William13
Active Member
Spidy, I believe thegruf refers to worldwide deaths and the 59 refers to only US deaths that have already occurred. The article is actually well written.
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Volkswagen E-Golf
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jgs
Active Member
EPA maybe 130 or so? That would have been interesting if it'd been available in, say, 2015 or even now, but it isn't. (And for that matter, the e-Golf isn't even a 50-state car.) If both they and Tesla keep to their dates, the only advantage I see them holding over the 3 is slightly earlier availability -- if they fix their 50-state problem. But since they don't mention that in the story, I don't see any reason to think they will
So... yeah. Who cares, indeed.
The revised e-Golf with larger battery pack will start production in December 2016. It will apparently be sold in all 50 states. InsideEVs keeps calling it a 2017 car, but VW USA has already said that the MY 2017 e-Golf will be "largely unchanged" from the 2016. So, I'm betting we start to get the facelifted car with the 35.8kWh battery in Spring 2017 as a 2018 model year car.
Face-lifted, Longer Range VW e-Golf To Debut In US Next Month - Sales Go Nationwide
Face-lifted, Longer Range VW e-Golf To Debut In US Next Month - Sales Go Nationwide
The 2017 VW e-Golf is still not on dealer lots now, August 2017. Rumors have it that they are at the port and will finally appear at dealers by the end of August. In the meantime, they are trying to clear out the 2016's. Deals on the SE w/DCFC are advertised as low as $47/mo but that does not include Tax, Title & License and requires $3,705 additional customer cash up front, of which $2,500 may be rebated by the CA CVRP program. Payments with only $2,500 down (zero net to customer) and 9% sales tax would probably be around around $120/month all-in.
The 2016 e-Golf is a very good car if you can live with the 84 mile EPA range.
The 2016 e-Golf is a very good car if you can live with the 84 mile EPA range.
Wow, that is a deal and a half. $1200 net down and $47 per month? Geez, that's just giving it away. Though I understand it if the new one is around 160 EPA as reported. I would do this deal in a heartbeat and turn in my 2014 early.... if I didn't have a 3 reserved and delivery date before end of my eGolf lease...
For anyone thinking about it, I can testify.... excellent car. Real range around town closer to 100 on full regen if you drive conservatively. Very peppy, 4 adults fit easily, lots of hatchback room for just about anything. Only limitation - not really for road trips. 2017 may solve that.
We leased our SE in May 2014 for ~300 per month (but as I recall nothing or very little down).
{edit} OOPS, just checked... EPA for 2017 is only 125 miles. Geez, I think that makes the remainder 2016s an even BETTER deal... but I would not buy with that range, just lease.
For anyone thinking about it, I can testify.... excellent car. Real range around town closer to 100 on full regen if you drive conservatively. Very peppy, 4 adults fit easily, lots of hatchback room for just about anything. Only limitation - not really for road trips. 2017 may solve that.
We leased our SE in May 2014 for ~300 per month (but as I recall nothing or very little down).
{edit} OOPS, just checked... EPA for 2017 is only 125 miles. Geez, I think that makes the remainder 2016s an even BETTER deal... but I would not buy with that range, just lease.
e-Golf is a great commute car at these lease deals, especially if you qualify for any state incentives. It is very efficient around city and below 70 mph. You can get close to 100 miles range if you're using mostly regen to brake as long as you live in mild climate. It's a fun little car to drive and feels much lighter than a Model S. Highly recommended as a second car.
Here is a German review with some clips of the production in the Transparent Factory. Especially 4:20 is pretty cool.
It is a great little car with typical German fit and finish.
The best part of it, it looks just like any other late model Golf.
The best part of it, it looks just like any other late model Golf.
jgs
Active Member
If CW would actually deign to sell it in Michigan my wife would probably be driving one by now -- she loves her GTI. As it is, I'm hoping to have her driving a Model 3 next year (the guesstimator sez AWD M3 for me by July-ish as I recall).
VW America finally released pricing and trims for the 2017 e-Golf in the US market yesterday. Inventory is starting to appear at California dealers today. Yes, that's right the 2017 e-Golf is being released at the same time as the 2018 Tiguan.
VOLKSWAGEN ANNOUNCES PRICING OF 2017 E-GOLF : Volkswagen Media Centre
The value-oriented e-Golf SE ($30,495) trim now offers more standard equipment, including an 8-inch glass-covered touchscreen display, LED taillights, cruise control, a leather-wrapped multifunction steering wheel, and the 7.2 kW on-board charger. A DC Fast Charging package is available for $995.
The e-Golf Limited Edition ($33,795) includes the myriad standard features of the SE trim, and adds DC Fast Charging capability, V-Tex leatherette seating surfaces, and Park Distance Control (ParkPilot), with a new feature called Maneuver Braking (arriving late in the model year), which can help driver avoid or mitigate the effects of a collision with stationary objects while parking.
The e-Golf SEL Premium ($36,995) offers an optional Driver Assistance package ($1,395), including the 12.3-inch Volkswagen Digital Cockpit instrument cluster, Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC), Forward Collision Warning with Autonomous Emergency Braking and Pedestrian Monitoring (Front Assist), Lane Assist, Blind Spot Monitor with Rear Traffic Alert, Park Assist and Light Assist. (Late availability for the Driver Assistance Package).
VOLKSWAGEN ANNOUNCES PRICING OF 2017 E-GOLF : Volkswagen Media Centre
The value-oriented e-Golf SE ($30,495) trim now offers more standard equipment, including an 8-inch glass-covered touchscreen display, LED taillights, cruise control, a leather-wrapped multifunction steering wheel, and the 7.2 kW on-board charger. A DC Fast Charging package is available for $995.
The e-Golf Limited Edition ($33,795) includes the myriad standard features of the SE trim, and adds DC Fast Charging capability, V-Tex leatherette seating surfaces, and Park Distance Control (ParkPilot), with a new feature called Maneuver Braking (arriving late in the model year), which can help driver avoid or mitigate the effects of a collision with stationary objects while parking.
The e-Golf SEL Premium ($36,995) offers an optional Driver Assistance package ($1,395), including the 12.3-inch Volkswagen Digital Cockpit instrument cluster, Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC), Forward Collision Warning with Autonomous Emergency Braking and Pedestrian Monitoring (Front Assist), Lane Assist, Blind Spot Monitor with Rear Traffic Alert, Park Assist and Light Assist. (Late availability for the Driver Assistance Package).
jgs
Active Member
Aaaaaand the VW web site still sez "The e-Golf will be available only at participating dealers in California, Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington D.C."
That sounds like a company that plans to become the world leader in EVs. Once again zero-for-two on "shut up and take my money".
That sounds like a company that plans to become the world leader in EVs. Once again zero-for-two on "shut up and take my money".
Yep, really a shame. The first eGolf was only offered in the CARB states, and it appears - despite early signals that they would distribute 2017 car nationwide - they are still only CARB states. I believe the major barrier is dealer and mechanic training. Even in California, only a small subset of dealers are authorized to sell/service the car. And, even at those dealers, the EV IQ is near zero except for the certified mechanics. That is not to mention CarNet customer service (to which I stupidly pay a monthly fee). Those people do not even know what an eGolf is. When I had a problem where my eGolf battery was not charging correctly, I had a failed 1 hour conversation with 3 levels of escalation, and they could not get past telling me to jump the car. Sad, because the first generation car is quite something, and I suspect the 2017 is far better in many ways beyond range and price.
I think this illustrates the massive obstacles that entrenched auto companies operating through a dealer network face in launching EVs. It is not that hard for their engineers to roll out a concept car and announce great specs and potential pricing. Quite another thing to actually bring it to market through a channel that they don't own and to provide all of the service and charging infrastructure to make it effective.
It also reminds me what an amazing success story Tesla is so far. Just the fact that they launched the S and supercharging network, achieved the segment market share they have, the customer satisfaction (despite a few hiccups that are magnified in this forum), and the so far so good pre-reservations and launch of the 3... I think this will go down as one of the more amazing business stories in our lifetime.
The vw.com site has not been updated with the 2017 e-Golf information yet. So, we don't know if the CARB-only policy will continue for this new model year. There were some rumors that the longer range version (ie. 2017 e-Golf) would be sold in more states. The primary obstacle is service training for high voltage systems. As time goes by, VW America will offer other plug-in hybrid models that will be sold nationwide, so that problem will disappear over time.
SwedishAdvocate
Active Member
But a catchy tune...
And for those who don't remember the original:
I’m in New Zealand on the North Island, and for the past two weeks have been driving a rented e-Golf. I wanted to rent a Tesla but only one company here offers them, and only the S; the price was over US$2,200 for two weeks. I couldn’t justify that cost, but I was determined to drive electric while here. The e-Golf was the only remotely useful alternative, for about half that price.
The only good thing I can say about the e-Golf compared to a Tesla Model 3 (the closest Tesla competitor in price and size) is that the Auto Wiper function works reasonably well. Tesla still has not fixed their Auto Wiper issue; it’s almost unusable.
Other than that I consider the e-Golf a failure when compared to the 3. The base Model 3 is slightly cheaper and is a much better car overall. The main problems I have with the e-Golf are:
Limited range: I do not trust the car beyond about 180km/111 miles. At 50km range remaining the car warns you, and at 30km remaining it starts to limit power in a variety of ways. Sure, the e-Golf range is useful as a “commuter” car, but that is a significant limitation in my opinion. The base Model 3 can easily go 320km/200 miles.
Slow charge rate: the e-Golf max DC charge rate is max 50kW and that is an option, not standard. The 3 of course comes standard with a DC charge rate of about 125kW at V2 Superchargers, and over 200kW at V3 Superchargers. Charging the e-Golf at 50kW can take up to an hour, quite awhile considering the puny 36kWh battery. Of course in NZ there are no available DC chargers over that rate...except for the multiple Tesla Superchargers, with more coming. And the public DC chargers are often only one stall. They are run by multiple entities and don’t all work the same way, so I have had to spend time figuring out how to use them. What a contrast to the Tesla Supercharger network; plug in, charge, go.
Difficult to charge to 100%! This has been very frustrating. VW deliberately makes it hard to charge e-Golf to more than 80%. There are a few sentences in the manual about charging to 100%, and the information is hard to find. The only way to do it is to set a scheduled charge in the “e-Manager”, a convoluted process that takes multiple steps. I can’t seem charge to 100% at a charger during a long trip. Also, despite following the instructions, I cannot get the car to display a range over 212km after what was supposed to be a 100% charge. I’ve been trying for two weeks to do that. One time at a public DC fast charger in Auckland the range ended up at 266km, but otherwise it always stops charging at 206-212km. Well, almost always. This morning it shows 242km. First time that has happened, and I didn’t change anything in the e-Manager.
Unreliable range indicator: the displayed range fluctuates in strange ways. I can start with 206-212km (what it almost always shows after supposedly charging to 100%) and after driving 25km can have a higher displayed number than when I started. Once, with 212km displayed after charging overnight, I put the car in Reverse, backed up 20 ft, stopped, and then when I put it in Drive the display showed 277km for about 5 seconds before changing to 210km. So I can’t trust the displayed range.
User interface: terrible. Not intuitive, confusing, too many steps to do simple things. After 6 years of driving Teslas, the contrast is staggering. The e-Golf interface feels like it was designed 15 years ago.
Bizarre “Engine” button: Leaving aside the fact that EVs do not have an “engine” (it’s a ”motor” VW!) when you unlock the car, sit down, and press the “Start Engine Stop” button I find that sometimes I have to press it again and then put it in gear before the car will move. I’m probably doing something wrong, but in a Tesla you sit down, foot on brake, put it in Drive, and go. It could not be simpler. And in the e-Golf when you stop, put the car in Park, and open the door the car will alarm because you have not pressed the “Start Engine Stop” button again to turn the car off. That seems completely unnecessary; the car is already in Park! Why require another button press? In a Tesla you stop, put it in Park, exit and walk away. It could not be simpler.
No car nav: unless you pair the car to your phone and use your mobile data plan. The pairing process worked okay, but then the car display stated I had to go to a VW “portal” website, select a country, and enter the VIN before the car could access the internet and provide maps and navigation. Not particularly convenient. So I went to the VW website and the first step was “select a country”. New Zealand was not on the country list. Neither was the US (I assume it is for e-Golfs sold in the US). So I could not try out the car nav during my New Zealand trip or see any useful maps.
In addition, the seats are uncomfortable, are manually controlled, the driver display screen is crowded and confusing (shows the range number in two different places and the battery charge level bar is hard to read) no frunk, and...I could go on and on but will stop there.
The e-Golf feels like an EV that was designed long before Tesla showed the world what an EV could and should be. Except it was designed after the Model S was introduced. Way after.
I believe that VW will be replacing the e-Golf with their new “ID” line of EV, starting with the ID.3 model which looks similar in size to the Golf. I’m sure the ID.3 will be a much better car than the e-Golf (it’s a low bar) but it won’t be delivered until mid-2020 at the earliest, and I doubt it will be available in all markets at that time. According to VW it will have a truly useful range, comparable to the Model 3, so that’s a big step forward for VW. I don’t think pricing has been announced, but surely VW realizes that it has to be priced very close to the 3 or it won’t succeed. A year from now Tesla will be producing the the Model 3 in huge volumes (for an EV) and will not only have further improved the car but will certainly have continued to lower production costs. So VW is starting from far behind Tesla, which by then will have producing EVs in volume for over 7 years and has the best fast-charging network in the world. The VW-backed Electrify America charging network will be partly in place by next year, but it will still be far less extensive than the Supercharger network.
I am glad to see that VW has lots of interest in the ID.3. I hope the car is a success. We need more choices in long range, compact EVs in the Model 3 price range beyond just the Chevy Bolt, Leaf e-Plus, and Hyundai IONIQ (which still comes up short).
Volkswagen up to 20,000 pre-orders for its ID.3 electric hatchback - Electrek
It appears that is the e-Golf version I have rented. I have driven it over 700km so far.
The only good thing I can say about the e-Golf compared to a Tesla Model 3 (the closest Tesla competitor in price and size) is that the Auto Wiper function works reasonably well. Tesla still has not fixed their Auto Wiper issue; it’s almost unusable.
Other than that I consider the e-Golf a failure when compared to the 3. The base Model 3 is slightly cheaper and is a much better car overall. The main problems I have with the e-Golf are:
Limited range: I do not trust the car beyond about 180km/111 miles. At 50km range remaining the car warns you, and at 30km remaining it starts to limit power in a variety of ways. Sure, the e-Golf range is useful as a “commuter” car, but that is a significant limitation in my opinion. The base Model 3 can easily go 320km/200 miles.
Slow charge rate: the e-Golf max DC charge rate is max 50kW and that is an option, not standard. The 3 of course comes standard with a DC charge rate of about 125kW at V2 Superchargers, and over 200kW at V3 Superchargers. Charging the e-Golf at 50kW can take up to an hour, quite awhile considering the puny 36kWh battery. Of course in NZ there are no available DC chargers over that rate...except for the multiple Tesla Superchargers, with more coming. And the public DC chargers are often only one stall. They are run by multiple entities and don’t all work the same way, so I have had to spend time figuring out how to use them. What a contrast to the Tesla Supercharger network; plug in, charge, go.
Difficult to charge to 100%! This has been very frustrating. VW deliberately makes it hard to charge e-Golf to more than 80%. There are a few sentences in the manual about charging to 100%, and the information is hard to find. The only way to do it is to set a scheduled charge in the “e-Manager”, a convoluted process that takes multiple steps. I can’t seem charge to 100% at a charger during a long trip. Also, despite following the instructions, I cannot get the car to display a range over 212km after what was supposed to be a 100% charge. I’ve been trying for two weeks to do that. One time at a public DC fast charger in Auckland the range ended up at 266km, but otherwise it always stops charging at 206-212km. Well, almost always. This morning it shows 242km. First time that has happened, and I didn’t change anything in the e-Manager.
Unreliable range indicator: the displayed range fluctuates in strange ways. I can start with 206-212km (what it almost always shows after supposedly charging to 100%) and after driving 25km can have a higher displayed number than when I started. Once, with 212km displayed after charging overnight, I put the car in Reverse, backed up 20 ft, stopped, and then when I put it in Drive the display showed 277km for about 5 seconds before changing to 210km. So I can’t trust the displayed range.
User interface: terrible. Not intuitive, confusing, too many steps to do simple things. After 6 years of driving Teslas, the contrast is staggering. The e-Golf interface feels like it was designed 15 years ago.
Bizarre “Engine” button: Leaving aside the fact that EVs do not have an “engine” (it’s a ”motor” VW!) when you unlock the car, sit down, and press the “Start Engine Stop” button I find that sometimes I have to press it again and then put it in gear before the car will move. I’m probably doing something wrong, but in a Tesla you sit down, foot on brake, put it in Drive, and go. It could not be simpler. And in the e-Golf when you stop, put the car in Park, and open the door the car will alarm because you have not pressed the “Start Engine Stop” button again to turn the car off. That seems completely unnecessary; the car is already in Park! Why require another button press? In a Tesla you stop, put it in Park, exit and walk away. It could not be simpler.
No car nav: unless you pair the car to your phone and use your mobile data plan. The pairing process worked okay, but then the car display stated I had to go to a VW “portal” website, select a country, and enter the VIN before the car could access the internet and provide maps and navigation. Not particularly convenient. So I went to the VW website and the first step was “select a country”. New Zealand was not on the country list. Neither was the US (I assume it is for e-Golfs sold in the US). So I could not try out the car nav during my New Zealand trip or see any useful maps.
In addition, the seats are uncomfortable, are manually controlled, the driver display screen is crowded and confusing (shows the range number in two different places and the battery charge level bar is hard to read) no frunk, and...I could go on and on but will stop there.
The e-Golf feels like an EV that was designed long before Tesla showed the world what an EV could and should be. Except it was designed after the Model S was introduced. Way after.
I believe that VW will be replacing the e-Golf with their new “ID” line of EV, starting with the ID.3 model which looks similar in size to the Golf. I’m sure the ID.3 will be a much better car than the e-Golf (it’s a low bar) but it won’t be delivered until mid-2020 at the earliest, and I doubt it will be available in all markets at that time. According to VW it will have a truly useful range, comparable to the Model 3, so that’s a big step forward for VW. I don’t think pricing has been announced, but surely VW realizes that it has to be priced very close to the 3 or it won’t succeed. A year from now Tesla will be producing the the Model 3 in huge volumes (for an EV) and will not only have further improved the car but will certainly have continued to lower production costs. So VW is starting from far behind Tesla, which by then will have producing EVs in volume for over 7 years and has the best fast-charging network in the world. The VW-backed Electrify America charging network will be partly in place by next year, but it will still be far less extensive than the Supercharger network.
I am glad to see that VW has lots of interest in the ID.3. I hope the car is a success. We need more choices in long range, compact EVs in the Model 3 price range beyond just the Chevy Bolt, Leaf e-Plus, and Hyundai IONIQ (which still comes up short).
Volkswagen up to 20,000 pre-orders for its ID.3 electric hatchback - Electrek
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@ecarfan hopefully you will find some of this useful.
Difficult to charge to 100%! Go into the infotainment screen menus and find e-Manager. There is a Max Charge Level setting. See if you can set it to 100%.
Unreliable range indicator: It's a GOM. There's not much we can say about it. It is definitely NOT Rated Range like a Tesla. Going up and down mountains will make it show you ridiculous numbers. It's best to just go by the battery SOC meter instead.
User interface: This is fundamentally an EV that is supposed to feel like a traditional automobile. In that, they have succeeded. When you're used to driving a Tesla as your reference point for what an EV is, an e-Golf does not feel like a modern car.
Bizarre “Engine” button: When you start the e-Golf you have to put your foot on the brake pedal firmly when you press the Stop/Start button. If you see the yellow EPC warning light, the car is not fully ON and the Ready indicator is not on. Press the brake pedal more firmly and press the Start/Stop button again.
No car nav: Many of the 2016 and newer e-Golf have CarPlay and Android Auto and do not have on-board Sat-Nav. Getting a local SIM for your phone would have helped in this regard. The NZ e-Golf cars should be substantially UK spec since they are RHD, so I would not expect USA to be a country choice.
I tried to make clear in my post that I used the e-Manager to set a scheduled charge to 100% but it doesn’t work.
GOM? Acronym definition, please. Never seen that before.
I don’t think VW has even succeeded to reach that low bar.
I have a local SIM in my phone. In my post I explained that I was able to pair my phone with the car. Then I explained the additional step VW requires, which didn’t work because I could not select New Zealand as a country in the VW website list you have to choose from before entering the VIN and then supposedly that would enable in-car nav.
Heh. If the e-Golf is better than the Leaf (an EV I have never driven) than that is a sad commentary on Nissans EV strategy.
