Volkswagen e-Golf Tagline: “One Drive And You’ll Almost Forget It’s Electric”

Volkswagen e-Golf

Properly advertising electric cars seems especially difficult for automakers who’ve spent the past decades marketing only ICE automobiles.

Such is the case here with the tagline Volkswagen has chosen to apply to its e-Golf:

“One drive and you’ll almost forget it’s electric.”

This Tagline Doesn’t Sit Well With Electric Vehicle Enthusiasts

That single line has created quite a stir among the electric vehicle enthusiast community.

The typical reactionary response to VW’s tagline is that forgetting it’s electric is impossible.  Electric is what takes the standard Golf to a higher level.  Once you’ve driven electric, you never go back, so VW stating that you’ll forget it’s electric misses the point entirely.  Some of the reasons for going electric are greater refinement, smoothness in power delivery and an all-around more enjoyable driving experience.  You certainly don’t want to forget these attributes of electric cars.

If we could modify VW’s tagline, while keeping most of it still intact, how should it read?

“One drive and you’ll….”

Let’s give VW some assistance by completing the line above with a proper ending.

Source: InsideEV's

VW XL1 Aerodynamics Will Influence Next-Gen Golf

With a price of $169,000 and fuel efficiency of some 261 MPG, the Volkswagen XL1 is a concept car nobody expected VW to build. Yet it did, and people lined up for the limited production run of the hyper-efficiency, teardrop-shaped coupe.

A report from AutoCar says that lessons learned from the Volkswagen XL1 will be applied to the next-generation Volkswagen Golf, which is already being designed with the next round of European emissions standards in mind. This means a lot of aerodynamic efficiencies which could ultimately shape the look and feel of the next Golf…though it will still look like a Golf, we’ve been assured. Still, the XL1′s shape is what makes it so efficient, and turning a 1+1 coupe into a family hatchback is a tall order.

The Golf Mk8 will, due out sometime in 2019, will continue to use the flexible MQB platform, but won’t make use of aluminum due to cost constraints. Instead, new aerodynamic enhancements gleaned from work on the XL1 will be utilized, as a new round of engine improvements is unlikely to deliver the 22 to 27% carbon emissions reductions demanded by the Euro5 emissions standards. Even without aluminum though, Volkswagen is aiming for a 1,100 kg/2,425 lb. curb weight, as well as integrating flywheel energy recovery systems and electric turbochargers (an Audi speciality) into more mainstream cars.

What other lessons might Vdub get from the XL1 though? Well, the next Golf could have an adjustable ride height, hugging the road at highway speeds to reduce aerodynamic drag. The XL1 has an aerodynamic drag of just 0.189 and a curb weight around 1,800 pounds, which along with a hyper-efficient two-cylinder diesel engine/electric motor combo, delivers more than ten times the average new American car’s fuel economy.

Just how efficient does the next Golf have to be?

Source: Volkswagen

7th-generation Golf GTI on sale in US; lighter and more fuel-efficient

Volkswagen of America, Inc. announced the official arrival of the new 2015 Volkswagen Golf GTI in US. The MQB-based seventh-generation of the original “hot hatch” (first introduced in the US in 1983) preserves the performance and handling style of its forebears, while being bigger—but lighter—and more powerful—but more fuel efficient—than its immediate Mk 6 predecessor.

The new GTI is also Volkswagen’s introduction of the MQB (modular transverse matrix) vehicle platform to the North American market—a significant step in standardizing, simplifying, and improving the design and creation of products across the entire Volkswagen Group portfolio. The use of the MQB also more easily supports the deployment of alternative powertrain architectures, as seen in the plug-in hybrid Golf GTE. 

The MQB architecture allows for a more cab-backward design, which gives the new Golf GTI a more upscale appearance while retaining classic design cues from the Mk 1 and Mk 4 generation GTI models.

2.0L Gen3 EA888 engine. The all-new Golf GTI features a Gen 3 EA888 2.0-liter turbocharged and direct-injection TSI engine that makes 210 hp (157 kW) at 4,500 rpm and 258 lb-ft (350 N·m) of torque form 1,500 to 4,500 rpm, figures that are 10 hp and 51 lb-ft higher than in the previous-generation GTI model.

The available Performance Package modifies the engine programming to hold peak torque for an extra 200 rpm, enabling the EA888 to produce an extra 10 hp for a total of 220 hp (164 kW) at 4,700 rpm.

Under the hood of the new Golf GTI. Click to enlarge.

Despite this increase in horsepower and torque, the new Golf GTI is more fuel efficient than previously. When equipped with the six-speed manual transmission, the Golf GTI records an EPA estimated fuel economy rating of 25 mpg (9.4 l/100 km) in the city and 34 mpg (6.9 l/100 km) on the highway, compared to the previous-generation GTI’s ratings of 21 mpg (11.2 l/100 km) city and 31 mpg (7.6 l/100 km) highway.

When equipped with the optional six-speed DSG dual-clutch automatic transmission, the fuel economy improves from the previous model’s 24 mpg (9.8 l/100 km) city and 32 mpg (7.4 l/100 km) highway to EPA estimated fuel economy ratings of 25 mpg in the city and 33 mpg (7.1 l/100 km)) on the highway. The DSG transmission also incorporates a launch control feature.

Augmenting the EA888’s 16-valve, dual-overhead-camshaft layout is the latest variable cam phasing system, which controls both intake and exhaust valves, as well as a variable lift system for the valves themselves.

First drive and the GTx family.
Way back in the early 1990s—before the days of commercials with kinetic “un-pimpings” and miniature Darth Vaders—Volkswagen ran a brief ad campaign with the simple slogan “Fahrvergnügen” (driving enjoyment).
While that campaign was short-lived (and probably not that successful), the one-word emphasis on acceleration, control and handling is a good tag for our first seat time in the new GTI. The new Golf GTI is extremely balanced, fast with crisp handling, and very fun to drive. It’s also extremely comfortable, given Volkswagen’s emphasis on improving not only the driving power and performance, but also upping the internal content of the Mk 7.
As a side note, although Volkswagen is not lowering the sticker price of the GTI, on a content-adjusted basis—i.e., what you get for what you pay—the price of the GTI is down about $2,200. Volkswagen has loaded it up, contributing again to performance and comfort.
The GTI is currently the only member of the “Gran Turismo” family on sale in the US, although Volkswagen is currently selling the diesel GTD, and the plug-in hybrid GTE, elsewhere.
Having had a very short amount of driving time with each over the past months, we’d say that while all three have a common core of performance and handling attributes, there are some usability differences stemming from the different powertrain choices. (Again, a side-note. The simple availability of the three major powertrain choices on a major model (due to the MQB) from one of the top automakers is a good problem to have—assuming we get the GTD and GTE in the US.)
Grossly oversimplifying, and leaving out the environmental pluses and minuses due to fuel choices, we’ll note that the GTI is faster off the line and feels quicker to the sprint. (The US GTI does not offer start-stop, which the GTD model we drove did, and which, of course, the GTE features.)
Aside from the lower speed, start-stop operation, the diesel GTD is as satisfying and fun to drive as the gasoline GTI. And as a road car for long-distance, higher speed trips, the diesel platform excels.
Our time with the GTE was the shortest, but long enough to feel the GT family “DNA”. However, at this point, on initiating aggressive acceleration—when both the motor and the gasoline engine are brought to bear—there is a slight lag more akin to a combustion engine vehicle than an electric. (By contrast, mashing down the accelerator pedal in the all-battery e-Golf produces the archetypal "Wheee!" of instant electric acceleration. The difference between the two is more apparent when the two are driven back-to-back.)

The single-scroll turbocharger (commonly engineered by IHI and Volkswagen) feeds intercooled air through the aluminum-alloy crossflow cylinder head. Fuel is delivered by the latest high-pressure direct-fuel-injection system at 2,900 pounds per square inch, compared to 2,176 psi on the previous EA888 engine.

The new engine is designed to be both lighter than the old unit and also to reduce friction. Weight is reduced thanks to a combination of compact design, streamlined componentry, and a focus on lightweight materials. The cast-iron engine block uses a wall thickness of just 0.12 inches to reduce its weight to 72 pounds, while a lightweight polymer oilpan and aluminum-alloy screws and fasteners also trim mass.

Other changes reducing engine weight include a reduction from eight to four crankshaft counterweights. Internal friction is reduced due to measures such as roller bearings for the engine’s balancer shafts and a reduction in the size of the engine’s main bearings.

The engine is also extremely compact, illustrated by the way in which the exhaust headers have been integrated directly into the cylinder head. This not only improves the system coolant operation (aiding rapid warm-up, which helps improve efficiency), but it also allows greater thermal management of the exhaust stream.

This, along with a turbocharger that can withstand extremely high exhaust temperatures, means the forced-induction system doesn’t require complex fuel enrichments under high load, helping improve both efficiency and longevity.

Suspension and chassis. As the first US-market vehicle built on Volkswagen’s MQB modular platform, the new Golf GTI features an all-new body-in-white. The unitary construction chassis has two solid-mounted subframes with bolt-on front fenders, and utilizes new technologies such as the laser clamp welder, which produces “wobble seam” welds in a wave pattern to maximize strength in a limited space, offering up to four times the strength of a traditional spot weld.

The all-new Golf GTI’s stamped steel body and chassis now has 28% of its parts in high-strength, hot-formed steel, as opposed to 6% in the previous GTI. This technology—along with the use of newly developed ultra-high-strength steels that weren’t available during the last generation’s development and now comprise 9% of the new Golf GTI’s bodyshell—allow much of the chassis and body to be constructed from thinner and lighter parts without any loss in strength.

Using selective thickness for parts, a single component can be tailor-rolled to have as many as 11 zones of varying thicknesses. The result is a body-in-white that weighs 51 pounds (23 kg) less than the previous car’s despite offering 10% more torsional rigidity. Overall, the new Golf GTI is 53 to 82 pounds (24 to 37 kg) lighter than the previous-generation car, despite its larger size and additional equipment.

The new Golf GTI features a strut-type front suspension with lower control arms and a multilink rear suspension, both of which are controlled by coil springs with telescopic dampers.

The Golf GTI has a lowered sport suspension, which is 0.6 inches lower than the Golf TSI and TDI Clean Diesel models. The front suspension includes a 24-millimeter anti-roll bar while the rear has a 20-millimeter version, 2 mm larger at the front and 1 mm thicker at the back compared with a regular Golf TSI model.

The Golf GTI can also be ordered for the first time in the US with the latest version of Volkswagen’s DCC adaptive damping system, which manages the suspension’s rebound and compression rates individually, helping to improve vehicle dynamics. This feature is only available on SE and Autobahn models fitted with the optional Performance Package.

All 2015 Golf GTI models are equipped with the XDS+ Cross Differential System—an updated version of the XDS system seen on the previous GTI. This technology acts somewhat like an electronic substitute for a traditional mechanical limited-slip differential, working by actively monitoring data from each wheel sensor. If the suspension becomes unloaded, the system automatically applies braking to the driven inside wheel as needed to reduce understeer (the tendency for the front wheels to run wide). This not only helps keep the Golf on the road, but also improves handling and cornering performance.

Another new feature on the Golf GTI is the ESC Sport function for very experienced drivers. The system is activated by a two-stage switch on the center console. If the driver pushes the button once briefly, the ASR (traction control) function is deactivated. When the button is pressed longer than three seconds, Electronic Stability Control (ESC) switches to the ESC Sport mode. In high-speed driving, such as on a racetrack, the ESC system operates at a higher threshold for even more agile handling. ESC can also be activated through the CAR settings menu.

On Golf GTI models equipped with the Performance Package, a torque-sensing limited-slip differential dubbed VAQ is fitted. This electronically-controlled differential works in concert with the existing stability systems (including the related brake-based XDS+ electronic differential lock) and improves traction and performance. Tests at the Nürburgring Nordschleife track have shown lap-time improvements of more than eight seconds on cars equipped with the new differential.

The VAQ acts as a traditional limited-slip differential—which reacts by transferring a set amount of torque to non-slipping wheels when others lose traction—but adds to its effectiveness by monitoring the data from each wheel sensor at all times. Since this data includes both vehicle and wheel speed, as well as yaw and lateral g-force, the system constantly makes precise adjustments to help maintain an optimum torque balance between the left and right front wheels.

Up to a full 100% of torque can be transferred to either side, as opposed to the fixed “best guess” percentage seen in traditional limited-slip differentials. The result of this proactive (rather than reactive) system is the elimination of the understeer and torque steer that can afflict sporty front-wheel-drive cars.

The all-new Golf GTI also features the Progressive electric power steering system. Volkswagen has spaced the teeth on the steering gear’s rack more tightly towards the center. The lower steering ratio in the center means that the car responds more quickly when entering a turn, while the higher ratio at the ends of the rack reduces the amount of effort needed near full steering lock, such as when parking. The steering wheel goes from lock to lock in just 2.1 turns, whereas the standard Golf needs 2.76 turns.

Pricing for the all-new Golf GTI starts car starts at $24,395 for the entry-level S trim in two-door form with six-speed manual transmission, an increase of just $195 over the base price of the previous model.

Volkswagen could build plug-in hybrids in China

When you're Europe's largest automaker and your largest global market happens to be the one most notorious for its pollution (China), some solutions just present themselves. Volkswagen may be heeding that call. During the upcoming Beijing Motor Show, the company is expected to announce plans to produce plug-in hybrid electric vehicles in China, Reuters says, citing sources within the company.

Few details have emerged, though the plug-ins will likely be produced at VW's Foshan factory in South China, which currently makes the Golf and Audi A3 and has plans to eventually make 600,000 vehicles annually. News has been percolating for a while, as Oliver Schmidt, general manager engineering and environmental office for Volkswagen Group of America, said last March that the company was planning at least two plug-in hybrid lines under the VW badge (and another three with its Audi and Porsche affiliates), including possibly a Touareg and Jetta PHEV. VW said late last month that it was looking to speed up development of "particularly eco-friendly models" made by Shanghai Volkswagen as well as developing a "new, very eco-friendly vehicle" with First Automotive Works (FAW).

Earlier this year, VW unveiled its Golf GTE plug-in hybrid at the Geneva Motor Show. That model has a 1.4-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine and an electric motor to provide 201 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque. The car can travel as many as 81 miles on electric power alone.

News Source: Reuters

VW Building $8,000 Budget Car For China

Times are still tough for many people, and buying a new car is simply out of the picture. China, however, is seeing an almost meteoric rise in car sales year after year, and a new interest in low-cost auto manufacturing could send sales through the roof. Volkswagen has announced its intention to build a budget car for Chinese consumers with a starting price around $8,000.

Because of the way Chinese tariff laws work, the car will likely be sold under a joint venture between VW and one of its Chinese allies. The goal price is between $8,000 and $9,400 in a market segment that sees over three million annual sales, and is growing. The car will likely use some existing Volkswagen technology, probably borrowed from other budget cars like the Up! and Golf.

Volkswagen isn’t alone in pursuing the economic end of the market. Nissan is working on a $3,000 car under the Datsun brand, and Indian automakerTata makes the Nano, which at launch could be bought for about $2,000 in India. How low will automakers go, and will America ever see a car as cheap as $8,000 again?

Source: AutoCar

2014 Volkswagen Golf - Video

The fortunes of Volkswagen in the United States are moving steadily upward in direct correlation to how serious Wolfsburg has become about our market, a market it frankly neglected badly for about three full decades. The era of neglect is over now and the Germans are focusing especially hard on North American drivers who may have never owned a VW.

For many in the US, a first Volkswagen will be either a Jetta orPassat, both of which have pretty good trunks. But we just drove this all-new seventh generation Golf and it needs to be on that same consideration list because it is a nearly perfect, sensibly sized trunkless car.

The numbers for the Golf since its invention in 1974 are staggering. By the start of 2013, the Golf (called Rabbit for many of those bleakest years here in the States) will have sold nearly 30 million units worldwide. The Golf Mk VI, which is still offered in many markets including the US, remains the dominant best-selling car in all of Europe at the end of its life cycle. VW didn't really need to update much to keep the sales ball rolling.

But this Golf VII, introduced in September at the Paris Motor Show, is an all-new car, even though from the outside things look strictly evolutionary. The chief ingredient in making true this claim of being "all-new" is the use of a completely reworked architecture called MQB, which stands for Modularer Querbaukasten, or "modular transverse matrix." New architectures for any company signify shockingly massive investments, and therefore the damned things had better be really good for the bottom line. In the case of MQB, company leaders estimate the price tag for its four years of development totals $65 billion, so the intent is that MQB will stick around for at least a decade before a replacement architecture is even talked about.

The Golf VII is an all-new car, even though from the outside things look strictly evolutionary.

Making certain it earns its keep quickly, VW Group has announced that MQB will be used on everything with transverse engines coming from VW, Audi, Seat and Škoda, ranging from models the size of the next VW Polo on up to the next Passat – that is to say, a major percentage of all cars produced within VW Group. So far, we've driven MQB with the new Audi A3, and now here with the four-door Golf Mk VII.

For this event, we picked the upgraded 146-horsepower 2.0 TDI Golf in its top European Highline trim using an optional six-speed DSG dual-clutch automatic with shift paddles. At this launch event, the TDI motor we chose was available alongside a revamped 138-hp 1.4 TSI gas engine with Active Cylinder Technology, but the latter is not on call for US deliveries, so we took the global diesel route. The current second engine to be used in North America is the recently re-engineered 1.8 TFSI four-cylinder with 158 hp, and it's this powerplant that will finally put the cast-iron block, 170-hp 2.5-liter five-cylinder out to pasture as the Golf's entry engine.



Maybe the most impressive feat of the current generation Golf VI is that it carried over almost everything from the Golf V – something it was criticized for at first – yet has actually gained market share everywhere it's sold. A global jury voted it the World Car of the Year in 2009 after its major midlife upgrade. [Full disclosure: Your author is involved with said awards.] So to repeat, we were not really looking for a long menu of notable improvements for this Golf VII.

Underbody changes would only be noticed if they made the Golf less great than before.

The biggest challenge for Volkswagen was making certain that this first truly mainstream – and incredibly important – MQB model would carry on the legacy to the next level of premium. That's because the underbody changes here would only be noticed by the general public if they made the Golf less great than before. It's a $65 billion investment to make sure buyers notice almost nothing to disrupt the Golf legend, in a sense. And even VW bosses admit that while MQB does provide many welcome, albeit subtle, improvements for drivers and passengers, the new architecture is much more a move to contain spiraling costs in a spiraling world.

So, the Golf Mk VII is monumentally important. Sort of like a European version of the expectations resting on the Ford F-Series pickup lineup in the States: Without its success, everything else in the car business would suffer, too.

EPA figures should theoretically reach 36 miles per gallon city and 50 mpg highway.

Set against the Golf VI, the Golf VII, which arrives in the US by April of 2014 as a 2015 model year car, is 2.2 inches longer on the outside with a 2.3-in. longer wheelbase, half an inch wider, and 1.1 inches lower in overall height. This translates visually into a more attractive stance for the Golf without flattening it out – that look is still saved for the 16.3 CU. Given the slightly more upright Golf-original rear pillar and greater interior space, rear passenger legroom is up 1.2 inches and cargo space has increased by 1.1 cubic feet to 16.3 cubic feet, plus the load opening is now wider and lower to ease strain.

All new models on the MQB sled weigh less than their predecessors and have more structural rigidity. For the Golf VII, the incorporation of finer gauge high-strength steels in the body and chassis, plus the use of aluminum, allow some trims to weigh in over 200 pounds less than before. In our 2.0 TDI's case with the existing six-speed DSG transmission, weight loss sits at nearly 50 pounds for a total of 3,024 pounds. A sliver of the weight loss can be traced to the smaller fuel tank on the Golf VII – down from 14.5 gallons US to 13.2 gallons. The 23-percent greater fuel efficiency for the new car's gas and diesel engines has made it possible to lower fuel capacity without compromising the car's range. This latest version of the EA288 TDI engine family renders the 2.0 TDI 18.5-percent more efficient, so EPA figures should theoretically reach 36 miles per gallon city and 50 mpg highway.

We honestly prefer the entire Golf VII package over that of the new Audi A3.

Inside and out, this Golf VII is easily the most impressively premium small family car in the not-quite-an-Audi segment of the import market. That said, we honestly prefer the entire Golf VII package over that of the new Audi A3. In fact, it's difficult to justify choosing the pricier A3 over the Golf VII. Keeping in mind that our tester here is what might in the US be the equivalent of the top trim four-door Golf with Technology Package and other cushy add-ons, the general feel to this re-design, even in base trim, is very sophisticated and pleasantly more driver-oriented than the Golf VI.

Along with manual transmissions and their clutch pedals, there is a diehard love that burns for the large-levered handbrake. Well, sadly, that's all gone now on the Golf VII, so no more forced oversteer in slippery parking lots will be allowed. In a tradeoff, the area around the driver is much cleaner now and the center console gear lever has moved eight-tenths of an inch forward, which, though perhaps sounding small as changes go, is a better orientation for most modern-day arm lengths. As with the A3, the center dash is also now tilted more toward the driver.

Drag coefficient is down from 0.32 to 0.28.

Legroom in the front footwells is pleasantly increased due not only to the longer wheelbase, but also the new universal orientation of every engine mounted crossways on the MQB platform. Every single model built with MQB will have a transverse engine – gas or diesel – set at a 12-degree angle leaning toward the rear and with the exhaust side also toward the rear, thus simplifying the routing of the exhaust system while gaining that space for knees and feet. And though overall height is down by 1.1 inches, the new body-contouring passenger seats get squabs that are less thick and therefore able to be placed lower in the cabin, resulting in greater headroom for all. All of this reorganizing has also affected the exterior's ability to slip through the air – the drag coefficient is down from 0.32 to 0.28, and this has helped lessen wind noise while cruising at speed.

A standard feature on all Golfs now that was previously reserved for hotter varieties is the XDS virtual e-diff that works on the front brakes to stabilize the car while driving into, through and exiting curves. This, coupled with the new generation of optional Dynamic Chassis Control on our test car, turns even the 146-hp TDI with 236 pound-feet of torque into quite the nimble everyday driver.

Acceleration to 60 mph with this trim is down two-tenths of a second to 8.4 seconds.

We can clearly feel the car's added stiffness and level-headedness in corners and transitions, while the steering's feel through the assisted rack and newly designed three-spoke steering wheel is appropriate for this more civilian trim while we await the future GTI model. Acceleration to 60 mph with this trim is down two-tenths of a second to 8.4 seconds, and the soundproofing measures in the chassis and acoustic glass make all of these acceleration runs go off without unpleasant noises. All the while, the 17-inch Dunlop tires on the VW's widened axles behaved strictly according to plan and never forced us to compromise what we had in mind as we dashed along.

The new top-of-the-line Discover Pro onboard interface comes with screens of 5.8- or 8.0-inches, and they feel very much like a piece of modern consumer electronics with their pre-touch sensing of the screens that pops up the main menus before you touch the surface. Beyond this cool factor, the system itself works well and is lightning fast at all important functions. Having this level of interface with full 3D-capable graphics feels downright Phaeton-like to us. Once again, the MQB design under the skin has made a new wiring harness possible, which allows for many options that used to be reserved for richer cars. Adaptive cruise control, automated parking assist, lane departure warning and a raft of other high-class safety and convenience tech is now available.

VW is holding off on our markets so as to have the new GTI ready by launch time.

Europe starts getting first deliveries of the Golf VII toward the end of this month. As happened in the US and Canada for Golf VI, we will wait 18 months before our first new Golfs arrive. On the plus side, that means VW is holding off on our markets so as to have the new GTI ready by launch time.

This new Golf hatch is a solid step up compared to the current generation, and it's filled with standard and optional offerings that were not possible prior to the MQB architecture. All the same, given the tough global economic times times and the need to maintain sales numbers despite the ongoing crisis, VW is determined not to change its prices by much or at all. The 1.8-liter TFSI two-door ought to come in around $18,000 for the base trim with new six-speed manual, while the 2.0 TDI four-door we tested in the highest trim offered with a DSG gearbox will likely be around $29,500. Expect the future 217-hp two-door GTI with a six-speed manual to start at a little over $24,000.

Add another little German to your shopping list, kids; the new Golf VII feels like a car costing... about as much as a new Audi A3 Sportback. Or better. Could this get awkward for Audi?

Source: Autoblog Green

Test Driving the Volkswagen Electric Golf

Volkswagen e-motion EV

When Britain has done with subsidised battery-electric space-hoppers, eco-celebrity flash mobs and brainless bolides masquerading as electrified urban transport, the VW Golf will be left standing sentinel to our politicians' crass venality.

Next year they will spend up to £43 million of our money subsidising the wealthy at up to £5,000 a shot to buy a ragtag army of battery-powered scooters, golf carts and trikes.

Only Nissan will have a sensible car, the Leaf, on sale and that won't make any money for its maker, or save much, if any, for its users. The environment is unlikely to gain, either, because Britain generates the lion's share of its volts by burning fossil fuels.

That's not to say electricity isn't a key part of the next car generation, but forcing the electrification of the automobile with tokenist grants does nothing to make Britain a centre of battery-car technology. It's as fruitless as rain-dancing around the garden in the bid to alter the course of a cricket match.

Everything - the infrastructure, renewable generation, a viable supplier sector, healthy markets, recharging systems and public trust - has to grow together.

Cameron and Clegg, terrified of being dubbed anti-environmental, have bought off the eco lobby with these grants, mean in amounts and crafty in time restrictions. If you get an electric grant next year, you probably don't need one.

Volkswagen has deliberately avoided the bandwagon and this new battery-electric Golf, which will not hit the showrooms until the end of 2013, seems almost disdainful of gimmicks.

It is just the latest in a series of battery-electric Golf models from Wolfsburg. Unveiled in 1976, the first, experimental 25bhp Golf tested successfully for more than 12,500 miles.

In 1981 VW unveiled a series of CityStromer battery Golf models in conjunction with electricity supplier RWE. Powered by lead-acid batteries, performance and range were gradually increased and VW sold about 100 of them. More recently, we have seen the plug-in hybrid Golf Twin-Drive, which goes trial in Berlin this year.

Parked outside the VW Autostadt museum complex, the battery Golf is spectacularly understated. Apart from body stickers, only the absence of an exhaust pipe gives the game away.

Passenger space is completely unchanged and only the slightly raised boot floor betrays the presence of a high-tech 26.4kWh lithium-ion battery and attendant wiring.

The extra weight is partly compensated by the loss of a fuel tank and piston engine driveline: the battery Golf weighs just 452lb more than its diesel counterpart with twin-clutch transmission.

The dashboard looks entirely conventional until you read the measurement units of kilowatts. VW has cleverly used analogue dials to indicate electricity consumption, remaining range and battery condition, although digital displays are available with the usual pull down facia menus.

A single gearlever sprouts from the centre console and the systems are activated with a conventional key start. More braking energy regeneration can be summoned via a "B" setting on the gearlever quadrant or by pulling paddles behind the steering wheel,

Pull away with three adults on board and the Golf is brisk and strong up to about 50mph, where the torque peak starts to tail off. Even so, it will happily cruise at 75mph and pulls gamely up to 90-100mph. It is eerily silent and refined, and much better than rivals that are nearer production.

It's worth recalling here that the original Golf GTI had just one fewer bhp than this battery car and - even though it weighed about half as much - only mustered a top speed of 112mph.

Throw the electric Golf around and body roll is well controlled, while the electrically assisted steering is well weighted and direct. The ride is slightly abrupt on Michelin eco tyres, but the suspension has yet to be fully optimised.

Production cars will come equipped with a three-stage drive system comprising Comfort (the full 85kW), Normal (power restricted to 65kW) and Range+ (a further reduction to 50kW). It seems just about OK, especially when you're desperately conserving power to get to your destination.

Less successful is the paddle-shift motor braking system, which seems to affect the accelerator mapping so that you have to give it a boot full of kilowatts to maintain speed. We weren't sure about the absence of an automatic "creep" in the single-speed transmission, either.

Such systems use power, but if you don't left-foot brake, the Golf will roll back on hills unless you transfer from brake to throttle with speed and accuracy (or else use the parking brake).

Promising, then? It is probably the best electric car we've driven, but there's so much else for Britain to sort out before the battery Golf can be a viable means of transport for a select few.

Perhaps the last and refreshingly frank words should come from the man charged with making a success of the project, VW Group chairman Martin Winterkorn.

"To be a resounding success," he says, "the electric car must be affordable for a wide range of people and must be uncompromisingly practical in everyday use.

"Only then - at high production volumes and if possible on all continents − can one truly speak of the beginning of the era of the electric automobile and of measurably positive environmental effects."

As my Nan used to say, stick that in your pipe and smoke it.

The facts

TESTED VW Golf blue-e-motion battery-electric five-door hatchback. With 694lb, 26.4kWh, 180-cell water/air-cooled lithium-ion battery in boot, under rear seats and in centre tunnel. 176lb AC synchronous (brush-less) electric motor driving the front wheels. Operating voltage 324 volts

PRICE/ON SALE No prices yet. On sale end of 2013 with a test fleet in deployment between then and now.

POWER/TORQUE Motor 85kW (113hp) peak, 50kW (68hp) continuous, 199lb ft of torque

TOP SPEED Electronically limited to 93mph

ACCELERATION 0-62mph in 11.8sec

RANGE 87 miles in German-only NEDC Combined cycle

RECHARGE TIME Six hours for a full charge with 240v 15amp domestic supply, half hour for 85 per cent charge with three-phase 50kW quick charger

CO2 EMISSIONS None at tailpipe

ON THE STEREO Sailing by Rod Stewart

VERDICT Spectacularly useable battery electric car, with honest range that will suit the majority of commuters. Some details need more work and there are bigger issues about renewable electricity generation, but the Golf's gone electric and how.

TELEGRAPH VERDICT Four out of five

Source: Telegraph