Range for my use?

[rudygetz]

I'm in the market for a 2016 eGolf SEL and wanted to make sure it makes sense for me.

My daily commute to work is 50 miles roundtrip. About half is on the highway. I live in Hot and Humid south Florida. I'd like to maintain 70mph on the highway. I have charging stations at work (that aren't hooked up yet, but will be).

Assuming I don't charge at work will this be a viable option for me? I'm concerned about the hot and humid south Florida summers as I've read heat is not a friend to these batteries and the longevity of the battery life 3-4+ years from now.

Any insight would be great. The reason why I'd choose the 2016 over the bigger capacity 2017 is purely financial. The 2016's are very affordable to me and would really drive home (no pun intended) the savings.

 

[johnnylingo]

50 miles round trip or each way? If each way, can you do a full charge at work?

In my experience battery degradation has been around 3% per year, so a 3 year old 2016 will come in at a max range of 78 miles. I'm in coastal California so it never gets too hot here, but folks in hotter climates have reported roughly the same. Using climate control will suck energy out of the battery too of course, but unless you're really, really blasting the A/C, that should be no more than a 12% hit, putting your range around 68 miles. Even with low power mode being forced at your last 10% battery, that's still about a 60 mile range of highway speeds so you should be OK here.

 

[rudygetz]

Thank you. Edited my post to specify it's 50 miles round trip.

 

[johnnylingo]

I've read heat is not a friend to these batteries and the longevity of the battery life 3-4+ years from now.

I think most of these horror stories are coming from 1st generation Leaf Owners in Arizona. The rapid battery degradation, combined with need to constantly run A/C was resulting in real-world ranges of 40-50 miles vs. the 80-90 expected. It's impossible to say for certain the e-Golfs won't have these problems since they've only been around for 3 years, but thus far the data has shown relatively light battery degradation. Also, the range hit for running the A/C on the e-Golf in my experience has been modest compared to other EVs.

Check out the related thread: https://www.myvwegolf.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=877

I don't know of any e-Golf owners in South Florida on this forum, but there are plenty who have the 1st generation i3, which has a slightly lower range than the e-Golf. They don't seem to be reporting any problems getting 70+ miles range in hot weather. Cold is a different story, which is why buyers which is why buyers in cold climates will want to get the LE or SEL trim to get a heat pump.

 

[RonDawg]

If you insist on going 70 MPH, that 50 mile round trip is going to be cutting it close, especially if temps dip below say 60 F in winter. Even more so if you get the SE which uses a more power hungry heater.

If you can plug in at work, even at 120 volts, that will give you a cushion. Otherwise you should look for a car whose EPA rating is at least 100 miles per full charge.

 

[JoulesThief]

If you insist on going 70 MPH, that 50 mile round trip is going to be cutting it close, especially if temps dip below say 60 F in winter. Even more so if you get the SE which uses a more power hungry heater.

If you can plug in at work, even at 120 volts, that will give you a cushion. Otherwise you should look for a car whose EPA rating is at least 100 miles per full charge.

/\ this ! Either slow down a lot, to like 55 mph, and or run less accessories. There's just not that much battery capacity on a 3 year old e-Golf to run fast and run all the toys.

I'd think you'd be a lot better off with a 2017 or newer e-Golf, for your transportation needs, with 50% more range.

Personally, if I was driving 50 miles round trip to work, I'd sooner buy a VW TDI model. They do quite well in the heat of FL, in the MPG department.

 

[P63]

My daily commute to work is 50 miles roundtrip. About half is on the highway. I live in Hot and Humid south Florida. I'd like to maintain 70mph on the highway. I have charging stations at work (that aren't hooked up yet, but will be).
.

I like to accelerate as if I were in a gas car, and I drive 70mph. I have plenty of range left after a 34 mile round trip, so you should be good. Thats with a 2015 20kwh battery.

There are cautions against leaving the car out below temp X or above temp Y for two days. Note that temps go down at night, and there's always a way to figure out a solution.