Halfway (outside the) house
Sept 30, 2017 14:16:09 GMT
Post by WDB on Sept 30, 2017 14:16:09 GMT
I mentioned the other day that e-Golfs are hard to find, at least without venturing into the awful fringes of London. But my local VW dealer had a demo-ready GTE, so this morning MrsB1 and I went out in that.
And she found very little to criticize; nor, for that matter, did I. Madam didn't like the busy virtual instrument layout, but sales blokey rescued that situation by pressing a button until all she had was a simple, central speed readout. Fitting in was easy enough; this car even had a sunroof but I was just about OK for headroom even in the back. She liked the mirrors; the Golf's flat sides place them handily close to the car, so they do make it easy to position. Golfs have had 45 years of selling themselves by being easy to drive and live with, so you wouldn't expect that to change now.
I liked the seats: nice and firm, with deep side bolsters and plenty of adjustment, even if it is with hand levers. This one had dull black leather seats, but the standard upholstery is fabric in a blue-highlighted version of the 1970s GTI check, which would be my choice if we had one of these.
And I think we might. The incentives may not be quite as strong as for the pure-EV version, but it's probably more usable for us. MrsB1 isn't at all keen on the idea of a car that might need a mid-trip charge, and yet this one would still do her very short local trips on electric power alone. She grumbled a bit about the intrusion of the batteries into the luggage space but I think any car this size would struggle to take all her teaching kit without dropping the seats, which would be simple enough.
Our route didn't give us much chance to assess its GTI credentials. 148hp of petrol plus 112hp of electric apparently add up to only 204, but that ought to be plenty, even with batteries to lug around. Three-up on Berkshire back roads, it picked up speed happily enough - and lost it more sharply than I'm used to until I dialled down the regenerative braking. The last Golf I drove was a GTI in 2015, over a similar route. I seem to remember that riding more smoothly - despite 19in wheels - than this one seemed to on 17s, but this wasn't unpleasant. It doesn't feel eager like my 325, but it's not fidgety like that can be either. I think the fun factor is there, as well as the practical necessities.
Need to look at the deal on offer now, not that we really got into any of that this morning. Nice machine. At the right price I'd be happy to have one, even if it's not a pure EV.
And she found very little to criticize; nor, for that matter, did I. Madam didn't like the busy virtual instrument layout, but sales blokey rescued that situation by pressing a button until all she had was a simple, central speed readout. Fitting in was easy enough; this car even had a sunroof but I was just about OK for headroom even in the back. She liked the mirrors; the Golf's flat sides place them handily close to the car, so they do make it easy to position. Golfs have had 45 years of selling themselves by being easy to drive and live with, so you wouldn't expect that to change now.
I liked the seats: nice and firm, with deep side bolsters and plenty of adjustment, even if it is with hand levers. This one had dull black leather seats, but the standard upholstery is fabric in a blue-highlighted version of the 1970s GTI check, which would be my choice if we had one of these.
And I think we might. The incentives may not be quite as strong as for the pure-EV version, but it's probably more usable for us. MrsB1 isn't at all keen on the idea of a car that might need a mid-trip charge, and yet this one would still do her very short local trips on electric power alone. She grumbled a bit about the intrusion of the batteries into the luggage space but I think any car this size would struggle to take all her teaching kit without dropping the seats, which would be simple enough.
Our route didn't give us much chance to assess its GTI credentials. 148hp of petrol plus 112hp of electric apparently add up to only 204, but that ought to be plenty, even with batteries to lug around. Three-up on Berkshire back roads, it picked up speed happily enough - and lost it more sharply than I'm used to until I dialled down the regenerative braking. The last Golf I drove was a GTI in 2015, over a similar route. I seem to remember that riding more smoothly - despite 19in wheels - than this one seemed to on 17s, but this wasn't unpleasant. It doesn't feel eager like my 325, but it's not fidgety like that can be either. I think the fun factor is there, as well as the practical necessities.
Need to look at the deal on offer now, not that we really got into any of that this morning. Nice machine. At the right price I'd be happy to have one, even if it's not a pure EV.
You can't do that - which is why you're not considering a PHEV - and I can, which is why I am.
