Thinking about jumping in for the first time...

[MikeNassour]

Yes, I know it's a discontinued car <grin>. But I happened upon the e-Golf a while back and now that I've finally got a moment to consider one have some questions for you folks who've gone down that road already.

I understand the rated mileage on a full charge is about 125. That's more than enough for me, as I rarely put more than 60-90 miles a day on a car, just running around Austin and such. But does that decrease as they age? I assume it does, but by how much? Say, if I found a 2016 at a good price with, for example, 75K on it could I expect that kind of range?

What about parts? Has VW committed to supporting the vehicle for a particular length of time? And of course the big parts question is the battery. Is there anything special about it, or can it be rebuilt when that becomes necessary? If not, what is the cost of a changeout? I understand that VW did give a good warranty on it for, what was it 5 years, 60K miles?

Does it use the same universal charging connection like other non-Tesla cars like the Bolt use? And for that matter, if I was to use half the battery in a day, could I expect to top it off to 100% overnight using 110 volt, or do I really, really need to install 220 volt charging?

I am no stranger to VW vehicles, my last one was a Golf, well Rabbit, back in 2009. There's even a dealer relatively close by. So the car looks good on paper. But is a used one practical for daily use, given what I've said above.

Many thanks again to all, and I look forward to hearing from you!

Mike Nassour / Austin TX

 

[f1geek]

2106 and 2015 has 24.2 kWh pack and 85 mile EPA range. 2017-2019 has 35.8 kWh pack and 125 mile EPA range.

In my experience, the way I drive a full charge gets me more than 125 miles and always has. VW was very conservative with EPA rating. FYI I drive in Eco mode usually and live in the temperate SF Bay Area. In Texas it will be warmer and more humid, but running the A/C in hot temps generally uses much less energy than running the heater in Northern climate winter temps.

I have lost about 9% of the original usable battery capacity, but I don't notice it. I just took a drive where I charged the car to 96%, drove mostly on the highway in rain with an external temp of around 50 F (A/C and heat on, Eco mode), arrived home with 22% battery and covered 106 miles. I generally don't like driving the car in the "red zone" since power is limited, but I suspect if I did that, I still could have gotten 130 miles or more if I charged to 100%.

I think VW is required to have parts for ~15-20 years per US law (you can check this). I think some parts are shared with other VW BEVs, too. Battery warranty is 70% capacity guarantee for 8 yrs / 100k miles whichever comes first. Based on my estimates, my car's pack has lost less than 1 kWh usable capacity since I started tracking at 18,000 miles (car has 50,000 miles now). I typically charge car to 80% or 90% and even then don't let it sit for too many hours before I drive. I, of course, charge to 100% when I need the range for a trip. Usually charge on L2 but DCFC about a dozen times a year.

All cars sold in USA can use J1772 connector, even Tesla (with adapter), just like I can use Tesla L2 station with an adapter. You are not going to get enough range charging overnight at 120 V. If you are putting 60 to 90 miles, you need 240 V charging. If you were driving 30 to 40 miles a day you would probably be ok with 120 V charging for about 10 hours.

In my opinion, if you can afford one, get an e-golf with the 35.8 kWh battery.

 

[f1geek]

One more comment:

I think a good rule of thumb is to have BEV with a range at least ~1.5 times your daily commute for convenience and unexpected needs.

 

[MikeNassour]

Thanks so much for the background, especially that last comment. Indeed, if you buy only what you think you'll need, you'll always need more!