2015 Volkswagen e-Golf Six-Month Road Test
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We have to admit, the Volkswagen e-Golf had us rather charmed from the start. Even based on early Euro-spec prototypes, and when we pitted all-electric against diesel with our back-to-back e-Golf vs. Golf TDI test drive review nearly two years ago, we found a lot of potential in the all-electric hatchback—provided details like driving range, charging, pricing, and availability meshed in with comparable all-electrics like the Nissan Leaf and Ford Focus Electric. Against either those electrics or the diesel, the e-Golf satisfied the driver with a nimble, light, responsive driving...
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Volkswagen e-Golf: real-world range vs. EPA estimates over six-month test
The reality of range—reproducible, real-world daily-driving range—is one of the most important concepts you have to become familiar with if you’re new to electric vehicles. Generally speaking, the faster you drive, the quicker you accelerate, and the more accessories (like climate...
Bengt Halvorson -
VW e-Golf: Do its 3 modes do what electric-car drivers want?
Take any number of electric cars from different automakers for a brief test drive, and one thing will be abundantly clear: There’s not yet a norm for how EV powertrains are expected to behave. Some electric cars glide along when you lift off the accelerator, with little or no regenerative...
Bengt Halvorson -
VW e-Golf: Staying Connected With Car-Net Services, Smartphone App
Increasingly, buying or leasing a new car includes connectivity that extends well beyond the driver’s seat and the car’s cabin—to one’s smartphone and possibly even smartwatch. And electric cars are the type of vehicles for which these capabilities can be especially well put...
Bengt Halvorson -
Sight Unseen: Pros And Cons Of Driving A 'Stealth' EV
If you drive a Tesla Model S or a Nissan Leaf, then a certain image follows: Plain and simple, you’re an electric-vehicle early adopter. Just as the Toyota Prius has always shouted out that you’re in a environmentally sound, very fuel-efficient hybrid, these models push your decision to...
Bengt Halvorson -
Volkswagen e-Golf Climate Control: How Much Does A/C Impact Range?
In Portland, Oregon, where we’re putting our long-term Volkswagen e-Golf to the test, it’s been one of the hottest summers on record. So far in the summer of 2015, Portland has had more than 25 days reaching 90 degrees or more, as well as multiple 100-degree days—in all, some...
Bengt Halvorson -
Up until now, our experience with the Volkswagen e-Golf—the all-electric version of the VW Golf—has been a series of cursory encounters. In a short first drive last spring, followed by another city-loop drive, and then a brief-but-telling back-to-back drive with the Golf TDI, we found the e-Golf to be a surprisingly complete, compelling car on its own. It's a car that, from what we can tell, drives just as well, is packaged as smartly, and rides just as comfortably as any other Golf. VW has noted that its goal with the e-Golf was to provide a car that was “a Golf first, and...