VW Plays a Round of E-Golf Before LA Auto Show

by TTAC Staff

Published: November 14th, 2013

vw plays a round of e golf before la auto show

Much like the Kia Soul EV, Volkswagen has added a compliance-only EV to their lineup and dressed it up to resemble her diesel brothers and gasoline sisters. Behold the 2015 e-Golf, set to make its official debut at the LA Auto Show next week.

Emerging from the starting gate are 115 electric horses pulling 199 lb-ft of golf course-ready torque, all fueled by the 24.2 kWh liquid-cooled lithium-ion battery pack. Charging ranges from 20 hours through a standard 110v outlet to four hours through a dedicated 220v wattbox, with DC fast-charge bringing the pack up to 80 percent in half an hour.

Speaking of speed, zero to 60 is a leisurely 10.4 seconds, maxing out at 87 mph in Normal mode. At Eco mode, power is brought down to 94 horses and 162 lb-ft of torque (and the cabin becoming warmer through the AC being taken down a few notches). At that point, zero to 60 takes 13.1 seconds, and top speed is 72 mph. Finally, in Eco+ mode (a.k.a., city-only mode), your e-Golf will plod along to a top speed of 56 mph with only 74 horses and 129 lb-ft of weed-pulling power; in the last two modes, you can punch it like Chewbacca back to 87 mph by simply adding more lead to your foot, thus defeating the purpose of Eco and Eco+ mode in the first place.

Regarding range, expect to remain close to the city: VW says anywhere from 70 to 90 miles per charge. If, however, you find yourself stranded on the highway, the automaker’s Roadside Assistance Plan will offer to pay cab fare and bring your e-Golf to the nearest charging station as long as you’re within 100 miles of home; the plan covers unlimited events.

On the inside, you’ll be able to monitor range and energy flow alongside managing charging times, speed, navigation and the like through a new instrument cluster made specifically for the e-Golf. Outside, full LED headlamps — a first for VW — and aero all around come together to shine a path into the electric future, or at least get you from your bedroom community to the cubical and back, anyway.

Though Volkswagen has yet to say anything about the price of admission, you’ll be able to drive away to Pebble Beach for a round of 18 come the fourth quarter of 2014.

#2015 #Debuts #E-Golf #LAAutoShow #Volkswagen

TTAC Staff

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Mjz on Nov 14, 2013

Why are they showing this NOW, when is doesn't go on sale until late NEXT year? Wouldn't it make more sense to show it at next year's show? And for that matter, why do we have to always wait so long for new products when it is/has been on sale in the rest of the world. No wonder VW sales here are in the crapper lately.

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- Hreardon on Nov 14, 2013
  
  I have a real problem with the recent automaker trend of announcing product that cannot be purchased for another 12-18 months. I understand the argument that they can use the time to build awareness and get buzz generated, but I would much prefer an automaker announce a new product at an autoshow and make it available for purchase within a reasonable amount of time - aka just a few months, at most. Maybe I'm just spoiled by the technology world.
  
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Krayzie on Nov 14, 2013

Made in Mexico?

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