When you need more range than the e-Golf has got.

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Joined
Oct 5, 2015
Messages
2,576
I bought my e-Golf on a lark, as I was curious about owning an electric car. I was also VW brand loyal, and I was rather disgusted with many electric cars having a form factor along with owners that said "look at me... I'm an enviro-nazi, and because I drive electric, you should too!"

October 6th will be one year with the e-Golf.

I've grown quite partial to it. I drive it whenever I can, range, distance and recharge time permitting.

But sometime, I need more... a lot more than the e-Golf can deliver in the timeframe I have to work with and locality. It's an urban warrior. Around where I drive, a lot of highway 14 north of Mojave, there just isn't any recharging infrastructure, unless you own a Tesla with a supercharger pack.

And that's where the TDI comes in.

On 5-17 I drove 363 miles in the Touareg Sport AWD TDI from Los Angeles to the mining town of Tonopah, NV. I didn't have time to charge. I didn't have time to waste refueling. I did drive throughs for lunch on the way there, and dinner on the way home.

The Touareg is big, like a truck, as in 5000 pounds big. I needed all the space for my mining equipment. I needed the AWD to get to the Turquoise mine i was going to on rough chunky dirt road.

Set the cruise control at 70 mph, and she sips diesel. Like in 20.92 gallons to travel 660 miles on one fill up. I had 1/4 of a tank of diesel left at that point. Diesel was inexpensive at 2.219 a gallon at Fort Independence on highway 395 in CA. 31.5 MPG in a vehicle that size and capacity is very efficient.

It was the perfect trip for the Touareg. Today, it's back to the urban jungle and the e-Golf, and 3 cents a mile driving on electricity. Having an e-golf along with a TDI is like having different arrows in your quiver. Chose the right one for the job, if you can afford it.
 
I have similar set: e-Golf for urban needs and X5 Diesel for long trip and hauling. I don't use cruise and usually do 85-90 mph on freeway so my diesel has about 27-28 mpg. Still OK for 6K lbs truck.

Can't be happier with both so far (well, longer range for e-Golf will make me even happier :) )!
 
I'm hoping, and VW has promised, that they will be bringing their PHEVs to the US soon. You can actually get one now, but it's in Audi clothing (with commensurate price): the A3 eTron.

The EV-only range is limited compared to other PHEVs like the Volt or even the Ford Energi series but it's sufficient for my commuting needs. It will allow me to go back to one car, though if I do get one I'd like to hang on to my current A3 for as long as it remains economically feasible to maintain.
 
RonDawg said:
I'm hoping, and VW has promised, that they will be bringing their PHEVs to the US soon. You can actually get one now, but it's in Audi clothing (with commensurate price): the A3 eTron.

The EV-only range is limited compared to other PHEVs like the Volt or even the Ford Energi series but it's sufficient for my commuting needs. It will allow me to go back to one car, though if I do get one I'd like to hang on to my current A3 for as long as it remains economically feasible to maintain.

What fuel does your current A3 use? TDI or gas or?
 
JoulesThief said:
RonDawg said:
I'm hoping, and VW has promised, that they will be bringing their PHEVs to the US soon. You can actually get one now, but it's in Audi clothing (with commensurate price): the A3 eTron.

The EV-only range is limited compared to other PHEVs like the Volt or even the Ford Energi series but it's sufficient for my commuting needs. It will allow me to go back to one car, though if I do get one I'd like to hang on to my current A3 for as long as it remains economically feasible to maintain.

What fuel does your current A3 use? TDI or gas or?

2.0 TFSI (gasoline direct injection turbo). The A3 TDI didn't come to the US until MY 2010. This was the car's Super Bowl commercial:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GemJWrp0nAM
 
RonDawg said:
JoulesThief said:
RonDawg said:
I'm hoping, and VW has promised, that they will be bringing their PHEVs to the US soon. You can actually get one now, but it's in Audi clothing (with commensurate price): the A3 eTron.

The EV-only range is limited compared to other PHEVs like the Volt or even the Ford Energi series but it's sufficient for my commuting needs. It will allow me to go back to one car, though if I do get one I'd like to hang on to my current A3 for as long as it remains economically feasible to maintain.

What fuel does your current A3 use? TDI or gas or?

2.0 TFSI (gasoline direct injection turbo). The A3 TDI didn't come to the US until MY 2010. This was the car's Super Bowl commercial:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GemJWrp0nAM

OMG! The Green Police!

It sure feels that way, sometimes, when the Smug Club start up with the stiff upper lip of superiority of going Green, slapping themselves on the back on how they are Saving the Planet. My e-Golf is great at what it does, and what it doesn't do... making a political statement. The main reason I bought it. An unknown Urban Legend, that no one notices, the proverbial sleeper.
 
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