Anyone got a Golf GTE?

Author
Discussion

sawman

4,919 posts

230 months

Thursday 7th July 2016
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I am considering one of these on a 2 year lease, I typically have a 60 mile round trip commute and I think I will have access to charging point on 3 days per week (have been scoping out charging points for the last few weeks, which seem to have availability when I am about) which together with exclusive battery trundling at the weekend should save me loads compared to running my current 3.0 outback. which will probably be swapped for a small manual trans car for my daughter to learn in.

hows the reliability of these stacking up?


captainzep

13,305 posts

192 months

Tuesday 26th July 2016
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My GTE arrived yesterday and it's a weirdly positive experience.

I work for the NHS and I've got mine for £300 per month on the salary sacrifice lease scheme 18k miles a year, fully maintained, insurance paid for.

I was attracted by the low BIK and hoping it'll work out well. My commute varies between offices, all hilly rural A/B roads from 22 to 38 miles, with a few business miles in between as I get around 3 counties.

My first 40 miles commute started worringly with my 31 miles of battery range quickly reducing to 7 miles, just 15 miles later due to a few hills and a brief GTE 'blast' to overtake a couple of times. But my fear that it was going to fail to get better mpg than my old 320cd quickly went away as driving carefully in 'B' hybrid mode 're-gened' 2-3 miles of battery range with a overall trip mpg of nearly 100 mpg. Even if that's an optimistic figure I'm happy. I can't charge at most offices I work from but I've managed to pull up to an open window to 'borrow' some work electricity today, so the journey home should return reasonable mileage too.

Currently I can't believe how well it's pulled off the marketing brief of being a frugal, techy hybrid one minute (without looking like a pious tosser) whilst being fairly stylish and optionally swift at the prod of a button. It comes with an interior that is far more high-end Audi than my old Mk 5 Golf tdi ever was. DSG is so clever, although I'll need to get to grips with a few idiosyncrasies.

Downsides? I haven't got properly comfy yet, the armrest seems too low in the centre console and too distant in the driver's door. The manual is 400 fecking pages of VW-speak text-book. The parking sensors are beeping madly at me when a few wisps of long grass sprouting from the hedges get in the way up the narrow lane to my house. Most of these things can be adjusted better no doubt though.

It's a cool thing so far. And on this morning's showing, is doing what hybrids supposedly don't do well, rural, hilly mile-munching.

va1o

16,032 posts

207 months

Tuesday 26th July 2016
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Nice write up thumbup

FYI the centre console armrest is adjustable, just lift it slightly and it should hold in place, also slides out to extend

captainzep

13,305 posts

192 months

Tuesday 26th July 2016
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va1o said:
FYI the centre console armrest is adjustable, just lift it slightly and it should hold in place, also slides out to extend
So it does!

Thank you!

acme

2,971 posts

198 months

Tuesday 26th July 2016
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captainzep said:
So it does!

Thank you!
Strangely one of the best things about the Golf, it's almost perfect in it's highest/furthest setting for holding onto the wheel, and this from someone who almost has his seat so far back I can look out the rear window!