Test drive Volkswagen e-Golf: electric Golf that can be equipped with a heat pump.

Volkswagen's electric golf, the e-Golf, has never been the star of EV sales (with the exception of Norway), but it has been a reliable choice for many EVs from the start. During the renovation, it underwent many more technical changes than other Golfs, but we can still say with confidence that this is not a revolution, but (because it is an electronic golf) an electronic revolution.

The 120-kilometer range was too small

There are several reasons for this, the first of which, of course, is limited (compared to competitors) coverage. battery z 22 kilowatt hours combined with a not-so-efficient propulsion system, it ensured that the e-Golf was on paper compared to rivals that could already travel 200 real miles but in a rundown position. And one more thing: a good 120 kilometers (preferably a little less in winter) was below the limit that most electric car buyers perceive as the lower limit of usability - when in fact these are the same potential buyers who, on average or in most cases, they overcome more than 50 kilometers. The fear of a dead battery is deeply rooted, although it is overwhelmingly unfounded. Andrey Pechyak, who has been dealing with electric vehicles for many years and is one of the most experienced in this field in our country, was left without electricity only once - in winter due to heating, which (if the car uses a classic heater and a not very efficient heat pump) is a wasteful part electric vehicle.

The new e-Golf is safe here: thermal nose for heating, an additional charge can be taken into account, which is definitely recommended for our purposes, because with such an equipped e-Golf, the range difference, which is otherwise so typical for electric vehicles at low temperatures, is practically absent.

Electric car on a classic platform

One of the features that did not change during the renovation, of course, is that the e-Golf is still an electric vehicle, built on a platform designed for classic propulsion technology. This, of course, means that the engineers were forced to make some compromises that reduce efficiency, but on the other hand, it also means that such an e-golf has many parts that can be shared with the classic drive, and therefore repairs can be much cheaper.

The official reach of the new (well, actually updated, but with the technical changes the New label is also fully justified) is 300 kilometer. But the range of action under the outdated, unrealistic NEDC standard is, of course, a completely fabulous figure - in fact it will be somewhere from 200 to 220 kilometers. Some of the credit for this goes to the slightly more efficient powertrain, and most of all to the new battery, which has (for the same volume and only slightly more weight) a much larger capacity. This increased from 24,2 kilowatt-hours to what 35,8 kilowatt hours useful capacity.

More powerful engine

The new one not only has a battery, but also an engine. He can do it now 136 instead of 115 'horses', and since the engineers have also optimized the inverter assembly, the consumption is now lower. How many? It is enough that such an electronic golf can easily travel 200, even more than 220 kilometers without recharging, even with a more active trip (and driving on the highway). On a 50-kilometer stretch, mostly on regional roads at 80 to 100 kilometers per hour, with some severe descents and little city driving, energy consumption was very low. 13,4 kWh / 100 kmwhich is an excellent result, thanks in part to a new assistance system that warns the driver to lower the accelerator pedal when approaching a lower limit or a slope, before the driver notices such a change in driving conditions, and the fact that, according to the new, the recuperation power in B ( i.e. driving with enhanced recuperation) is much higher, so much more energy can be recovered, and at the same time it is necessary to brake with the brake pedal almost only during a full stop.

7,2 kilowatt charger

The E-Golf still has the ability to charge at CCS fast charging stations (with a capacity of just 40 kilowatts) and also has an on-board 7,2 kilowatt charger for charging from AC mains (at home or at classic charging stations), which means that you will charge the e-Golf for at least 100 kilometers, say, in the time it takes to watch a movie in a cinema.

We will have an e-Golf well equipped, above average, as the most powerful Navigation Discover Pro is already standard, however, to be fully equipped, it will be necessary to add about three thousand (per package of auxiliary systems, heat pump, LED headlights, digital meters and smart key). With the Eco Fund subsidy, e-Golf will mostly cost the buyer good money. 32 thousands (the base price without subsidies is 39.895 euros) and the well-maintained one is 35 thousand rubles.

Heat pump to save up to 30% on heating

The heat pump in the e-Golf, of course, works in the same way as other heat pumps for heating – and vice versa, like an air conditioner. The heat pump takes the heat of a substance (air, water, earth or something else), and on the other hand gives it to a heated room. In the e-Golf, the heat pump uses both air heat (can also be very cold) that gets under the cover (and thus further cools it, which is good for cooling the drive components), as well as the heat radiated by the drive assembly (especially the inverter assembly and the motor), however, for all together it uses an air conditioner compressor.

Even with an integrated heat pump, the e-Golf also has a classic heater that is only used in very cold conditions or when the heat pump cannot provide enough heat to heat the cab and, if necessary, the battery. Energy consumption in cold weather is reduced by heating the vehicle with a heat pump by about 30 percent compared to heating only with a conventional heater.

Smart Golf GTE

The plug-in hybrid Golf GTE has also been updated. The technical characteristics remain the same, but (lower consumption in favor) has received a new function, with the help of which the car already (if the route is entered in navigation) calculates where it is best to use which type of drive, so that the entire route is done with minimal energy consumption or with minimal emissions as much as possible. For example, it can automatically save power in a battery on the highway, but when it gets so close to a target in a city that the battery simply runs out, it switches to all-electric mode.

Dusan Lukic

Photo: Volkswagen