My new Black 2015 e-Golf

[tangoshukudai]

Pictures: http://imgur.com/a/BCCCT

Hey guys,

I just got my new Black 2015 e-Golf in So-Cal, it is pretty awesome.

Here is my pros and cons list:

Pros:

• Everything feels very high quality, very solidly built and the interior is beautiful.
• there is absolutely no vibration while it drives, it feels like I am in some kind of amazing hover car
• The speakers are surprisingly good
• The torque is unbelievable, feels like I am driving a go-cart
• It has all the comfort of all other golfs, it doesn't feel like an electric car

Cons:

• The Car-Net iPhone app is awful, doesn't work, it is outdated and looks like no effort was put into it, If you ever see the Fiat electric app it is so polished.
• Why the hell is there fake engine noise being pumped into the car? If anyone knows a way to rip out that noise generator please let me know!
• The car does not lock when you walk away from it, I have to manually lock it with the key fob.
• The cars infotainment interface is dated, maps are sluggish and ugly, everything is very bland and needs a ton of updating. I hope the carplay / app connect update that was announced at CES is available for current e-golfs, I will be pretty disappointed if I can't update to it.
• The wheels are hideous.
• why can't they just put a simple USB port in the car?
• why does it not come with a spare? At least let me keep it in my garage or something
• the battery could be better

I know my con list is pretty big, but for $36k I would expect it to be a bit shorter. I still love the car, but I really hope VW addresses these issues.

Also does anyone else own black?

 

[ACGolf]

I've a night blue.

I'd generally agree with you re pro and con list. '

Re. cons
- the fake engine sound (any sound) is required by the feds, to avoid hitting an unsuspecting pedestrian.
- wish they would put GTI wheels on the eGolf instead of these nerdy hideous wheels
- Car Net works for me with basic functions such as heating up the car, defrogger, charge the car from my iPhone.

 

[tangoshukudai]

- the fake engine sound (any sound) is required by the feds, to avoid hitting an unsuspecting pedestrian.

It is being pumped into the cabin, which is very weird, I think they just reused the GTI soundakator or something. I am going to dig into my car this weekend and figure out a way to unplug it.

 

[svento]

It is being pumped into the cabin, which is very weird, I think they just reused the GTI soundakator or something. I am going to dig into my car this weekend and figure out a way to unplug it.

I'm curious how you know it's being pumped into the cabin? And... please open a new thread after you do this! I've always thought the sound system in the car was not great, and I'm wondering if part of the reason is extra internal "fake engine" noise muting the sound system.

 

[cynandvinecar]

Pictures: http://imgur.com/a/BCCCT

Hey guys,

I just got my new Black 2015 e-Golf in So-Cal, it is pretty awesome.

Here is my pros and cons list:

Pros:

• Everything feels very high quality, very solidly built and the interior is beautiful.
• there is absolutely no vibration while it drives, it feels like I am in some kind of amazing hover car
• The speakers are surprisingly good
• The torque is unbelievable, feels like I am driving a go-cart
• It has all the comfort of all other golfs, it doesn't feel like an electric car

Cons:

• The Car-Net iPhone app is awful, doesn't work, it is outdated and looks like no effort was put into it, If you ever see the Fiat electric app it is so polished.
• Why the hell is there fake engine noise being pumped into the car? If anyone knows a way to rip out that noise generator please let me know!
• The car does not lock when you walk away from it, I have to manually lock it with the key fob.
• The cars infotainment interface is dated, maps are sluggish and ugly, everything is very bland and needs a ton of updating. I hope the carplay / app connect update that was announced at CES is available for current e-golfs, I will be pretty disappointed if I can't update to it.
• The wheels are hideous.
• why can't they just put a simple USB port in the car?
• why does it not come with a spare? At least let me keep it in my garage or something
• the battery could be better

I know my con list is pretty big, but for $36k I would expect it to be a bit shorter. I still love the car, but I really hope VW addresses these issues.

Also does anyone else own black?

Got our blue one in Sept but black looks cool too.

A quick note on a couple of bullets:
"The car does not lock when you walk away from it, I have to manually lock it with the key fob."
So long as the fob is outside the car and close, just touch the indent on the outside of the front door handles and the car will lock. Took a little time to get used to as you cant have your hand inside the handle ( that opens the door) I just use my thumb once out of the car.
"why can't they just put a simple USB port in the car".
Agreed, they should have put one in, we got an iphone cigarette charger, it has a slide panel on top that exposes a secondary usb port, a reasonable workaround.

 

[rjnerd]

- the fake engine sound (any sound) is required by the feds, to avoid hitting an unsuspecting pedestrian.

It is being pumped into the cabin, which is very weird, I think they just reused the GTI soundakator or something. I am going to dig into my car this weekend and figure out a way to unplug it.

Supposedly the sound generator's speaker is actually under the right front fender, which makes actual sense for a pedestrian warning. I am not yet annoyed enough to want to disable it, but I might see if there is a way to change the sound file it uses. It would be fun to swap the generic growl for either the snarl of one of Enzo's fine V-12's, or the clatter and growl from a Peterbuilt.

As a ped warning, I give it a mixed. It does help with the parking lot crowd, but I did almost take out a teen who was obviously depending on his hearing to decide if it was safe to start crossing, and at 30, the car was quiet enough that he didn't notice. (when he took a step still looking at the oncoming traffic, I hit both brakes and horn)

 

[GadgetGav]

Cons:

• The Car-Net iPhone app is awful, doesn't work, it is outdated and looks like no effort was put into it, If you ever see the Fiat electric app it is so polished.
• Why the hell is there fake engine noise being pumped into the car? If anyone knows a way to rip out that noise generator please let me know!
• The car does not lock when you walk away from it, I have to manually lock it with the key fob.
• The cars infotainment interface is dated, maps are sluggish and ugly, everything is very bland and needs a ton of updating. I hope the carplay / app connect update that was announced at CES is available for current e-golfs, I will be pretty disappointed if I can't update to it.
• The wheels are hideous.
• why can't they just put a simple USB port in the car?
• why does it not come with a spare? At least let me keep it in my garage or something
• the battery could be better

1. CarNet - agreed, it's pretty bad. As far as I can tell it's contracted out to a branch of Verizon though, so not entirely surprising it doesn't have VW levels of fit and finish.
2. Is there noise being played in the cabin or is it leaking in from the pedestrian warning device? I had a 2010 GTI before this and that had a noisemaker pipe that came up to the bulkhead to get more engine noise in the cabin. That annoyed the heck out of me, but it's something they thought they needed for a sporty car. Maybe they think we're not ready for silent cars. I can't say I've noticed fake engine noise - I mostly hear the main fan or otherwise it seems very quiet coming from the GTI.
3. Are there keyless entry cars that automatically lock? Our other car (Lexus CT200) requires you to touch a specific area of the handle too. It might be a regulation to prevent accidental locking.
4. If you think these maps are sluggish you should have tried the previous infotainment system..! The touch screen and maps are a massive improvement over the one that was in the GTI. The CarPlay features won't be coming to this system - it requires the next generation hardware and although it's modular, that's a benefit for the manufacturer not the consumer. A replacement system will likely cost many hundreds of dollars if not thousands.
5. Agree about the wheels, but I didn't particularly like the GTI ones either. I prefer the multispoke designs but VW doesn't seem to put them on the Golfs I like.
6. You can get an MFI cable that terminates in a USB socket. Not quite the same as if it was just built in, but close if you want something universal.
7. Fewer cars come with spares now and even the ones that do are a skinny donut. The GTI had a donut and the car I had before that (MINI Cooper S) had no spare and run flat tires. They were pretty harsh riding, so if you wanted to swap out for better performance tires you ended up carrying a compressor and sealant anyway.
8. A bigger battery would be nice, but then it would cost $40,000. The way I look at it is that when the lease is up on this car, battery tech will have moved on and my next EV will have better range but if we don't buy EVs now, the manufacturers may not make the next generation. Or if I win the lottery, I'll buy a Tesla!

 

[Aaronski]

8. A bigger battery would be nice, but then it would cost $40,000. The way I look at it is that when the lease is up on this car, battery tech will have moved on and my next EV will have better range but if we don't buy EVs now, the manufacturers may not make the next generation. Or if I win the lottery, I'll buy a Tesla!

Couldn't agree more. Anything to move the tech along. also, I think we're saving some cash along the way, and it works for 99% of our driving.

 

[GadgetGav]

Couldn't agree more. Anything to move the tech along. also, I think we're saving some cash along the way, and it works for 99% of our driving.

I did the calculations before I traded my 2010 GTI and with all the rebates, I'm basically going to be driving the eGolf for free for the 3 years of the lease. Premium gas would have to stay below $2/gal (regular has just got there here) and my electricity costs would have to go up 50% for me not to break even. I think even with oil prices crashing I made a good choice.

 

[GetOffYourGas]

I'm basically going to be driving the eGolf for free for the 3 years of the lease.

I would love to see the math behind some of these claims. No car will ever be "free". Certainly not a $35k car. You pay $xxx every month for the lease and $y for electricity. Sure, it's much cheaper than your previous car, but that doesn't make it free.

 

[GadgetGav]

I'm basically going to be driving the eGolf for free for the 3 years of the lease.

I would love to see the math behind some of these claims. No car will ever be "free". Certainly not a $35k car. You pay $xxx every month for the lease and $y for electricity. Sure, it's much cheaper than your previous car, but that doesn't make it free.

Not wishing to completely hijack the OP's thread, but it's not a net $35K car. There was $7,500 federal incentive, $2,500 state incentive and the trade in from my old car which was already paid off.

 

[vetaldj]

[*]The car does not lock when you walk away from it, I have to manually lock it with the key fob.

Try this.
Click "Car" button, on the right side of the screen.
Click on "Setup", lower right button on the screen.
Find "Open and Close" menu and click on it.
You should check check-box next to the "Lock automatically" under Central locking section.

Report success.

 

[OnePerfectDose]

If you have Kessy you can code the vehicle with VCDS to auto lock. The issue is that if you have the key in your pocket and you close a door it locks immediately. No delay so if you have to reach into the back you would have to unlock the car to get into back doors or wait to close your door till you have everything. I wish the rear doors had the sensors like the front.

I know the MK7 none EV you can adjust the noise being pumped into the vehicle but I haven't checked if it is activated on the eGolf. Ill take some time to check this out.

 

[vetaldj]

I'm basically going to be driving the eGolf for free for the 3 years of the lease.

I would love to see the math behind some of these claims. No car will ever be "free". Certainly not a $35k car. You pay $xxx every month for the lease and $y for electricity. Sure, it's much cheaper than your previous car, but that doesn't make it free.

Well, it was abstract 'free' of course.

Let's say you drive gasser and for commute you spend $250 per month, you still need to do it no-matter what, right? So, those $250 is mandatory expense.
Then, you are leasing eGolf, trading in your old gasser, have good deal on and you are paying say $200 lease and $50 electricity with $2500 down.

State send $2500 back, you pay for car + electricity same as for gas with gasser. Since all money you've paid were covered by state incentive check - you actually not paying anything for a car sort of speak. So, car is actually 'free' - you continue paying your mandatory ~$250 for commute with nice new car. Sort of car swap for paying nothing.

 

[stevestrange]

Pictures: http://imgur.com/a/BCCCT

[*]Why the hell is there fake engine noise being pumped into the car? If anyone knows a way to rip out that noise generator please let me know!

There is a great write-up on how to disable the noise here: http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthread.php?7108275-Disbale-fake-engine-sound/page2. This is not an endorsement -- tinker at your own risk!

 

[Slomove]

I am confused about the "fake noise". My brand new 2016SE does not make any noise I am aware of. When accelerating a hear a faint whirring and at speed I hear the wheel/pavement noise. Am I missing something? That said, my hearing isn't that good...

 

[JoulesThief]

I am confused about the "fake noise". My brand new 2016SE does not make any noise I am aware of. When accelerating a hear a faint whirring and at speed I hear the wheel/pavement noise. Am I missing something? That said, my hearing isn't that good...

From 0-17 mph, it makes a little pussy growl, that's about it, it emanates from the right front wheel well, so that pedestrians, cats, dogs and skunks and possums can hear you coming. I find it a safety concern, and a non issue. Having been almost hit by a Toyota Hybrid Prius as a pedestrian, I appreciate VW adding a little bit of an audible warning at such slow speeds.

 

[miimura]

Toyotas have their own spaceship sound for pedestrian warning when the engine is not running.

 

[Deschodt]

I'm basically going to be driving the eGolf for free for the 3 years of the lease.

I would love to see the math behind some of these claims. No car will ever be "free". Certainly not a $35k car. You pay $xxx every month for the lease and $y for electricity. Sure, it's much cheaper than your previous car, but that doesn't make it free.

Everyone's math is different...So is the definition of free. I think the car itself is free, the usage not so, but cheap. In my case $140/mo lease + $25 charging cost/mo (for my use) seems to be made up by $140 savings in gas cost, 50% discount on my $7 daily Toll, and a $500 one time utility discount. Untangible is time saved in HOV lane.

Insurance however is not free, this car costs more than my sports car to insure, which I find crazy! Damn cheap though, use cost is use cost, but with all the Fed and state discounts, they do give you "the car" for free, more or less...