Last updated on April 8th, 2020 at 08:00 pm
The Volkswagen e-Golf was unveiled back in 2013 at the Frankfurt Motor Show. Back then, the hatchback had a limited driving range, a somewhat throttled power delivery and a comparatively small battery pack. In 2019, the German manufacturer improved its all-electric vehicle on all fronts. The EV can now be considered – to some – as a daily driver.
The question is: does the new VW e-Golf serve a purpose in the current climate? With other manufacturers ramping up production for EVs, and long-standing rivals such as the BMW and Nissan offering compelling packages, the e-Golf has a lot of competition.
WhichEV takes a look at Volkswagen's 2019 iteration of its all-electric hatchback.
Inside the vehicle, it's much of the same – it's practical: a rubbery material stretches all around the vehicle's dashboard, and the e-Golf's interior plastic trim is finished in a brushed aluminium design. It might feel as premium as the BMW i3 but it certainly is more child-friendly.
There's a large number of physical buttons dotted around the vehicle's cabin: on the driver's side, you'll find wing mirror controls, a means to lock and unlock all the doors, and of crouse, lower all four windows. A physical headlight switch control resides near the driver side door and underneath, by your feet, you'll find a latch that opens the front boot. Unlike the BMW i3, there's no additional storage space in the ‘frunk'.
Located on the steering wheel, a plethora of buttons make it easy to control your media and the vehicle's digital instrument cluster. Unfortunately, there's no play/pause button to be seen – you'll have to resort to using the 8″ touchscreen display, instead. As for the steering wheel itself, it has a good weight and thickness to it; it doesn't feel too small/sporty nor is it chunky making it hard to perform complex manoeuvres.
More physical buttons can be found dotted around the dashboard and by the centre console: those of us who prefer physical climate controls will be pleased to see VW has kept them in place. The same couldn't be said about most modern-day EVs or the company's latest petrol-led VW Golf MK8, which does away with physical buttons.
Right under these buttons, you'll find a small compartment for your smartphone (or other) and a USB Type-A port to charge your phone or connect up to the infotainment system – more on that, below.
By the gear selector, there are more physical buttons: a start/stop button; another that enables/disables park assist; a button that toggles through the car's three driving modes (Normal, Eco and Eco+) and finally a fourth that allows you to disable the e-Golf's electronic engine sound. The latter is always on by default, whereby after disabling the feature that replicates ‘fake' engine noise to pedestrians, turning off the vehicle will reset the option and move it back to its default state (on). I find this rather frustrating as there are no two ways around it. The same issue also occurs when selecting a driving mode – the e-Golf refuses to remember your ‘last used' profile.
While these two options might not seem pivotal in terms of day-to-day driving, the car's inability to remember which regenerative braking method will leave you frustrated. These modes can be accessed through the gear selector – moving the stick down to Drive (D), then moving the lever to the right or left will filter through the regenerative methods: D1, D2 and D3. The higher the number the more aggressive the feature is on the brakes. Shift the gear selector down to B-mode, however, and the car goes a step further in recuperating energy back into the 35.8 kWh battery pack.
B-mode is still no match for the overly aggressive nature that can be felt on the BMW i3 – where unlike its German counterpart, the VW e-Golf gives you the option to fully disable it, and drivers like myself will appreciate that; regenerative braking isn't for everyone, though once you get used to it, recouping energy does get quite addictive (and sometimes even a geeky challenge).
I asked an owner about his thoughts on the feature, and he said: “Every time I get in, I've gotten into the habit of putting it in D twice – to get to B-mode. I only drive in B-mode. At first, I thought it was way too aggressive, but then after modifying my driving habits, I found that after I went into my wife's (petrol) car, I found it really annoying that the car wasn't recouping energy when I lift my foot off the throttle”.
Moving on from the gear lever, you'll find two cup holder spaces, a small compartment to pop in your loose change, a 12V cigarette lighter, a latch that activates the car's e-brake and an Auto Hold function, which prevents the car from rolling backwards. The armrest console opens up to reveal a small storage unit, which can hold a small 250ml water bottle or your sunglasses. Unfortunately, there are no additional charging ports in here; I'd have liked to see another USB port.
As for the armrest itself, it can be adjusted – via a ratchet mechanism – to your desired height. This makes it more comfortable on longer drives for taller-sized individuals.
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