I agree...even the new Zoe is reported to have closer to 250 miles when released.
Looks like VW have seriously missed the boat with this new launch.
150 miles is just not going to cut it, not with companies like Hyundai and Kia bringing cars out with 200-300 mile ranges.
When I saw the advert I thought, ooh, that could be my next taxi, because I would like to switch to 100% electric for my next taxi, but with that sort of range it’s not even a contender.
I agree...even the new Zoe is reported to have closer to 250 miles when released.
The new Zoe is a leaf in disguise isn’t it so it’ll be 235 like the leaf
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The current 40kwhr is 168 miles (wltp) which is fairly realistic.
If youre still looking at NEDC then it’s miles out.
Last edited by Dave+63; 4th January 2019 at 22:22.
I saw the Nissan Leaf with the petrol range extender recently.
There is no new e-Golf?
The e-Golf order books opened in March 2014, though for some reason they’ve started actively advertising it again. There’s been a rumour for over a year that when the Golf 8 is released that battery capacity would be increased to 48 kWh giving an estimated 420 km range (which seems fanciful!).
Probably more likely clearing the decks of e-Golf mk7.5s and ramping up the interest in electric cars prior to the VW ID/Neo in 2020 which will be a 200-300 mile range car depending on the battery specified.
With the average motorist covering about 30 miles a day, carrying all that excess battery around for the occasional long trip seems wasteful.
Not sure that discounting a car because it wouldn’t suit being a taxi is all that fair either?!
Last edited by Tooks; 5th January 2019 at 00:10.
The VW website begs to differ.
https://www.volkswagen.co.uk/new/gol...explore/e-golf
As for discounting it, well yes it is fair. The competition is bringing out EV’s with much better range. 150 odd miles is crap.
Edit: it seems the real world range is even worse
Last edited by jaytip; 5th January 2019 at 00:17.
Welcome to the world of the VW U.K. website not being entirely truthful... Nothing in the link says ‘New’ does it?
They’re pushing the e-golf again now it’s been through the new WLTP certification to get it’s ‘official’ range. Sales were paused along with many other models whilst they did this.
But, I promise you this is the exact same model (Mk7) and battery size as you will see (rarely) tootling about on a 15/16 plate onwards.
You want the ID NEO that has already been hawked around on press only pre launch demos, and it looks a good EV with a far better range even on the base model.
And I agree, the current e-Golf May be totally unsuitable for use as a Taxi, but that doesn’t mean it’s a bad car, just a bad car for you.
The other thing is, you’re effectively comparing a 5 year old design with a new one, even allowing for being on sale only 3 years. Power electronics and battery density in EVs have moved on quite a bit in even that time.
Last edited by Tooks; 5th January 2019 at 02:18.
I have high hopes that VAG will deliver on their ID NEO promises around range and price, but if they don’t I’m sure others will give us some good vehicles to choose from, as you’ve already seem with the Kona etc.
VW are a bit late to the party, but I’m sure it’ll be fun when they get here!
I’ve read on sine of the German websites, that seem quite well connected, the persistent rumour that the Golf 8 GTI may even be all electric. A sort of Tesla Model 3 performance rival? We’ll see I guess.
My son is currently working for Honda in their New Vehicle Development department. I think the next few years will see some really interesting vehicles across the whole market. Can’t wait to see what everyone comes up with.
Had a spec’d Golf E in test for two months last year through the Beast from the East, with heating on etc the battery life was nowhere near the stated figures.
So real life figures vs published still nowhere near.
Nice car but would be wary of travelling anywhere on less than full charge in low temperatures in winter.
How much value do they retain after three years as Zoe & Leaf are horrendous?
I've got a 330e and whilst it's not the same as a full EV I've noticed a massive difference to the battery performance with the weather change.
Summer I was getting a good 30-35 mile of its battery - winter I'm getting tops of 20 more like 18
That's a huge swing, I'd be really concerned about bigger batteries and how much they drop off
That said I do love the EV driving and power delivery
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I'd mirror what g40steve says I had one for a few days last year when it was cold and when it was fully charged the range only went up to 130 miles then as soon as you put all your lights de mister etc on the range dropped to 75 miles
Which is why you always see Tesla’s doing 50 in the inside lane with the occupants wearing 5 layers of overcoats.
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E-Golf might not work for everyone (especially not taxis) but my mate's getting one and i'm tempted too.... [though for me a niro or a kona is better suited]
His commute to work is costing him about £80 on fuel a week and work and back its just under the range the E-golf does - he can charge at home and at work (not everyone can I suppose)
the future is unstoppably electric though:
New fast chargers that Porsche are testing (350kw - 400 kw) they claim to have fast chargers that could add 60miles of range every three minutes.
E-Golf tested Real Range (between 135 - 285 km):
City - Cold Weather 190 km
Highway - Cold Weather 135 km
Combined - Cold Weather 160 km
City - Mild Weather 285 km
Highway - Mild Weather 175 km
Combined - Mild Weather 220 km
Last edited by Xantiagib; 7th January 2019 at 16:23.
I wonder when these will achieve tipping point? What I mean by this is at my workplace there are 3 chargers and already there are tussles to get the car on charge and as a result people are getting in earlier and earlier so they can secure a charge. The most annoying thing is that it’s the Bmw 330e and/or Mercedes 350e drivers who won’t move their cars, they’ve obviously forgotten that they also have an ICE so letting a purely electric car charge wouldn’t hurt them except in their wallet?
A debate started at work the other day 'when does charging at work become a tax benefit.....'
I'm sure they'll get us at some point ha ha
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Yes but not really suitable for home charging are they? In the real world most of us have to contend with just what we can get out of charging at home so even with a 32amp charger anything more than 80-90Kw is an issue. I was reading in car mag about a tesla they had on long term test and it took a day and a half to charge it on the home charger!
The biggest Tesla battery to date is I think 100 kWh, so even on a 32amp 7.2 kW connection that should only be about 15 hours from flat even allowing for charging losses?
Also, that size battery should be good for 300miles even in a P100D, and who realistically is doing that every day without recourse to a fast charger en route?
To be honest, it’s easy to make a case for EVs not working if you always cite the extreme cases. For every person that even a 100 mile EV would work for, there are others who need to tow a horse box 750 miles in one go or need a 500 mile range in case their elderly parents fall ill in the Hebrides.
Let’s be honest, we’ll be relying on a diverse personal transport energy mix for a while yet, EVs won’t be replacing everything even over the next 10 or 15 years. But they will certainly have a bigger role to play and should help with the local pollutants issue too.
When e cars get to 350 miles real world driving I'll seriously consider it for my own needs. I did have a look at the Kona but was told the waiting list is nearly a year long now . As for the e-golf, I love golf's but the cost v range just doesn't stack up , unless your doing short hops in cities/towns and avoiding congestion charges.
I think it’ll be a while before any mainstream electric car is hitting a minimum 350 miles range in all weathers, at least with current battery tech.
I think 200-250 will become the norm for most affordable/mainstream EVs.
Out of interest, what are you doing that requires a 350 mile range?
The e-Golf is basically a run out model now until the ID/NEO is launched next year.
What really needs to improve in short order is the public charging infrastructure. It needs simplifying and made more plentiful. I had to carry about 6 or 7 different RFID cards around when I had the i3, as all the charging companies were standalone.
With good reliable access to fast chargers, then range would become less of an issue for a lot of people.
I'd welcome an EV but the supporting infrastructure even within cities which all seem to be increasingly evolving to make driving and parking a vehicle of any description impossible is just moving soooo slowly.
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Short write up
https://www.carmagazine.co.uk/car-re...m-test-review/
Half way down they say a day and half to charge from a domestic charger.
"We’re lucky in that we have a fast Podpoint charger at the CAR offices, as well as two painfully slow three-point plugs. The former will return the Model S to full every day in around five hours, whereas a domestic socket is quite hopeless; so capacious is the Tesla’s battery that it will take a day and a half to top up by three-point plug."
Well, not surprised it took that long from a 3 pin socket, but that’s not really a representative scenario when you can get a 32amp 7.2kw charger fitted for £200, and assuming you have a drive to park on.
It’s a bit like saying it takes 3 days to ride from Leicester to London on a horse rather than a motorbike.
We like to go up to the Scottish Highlands/islands for short breaks as well as driving a bit for work. Around 350 miles would at least give me some measure of insurance. The Kona is doable on paper, however I wouldnt like to risk it in the middle of winter.
Slight topic digresion, but whatever happened to hydrogen fuelled cars ? I know the cost of hydrogen is high but surely this would come down enough with scale of economies etc and cheaper renewable electricity to make the hydrogen.
Electric cars/hybrids will probably prevail in future....but we’re still nowhere near the stage at which they become 100% viable for the majority of drivers.
At the moment, I’d leave them alone, let the tree-huggers, bean eaters and open-toed sandal wearers buy them! No point in owning one to prove a point IMO......and Mr Wallet agrees.
One question still troubles me: when we’re all converted to electric cars, how will the government plug the shortfall in tax revenue from fuel duty?.........answers on a postcard!
Interesting read on hydrogen & EV.
https://www.autoexpress.co.uk/car-ne...-have-a-future
When you look long into an abyss, the abyss looks long into you.........
What about the safety hazards associated with hydrgen? I worked with the stuff on occassion and it can be scary!
On the subject of safety, has anyone noticed how quiet electric cars are?......forget about listening for traffic, you can’t hear the damned things until they’re on top of you.
Didn't I hear that from this year electric cars have to beep at low speeds... I know, sounds a bit like the man walking in front with the red flag! :-)
As per safety of H2 well there are lots of articles out there about the issues with carrying around the quite nasty chemicals that are in the modern battery. There have been a few issues in crashes. This is why some of the car companies are holding fire (no pun intended) until the new solid state batteries start to appear at sensible prices.
When I first started driving an EV, it very soon became apparent that the onus was on me to take extra care for pedestrians not looking. Mainly in car parks.
Once travelling above about 10mph though, there isn’t an issue because of the tyre noise as Tooks pointed out.
It’s quite fun on quiet country lanes though seeing how close you can get to the pigeons before they notice you!
As far as I know there are no legal requirements for a noise generator but as people become more used to “silent” vehicles, they’ll stop relying on heating for traffic.
From the Guardian May 2018...
https://www.theguardian.com/environm...-electric-cars
"But the days of silence are numbered. From July next year (2019), all new electric and hybrid models seeking approval in Europe will have to emit a noise when travelling at low speeds. Existing vehicles are expected gradually to be retrofitted with devices."
Thanks for that, I wasn’t aware of the impending legislation.
I love the reasons given though!
“When they travel at under 20kph (12 mph) the vehicles can barely be heard, especially by cyclists or pedestrians listening to music through headphones.”
Whatever happened to being responsible for one’s own safety?