Meet Me in the Middle: Volkswagen Increases the E-Golf's Range, Just in Time to Be Eclipsed
In the wake of its diesel emission scandal, Volkswagen proclaimed its destiny as tomorrow’s top dog of electric automobiles. However, its e-Golf never really felt like the future. It felt like the past with an electric motor wedged inside — a strategy many companies took while dipping a toe in the EV pool. The result was a green vehicle with an acceptable, but not very impressive, range.
Well, today at the Los Angeles Auto Show, VW announced that it has made the e-Golf more competitive by extending its legs and broadening its horizons.
The 2017 Volkswagen e-Golf receives a new lithium-ion battery and a capacity increase from 24.2 kilowatt-hours to 35.8 kWh.
That bigger battery pack is estimated to bring the range up from the current e-Golf’s 83-mile limit to 124 miles. That’s a nearly 50 percent improvement. Still, it’s less than what you can expect to get from any base model Tesla or Chevrolet’s Bolt. Those vehicles offer over 200 miles of range, and the Bolt does it at only a slightly higher price point.
However, the new e-Golf does meet or surpass the range of many other EVs, such as the Hyundai Ioniq, Nissan Leaf, Ford Focus Electric and BMW i3. (VW has plans for a very competitive vehicle before the end of the decade.)
Range counts for something, but so does power — and the new e-Golf offers more of both. VW has boosted the electric power available for acceleration, so output rises by 19 horsepower to 134 hp, and torque rises to 214 lb-ft.
Volkswagen says the added juice means runs from zero to 60 mph occur a second faster than than in the previous e-Golf. Now, it’s 9.6 seconds, with a top speed of 93 mph. While not face-melting levels of speed, it should get a person through traffic safely.
Charging that bigger battery is a 7.2 kilowatt charger that’s standard on the SE and SEL Premium trims. VW says the standard charger allows the battery to be fully powered in under six hours at a traditional charging station. However, there is an optional DC fast-charging port that can get the car to 80 percent in under an hour — if paired with a fast-charging station.
Visual changes to the 2017 e-Golf include some very subtle updates to the overall styling. You’d probably never guess, but the bumpers and front fenders are entirely new. The car also gets new LED lights all around and some accenting details around the grille that are specific to the EV.
The interior gets an optional 9.2 inch touch screen and the driver assists found on 2017 internal combustion Golfs. However, the assists are only available on the SEL Premium model. The features include blind-sport monitoring, adaptive cruise control, pedestrian detection, forward-collision warning with automatic emergency braking, and parking assist.
The 2017 Volkswagen e-Golf will hit select dealerships in EV-friendly states early next year.
[Images: Volkswagen]
A staunch consumer advocate tracking industry trends and regulation. Before joining TTAC, Matt spent a decade working for marketing and research firms based in NYC. Clients included several of the world’s largest automakers, global tire brands, and aftermarket part suppliers. Dissatisfied with the corporate world and resentful of having to wear suits everyday, he pivoted to writing about cars. Since then, that man has become an ardent supporter of the right-to-repair movement, been interviewed on the auto industry by national radio broadcasts, driven more rental cars than anyone ever should, participated in amateur rallying events, and received the requisite minimum training as sanctioned by the SCCA. Handy with a wrench, Matt grew up surrounded by Detroit auto workers and managed to get a pizza delivery job before he was legally eligible. He later found himself driving box trucks through Manhattan, guaranteeing future sympathy for actual truckers. He continues to conduct research pertaining to the automotive sector as an independent contractor and has since moved back to his native Michigan, closer to where the cars are born. A contrarian, Matt claims to prefer understeer — stating that front and all-wheel drive vehicles cater best to his driving style.
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A 124 mile range is pathetic (so is a 200 mile range). Why do these EV manufacturers insist on embarrassing themselves by launching such half-baked crappy vehicles, mocking the very concept and viability of EVs in the process?
Nice CGI backgrounds on the VW-supplied pictures. They look like architectural renderings. The photo-shopped seagulls in the first picture have the sizes all wrong - a couple of them approach pterodactyl size, given the distance and the size of the car. Note the texture of the road in the first picture, and the bricks and greenery on the building wall in the second picture. In the first picture, the photographer would have to be in a car just in front of the VW, and in a lane to the driver's left. He would have gone right through that blurry light pole just before taking this picture. Their photography is about as honest as their emission testing results.