A MORE AFFORDABLE VOLTSWAGEN (some text hidden) --NONE--

By Jonathan Crouch

Volkswagen's Plug-in Golf is at its most affordable in Golf eHybrid form. Jonathan Crouch reports on the updated model.

Ten Second Reviewword count: 72

If you want a PHEV Volkswagen Golf, but you want it slightly more affordably, then you want this car, the Golf eHybrid, here usefully improved. It gets an only slightly lesser-powered version of the PHEV powertrain we know from the Golf GTE, but clothes this 204PS package in more conservative bodywork. Thanks to this update, there's a much larger 19.7kWh battery that'll almost allow you to use this car like an EV.

Backgroundword count: 103

For years, Volkswagen offered just one Plug-in hybrid Golf variant and we knew it as the GTE. At the end of 2020, a new generation version of that model arrived on the market, but it was a touch pricey for some folk, hence the introduction at the beginning of this decade of a de-tuned 204PS version of the same powertrain, slightly less sportily-packed in this model, the Golf eHybrid. Adding this variant to the range made sense: and makes even more sense with this model in its updated form, this bigger-battery version launched in mid-2024. Let's take a closer look at this car.

Driving Experienceword count: 268

The big news with this updated Golf eHybrid is an increase in battery size to 19.7kWh. That facilitates a big increase in EV range - up from 44 miles to 89 miles - enough to mean that a suburban owner really could use this car much like an EV. Powertrain output remains at 204PS (well down on the 272PS of the other Golf PHEV, the GTE), but it's now developed from a slightly larger 1.5-litre TSI evo2 petrol engine, though via the same 6-speed DSG auto gearbox. Performance is quite sprightly thanks to 250Nm of torque, enough to propel this model from rest to 62 mph in only 7.2 seconds, before going on to a top speed of 137mph. As before, the Golf eHybrid always starts journeys in all-electric E-MODE if the battery is sufficiently charged (except at battery temperatures of below -10°C). Moreover, since the Golf eHybrid can also be driven in all-electric mode at speeds of up to 80mph, motorways can also be covered under purely electric power. It is also possible to reserve electric energy during longer journeys in order to guarantee that it is possible to drive in E-MODE, with zero local tailpipe emissions, in a built-up area at your eventual destination. At the start of the journey, you simply enter the percentage of the battery capacity that must be reserved into the infotainment system. The battery doesn't have to be fully charged at the start of the journey for this to function effectively, since the lithium-ion unit can also be charged during the trip via both the TSI engine and brake energy recuperation.

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