Regeneration levels... 3, or is it 4?

[jack8trades]

I've seen various claims on how many regeneration levels the E-Golf has. Some reviews (http://www.cnet.com/products/2015-volkswagen-e-golf, http://volkswagen-auto.net/golf/2015-volkswagen-egolf-features-and-specs-announced.html,) VW's own website (http://www.vw.com/models/e-golf/,) and at least one official VW description of the car, all say it has 3 regeneration levels, B being the same as the highest, #3.

The owner's manual, on the other hand, as well as other reviews, claim there are 4 levels of regen, B having the highest.

Today I finally remembered to check this out. Coasting down a hill in regen. mode 3, at about 30mph, I put it into B, and noticed no change in feel or indication on the power usage/regen meter. As I approached the bottom of the hill and the car slowed more, I kept cycling back and forth between B and 3. Finally, around 10mph or so, I noticed a bit more drag in B. Repeated tests seemed to reinforce that B was not noticeably higher in regen. at any point, and only seemed to e-brake a bit harder at slow speeds.

Has anyone else tested this?

 

[cove3]

I'd have to assume since there's 4 settings, VW would have built in some sort of differentiation. Even if it only kicks in at 10mph, it would still qualify as 4 levels. Maybe for pure stop and go city driving like nyc where you rarely would go over 25mph, the differentiation between 3 and B would be more obvious

Ron

 

[jack8trades]

I'd have to assume since there's 4 settings, VW would have built in some sort of differentiation. Even if it only kicks in at 10mph, it would still qualify as 4 levels. Maybe for pure stop and go city driving like nyc where you rarely would go over 25mph, the differentiation between 3 and B would be more obvious

I certainly agree with you that it makes little sense to have a level 3 and a B setting that are the same. Even if the 3rd level was the same as B and was only there to give you 2 ways to access it, in that case it should be indicated on the dash as B (or B3) in both cases.

The fact that I notice any difference at all, added to the above, makes me fairly certain that there are at least 4 e-brake levels -- perhaps B just activates the disc brakes a little at slow speeds, otherwise being the same as regen level 3. That would be intuitive, I guess. I would prefer a more significant overall difference, though.

 

[snAKes]

B activates the brake lights when deceleration reaches a certain threshold. D3 doesn't activate the brake lights in my experience. This is important for avoiding getting hit from behind.

 

[cove3]

pad to metal does not happen in any of the 4 reg settings or when applying the brake except if the battery is full or there's emergency foot braking. I'm certain the D1-3+B are graduated in even increments, even if you think you can't feel the difference. I personally like the option, particularly for my wife who I think would prefer d1 or 2 over my preference for B

Much nicer design than BMW i3

Ron

 

[jack8trades]

pad to metal does not happen in any of the 4 reg settings or when applying the brake except if the battery is full or there's emergency foot braking.

Ron

Don't forget about pad to metal that occurs when regen is too low (at any speed, but always at very slow speeds) to produce sufficient deceleration for a given pedal pressure. For example any pedal pressure at all at speeds below ~3-5 mph will use the mechanical brakes.

 

[GadgetGav]

I was told that D3 and B were the same thing and I thought I'd seen the brake lights coming on in D3 too. I'll have to look some more.