What does 115 hp in EV feel like compared to 2015 1.8L Golf?

[CyberPine]

How big of a difference in acceleration and performance you feel compared to the 2015 1.8L?

Any known plans to give the e-Golf a bit more power and Range? will 2017 be the year?

Any word on when (if ever) we can expect the e-Golf to be offered or at least fully serviced in Florida?

 

[dublectric]

I've never driven a 1.8T Golf - but I would say that acceleration off the line for the eGolf is very impressive and should compare very favorably to almost any non-electric vehicle. I'd say initial launch subjectively seems at least as energetic as my S4, at least on dry pavement, and assuming the you're not doing an abusive clutch-dump on the S4. Part of the fun in the eGolf is the relative silence, since all that acceleration comes with no audible fuss. Higher speed acceleration (say, accelerating from 65 to 75) is much milder but still useable in quickly-moving traffic on the highway; however I'd guess at those speeds the 1.8T will almost certainly have a distinct advantage.

Around town, the acceleration of the eGolf is a genuine blast. At highway speeds I'd say the acceleration is adequate.

I haven't heard what any upcoming changes may be. One might hope that since Nissan announced a range improvement for the LEAF, that VW will follow suit soon. No idea when, or even if, that would happen though.

On my wish list would be a dual-motor AWD eGolf R with 50kWH battery :mrgreen: but I'm definitely not holding my breath for that one - not sure where they'd put the extra motor and battery anyway

 

[RonDawg]

As the owner of an Audi A3 with the 2.0T, I can tell you the eGolf is MUCH easier to drive around town and in stop and go traffic. No torque curve to deal with, and especially no turbo lag. Also no fussy DSG.

It won't win a 0-60 race with the A3, but the eGolf (and Leaf) will out-accelerate it to about 35 MPH. That's despite the fact that the A3 has slightly more torque (207 lb-ft vs. 199 for the eGolf) and of course considerably more horsepower. In city traffic, that's all you need. And no plume of black smoke that higher-mileage VAG 2.0T's are infamous for at high revs :lol:

 

[PMC2015]

We have a 2010 2.5L Golf, and the e-Golf is both more pleasant and zippier. There's no down shifting, there's no delay. The e-Golf is a pleasure to drive in a city sporty manner and feels faster than the 2.5L Golf.

More range may come in 2018. One of the VW VPs suggested a 50% range increase about then. That's only up to 120 miles though... which may be about a 33-35kWh pack.

The e-Golf is a fantastic car but it could be challenging in the US to live with it as your only car. I encourage people to get it as their second car, but the one which they drive most of the time.

 

[JoulesThief]

We have a 2010 2.5L Golf, and the e-Golf is both more pleasant and zippier. There's no down shifting, there's no delay. The e-Golf is a pleasure to drive in a city sporty manner and feels faster than the 2.5L Golf.

More range may come in 2018. One of the VW VPs suggested a 50% range increase about then. That's only up to 120 miles though... which may be about a 33-35kWh pack.

The e-Golf is a fantastic car but it could be challenging in the US to live with it as your only car. I encourage people to get it as their second car, but the one which they drive most of the time.

/\ This, make it a second car for everything but your long trips. Or buy a hybrid.

I am 57 years old, there is no way that the e-golf is anywhere as comfortable to ride in as my Touareg TDI Sport or my Passat TDI SE. Nor as roomy. But the other two were $53,000 and $30,000 MSRP's. I paid about $15,400 before taxes, registration, but after rebates, and tax refunds for the e-Golf, late in the year, Oct of 2015.

VW has to make room for 2016's, so has to price the 2015 e-Golfs to what the market will bear to get them to move off of their lots, and on the street. VW is just playing our government for a money grab on the pricing, charging what ever the market will bear. They get full pop for them, while the government tries to get everyone on electricity, a commodity/utility that they could try to control in the future. Short range EV's pretty much keeps everyone in the city. In my books, yes, the e-golf is a $15,000 car. Regardless of the SEL Badge, no HomeLink, (doesn't almost every one park their EV in the garage to recharge?) no fully electric seats, no sunroof, no leather seats, no 18" rims. When the gov't subsidized pricing on these cars runs out, then we'll really see what the market will bear. There, however is NO way I would ever pay MSRP on one of these, not for what you actually get. I think the price of batteries is going to drop, and VW will figure out a way to double the range on these, at a minimum. 2.5x would be preferred. I could live with an overnight 4 to 6 hour charging period, for added longevity of the life of the battery, as well as a cooling system for the battery pack too so "3" level charging would be possible without loss of battery life.

 

[CyberPine]

We have a 2010 2.5L Golf, and the e-Golf is both more pleasant and zippier. There's no down shifting, there's no delay. The e-Golf is a pleasure to drive in a city sporty manner and feels faster than the 2.5L Golf.

More range may come in 2018. One of the VW VPs suggested a 50% range increase about then. That's only up to 120 miles though... which may be about a 33-35kWh pack.

The e-Golf is a fantastic car but it could be challenging in the US to live with it as your only car. I encourage people to get it as their second car, but the one which they drive most of the time.

/\ This, make it a second car for everything but your long trips. Or buy a hybrid.

I am 57 years old, there is no way that the e-golf is anywhere as comfortable to ride in as my Touareg TDI Sport or my Passat TDI SE. Nor as roomy. But the other two were $53,000 and $30,000 MSRP's. I paid about $15,400 before taxes, registration, rebates, and tax refunds for the e-Golf, late in the year, Oct of 2015.

VW has to make room for 2016's, so has to price the 2015 e-Golfs to what the market will bear to get them to move off of their lots, and on the street. VW is just playing our government for a money grab on the pricing, charging what ever the market will bear. They get full pop for them, while the government tries to get everyone on electricity, a commodity/utility that they could try to control in the future. Short range EV's pretty much keeps everyone in the city. In my books, yes, the e-golf is a $15,000 car. Regardless of the SEL Badge, no HomeLink, (doesn't almost every one park their EV in the garage to recharge?) no fully electric seats, no sunroof, no leather seats, no 18" rims. When the gov't subsidized pricing on these cars runs out, then we'll really see what the market will bear. There, however is NO way I would ever pay MSRP on one of these, not for what you actually get. I think the price of batteries is going to drop, and VW will figure out a way to double the range on these, at a minimum. 2.5x would be preferred. I could live with an overnight 4 to 6 hour charging period, for added longevity of the life of the battery, as well as a cooling system for the battery pack too so "3" level charging would be possible without loss of battery life.

$15.4k before or after the Rebate? What State you in?

Dealers down here in Florida don't really sell the car, but they advertise it at $34k +++ Minus federal rebate. At 16k (even after the rebate) and even with all the hassle of dealing with an out of state purchase and being in Carb State it would be great deal for me to fly up, test drive, do the deal and have it shipped down here.

http://www.essermaninternationalonline.com/models/volkswagen-egolf

 

[GadgetGav]

How big of a difference in acceleration and performance you feel compared to the 2015 1.8L?

I can't compare to the 1.8L but I had a 2.0T GTI previously and as others have said, initial getaway feels much better. No turbo lag, no gear change (though I never had a problem with the DSG). I'd say 0-30 it would beat the GTI, 0-40 it would probably be close and then the eGolf would fall behind. Merging onto the highway it certainly has less acceleration left than the GTI did if you dropped a gear or two and waited for the turbo to spool up. I've learned to live with that as I don't do much highway driving and I find the instant acceleration at lower speeds for things like overtaking cyclists to be much more usable than the GTI with its turbo lag.

 

[DasCC]

I had a '15 1.8T, the e-Golf feels slightly more planted. as previously mentioned a lot more fun to drive in town, while the 1.8T is better on the highway.