Anyone got a Golf GTE?
Discussion
As much as I love my Octavia VRS, the dreaded BIK is getting a little silly now. I'm seriously considering a Golf GTE in the basis that it will save me a shed load in tax. Im doing 20k private mileage and there is no car allowance option so CC is the only way forward. I haven't seen anything else that's low BIK which even vaguely interests me (although maybe there is something I have missed?) so I'm interested in any real world experience of the GTE?
Thanks all.
Thanks all.
Hopefully ours will arrive next Friday (Company Car).
I borrowed one from our local dealer 1st and then got a loaner for a week via VW fleet (about four weeks ago). Their initial position was that there were none Available. but a feet a gentle nudge they found one at a local dealer I could have for the week.
Only other sensible choice on our list was the outlander phev in a similar tax band. I was told a 12-20 week wait, but I phoned round a few dealers and found a built but not allocated list and got one from that list. It has been stuck at the port in the UK for the last 12 days now.
I borrowed one from our local dealer 1st and then got a loaner for a week via VW fleet (about four weeks ago). Their initial position was that there were none Available. but a feet a gentle nudge they found one at a local dealer I could have for the week.
Only other sensible choice on our list was the outlander phev in a similar tax band. I was told a 12-20 week wait, but I phoned round a few dealers and found a built but not allocated list and got one from that list. It has been stuck at the port in the UK for the last 12 days now.
Edited by Jasper3.0 on Tuesday 5th April 22:44
There were some great lease deals on the 330es and I had one on order but they were all pulled when the government pulled the electric car subsidy early.
Leases are back now but much more expensive
http://www.fleetdrive-electric.com/blog/vehicle/bm...
Leases are back now but much more expensive
http://www.fleetdrive-electric.com/blog/vehicle/bm...
Jasper3.0 said:
Hopefully ours will arrive next Friday (Company Car).
I borrowed one from our local dealer 1st and then got a loaner for a week via VW fleet (about four weeks ago). Their initial position was that there were none Avila lie, but a feet a gentle nudge they found one at a local dealer I could have for the week.
You must be more persuasive than me. I got a standard "we don't provide testers for every minor variation in the range" email. I tried pointing out that a brand new drivetrain was hardly minor but no joy.I borrowed one from our local dealer 1st and then got a loaner for a week via VW fleet (about four weeks ago). Their initial position was that there were none Avila lie, but a feet a gentle nudge they found one at a local dealer I could have for the week.
You obviously liked it. What was it like to drive?
It is a cracking car, quick enough, not gti quick but still a laugh, in particular with the gte button pressed. If you push on you can feel the weight of the batteries but it is still entertaining. I had not used active cruise before, but when you trust it it is a boon for stop start traffic. Even with the unrealistic range claims on pure electric I can get to/from work on a charge and on a longer run it was returning mid 40's, which I am more than happy with.
I haven't had a company car for years so the request of a test drive was a bit strange. It went from fleet to lease company, to a dealer in the north west, who then sent it to VW Fleet, who then passed it to a semi local dealer. Car is being supplied by a different dealer.
I haven't had a company car for years so the request of a test drive was a bit strange. It went from fleet to lease company, to a dealer in the north west, who then sent it to VW Fleet, who then passed it to a semi local dealer. Car is being supplied by a different dealer.
Been trying for the best part of a year to get a test drive of a GTE with the view to buy, but the utterly useless local dealership have done nothing.
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
In my search Leicester VW were help full. Their fleet guy was exceedingly good. James @ Parkway Volkswagen.
What do you need to know, I may know the answer (I may not).
You can also get hold of the manuals if you want on-line, if you go here:
http://www.volkswagen.co.uk/owners/manuals
And enter a reg number of a car from VW Used site i.e. NG15KBK, you have access to all the manuals relevant to that GTE including the NAV model.
What do you need to know, I may know the answer (I may not).
You can also get hold of the manuals if you want on-line, if you go here:
http://www.volkswagen.co.uk/owners/manuals
And enter a reg number of a car from VW Used site i.e. NG15KBK, you have access to all the manuals relevant to that GTE including the NAV model.
I have had a GTE for around 8 weeks now, about 2,000 miles. It replaced a GTD Golf in which I did 40k miles and we've had a Golf GTi 230PP in the family for 6 months and 3000 mile too. So only missing some Golf R miles for the full set.
The GTD averaged 44mpg over its whole time with me, it was a good looking well equipped and enjoyable daily throughout that time. Handled very well , felt genuinely quick whilst being pleasantly inexpensive to run.
When the GTi arrived I was very eager to compare them. On paper GTi is quite a lot faster , lighter and if you believe the press its a much better car. Obviously they are very similar in most ways but the GTi does not feel as fast by comparison as you'd think. It's all about torque and the D has more mid range oomph. The GTi sounds better but its slightly contrived , it handles slightly better because of its diff and a lighter front end but its the sharper throttle response that is its biggest advantage. But economy is in the low 30s
The GTE is of course still a fast Golf with all the advantages of the other two. Its fiendishly complicated and to get the most out of the car you need to have a set up that allows you to charge it regularly and easily. That being the case it will genuinely get you 20 miles on a charge. In my mix of miles its giving mid 40's mpg, the same as the GTD (But petrol is cheaper than diesel)
Its very refined and easier to cruise around in than either of the other two. But although much better than the A3 equivalent I tried its slightly more wallowy on a twisty road than either of the others.But I think in GTE mode it sounds great and is genuinely quick, in mid-range its properly rapid.
I haven't tried the BMW but for me the Golf is the only hybrid thats an authentic sporting drive at the moment. And BIK is a third of even the GTD
The GTD averaged 44mpg over its whole time with me, it was a good looking well equipped and enjoyable daily throughout that time. Handled very well , felt genuinely quick whilst being pleasantly inexpensive to run.
When the GTi arrived I was very eager to compare them. On paper GTi is quite a lot faster , lighter and if you believe the press its a much better car. Obviously they are very similar in most ways but the GTi does not feel as fast by comparison as you'd think. It's all about torque and the D has more mid range oomph. The GTi sounds better but its slightly contrived , it handles slightly better because of its diff and a lighter front end but its the sharper throttle response that is its biggest advantage. But economy is in the low 30s
The GTE is of course still a fast Golf with all the advantages of the other two. Its fiendishly complicated and to get the most out of the car you need to have a set up that allows you to charge it regularly and easily. That being the case it will genuinely get you 20 miles on a charge. In my mix of miles its giving mid 40's mpg, the same as the GTD (But petrol is cheaper than diesel)
Its very refined and easier to cruise around in than either of the other two. But although much better than the A3 equivalent I tried its slightly more wallowy on a twisty road than either of the others.But I think in GTE mode it sounds great and is genuinely quick, in mid-range its properly rapid.
I haven't tried the BMW but for me the Golf is the only hybrid thats an authentic sporting drive at the moment. And BIK is a third of even the GTD
Jasper3.0 said:
In my search Leicester VW were help full. Their fleet guy was exceedingly good. James @ Parkway Volkswagen.
What do you need to know, I may know the answer (I may not).
You can also get hold of the manuals if you want on-line, if you go here:
http://www.volkswagen.co.uk/owners/manuals
And enter a reg number of a car from VW Used site i.e. NG15KBK, you have access to all the manuals relevant to that GTE including the NAV model.
Apologies, I should have replied sooner. I'm interested to know if all cars have Car-Net (which I believe is what is required to activate A/C or heating remotely), how long it takes for the batteries to recharge while driving using the ICE and also if there are any benefits/grants applicable to the business if it's being run as a company car? Oh and any must-haves in terms of spec? I'm not sure budget will stretch to a brand new one. What do you need to know, I may know the answer (I may not).
You can also get hold of the manuals if you want on-line, if you go here:
http://www.volkswagen.co.uk/owners/manuals
And enter a reg number of a car from VW Used site i.e. NG15KBK, you have access to all the manuals relevant to that GTE including the NAV model.
I have noticed Listers in Coventry have a couple in stock although Leicester is easy enough for me too.
MrBig said:
Jasper3.0 said:
In my search Leicester VW were help full. Their fleet guy was exceedingly good. James @ Parkway Volkswagen.
What do you need to know, I may know the answer (I may not).
You can also get hold of the manuals if you want on-line, if you go here:
http://www.volkswagen.co.uk/owners/manuals
And enter a reg number of a car from VW Used site i.e. NG15KBK, you have access to all the manuals relevant to that GTE including the NAV model.
Apologies, I should have replied sooner. I'm interested to know if all cars have Car-Net (which I believe is what is required to activate A/C or heating remotely), how long it takes for the batteries to recharge while driving using the ICE and also if there are any benefits/grants applicable to the business if it's being run as a company car? Oh and any must-haves in terms of spec? I'm not sure budget will stretch to a brand new one. What do you need to know, I may know the answer (I may not).
You can also get hold of the manuals if you want on-line, if you go here:
http://www.volkswagen.co.uk/owners/manuals
And enter a reg number of a car from VW Used site i.e. NG15KBK, you have access to all the manuals relevant to that GTE including the NAV model.
I have noticed Listers in Coventry have a couple in stock although Leicester is easy enough for me too.
The Govt grant is already included in the new price (£5,000) so you'll get no more if you buy used.
It doesn't attract any road tax of course or congestion charge and its benefit in kind for personal tax is around £660 a year for a 40% tax payer
The battery takes around 3.5 hours to charge up on a domestic supply, maybe a third of that on a HV charger. Range is over 20 miles on battery alone. If you run in charging mode then the battery recharges very gradually at around 1 mile range (Full is 30 miles ) for every 10 you cover (Whilst increasing your petrol consumption of course)
Mostly the car runs in Hybrid which maintains the charge level whilst getting the best consumption. If you plug-in charge it regularly you'll get some impressive results, 60mpg average but trying to charge it up as you're running will see consumption under 40 mpg.
Its pretty loaded as standard, nothing needs to be added IMO
With CarNet it depends hugely on what you want it for. I added it to my Golf R for the CarPlay functionality. I only use navigation on rare occasions, and had also had questionable experiences with the entry level sat nav. I saw it as an easy way to save £650, and Apple Maps function very well. In addition to that I use it to stream music via Deezer and Internet radio stations via TuneIn Radio. For those things it is more than worth it, the only minor snag being that CarPlay only works when the phone is plugged in, rather than over Bluetooth.
andrewparker said:
With CarNet it depends hugely on what you want it for. I added it to my Golf R for the CarPlay functionality. I only use navigation on rare occasions, and had also had questionable experiences with the entry level sat nav. I saw it as an easy way to save £650, and Apple Maps function very well. In addition to that I use it to stream music via Deezer and Internet radio stations via TuneIn Radio. For those things it is more than worth it, the only minor snag being that CarPlay only works when the phone is plugged in, rather than over Bluetooth.
But internet connectivity and reliablility on the radio stations is hopeless IME, even compared to the standard DAB stations. The GTE comes with the larger screen VW sat nav as standard ( The Golf R does not ) and its every bit as good as the one on your phone.VW list the GTE as coming with the 6.5" Composition Media System (without navigation) as standard, the same as in the Golf R. Although I don't always trust the specs on the VW site it would seem that is confirmed by the number of cars on Autotrader that have the smaller standard screen.
As for Internet connectivity, well I guess that depends purely on the area you are in and the phone network you use. I've certainly not had any issues with Three anywhere in the country.
As for Internet connectivity, well I guess that depends purely on the area you are in and the phone network you use. I've certainly not had any issues with Three anywhere in the country.
andrewparker said:
With CarNet it depends hugely on what you want it for. I added it to my Golf R for the CarPlay functionality. I only use navigation on rare occasions, and had also had questionable experiences with the entry level sat nav. I saw it as an easy way to save £650, and Apple Maps function very well. In addition to that I use it to stream music via Deezer and Internet radio stations via TuneIn Radio. For those things it is more than worth it, the only minor snag being that CarPlay only works when the phone is plugged in, rather than over Bluetooth.
I think CarPlay is now bluetooth (or maybe wifi) with the latest ios, although i think there is also an option that needs to be ticked on the spec.Gassing Station | Audi, Seat, Skoda & VW | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff