2017 Volkswagen e-Golf Open For Bookings In Europe; 300km Battery Range

The extensively updated Volkswagen Golf gets an all-electric variant, the e-Golf, which is now open for orders for customers in Europe at a starting price of €35,900 in Germany. As a basis for comparison, the Golf GTI in the same market retails for €29,975.

First shown at Los Angeles last November, the new 2017 e-Golf boasts added power and a longer cruising range than its predecessor whilst incorporating all other upgraded features as found in the heavily facelifted Golf Mk 7.5 that was introduced late last year.

Thanks to a new lithium-ion battery with increased energy capacity from 24.2 previously to 35.8 kWh, the new e-Golf will cover up to 200km per full charge depending on traffic conditions, air-con usage, and other parameters. On the NEDC cycle, it reportedly achieved a range of 300km, a 50 percent increase from before.

Outputs from the electric motor have increased too, with power up by 20PS to 136PS and torque increased by 20Nm to 290Nm. On the road, this translates to a 0.8-second improvement of its century sprint time to a respectable 9.6 seconds.

Standard features in the 2017 e-Golf included autonomous emergency braking with pedestrian detection and the 9.2-inch Discover Pro touchscreen infotainment system with gesture control. Volkswagen’s Active Info Display virtual instrument cluster is available as an optional upgrade.

Like other electric-powered Volkswagen models, the e-Golf can be remotely accessed by the Car-Net ‘e-Remote’ app that allows the user to, say, start and stop the air-conditioning or charging of the battery from a smartphone or tablet.

To optimize energy consumption, particular over the winter months, Volkswagen engineers have developed a heat pump that warms the vehicle’s cabin using ambient air and waste heat generated by the vehicle’s power unit components. The heat pump is offered as an optional upgrade.

The e-Golf will be produced at Volkswagen’s Transparent Factory in Dresden, Germany, from April 2017 onwards.