EGolf for 2 months...
Discussion
We have use of an eGolf for 2 months on some trial/experiment someone is running. Got a 7kW charger installed on the house to go with it. It's the newer model with the bigger battery and more powerful motor.
It's a nice car...then again, the mk7.5 golf is a well engineered thing in general; the standard ICE GT model with the 1.4 and a DSG box is barely any worse in terms of NVH/smoothness than the EV if you just drive it normally.
Anyway, not had it long so if there is anything anyone wants to know about it or running the car, just let me know and I'll see what I can do.
I'll post up a more thorough "thoughts" when we've had it longer. But so far, it's easy to see this being your go to car for 90% of journeys.
I would say though that I thought it wouldn't be so bad at the motorway stuff. We drove to my OHs parents yesterday. 33 miles and mostly down the A46 so theoretically doable round trip without needing a charge.
To be honest I chickened out and plugged it in when we got there as the 130 mile starting range had dropped to just 63 when we pulled up. It was fairly cold mind (3 Deg) and raining heavily so had wipers and AC on to stop misting up.
On the way back it had stopped raining and I tried the car in eco mode (it has eco plus too). It didn't fair much better really. Rolling onto the drive with 65 miles left. I will say though that once off the A46, the car sips it's cells a bit better. Once you can make use of its ability to coast and regen braking it starts to worry you much less.
Cruising at 70 as I would in my normal car, it was just about keeping its head above 2 miles per kWh on roughly flat road. Dipping into the 1's on hills.
It's a nice car...then again, the mk7.5 golf is a well engineered thing in general; the standard ICE GT model with the 1.4 and a DSG box is barely any worse in terms of NVH/smoothness than the EV if you just drive it normally.
Anyway, not had it long so if there is anything anyone wants to know about it or running the car, just let me know and I'll see what I can do.
I'll post up a more thorough "thoughts" when we've had it longer. But so far, it's easy to see this being your go to car for 90% of journeys.
I would say though that I thought it wouldn't be so bad at the motorway stuff. We drove to my OHs parents yesterday. 33 miles and mostly down the A46 so theoretically doable round trip without needing a charge.
To be honest I chickened out and plugged it in when we got there as the 130 mile starting range had dropped to just 63 when we pulled up. It was fairly cold mind (3 Deg) and raining heavily so had wipers and AC on to stop misting up.
On the way back it had stopped raining and I tried the car in eco mode (it has eco plus too). It didn't fair much better really. Rolling onto the drive with 65 miles left. I will say though that once off the A46, the car sips it's cells a bit better. Once you can make use of its ability to coast and regen braking it starts to worry you much less.
Cruising at 70 as I would in my normal car, it was just about keeping its head above 2 miles per kWh on roughly flat road. Dipping into the 1's on hills.
Max_Torque said:
The trick with EV's is to consider 0 miles as "empty" and not about "70 miles" ie the normal point the fuel light comes on in an ICE.
If you know your trip is 33miles, and it says 40m miles on the dash,that's fine! Also, as broadly speaking, consumption is average speed for an EV, you can slow down at any point in the journey and dramatically increase your range if you are worried!
The second factor is that because cabin heating and battery conditioning occur mainly at the start of a journey, the range-o-meter tends to plummet initially, but then firm up in the mid ranges. If i don't precon my i3, the battery capacity can be down to less than 80% in less than 5miles from home, but after another 20 miles it's only reduced by another 10% or so.
Hmmm not convinced my friend. It's wiped off 70 miles nearly to travel only 33. And I pre warmed the cabin before we left.If you know your trip is 33miles, and it says 40m miles on the dash,that's fine! Also, as broadly speaking, consumption is average speed for an EV, you can slow down at any point in the journey and dramatically increase your range if you are worried!
The second factor is that because cabin heating and battery conditioning occur mainly at the start of a journey, the range-o-meter tends to plummet initially, but then firm up in the mid ranges. If i don't precon my i3, the battery capacity can be down to less than 80% in less than 5miles from home, but after another 20 miles it's only reduced by another 10% or so.
Much better weather today though and driving about town it's pretty much mile for mile which is quite excellent.
REALIST123 said:
Max_Torque said:
The trick with EV's is to consider 0 miles as "empty" and not about "70 miles" ie the normal point the fuel light comes on in an ICE.
If you know your trip is 33miles, and it says 40m miles on the dash,that's fine! Also, as broadly speaking, consumption is average speed for an EV, you can slow down at any point in the journey and dramatically increase your range if you are worried!
The second factor is that because cabin heating and battery conditioning occur mainly at the start of a journey, the range-o-meter tends to plummet initially, but then firm up in the mid ranges. If i don't precon my i3, the battery capacity can be down to less than 80% in less than 5miles from home, but after another 20 miles it's only reduced by another 10% or so.
Clearly not. The OP started with 130 miles, did 33 and had 63 left. So 33 Miles used 67, or more than half, of his starting range. A similar consumption on the return. If you know your trip is 33miles, and it says 40m miles on the dash,that's fine! Also, as broadly speaking, consumption is average speed for an EV, you can slow down at any point in the journey and dramatically increase your range if you are worried!
The second factor is that because cabin heating and battery conditioning occur mainly at the start of a journey, the range-o-meter tends to plummet initially, but then firm up in the mid ranges. If i don't precon my i3, the battery capacity can be down to less than 80% in less than 5miles from home, but after another 20 miles it's only reduced by another 10% or so.
On that basis, if he’d started either leg with 40 he would have run out well before he arrived.
Unless you’re suggesting the range indication becomes more accurate as it falls and he might have made it back on the original charge.
Either way, not something to rely on.
Btw, who considers the point at which the reserve fuel light comes on as ‘empty’? I don’t, I view it as the reserve fuel light coming on.
From my research the ioniq seems to be the best one...it's considerably more efficient than most others. Looking on sprit monitor website they average 13 kWh/100 km whereas stuff like the leaf and Zoe and eGolf are in the 16's and the model S is averaging over 20 kWh/100km. Big batteries make up for it, but it's not the answer. Everyone needs to be following Hyundai. Far more impressive.
granada203028 said:
How quickly does the heater come on? Does it have to heat some water like my early Leaf does?
Just as rubbish as an IC car, the journey is done before it comes on
. I thought it would be like an a house hold fan heater, instant heat.
The range indication is always supper optimistic, assumes you drives like saint in ideal conditions etc. And most of the time only start from 80% to prolong the battery life.
My Leaf has a practical range of just 30 miles odd in winter but that is enough to get me to work which is all that counts.
I've pre heated so far to save on using the battery (I noted hitting the max button for fast windscreen clearing clatters the range estimate...until you turn it off again, so something is working hard. It has a heated front screen so it does clear very fast anyway).Just as rubbish as an IC car, the journey is done before it comes on
. I thought it would be like an a house hold fan heater, instant heat.The range indication is always supper optimistic, assumes you drives like saint in ideal conditions etc. And most of the time only start from 80% to prolong the battery life.
My Leaf has a practical range of just 30 miles odd in winter but that is enough to get me to work which is all that counts.
I can try it today on my way home. Will crack the heating on high and see how quick it comes out the vents.
Max_Torque said:
gangzoom said:
Its no different from why a Ford Ka is more efficient than a BMW M5.
Trust me, it really is very different! ;-)EV's are ALL efficient. For example a "low efficiency" induction motor is on average 95% efficient, and a "high efficiency" Permanent Magnet motor might be 97 to 98% efficient!
The only differences are really in the road load which the powertrain must drive (lower CdA, less rolling friction etc) Unlike ICE which have a large parasitic friction, EV's basically are for all intensive purposes frictionless in terms of rotating friction.
Can't find the one I used but it's a bit like this one: http://www.electricvehiclewiki.com/images/a/a1/LEA...
Really only attaining that 95+% in the 6000rpm range. Round the sides it's around 75-80%. That 6000 wit it's 9.3 to 1 gear is in the 50mph region I think.
The motor on its own actually has a wider band of very high efficiency operation. But it's the power electronics that bring it down.
Useful/interesting link I found a while ago.
https://www.anl.gov/energy-systems/group/downloada...
They do PHEV and conventional cars too
https://www.anl.gov/energy-systems/group/downloada...
They do PHEV and conventional cars too
Max_Torque said:
Sure, but we were comparing two EV's. And what i was highlighting was that the losses in the powertrains are very similar on average, just a few single percentage points difference! The M5 vs Ka example fro ICE shows hugely different losses because of the vastly different frictional and parasitic losses between ICE powertrains of such different performance. But, compare say an i3 and a leaf, and i bet at any given roadload, the losses will come down to just a few hundred watts at most. This is why for an EV, it's all about minimising the roadload, rather than optmising the powertrain losses
Yes. Agree with you.I don't think, as a group, Hyundai drivers are just being more careful on the throttle. I think it is doing something different...surely the aero is a lot better? That is why they've cribbed the shape of the Prius rather than trying to keep a more conventional shape like the leaf/golf.
It has a pretty keen Cd of 0.24 doesn't it? And it's quite light.
Edited by Otispunkmeyer on Monday 1st January 10:43
The golf so far is averaging less than 3 mi per kWh. Dash says 2.7
To the poster who asked about the heater. I can confirm, it warms up fairly quick. I set to "Hi" and whilst it doesn't blow out hot air immediately, within about a minute or so you can feel nice warm air from the vents and then it gradually gets hotter as you go.
To the poster who asked about the heater. I can confirm, it warms up fairly quick. I set to "Hi" and whilst it doesn't blow out hot air immediately, within about a minute or so you can feel nice warm air from the vents and then it gradually gets hotter as you go.
Well first couple of odd issues...
Auto hold does not like our driveway. Three times now reversing down the drive and then moving into drive has then been met with warnings that auto hold has failed and the brake sticking on stopping the car from going anywhere.
Necessitates a key off - key on to clear. Will just leave auto hold off now.
The other problem might be the car,might be the charge point. The car failed to charge meaning my OH had to use another car to get to work.
The charging is something the trial is looking at so as part of our bit, we are incentivised to charge on an evening. To do this We have a web portal that is linked to our charge port and we use the portal to schedule charges or initiate charging. We are then scored based on when we charge. The car won't just charge when you plug in as you might ordinarily expect.
The car never charged. But the portal said it was indeed charging. I went outside to check and saw a green light on the wall box. The portal has even recorded the charge event which, strangely, ended when I took the cable out of the car this evening! So no idea if it's the wall box or the car or the web service! Hooing for better luck tonight!
Auto hold does not like our driveway. Three times now reversing down the drive and then moving into drive has then been met with warnings that auto hold has failed and the brake sticking on stopping the car from going anywhere.
Necessitates a key off - key on to clear. Will just leave auto hold off now.
The other problem might be the car,might be the charge point. The car failed to charge meaning my OH had to use another car to get to work.
The charging is something the trial is looking at so as part of our bit, we are incentivised to charge on an evening. To do this We have a web portal that is linked to our charge port and we use the portal to schedule charges or initiate charging. We are then scored based on when we charge. The car won't just charge when you plug in as you might ordinarily expect.
The car never charged. But the portal said it was indeed charging. I went outside to check and saw a green light on the wall box. The portal has even recorded the charge event which, strangely, ended when I took the cable out of the car this evening! So no idea if it's the wall box or the car or the web service! Hooing for better luck tonight!
Any questions at all, fire away.
Having driven it a bit more, I think its great.
You can live with this day to day quite easily. It behaves just like a normal car, looks like a normal car. Completely under the radar. To everyone else, its just your regular old Golf. Its not making a statement.
Performance is great and its been fun driving it and working out when to make use of "coasting" and when to make use of the "B" mode for stronger regen. You can, IMO, just about get away with 1-foot driving with the B mode in town I think. Its strength is well judged (unlike the i3, that sends you through the windscreen the minute you let off the pedal).
I notice in normal mode the car does actually seem to know where it is and what is coming up. I had the eco-driving tips screen up on the dash board and it tells you when to lift your foot off the accelerator and coast. You then see a graphic that basically counts you down to what is ahead such as a roundabout or a junction. I note as well that on my descent into the village, it will tell me to take my foot off the accelerator and it will coast down the hill, but it won't runaway, it starts applying a bit of regen to manage the speed so I end up doing a constant 30 mph down the hill. Regen picks up a little more as you approach the junction, but you do really need to get on the brakes yourself at that point.
I find the car best to drive in Eco mode weirdly. In Normal, the acceleration is strong and the general low level of noise etc leaves you with a poor sense of speed. This will probably take some time to adjust, but for now I find myself hurtling down country roads at nearly 80 mph, none the wiser. Until I look at the speedo and think "crikey!" or worse, arrive at a corner and suddenly realise I am going 20 MPH too fast for it. Again it rolls or coasts very well so you find that you can travel decent distances without touching the pedals, but it all adds to you going a bit too quick sometimes. In Eco mode, the pedal calibration means you just have to press that bit more and for me it works out much nicer for day to day driving and as a bonus, you get a little more range out of it.
The headlamps are something else. Its LED all round on this car, but dipped beam is great with a nice cut off. Full beam is like driving in the daytime. Best headlamps I have ever used. Absolutely fantastic on the country roads when there is no lighting of any kind.
Its a comfy car as well. I bemoaned the lack of heated seats on ours but its not been a problem. The cab seems to get warm quick enough if you need it. As well, having driven the GTE and a normal GT model with their deeper, more sculpted sports seats, the flat looking things fitted to the eGolf looked like they might be a little more unforgiving. But again, they're perfectly comfy.
Infotainment is the infotainment. Generally pretty good. Ours has the big wide glass fronted touch screen. its fast, clear and responsive. I will say though that its very difficult to use on the move. Many of the icons are a little small and there are no physical buttons flanking the screen as in the older systems. The capacitive "Home", "Menu", "On/Off" and volume buttons are part of the screen bezel but they are located on the passenger side which is a bit of a sod as it means you need to reach for them. Coupled with the small icons on some of the displays, it makes them very hard to hit on the move. You can't use it by feel like with physical buttons. But you can alter radio stations or music tracks from the menu on the dashboard via steering wheel buttons so thats OK. Its also got Android Auto and Apple CarPlay if you want those.
The Active Cruise is awesome. You can just about let the car do all the throttle/braking for you and you just turn the wheel. Its probably more for motorway use but I used it to go through town the other day and it stops/starts/moves off all on its own and follows the car in front at a set distance.
I think you'll really like the car. I can't see how anyone wouldn't to be honest. Its so easy to use and so very well engineered. The only real blot on its score sheet seems to be the slightly juicy consumption when travelling on the motorway. Likely alleviated by just slowing down a little to 65 mph perhaps, but around the country lanes and town, its really very good.
Having driven it a bit more, I think its great.
You can live with this day to day quite easily. It behaves just like a normal car, looks like a normal car. Completely under the radar. To everyone else, its just your regular old Golf. Its not making a statement.
Performance is great and its been fun driving it and working out when to make use of "coasting" and when to make use of the "B" mode for stronger regen. You can, IMO, just about get away with 1-foot driving with the B mode in town I think. Its strength is well judged (unlike the i3, that sends you through the windscreen the minute you let off the pedal).
I notice in normal mode the car does actually seem to know where it is and what is coming up. I had the eco-driving tips screen up on the dash board and it tells you when to lift your foot off the accelerator and coast. You then see a graphic that basically counts you down to what is ahead such as a roundabout or a junction. I note as well that on my descent into the village, it will tell me to take my foot off the accelerator and it will coast down the hill, but it won't runaway, it starts applying a bit of regen to manage the speed so I end up doing a constant 30 mph down the hill. Regen picks up a little more as you approach the junction, but you do really need to get on the brakes yourself at that point.
I find the car best to drive in Eco mode weirdly. In Normal, the acceleration is strong and the general low level of noise etc leaves you with a poor sense of speed. This will probably take some time to adjust, but for now I find myself hurtling down country roads at nearly 80 mph, none the wiser. Until I look at the speedo and think "crikey!" or worse, arrive at a corner and suddenly realise I am going 20 MPH too fast for it. Again it rolls or coasts very well so you find that you can travel decent distances without touching the pedals, but it all adds to you going a bit too quick sometimes. In Eco mode, the pedal calibration means you just have to press that bit more and for me it works out much nicer for day to day driving and as a bonus, you get a little more range out of it.
The headlamps are something else. Its LED all round on this car, but dipped beam is great with a nice cut off. Full beam is like driving in the daytime. Best headlamps I have ever used. Absolutely fantastic on the country roads when there is no lighting of any kind.
Its a comfy car as well. I bemoaned the lack of heated seats on ours but its not been a problem. The cab seems to get warm quick enough if you need it. As well, having driven the GTE and a normal GT model with their deeper, more sculpted sports seats, the flat looking things fitted to the eGolf looked like they might be a little more unforgiving. But again, they're perfectly comfy.
Infotainment is the infotainment. Generally pretty good. Ours has the big wide glass fronted touch screen. its fast, clear and responsive. I will say though that its very difficult to use on the move. Many of the icons are a little small and there are no physical buttons flanking the screen as in the older systems. The capacitive "Home", "Menu", "On/Off" and volume buttons are part of the screen bezel but they are located on the passenger side which is a bit of a sod as it means you need to reach for them. Coupled with the small icons on some of the displays, it makes them very hard to hit on the move. You can't use it by feel like with physical buttons. But you can alter radio stations or music tracks from the menu on the dashboard via steering wheel buttons so thats OK. Its also got Android Auto and Apple CarPlay if you want those.
The Active Cruise is awesome. You can just about let the car do all the throttle/braking for you and you just turn the wheel. Its probably more for motorway use but I used it to go through town the other day and it stops/starts/moves off all on its own and follows the car in front at a set distance.
I think you'll really like the car. I can't see how anyone wouldn't to be honest. Its so easy to use and so very well engineered. The only real blot on its score sheet seems to be the slightly juicy consumption when travelling on the motorway. Likely alleviated by just slowing down a little to 65 mph perhaps, but around the country lanes and town, its really very good.
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