Greetings from a new owner

[Electrikarma]

Hi,

I just picked up my Limited Edition last weekend. And so far I like the experience of an electric car, how quiet it is. And how calming it is to drive at the speed limit (I usually speed in my other car).

I picked the LE because I wanted to save some money, and I preferred the look and feel of the cloth seats instead of the vinyl seats. What the SEL has that I would have liked: LED headlights, leather wrapped steering wheel, and the rims. I guess I can't have it both ways. I knew the 2016s are coming soon with the updated infotainment, but I figure the dealers won't be discounting the prices any time soon on the 2016s.

I will see if I can get away with not installing a Level 2 charger at home, since I can charge at work, sometimes. It's a 22 mi each way commute.

For anyone still on the fence about getting a e-Golf, I suggest to get one. Your biggest debate should be which trim level, and whether you should wait for the 2016.

Let me know if you have any questions.

 

[miimura]

Welcome to the forum!

It will probably take a little over 9 hours to replace 44 miles of range with the provided 120V cord. If you can leave it plugged in at home for 10 hours, then you will probably be OK. However, if you do any extra driving, you may find yourself falling behind if you can't plug in at work to catch up.

Enjoy!

 

[Electrikarma]

Thank you. I'll keep that in mind.

 

[s4alex]

I have had my e-Golf since the 18 Jul. I have only plugged in at home once. And that was just to do it. You know how it feels with an EV, I always feel like getting charge when I can. I feel like I am driving my cell phone sometimes.

But, I went with the SEL, for those tidbits that you wanted. LED lights. Multifunction steering wheel. I also got it for the heat pump for the heating. Not sure if the LE has seat heaters or not. Wheels I can do without, I am not a fan of the solid block looking wheels.

I am going to see how long I can go without having to buy a L2 charger. The only reason I would buy one is if I could get a good deal on one and if MAYBE the prices were going to go up or something. But with a CCS fast charge only a couple miles from home and being able to charge while at work, not having to pay for juice at home makes it even better.

 

[Unbeliever]

Not sure if the LE has seat heaters or not.

It does.

 

[miimura]

I have had my e-Golf since the 18 Jul. I have only plugged in at home once. And that was just to do it. You know how it feels with an EV, I always feel like getting charge when I can. I feel like I am driving my cell phone sometimes.

But, I went with the SEL, for those tidbits that you wanted. LED lights. Multifunction steering wheel. I also got it for the heat pump for the heating. Not sure if the LE has seat heaters or not. Wheels I can do without, I am not a fan of the solid block looking wheels.

I am going to see how long I can go without having to buy a L2 charger. The only reason I would buy one is if I could get a good deal on one and if MAYBE the prices were going to go up or something. But with a CCS fast charge only a couple miles from home and being able to charge while at work, not having to pay for juice at home makes it even better.

Are you using the CCS charger at VW ERL? That and the slow BMW one in Mountain View are the only ones I know of that are free. They have both been down for weeks at a time this year. However, I think they're both working well now.

 

[s4alex]

I have had my e-Golf since the 18 Jul. I have only plugged in at home once. And that was just to do it. You know how it feels with an EV, I always feel like getting charge when I can. I feel like I am driving my cell phone sometimes.

But, I went with the SEL, for those tidbits that you wanted. LED lights. Multifunction steering wheel. I also got it for the heat pump for the heating. Not sure if the LE has seat heaters or not. Wheels I can do without, I am not a fan of the solid block looking wheels.

I am going to see how long I can go without having to buy a L2 charger. The only reason I would buy one is if I could get a good deal on one and if MAYBE the prices were going to go up or something. But with a CCS fast charge only a couple miles from home and being able to charge while at work, not having to pay for juice at home makes it even better.

Are you using the CCS charger at VW ERL? That and the slow BMW one in Mountain View are the only ones I know of that are free. They have both been down for weeks at a time this year. However, I think they're both working well now.

Yup, thats the one. Those are the only high speed chargers that are free that I know of. But, there is also a bunch of NRG at most whole foods. I am still within my 60 days free, but have only used the VW ERL one.

But for me, when I go to SF, the two garages that I park at both have free L2 chargers (just pay for parking) or if I use ZiRX, I ask them to charge up my car while they have it parked. When my wife takes it to work (Stanford) they have free charging there. She works second shift, so no real hassle of the crowd and since its restricted, only employees have access to it.

Since I have had the car, only once did I have an issue at the VW location. It was fixed the next day. I check in a bunch using PlugShare.

Careful tho, there is an employee that drives a leaf that likes to park there and not charge. Pisses me off.

 

[dublectric]

Hi all -

Between Aug 12 and Aug 17, our family went from zero eGolfs to two.

We had been eyeballing getting a pure electric as a town run-about for a couple of years; when the eGolf came out we were intrigued, especially because my wife and I both really prefer VW/Audi products. One of the local dealers (Minuteman VW, in Bedford MA) was offering some killer deals; that plus the zero-percent VW lease financing and the state and federal rebates made it too hard to resist.

So we leased the Urano Grey eGolf. It was to be primarily my wife's car, but over the next few days I ended up putting as many miles on it as she did. We both really enjoy the silent, serene driving experience; the instant low-end torque; the idea that we now have a choice (through our electric company) of how environmentally friendly our energy is produced; the overall higher efficiency and the hope (hopefully not a vain one) of lower maintenance and operating costs. Those reasons, plus the inherent goodness of the Golf 7 platform (regardless of power source) made it a compelling proposition.

After a few days of realizing that I would need one too, we leased the Limestone Grey one so I wouldn't keep stealing hers. Now we have two in the driveway.

Between my wife and I we've had a history of VW and Audi products - between the two of us we have formerly and currently owned 10 of them. We are thoroughly impressed with the Mk 7 platform so far regardless of power plant, and the electric version is simply amazing.

Cheers,
Bob

Current VW/Audi inventory:
'01 S4 Avant 6MT ( formerly his - currently for sale )
'15 eGolf, Urano Grey - hers
'15 eGolf, Limestone Grey - his
'02 allroad 6MT (formerly hers - now our road/trip ICE backup keeper)

 

[sweetwagon]

Cool story, thanks for sharing.

 

[Electrikarma]

Update:

It has been 6 weeks since I got the car. Still love the experience. Still have not gotten used to the rearview camera. Still have not tinted the car. Using CarNet only when I need to check the range before going anywhere.

Here are the numbers so far:

1940 miles. Average 31mph. Average consumption 5.1mi/kWh. Mostly D2 or D3 regenerative drive modes.

Took 2 weeks to get license plates. 4 weeks to get CA $2500 rebate. 4 weeks for carpool stickers (from date of mailing after getting license plates).

Charging for free at work, so I don't even have a L2 charger at home.

Thanks to all the folks here for all the technical/general advice.

 

[s4alex]

Current VW/Audi inventory:
'01 S4 Avant 6MT ( formerly his - currently for sale )
'15 eGolf, Urano Grey - hers
'15 eGolf, Limestone Grey - his
'02 allroad 6MT (formerly hers - now our road/trip ICE backup keeper)

I guess once in the family, always in the family.. it seems many have the same taste.

Current stable of mine includes 2000 Audi S4 MT. Will be for sale, but will be hard. I have had that car since 3 miles on the ODO.

I am really liking the VW group.. working my way up.. VW, Audi, Ducati, Porsche currently. Maybe someday a Lambo and Bugati

 

[dublectric]

Yeah, my wife and I are both lifers in the VW/Audi family. Actually we met because at the time we both drove Mk3s

I did finally put my S4 up for sale... I'm getting some good responses on it so that means it will probably be gone soon, which will be a bittersweet moment I'm sure. I'm never good at selling a car that I've had for a long time. But last week I realized it was the right thing to do - I drove the S4 to work one day to show it to a co-worker who was interested in buying it. I had to do an errand on the way home, and I actually stopped at home first and switched from the S4 to the eGolf before going on the errand, just because I wanted to... I think that probably speaks volumes about how much I enjoy driving the eGolf

 

[JoulesThief]

Guess I joined the party late, added a signature.