I suppose ? Good video as always 👍
It's not my place to be "fair" to VW but the testing was done by an American company in New Mexico in 2014. BMW and Mercedes were also implicated and as far as I can tell there was one VW car used as part of a wider test group.
I agree that even 1 car is one too many and I am angered. I feel that I need to know the entire set of facts around this now.
What appalls me more though is that it was clearly an industry wide known "secret" just like the cheat devices. It demonstrates just how unethical big business becomes if allowed to self-regulate their own behaviour.
Hello. Just started watching your vids and had to subscribe 👍🏼... you two are great and thanks for fantastic content!
was invovled with product intro of vw golf in usa during farfregnugen advert campaign. love the gti!
I would agree, the E golf is pretty good.... But vw dose not want to sell you the car. There's a lot more chademo chargers for the leaf than CCS. The vw has less kWh 33 vs. 40 new leaf. Used vw is 15 thousand dollars in the US. If you can find one. Used leaf, plenty to choose from for 7 to 10 thousand. Have to go with the Leaf.
Bet they were thrilled with you running their brand new car battery down to zero.
Can I ask a daft question?
When you plug in the charge cable, what was that button press about?
Theres a charge timer button inside the charge flap
I wonder if your negatives are the same now?
I think the app is better
Chademo is going Betamax
The main problem is the range.
I test drove the ID.3 and was underwhelmed... very worthy but boring. Bought one of the last e-golfs ex demo, with a heat pump. Much more fun as a second car. Probably not as a first car... I’m a bit lucky, have a model 3, fabulous.
Not bad for a VW. The price is apparently very similar to a Golf R. Have they dumbed down the acceleration purposely you reckon? Seemed to me only the initial start pushed you back
They have, purposely. The running gear in this car could quite easily match a Golf R for acceleration but that wouldn't go down well with the buyers i suspect.
when you buy this car they give you jacket and a hat for free.
The charging cables have resistors which code their capacity. The 20A cable (I don't think there's a 16A cable) is recognized as such and you only get 3.6kW instead of 7.2kW. There should be no fires and no calamities, just grumpy customers.
Tonnerre Lombard i did question this with a guy who builds various cables and connectors who said the opposite. He said communication is between the car and the charger, the cable is simply a cable. All that said, there should be one charge rate - the quickest they can manufacture and one cable, therefore no issue. However, again the situation is over complicated 🙈
My e-Golf came with a 20A cable (I'm getting nowhere with the dealer). When I charge from a 22kW post the instantaneous charge rate shown by the post is 4.5kW which is pretty much exactly 20A. This makes me think there must be some information passed from cable. Unless my e-Golf is limited to 20A!
Stephan Le Roes the cables indeed use resistors to encode their type, as specified above. If you attach the 20A cable to a Tesla I think it limits charging to 16A
Ive had some more info on this. You're completely correct, they are fitted with relevant resistors. As you said, no fires. Cheers for the heads up :-)
Great review guys, it's a great car I agree the heat pump should be standard equipment, but I'm glad they fitted 7kw at last. question when you were doing the motorway section did you turn off regen as your numbers seem a little low compared to my test
we just set the cruise control and left in D, only really went to B3 when needing to brake.
Great review as always. Totally agree on the CCS v Chademo problem. With all but Nissan on CCS and 200 miler CCS Kia Niro on the horizon and having a Chademo 27kw Soul considering if there is any real advantage switching as we do a fair few longer trips. The lack of CCS chargers and 50kw rapids the norm is there any point? Perhaps a topic for future video. Is Chademo a sensible choice now with its lack of future vehicle support?
Its an awkward time, currently the problem is limited due to small numbers but as they rise they will need to install or covert large numbers to cope. I feel relived to be with Tesla currently as this problem doesn't exist. Glad you liked the review :-)
In the EU there is no doubt that CCS will be the standard for fast charging, but due to Brexit it is hard to predict what will happen in the UK.
First of all because the UK seems to have a better CHAdeMO charging network than most of Europe. This is probably due to pressure from Nissan, on the government, when deciding where in Europe to set up its LEAF production. That Sunderland built EV also had a lot more success in the UK than in the rest of Europe. I imagine the next couple of LEAF generations will keep the CHAdeMO standard alive, in the UK, along with the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV.
Outside the UK the EU has made it clear that CCS charging is a required option on new public charging stations and most EV manufactures seems to go with CSS, among them KIA Motors who used to support CHAdeMO.
Only chance there is that CHAdeMO will make a comeback as the best choice for those of us in the EU is if both Nissan and Toyota makes EVs that are significantly better than anything Hyundai, KIA, VW and Renault has to offer.
Would a used 2019 e-Golf SEL Premium trim be a good choice for someone who just needs a car to get around town?
Hi. Can you confirm that this was a 2018 model? Other reviews and the VW promotional material shows a TFT display in place of the dials. The two analogue dial variant looks like the previous version.
Robert Ward yes I can confirm this is a 2018 Model. The TFT display was a £950 optional extra of which the owners decided not to go with.
James and Kate ah... Thank you for the information. That explains some of the auto trader adverts that I've seen recently and might have to revisit!
Wait for the Id big increase in range
Thanks for the video. I will be trying to order an e-golf or an i3 as my next company car. I have been advised by the lease co we use they can be ordered. So in May I will let you know how the journey starts! Would prefer a leaf but they are not on my list👎. We have owned a leaf gen2 as our family car for 2 and half years and have never looked back.
I liked the range test at real motorway speed 👍🏻. More of that real world practical testing please 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
I really can’t believe that it hasn’t got a heat pump, not cool! Geddit??😁
TBH, the E-Golf comes across as a bit of a damp squib. I’m really looking forward to your take on the new Leaf which I think could be the answer to my prayers. Will you be able to do a long distance drive?
I was really interested to hear your take on CCS (bit worrying)
I much prefer the format where you’re both reviewing together, Emma (wife) and I think that your reviews together are more fun and a bit less “car journalisty”. We absolutely take your reviews very seriously, but think that your u.s.p is your banter and the differing points of view you express on the cars you review. For me, I think it helped personalise the world of EV’s for us and got us to make the leap a year ago.
Keep the great content coming, and many thanks for all your hard work.
Ben
...You can order it with a heatpump ;) . But the small battery is a joke....
I ordred one late in January 2019, and its delivery before easter 2019, in a few weeks. I guess the charging network in Norway is a bit better. I rented a Egolf from the dealer for 4 days before i decided to get one.
Amazingly saw one charging at Oxford Service on the M40 :-)
Wow, thats rare :-)
Great stuff but not as good as a Twizy 😬
Obviously the Twizy is awesome
100 miles, hmmm, don’t think I’ll bother until they’ve cracked the battery issues. I covered 40000 miles last year so I don’t think I will be handing in the keys to my diesel anytime soon
They definitely won't work for everyone. Thats a high annual mileage that only a Tesla could realistically cover, but they're not cheap
Great, informative review!
Another great test drive Guys, most informative. Do you know if you can stick a tow bar on it?
I remember contacting the local VW dealer in Aberdeen about the EGolf and was told I'd have to go to Edinburgh to even see one.
James and Kate is VW dealer reluctance related at all to margins and dealer incentives from VW or is it education as you indicate
Glad I’ve ordered my new Leaf Tekna
Thanks. Objectively the Leaf is better than this and surely even a Tesla, given the price difference. The 30kWh Soul is great too, especially at the right price!
I have a 2.0L FSi MK5 and a Renault Zoe ZE40 for my wife both of which i love. So this is the car I want ultimately (to replace my golf) but the price vs range just won't ever work for me (Until we move so we can have home charging) I can't wait until range is high no matter about the price.
great review thanks for sharing
What was all that chat about a 20amp cable? By what other names would this cable be recognised
Trying to get my head round all the charging standards, names, performance etc?
I saw an e-Golf here in southern Sweden... last summer... it was Norwegian...
That's not the story they told us in the US. It was reported that Volkswagen shared the testing cost and results with BMW and Mercedes Benz. If there was another company. I don't recall. James and Kate. You can search high and low and do all the reviews you want. No car is better than a Tesla.
...Don't blame just VW for that tests with the mokeys. It was Mercedes, BMW and VW. They stoped these tests years ago and also closed the research center for the tests. They also tested it on humans, but they get payed for it. They also said, that it was just like in a normal environment, but they needed to do it under controlled conditions.
I think, we have to be realistic, while Dieselgate there where tests with all the other manufacturs and VW, Mercedes and BMW where the companies with the lowest output of NOX. Some Renaults had five times higher NOX outputs, but who get blamed, VW. It was a bit like a witch hunt...
Also, in the good ol' US of A, where the cheat software was discovered, Harley Davidson was also caught using a cheat device and yet they have got away with it. Because they are an American company, no doubt. I'm definitely in the camp that while VW made a monumentally stupid decision, they're the company that is being hung out to dry.
I will say, though, that I'm also getting very tired of VW's constant proclamations that they're bringing a lot of different Electric Drive models to market, and we're still waiting. Don't do the talk, do the walk and get on with it!
I would only say don't conflate the two - there's 1) rigging the scores, and 2) using monkeys to test exhaust dangers. The only shared element is "diesel", but other manufacturers didn't do this testing. Don't makes excuses where there aren't any.
Maybe so, but when samples were taken from the lungs of the Monkeys and Humans no detrimental effects were found but you won't see that in the press will you, oh no. The media does not want to upset the diesel hunters does.
Is that a grey bugaboo chameleon 3 I spy?
Great driving Kate - attentive at all times, only glancing away for short moments. Unlike James who spent way too much time looking away from the road for long periods. Let Kate do all the driving for future videos. I do like the information delivered and the chatty style but James's driving left me wanting to shout "LOOK AT THE ROAD" for the 2nd half of the video. Would be funny if you crashed then tried to convince the cops you were driving safely with your video...
@James and Kate Isn't heated seats front and back more effecient than using a heating system via air vents?
Interesting review
Who's gonna service the e-golf?NOT THE DEALER.
John M i have an egolf and i get good service at my dealer and had to wait forever for the car 3 days but I live in Norway
Probably Kate tbh :-)
My local VW main dealer in Nottingham service the eGolf, no sweat.
Only way I found to test drive an e-Golf was to go to the EV experience centre in Milton Keynes.
Seems way off the mark if having heater on ruins range. I had hoped VW would have offered a better Tesla alternative.
This one doesn't have the more efficient heat pump, it was £850 extra. With this the range would be better for sure.
I understand that but it is a real own goal. If I had to worry about putting the heating on it would put me off EVs for good which is not what the general public want. If VW made this standard it would add say £300 per car with bulk buy and fit? Seems a daft decision - that's my point.
It's not a Mk8 Golf... it's a Mk 7.5
That's too bad about the buyer's experience. I think the availability of the egolf is much better in the states. I have a 2016 egolf and like it quite a bit. I have seen a number of egolfs on the road here in the US along with other electric cars (Chevy Volt, Tesla, Nissan Leaf, Kia, Suzuki, etc).
eGolf owner here and find this review unfair. Just doesn't give proper balance overall. These reviewers tend to find things to complain about and over emphasise them to appear more credible on most of their videos. This car on balance is so much better than shown here. Also its a version of this car without even the digital dash... which is essential. Big mistake not to get digital dash. Maybe spend more time learning about the car before doing a review. Fully charged review is better balanced.
Michael Herlihy interesting because most of this came from the owners complaints.the TFT display is also not essential and very expensive. The owners opted kit to get this on the basis of its glitchy behaviour which is consistent throughout the car. What you’ll find here is honesty..... some people don’t like that.
I just don't think you have spent enough time with it to give a properly balanced review and I don't really know which criticisms were the ones the owners gave versus your own. I was probably lucky in that I only had 5 weeks to get my e-Golf so I can't really relate to the frustration of others waiting longer... and my dealers were very good and as helpful as they could be in introducing a relatively new product to market... People tend to forget that there are people waiting years for Tesla's but somehow that is acceptable. Dieselgate is a bit of a tabloid press thing...especially to just focus on VW because it turns out other manufacturers were doing the same thing... and the monkey testing thing has been explained by other commenters below and also a bit of a tabloid press thing to focus on too. (Maybe don't comment on scientific study methodology unless you understand this?) Are you doing a general Vlog about cars or trying to do a specific car review about this specific car???? Its your choice to do the reviews as you like and go off on tangents like that but a bit frustrating when on one hand you seem to say in other videos you are advocating for electric cars and at the same time not giving a proper balance in reviewing an electric car. If people who are uneducated about EV's watch this, it will unjustifiably turn them off - especially if they are the kind that don't like the Asian alternatives like me. Pricing structures for extras seems to be different for different countries so not sure how expensive the digital dash relative to the cost was there in the UK. However then when you criticise having to use the central display you have to realise that you pay for what you get. I only ever use the central display maybe at the start or finish of my journey and use the digital dash at other times but again because you haven't done due diligence to look for a car with digital dash, you don't actually know the real value of it? The "sweep" function in the central console is a useful safety feature for me and it worked for me straight off so I can only comment from my own experience. When I am playing my music or podcasts on my 100 mile journeys I don't have to look away from the road and try to find the right place on the screen to press (which is very useful in city traffic), I either use the sweep or I use the button on the steering wheel. Its sensible German engineering not a gimmick for kids as you seem to think. Also this is where the digital dash is also useful in that it is still in your eyeline and you can change and interact with it with the buttons on the steering. I have sat in my eGolf yesterday watching a DVD, while waiting for a friend and then flicked over to playing music from one of the SD cards while driving home. I plan on using the central console in my business coaching people and showing them videos/pictures/graphs. Why not show functions like that. Why not actually show the reversing camera and the visibility.
The emotions you express do not match my experience which is a real pity because I have been enjoying this car so much more than I thought I would - its very frustrating to see so much negativity towards electric cars and then see your channel which gives the appearance of balance but then over emphasises the negatives which aren't actually real negatives if you did proper investigation of the value of different features. If your video had finished at 11:21, then it would have been okay but you are verging on being irresponsible and unethical in your lack of balance when there is the opportunity to really give proper balance and show the advantages of electric car ownership. I could never have afforded a car of this spec. (equivalent to a Golf R) if it wasn't electric and was so economical to drive. I use eco+ mode all the time because 1. I find it more relaxing to accelerate slowly and drive more relaxed rather than the normal mode which tends to allow you to be a bit too much of an aggressive driver, 2. to drive economically to save money and 3. so that I don't have to think about switching the air con etc off. If I want the heating, I switch it on for 5 minutes and then switch it off without losing too much range. The cabin well insulated enough to keep in the heat.
Every other review of the eGolf gave proper detail around the choice of Regen braking which is available - I think you could have shown how useful this is for all the various driving situations you are in. This isn't available in the LEAF which you admit you have a bias for.
The app is the same app for all VW cars as far as I know not just for this car so again you are giving a false impression for someone switching from an ICE car. The app has been very useful for me on cold nights when I want to make sure the car is charging ok or if I want to cancel the departure times. If its not working, I just go out to the car. I don't like to be reliant on apps anyway. However, again you didn't do enough investigation here again and completely missed out on all the information that car-net can provide when you download an excel sheet with all your driving data and other aspects of car-net which are perfectly functional - so again you are unbalanced against this car.
Anyway - I think you have a better idea of why I was initially critical of you. Perhaps you should re-name your video or channel overall as unbalanced emotional first impressions of electric cars rather than as reviews and range tests? ...especially if you are being serious about what you are doing - its either one or the other? There are very few reviews done of this car in the UK so anyone who does go to the effort of trying to switch to electric will probably find your video and be turned off of this car. If you consider that a LOT of people will be used to driving German cars and won't want an Asian car, then what you have done here could be quiet unfairly damaging to the electric car movement.
wow, lots of detail. To include all of this would make the video very very long. We have to remember that, having owned and driven EV's for 5 years were quite experienced, and most people test driving this car for the 1 hour allocated slot, if they are lucky, will not find anywhere near this much info on the car. Our app works perfectly for the Tesla, the Leaf was ok, most of the time, waiting 90 seconds for a response is just not acceptable. The tft display in our opinion just isn't worth the expense, add the heat pump to the price and you are way out of the league of the Zoe for example. Bad build quality but would leave the e-Golf 40 miles behind. This is a great, well built car, however, it's overpriced, under specified for that price and here in the UK it simply isn't available from a company that like to shout about the new EV's that are coming soon, in the next few years, by 2020 or however long they are going to take. In honesty, we are all about EV's, but if someone asked what we would buy, the e-Golf would be near the rear of the queue. Dieselgate, Monkey and human testing funded by VW and the reasons above. I'm sure your experiences are great, and that is great that you drive an EV whoever manufactures the car, however there are too many cheaper, longer range, better standard technically specified and available EV's to buy.
What mileage are you getting a full charge at 70 MPH?
Frank Stocker 108 miles in the winter
A heat pump should be standard on all _houses_ too!
Our 2016 e-Golf SE has no heat pump, fast charging, or cruise control -- but it did come with front heated seats standard and the lease was about the same as a Honda Civic (we have kept it, of course, buying at end of lease). We probably won't need another EV for a few years.
The Car-Net app used to be a bit better - something horrible happened to it in October 2019 and it was never put back together properly (just works ion a browser now). It does work -- just badly and slowly. The car itself is still fantastic after almost five years (March 2016 to December 2020).
Would you drive to that B&B in Scotland in winter in that car ?
Jonathan Meazza yes we would, it’s a very capable well built EV.
Looking forward to your leaf test feel vw have built this car just to have Ev car in the range even the up which was built to be a ev are hard to find
It would look so much better if it had digital dash dials
Tesla uses resistance heaters because they get much hotter than a heat pump alone. Do the hybrid heat pump/resistance heaters do better than heat pumps do?
Tesla use resistance heaters because they are 1. cheap, and 2. heat the huge battery and coolant quickly.
Same system is on the Mercedes B250e (small Tesla battery pack) and really hurts winter range.
KIA use a rather clever combined heater and battery temperature control system that is way more efficient.
Actually, I don't think your explanation is correct. I'm talking about the cabin heater, not the battery pack. The real issue with heat pumps is that they have an upper limit to which they can heat - the Chevy Volt had that problem. There are videos of the Volt where, in Minnesota, the cabin gets no warmer than 50 degrees or so. A Tesla, however, needs to keep its occupants warm when they charge $100K for a car. Rumors of a car that has a poor heater will kill sales of a premium vehicle fast. So no, Tesla didn't cheapen out on the heater to save a buck.
When you have 70+ kWh of battery, you don't notice that it takes 3kWh to heat the battery pack and cabin on a frosty morning. You do with a 28kWh pack like the B250e, however. The liquid cooled/warmed packs require a lot of energy to warm up, although they are more resistant to degradation than a passively cooled pack like the LEAF has.
Considering heatpumps cost hundreds of pounds and resistive heaters cost tens of pounds it's a no-brainer for a car with a huge battery pack.
KIA and Hyundai's heatpump systems has no difficulty keeping the cabin up to temperature in Norwegian winters.
Damm... plugged in at zero. That take guts. I hear a gallon of gasoline is equivalent to 33 kwh. I got 19 us gallons in my camaro. Still sucks the gas though.
Everyone really needs to watch the first series of dirty money on Netflix about VW🤫
Hey I have a question... if you were buying your first Ev today.. would you buy the new Leaf or the Tesla Model S? factor in the cost savings too.. is the Tesla worth that much more?
3 year old Model S any day. After sales is so good, dedicated knowledgeable ev mechs, virtually no cost to run. I feel the Model S has made changing a car cos it is getting old out of date.
Chris Bates watch the latest video from electric leaf man. You can pick up a top spec leaf with no options from 22k new.
Or a 3year old tesla for double the price. Also think about insurance cost and tyre wear easy of parking , do you do alot of miles a week or just a few hundred. Is there a tesla shop near you or is nissan closer. Do you need a big car or can you get a away with a smaller on. How long are you going to keep the car for.
The Leaf would be significantly cheaper to own period. If cost is no concern, you can think of a Tesla, but even then I have high reservations on this company's entire modus operandi. I'd take my money and wait for the Jaguar i-Pace.
Hi,
what is the exterior colour. Looks good.
you do great reviews, don't know why your subscriptions at 4.5k - pls promote your channel more, have you got a namesake facebook page?
It's growing slowly :-)
Really nice car. But, too pricey for what it is. As to paying for extras? I get my Nissan Leaf 2.ZERO next month. 150ish miles of real world range (with heat exchanger) and made in Sunderland will do me. I've got a 30kWh Leaf now so know the quality will be good.
It's really great. The finish is much better than the previous Leaf which, thought was very good anyway. You won't be disappointed :-)
Didn't hear talk much about the pricing?
is the trim hanging down in back window???
This is what the big car amkers should do, use a current model and electrify. By the way don't believe all the bad news, the company responsible for the testing was used by some half a dozen makers, and did it without there knowledge.
I saw the programme you mention with the testing on Monkeys, it was BMW, Mercedes and VW that shared the testing. Shame on them all!
And humans as well, it appears:
www.dw.com/en/german-scientists-involved-in-toxic-diesel-fume-tests-on-humans/a-42346854
Arguably, at least the humans had made their own choice, presumably before being exposed to fumes.
Not the humans following a cheating VW diesel.
BMW, Merc' and VW had nothing to do with it, it was a private company.
Ok, I agree. It was a private company (entirely funded by VW, BMW and Merc)
It seems to hark back to VW's Hitler-inspired heritage. Dr. Mengele would have been proud of those tests. (In case you're wondering, I know one of his victins; she has been severely-crippled since eight years old by what he did to her.)