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| Autocar

Posted: 18 Aug 2014 07:30 AM PDT

The Volkswagen e-Golf is the second alternative-fuel Golf model to be launched by VW; the first being the Golf TGI which has twin fuel tanks for compressed natural gas.

The e-Golf will soon be followed the third model, the petrol-battery hybrid Volkswagen Golf GTE, which arrives in the UK later this year.

Associate editor

Up until now, the decision to build a battery-powered car seemed to lead inevitably to a decision to make it as distinctive as possible. Volkswagen's first mass-production battery-powered model is, in stark contrast, virtually indistinguishable from its internal combustion engined sister models.

When it comes to powertrain diversity, VW is now reaping the rewards of the new globe-spanning MQB architecture. The modular underpinnings can accommodate petrol, diesel, gas, hybrid and pure electric drivetrains and, according to the company, these very different models can be built on the same production line.

For the buyer, the main advantage of the Volkswagen e-Golf being so close to its mainstream sister cars is that it is as polished in its engineering details as the mainstream models.

The driving position and range of seat adjustment is uncompromised and the interior uses the same, beautifully crafted, gear lever as DSG-equipped Golfs and so on.

Using a platform specifically designed to accommodate a battery pack also means that the loss of space and general utility is kept to an absolute minimum. The 24kWh lithium-ion battery pack is fitted under the front and rear seats and along the centre-tunnel. There's a loss of some useable space under the Golf's adjustable boot floor, but it's hardly a deal-breaker.

You twist the conventional key to bring the e-Golf to life and simply push the lever into the 'D'. Like all cars driven by electric motors, this car has all the torque on tap from start but it is particularly quiet, with virtually no motor whine from the transmission.

As you gather speed, it becomes clear that VW has succeeded in engineering a transmission that is somehow even silkier and smoother than rival models. There's real pleasure to be had from accelerating around bends because there's almost a liquidity about the way the e-Golf's drivetrain delivers forward motion.

Perhaps more unexpected is the car's overall balance and handling. Distributing a 318kg battery pack under the centre of the e-Golf has had a marked effect, giving the car a new sense of balance, with more weight towards the rear.

With the exception of being a little unsettled by repeated short-wave undulations, the e-Golf's chassis is surprising fluid. There's a nice weighting at the wheel rim and the car responds to steering inputs with a calmness and maturity that's a step ahead of Golfs powered by internal combustion engines.

It's very nicely tied down, too even on broken British backroads. The downside is tyre noise at speed on rougher UK tarmac, but that's partly a corollary of the extraordinary quietness of the rest of the car.

The transmission of the e-Golf has three selected levels of brake regeneration (effectively the amount of braking force exerted by the electric drive motor). All are relatively gentle. Even the 'B' setting for maximum energy recuperation is not quite as severe as that used on the BMW i3.

The e-Golf's battery pack comes with an eight-year or 100,000-mile warranty. Officially, VW says that it developed the 24kWh Lithium-ion battery pack with the "intention of it having 80 per cent of its original capacity after 10 years' use".

This target is based on the car covering around 9000 miles annually. Charged from a standard UK three-pin socket, it takes a long-ish 13 hours to refresh the battery. With a 3.6kW wallbox fitted to a domestic supply, the charge time is eight hours. Fast charging gives 80 per cent capacity in 35 minutes.

Compared to the Nissan Leaf (when purchased outright), this Golf is pretty much the same price – but it is also a more polished machine, with a more refined and even more effortless drivetrain and notably better driving dynamics.

It was also intriguing to see how the battery range was demolished by swift A-road travel but how much energy was recovered by driving on undulating back roads and Milton Keynes' roundabout-punctured expressways.

It is a great pity that this car has a range of not much more than 90 miles in the best conditions, because it is stands out among even the best conventional cars: battery-powered or not, it is simply a remarkably fine way to travel.

Volkswagen e-Golf 

Price £25,845 (including £5000 government grant); 0-62mph 10.5sec; Top speed 87mph; Range 118 miles (NEDC cycle); CO2 zero at tailpipe; Kerb weight 1510kg; Engine type AC electric motor; Installation transverse, front-wheel drive; Power 113bhp; Torque 199lb ft from 0rpm; Gearbox single-speed mechanical with integrated differential and mechanical parking brake

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