Buying a used VW e-Golf EV? My 20,000 mile real world review Vlog // Jonny Smith
Vložit
- čas přidán 30. 03. 2020
- This is my CarPervert real world Vlog style review of the Volkswagen e-Golf mk7.5 that I've been daily driving for the last 2 years (21,000 miles). If you want a detailed written blog of my experience to accompany this video summary then this is available exclusively to Patreon supporters.
Please have a look at the Patreon link: www.patreon.com/user?u=322048...
The e-Golf has recently ended production, but it makes a fine secondhand EV purchase. For starters it is familiar, inconspicuous and easy to adapt to from a piston engined Golf. The older spec e-Golfs quietly began production in 2014, but latter models like this, with better tech and range, can now be found for under £20,000. And still with years of warranty left.
With a 100kW (136PS) motor and 35.8kWh lithium-ion battery pack living beneath front and rear seats (weighing 345kg) the e-Golf is good for up to 145 real world miles. 0-62 in 9.6 seconds and a top speed of 93mph, although both of these figures are reduced if you use the Eco or Eco+ functions to wring out as much economy as possible from the car.
My e-Golf has taken me on dozens of unpredictable journeys, and always behaved itself during rapid DC charging sessions on the motorway. This version will charge 0-80 percent in 30 minutes (up to 40kW). This uses the CCS plug (combined charge system) for maximum fast charge ability. At home a full charge will take around 6 hours using a wall box charger, whereas the conventional 3-pin plug will take closer to 14 hours.
If you would like Eco Cars to source you a used EV to order, contact Jonathan Porterfield on www.eco-cars.net/ or call 07778 298165.
**********
Thank you for watching. If you haven't already, SUBSCRIBE to CarPervert.
Click the bell icon to alert you when the next CarPervert video lands.
Edited by: Ink Shark Studios / inksharkman
Thumbnail design: Martin Jones martipants.co.uk/
****************
Jonny Smith
Creative content maker, car presenter & car pervert for hire since '98
*
Website: www.carpervert.com
*
Instagram: / jonnycarpervert
*
Twitter: / carpervert - Auta a dopravní prostředky
"I don't massively like this kind of blue" -dressed from head to toe in same shade of blue.
Idk why this made me laugh, well written
Hahahah 🤣
most of the men don't think about how they dressing
Looking at the engine bay it does appear to have the heat pump. It can been seen next to the expansion tank. 👍
This had me dying thank you it’s facts
Just traded my 2019 eGolf in. Owned it from new for 4 years (50k miles), and it was 100% faultless. Cheapest car I've ever run. Drove beautifully, never let me down. Not luxurious, and a few missing bells and whistles, but no complaints at all. Loved it!
I didn’t think you looked like General Zod before. But now I do.
Who is this imbecile? Lol.
Kneel before Zod!
Maybe Zod, but he points out the car plays the first two notes of Persona Jesus when it starts up and we don't get a Dave Gahan side-by-side? Seems like a missed opportunity.
no, General Zod looks nothing like Jonny, no h. My cajun friend from the Louisiana Cajun swamps, legal name was Jonny with no h...pretty cool.
The mighty XOD has spoken ! Great summary Jonny on the e-Golf
Really nice video, as all your previous content. Thoroughly enjoy what you are doing here. A lot of heart, style AND brains put in to the work - keep 'em coming!
"real life review" got full real life, when you start to show the inside of the car, and it hasn't been cleaned for the last 5k miles... just like mine...xD
Yeah.... Sorry about that...
@@TheLateBrakeShow
Don't be, it's a pretty honest to have that. You used that, it's the car you live in... so yeah.
@@TheLateBrakeShow Don't be, it is more "real" this way, plus you had it for 2 years, plus you dailied it a lot.
This is a more "real life review" than any other reviews, where they clean the cars prior.
Also as I said, mine looks exactly the same (well not now, I just got there to vacuum it out since august).
I might be a bit crossed if i were working at volkswagen though... even though I bet they just clean/detail it anyways because they have their in-house detailers
So for real, don't be sorry, it is completely fine, just keep up the good work and the quality content!
I mean... stay safe, stay inside, and I hope you got some good vids coming up from your backlog:D
@@UKfromadrone Agreed, besides... it's their car. Pretty sure it was a 2 yr free 'loaner', so all he has to do is swap his things into the new 1 wk loaner, e-UP. They'll clean out the old one & put 'er up on the lot for sale, I'm sure. How amazing tho, to get to try ALL these different cars & models... I'd LOVE it. Always something new, unknown... to dig into, find out about, experience, then share thoughts & opinions about. Dream job imho! :) Stay safe & be well. :)
Your Golf did have the heat pump. You can tell when you lift the bonnet, you have extra piping on the left side.
@mikeamor619......what does the heat pump look like, on the egolf? Thinking about getting one of these in the foreseeable. Would like to have the knowledge to spot it, when i lift the bonnet/hood. Thanks in advance 👍
Jonny, I love that your reviews are so honest. Never would I have considered an EV for daily-ing purposes!
On my Todd a lot at the moment - been bingeing Smith and Sniff - thanks Mr Smith - perfect content for the times
Intelligent reviews as always, well informed, easy to follow, just the sort you want. Thanks Johnny as always and best of luck
Love Jonny's face when he pulls up to the kerb at VW.... it's happened to all of us!! Great episode, keep up the great work Jonny!
Great content! :D Got to drive my friends e-Golf (He bought it when VW Denmark had a sale on the remaining models) a few weeks ago, I was pleasantly surprised with it and I really liked that it still felt like a "normal" car inside.
Great video. I knew I stumbled on a real car geek when I spotted the Recaro. Had my kid in one back when I learned they were making car seats. Learned a lot from the video. Just picked up one of the last three remaining new e-Golfs in California (if not the US) last weekend. Very happy with it. Keep up the good work.
you are my favorite car reviewer as your so down to earth testing real peoples cars not just cars with a value north of 100k
Great Video. The E-golf really is a fantastic car. I have been driving one for 4 months and love it.
Another quality film, looking forward to part 2 and maybe a part 3 with the MK2.
Hope you get the opportunity to keep making films for us Jonny, dark times ahead!
Like that you don't take yourself too seriously. Great ending. Plus the teaser.
Entertaining and instructive. Great channel. My wife has a Golf GTE and I must admit I enjoy driving it!
Hi Jonny. Great to see you are still sharing your CZcams car shows
Eyup from Derbyshire. "Glory hole of doom?" I googled this to see what one is and I didnt get an egolf web page!!! I will never be the same again and neither will my cat who looked over my shoulder as I hit the return key.
It's "The Devils Arse" if you live in Derbyshire!
@@antonycharnock2993 Yes you're probably right or, something to do with sheep......?
ROFL.... =p Thanks for that giggle, Will. Much needed today. Now stop traumatizing that poor cat already, would ya'?! LOL Stay safe & be well. :)
Great taste in music Jonny! That album rocks :)
Looking at one of these currently, so nice to see a real long term review !
good mood as always, I like this channel. Greetings from a german brand-new and impressed e-golf driver
Well that ended too soon! Brilliant presenting Jonny.
Great video. Nice to have a real world review, including the little things like how roof racks effect range. Silly as it seems, things like that, how range is effected in cold weather, what winter tires do to range is all important information that can be hard to find.
Thanks Jonny! I have an appointment w/ Volkswagen Santa Monica (Santa Monica, California) this Monday to discuss purchasing my 2016 VW e golf. I've really liked my egolf after living with it for 4 years. And after watching your video, I now believe I'm going to be a happy EV owner. If they continue to produce the e-up or similar electric vehicles I should be able to find parts without too much trouble.
Thank you Jonny Smith, some useful information there, particularly on resale values and reliability.
Kneel before Xod🤣🤣great stuff
Good review I really like your style of expressing yourself... cheers mate
That 1985 golf is so cool you have got to get that car driving down the road what ever it takes (super cool )
Jonny waited so long to make this review that the car has been discontinued...
Actually it has been extended for 2020 due to production issues with the ID3
@@Eric-lx8hp Ackchyually, we didn't know that when I left this comment.
Some of your best work seams to be on this channel keep it up 👍
Great program, yet again you've managed to get this none car driver interested.
Your mix of information, opinion and real world scruffy car interior is great viewing. Although not a car driver it's videos like yours that make it a little bit easier to show EV haters that they're just cars, nothing to fear and actually have some benefits.
When is the next one because if this isolation goes on any longer I think my house plants are going to start out debating me in our discussions.
Really decent of you for taking the time to write Helen. Glad my videos can resonate with non car fanatics. My hope is that real world reviews like this help to show people that EVs can be easy to adopt and live with.
Oh the fond memories. My first new car was a 85 MK2 GTI. That was really a good time for VW.
Great review, tend to agree with all comments on how it is useable as a day to day car, had mine for 10months and did around 11k miles in it, never missed a beat, although with roof bars 3 bikes, 2 adults and 2 kids fully loaded to centre parcs the miles per kwh took a hammering, especially in the A1. Also enjoyed playing spot the village on the back roads 😀
Very interesting video! Looking forward to seeing the one about the E-up.
There is one man here on earth who will never kneel before you.!
Great review as always! I'm loving these videos, you are one of my favorites car journalists out there. Also, I can't wait for the e-Up! review since I'm considering purchasing one in the near future :)
Yess please drive that electric mk2 Golf!!
Great video as always, thank you!
I did expect to see a CityStromer at the end but expected it to be a Mk3 Golf. Didn't know there was a Mk2 Version of it! Very nice to see!
Some great editing there Johnny of General Zod , Happy Motoring and great video too
Great real car review as an ex leaf owner due to job change one of these would be perfect
Now had a 2019 E Golf for nearly two years and what a brilliant vehicle
I thought the same about auto hold being considerate and not blinding the people behind. Until about 6 months into Golf ownership I noticed the white van behind me illuminated red. Turns out auto hold keeps the brake lights on. Only if you pull the handbrake up do the lights go out. So I do that if stationary for more than a few seconds, especially if there's someone behind.
Great insightful review. Just found it as looking into an eGolf as a first EV.
30 minutes? Flew by! Looking forward to your e-Up video 👍🏻
Love the channel, can't wait for more content! From a VW Pervert who has enjoyed your content since the Total VW days!!
Thanks Robert. You really have followed me for a while. I filmed a vid in the garage on my Beetle only today.
@@TheLateBrakeShow Yes been a while, I think one (or more) time(s) you came to the LDD meets in Finchley Mega Bowl too.
Great summary. I have a 2018 egolf and it’s a brilliant car
I really love when cars like that get sold onto the private market.
There's an Audi A2 for sale here (Australia) right now which is one of only a handful they brought over for either press or clinics I suppose. Super cool.
I’m looking forward to seeing more of the City STROMer
VW did the heat pump since the 60s with the air-cooled gasses going back into the cabin.
I thought the old air cooled ones just had a heat exchanger on the exhaust?
The functionality of a heat pump wasn’t that clearl at all. Worth having a look for Split Air Con units and how they work, it is the same technology just physical packaged into the format of a car
A "glory hole of doom" conjures up all sorts of visions 😲
sharp teeth
I've been watching your videos ever since you were on Fifth Gear! Great content
Didn't realized you had left Fully Charged. As soon as I knew you had moved, I subscribed.
Man, the MK2 was a beautiful machine. Can't wait to see what happens and what you think of the dinky Up! in E form
Great vid thanks, not a lot of people do reviews after actually using it rather than blurting out specs.
Love the content, and love your presenting... thanks... 👍🥃
I guessed right; City Stromer it is 😁 cracking vid again, keep them coming please! 👍
Great vid Johnny. Enjoyed it 👍🏻
This was really interesting, thanks Jonny. I nearly bought an e-golf at the end of last year, but I was a bit too picky and ultimately couldn't find one at the right price with the right spec. I wanted the digital dash as the anolog dash felt wrong in an EV, the other wheels as I couldn't get away with the aero ones, and the heat pump for resale and a few more miles of range. Very interesting to hear Jonathan's thoughts on the demand for heat pump in 2nd hand! Almost glad I stuck to my guns a bit on that, although I didn't end up with a car in the end :)
love that car, I own C-Zero, but that Golf is another universe. Best regards.
I have had 2 e-Golfs, a 2015 SEL (24.2kWh) and a 2017 SE (35.8kWh), and we love them. In particular, we love how it coasts in D. And we see range estimates above 190 miles in the summer. Coasting is more efficient, partly because you tend to accelerate less, and drive more smoothly. Regen is better than friction braking, but you lose more energy during regen vs coasting. Regen should be used when you need to slow down, and coasting should be used whenever possible.
The e-Golf has adaptable creep, too. You don't mention this, and I find it to be great. By default it has no creep, but if you are in stop and go traffic, it gives you mild creep; which then goes away if you go above ~20MPH.
The other feature our e-Golfs have had - is a direct heating defroster. This is very efficient, and if it can keep your windshield clear (it is not particularly strong), then you range stays nearly the same. It has very fine wires in the glass, and you can only generally see them in certain light conditions.
I am sad to hear that the ID.3 will not get the direct heating defroster - they were apparently working a version that used a super thin layer of silver inside the glass (that would presumably be much more powerful). EVERY EV SHOULD HAVE A DIRECT HEATING DEFROSTER.
I agree with all / most of you comments - the lack of heating in the steering wheel - and the back seat, and little things like no light in the charging port, should be addressed. The ride is excellent (we don't have the type of bridges you have, apparently) and yet it handles quite well. It fits my tall family of four, almost as well as our Chevy Bolt EV; and the main issue is the e-Golf is much lower.
I guess Ford's patent on that expired? I seem to recall seeing about it in the 90s so... 20 years... that'd make sense. (Their brand name was I believe "quick clear windscreen".) They certainly work quickly! Useful in even a regular car because you don't have to wait around for defogging to be safe to drive as long (I guess you could go out and turn it on to idle ten minutes in advance, but, ehh).
VW lupo 3L and Audi A2 1.2 had coast 20 years ago for real world 100mpg imp
Thanks Jonny keep up the good work.
Appreciate the used EV reviews/insight. I'm constantly looking at used EVs just for kicks to see where the market is. In the US, I think the best value for a used EV right now is a Kia Soul EV. I'm seeing fully loaded models with less than 30K miles on them for under $15K, sometimes close to $10K. For someone looking for a daily to run errands / grab the kids from school, I think its a good deal.
“Makes a noise like the beginning of Personal Jesus by Depeche Mode”. Okay, now I definitely want one. Im a DieHard DM Fan, VW Fan.. and that was Hilarious!
Still thoroughly enjoying our used BMW i3, been particularly nice to be able to preheat during winter too!
I've recently just fallen in love with with the modern Golf. Both the hatch and the wagon. And I realize the area I live in is just lousy with them - so lots of carperving going on as I go for my daily walks. Here in Ontario Canada the eGolf is pretty rare, and used ones even more so. Even the 2016 with shite range goes for a pretty penny. I don't dislike the ID3, but style wise I wish this would stick around longer. For that matter, wish they would do an EV of the wagon -- or a full EV version of the Passat wagon (which would require a lotto win on my part)
Having driven a Nissan e-NV200 long distance in November 2014, I can sadly confirm that warm hands and bum are just not enough. My feet were freezing! I did like the e-Golf though, and I drove an early one. Not even slightly exciting, but very competent.
What a surprise... I grew up with Jonathan Porterfield. My, that was so many years ago...
I was realy happy driving eGolf from 2015 to 2019.
@Spud Chuffington jones yes, I ordered a Tesla Model 3 SR+, after they anounced the option for 910 kg towing capasity. I have had a small trailer for 9-10 years, 4 of them I had to borrow a car to use it. Also I enjoy carying the bike rack. I had a hatch mount bike rack on the eGolf, that was not as enjoyable.
Brilliant, loving the content.
City Stromers are quite rare indeed. Really good looking one too.
I was thinking you look more like Dave Gahan, then you mentioned personal jesus, perfect!
Thanks Johnny, got my eyes set on an e-golf too. If only they dropped below 15k in Europe. Hopefully ID3 will help me out with that.
Looks almost like mine. I really like the blue color. A small difference is that I have the heat pump. Really like the car. Looking forward to see how the ID3 will be compared to this.
I always liked your beer money car segments on Fifth Gear. Would be nice to see this on your channel at some point. I enjoyed this video on EV 👍
The cable sheathing on that PodPoint charger cable has seen a fair bit of UV!
Cheers Jonny, great video. :)
Great review Johnny. Really missing my 24 leaf . still we got an i3 on order so shouldn't be to long now before I'm back in the EV world.
Cheers Rob
Your next long-term review should really be the Honda-E. It fits your personality so well.
really enjoyed watching this
Nice one. Use the e-Golf currently whenever i need a short range vehicle, VW thankfully parked 1500 around town for us to use in free floating car sharing. I dared and took the trip from Berlin to Dresden and back in December to drive the ID.3 there, and quite honestly, it was not really all that pleasant. Had to limit myself to 110kph otherwise the distance between chargers would have been too long, charging took quite a bit longer than expected (yes, ABRP under-estimates charging times by quite a bit), and since the cars do not have ACC, not really needed as city cars, it was quite a bit of work to drive it at a somewhat steady speed.
Apart from that, i absolutely love them, great city cars, lots of space, nice and quiet, but a lot of tire rubbing on wet roads if one uses a bit too much force on the power pedal...
Nearly 20 years ago, an ex Wolfsburg employee was puzzled by my 1984 Scirocco EV conversion. He thought it must have been a factory conversion, like the Citystromer, but couldn't have been since the Sciroccos were built by at the Karmann factory, rather than by VW. Hopefully one day soon it will be restored and back on the road.
There will be tears when I have to turn my 2019 eGolf in. “It’s a damn good Golf, and everyone pretty much likes Golfs.” There will be a lot of tears if VW doesn’t offer the ID3 in the US by 2022!
I didn't realise many Americans want small cars. I thought a crossover SUV is about the smallest car Americans buy!
lease maybe? Or company car?
Got a good deal on a 3 yr lease. There’s an option to extend the lease. There are Americans that like smaller cars, if they’re built well, good safety, and if living in or near the city.
We bought our 2016 e-Golf SE at lease end last year (March 2016 - 2019 lease). They would have had to pry it from my cold, dead hands! Over 20,000 miles and it has been a gem of a car. I've even fantasized about getting a later, longer-range model but we'll see if ID.3 comes to the US and also have a look at ID.4. VW have been a bit slow and needs to up its game here. When it comes time to replace (or add) another car, we'll look at all of 'em -- VW, Tesla, Kia/Hyundai and whatever else is reasonable.
p.s. The Car-Net app worked well but had a major issue last fall. It is back since Feb 2020 in a web-only version that is even slower and more of a p.i.t.a. than the app -- but it does work (though the old app-based version was better; it also sent notifications, e.g., if your windows were down and there was rain in the forecast. It was almost like living in a post-2015 world).
@@tagg8233 The problem is the automakers keep pushing those blasted things. I prefer a sedan.
Had one of these for the weekend.
My job means I drive a whole range of ex lease cars and having this one was my first full electric car experience.
Quick summary is if you have a fast charger installed in your house and don’t do any motorway driving it’s not to bad. The real world range is 80-90 miles (driving like a granny in full ev mode which is no heater and 60mph top speed).
I did a journey of 103 motorway miles and it was one of the worst/ most stressful driving experiences of my life. I had to be there at 8am which meant a normal 1hr 45 minute drive took almost 3 hours (with fast charge).
With everything available on the market today, in my experience. Until there are 10 minute fast chargers it’s too inconvenient to buy an electric car that isn’t a Tesla or a hybrid.
Great review as usual Johnny... your original review of the eGolf gave me the confidence to go ahead and buy it over 2 years ago. I've 45000 miles done on my 2018 egolf and love it. Plenty quick for me.... I often put it in eco+ mode for a more relaxing drive. The app is useful now and again to check on the charge when out on a long journey and having a meal while fast charging ...also to give the pre-heat a boost. My favourite feature is the adaptive cruise control...it works so well in an electric car and it's better than the Tesla model 3 because it doesn't freak out when approaching lorries on a narrow road.
I've reserved the ID.3 but will give the eGolf to my wife. Looking at this though I'm tempted to get my old mk2 Golf back to convert to electric! Thanks for the teaser about that... looking forward to seeing where that goes.
Hi Michael, thank you for the feedback. Really good to hear how you bought an e-Golf and enjoy living with it. You are right about the ACC being better than Tesla. I found Tesla's autopilot to be awful. Let me know if you do get an ID3. A mk2 Golf EV would be cool as they were built better than any other mk of Golf. The CityStromer will hopefully rise again in the not too distant future. Thanks for watching my channel. J
I really wanted an e-Golf. Production has stopped so I've thought I'd miss this nice e-Golf. But now I can go for MG 4 Electric.
Love the EV reviews! Nice little charmer at the end. No, I don't speak British, but I figured if I throw a word in I know that wouldn't normal use there, it would sound British :)
All hail general zod ....😁 .class video as always jonnie
We LOVE our e-golf. Coming off of our lease in a few months and I am torn. The ID3 is not available here in Canada so I am tempted to keep this car till the wheels fall off. It is that good.
buy it up from them if you can! (negotiate a decent price of course)
Which province are you from? I've been waffling over buying a 2016 because they're so well priced right now. I'm worried about how bad the Mileage gets in our Alberta winters though.
@@Beardyvlogger WRT the second part of your comment, if it's got the resistive heater you'll expect to lose up to half of your range, but if it's got the heat pump that'll be a bit less (up until the temp gets low enough, it has to switch to the resistive one anyway in that case). The fast charging should go as fast (just checked some owners forums) so it should only take 30-45 minutes between charges again on longer journeys. Just with a 25-50% reduced range, so stopping 1.5 to 2 times as often. Obviously whether that's a sacrifice you're willing to make is up to you!
@@kaitlyn__L thanks for the info. I mostly drive just to and from work. So a consistent 125-150km worst case scenario gives me zero range anxiety
Beardyvlogger we are in Ontario. It is late 2017 with the heat pump. I get 150km in the winter but my wife gets 120kms. Lead foot. Summertime I easily get 180kms and have pushed it beyond.
Great review, love the comedy inbeteeen
"The ashtray at night is a glory hole of doom" 🤣
I think VW dropped these to under 25k brand new in a bid to clear the stock before the id3 drops
Barry Wootton I’ve noticed a few demonstrators on autotrader for 20-21k.
Barry Wootton less in California. Not sure now do like Hyundai ioniq or Kia Kona Wanting used.
Unfortunately eGolfs never made it into AU so we can’t even buy them used. I loved my MkV Golf and an eGolf would have been ideal. Thanks for the update.
I like the show with old tech. You should make episode about history of electric cars.
Excellent video. I'll go find a used one to replace one of our two petrol cars. I'm quite certain I'll like it.
"Kneel before Zod!", you should definitely be in some remake of Superman :-)
We've all done that to the front valance at least once if not a few times, and then very surreptitiously pulled back a bit sucking our lip!
Jonny, thanks for the reference to Personal Jesus! That just made me hate that bong a lot less :-)
The Mk2 electric Golf is interesting. The Science Museum have what is possibly the world’s first hybrid electric/petrol passenger car - it’s a Fiat prototype - looks even earlier than a Topolino. Amazing vehicle. It’s in the Large Item store in Wroughton, Wiltshire. You should go see it on one of the infrequent occasions when they open up to the public. You could do 10 episodes on the cars, bikes and planes etc that they have there. Not to mention the first 4 or 5 hovercraft SRN1, 2, 3 etc, the actual James Bond autogyro - the list is endless! 😀
Great video general
Cool video. I still have my 2019 e-golf and it flies. Zero costs. I get free juice at work, Tesco and Premiere Inn. I usually have a pint at Premiere in and a bite to eat and get 40 miles free charge. The car is easy to drive, nippy through the MK roundabouts and tanks up the A435 out of Cheltenham. It is no slouch. The tyres are bit spongy, but it's never come unstuck even when I did a Senna through a tight roundabout, some time back and left a angry Volo driver behind me wondering what the hell I'd just pulled off - in really fast, brake late, a quick yank on the wheel, left right and use the momentum to exit. Senna did that in a min-bin with Sterling Moss, who couldn't figure out how Senna got it through. Senna said: "you just point it in. and sort it out in get there". The golf sticks and the e-golf isn't much different as I've owned a load of them. Best cheap EV nippy car you can own. Not sure I want an ID-3 as this car has a lot of class and the Apple car-play and phone app are pretty good. Can't fault it. Grin-factor 10 most days with this car. Not many cars I've ever owner give back so much. It's more nippy that my old Boxster 3.2S was and that car shifted and handled really well. If you use the e-golf properly, you can have a blast on the cheap.
Good review. Thanks
Greatly informative video, Xod