VW E Golf test drive

 The E-Golf is a fine looking car. Since the Golf is quite handsome in general.
But that’s about it….

The shape is now super familiar. And there is almost nothing to distinguish the rather futuristic E-Golf from any other Golf. Except the wheels and a few details.
The car I was driving was also white. Which really provides as much excitement as a rolling washing machine. Which is too bad.
Better colors are of course available. And also a nice tan/black interior combo.

You also cannot order the really cool super large sunroof on the E-Golf. (Available on the regular and GTI models)
Also too bad…

 Same thing inside. There is just a little bit of blue stitching on the steering wheel.
Otherwise, it’s just a Golf. Which I guess will be fine with most people.
As the Golf as an upscale, super solid and very well finished interior.
But there is nothing very modern looking here…

The stereo is not the amazing Fender system, but it does sound very good.
The seats, surprisingly enough, seem a bit harder than the ones I remember in the regular Golf I drove a while ago…
The larger screen is great. And Apple Car Play works fine.

The E-Golf is basically doing amazingly well at not feeling or looking like anything special.

 The trunk seems as roomy as in the other versions.

 Here is the electric motor. Looking a bit weird, of course.

 So again, the E-Gold f drives pretty much like any other Golf.
Except for the instant torque. Which is always an amazing feeling in electric cars.

You get 3 settings. Normal. Eco and Eco+.
Normal is very sporty indeed. Eco was my favorite. Since it has almost the same feel as Normal, while squeezing a few extra miles from the range.
Eco+ is just too slow for normal city driving. It renders the car pretty gutless. Just like the Eco mode in the Nissan Leaf.

The steering feels the same as the regular Golf. A bit light but precise.
The suspension is super comfortable, providing a very smooth ride all the time.

 My biggest surprise with the E-Golf was the range. The car is officially rated at 125 miles.
After a full night of charging ( I never went down to the bottom of the range). The full charge would read a lot more.

The only small problem I had with he car during my week test was how slow the screen was to get out of the parking mode. This picture was taken about a minute after I started driving forward. Not parking anymore at all.
It’s not that bad. It just makes you wonder if everything is OK.

I would really recommend the E-Golf for anyone looking for an EV.
The range is better than claimed. And I was surprised how I really never needed more.
(Of course I didn’t try to go on a road trip…)

As for the price, it does start at around $32 000. My SEL premium version was $37 000.
For a total of about $39 000 including delivery and an option package. (which came with a bunch of not necessary thing like “Park Assist” and “Adaptive cruise control”)

I was really not able to figure out what is the difference between the base model and the SEL Premium.
Besides a fast charger (Which I didn’t get to use)

So that doesn’t seem to be worth the $5000 difference to me…

Of course, you would have to subtract various local incentives to these prices.
So over here, that car actually can start at round $21 000.

Which is pretty great… And about the same as the regular Golf!