First Drive
Live wire Volkswagen’s Golf GTI and GTD have offered practicality and performance for decades, but now, there’s a third option. Powered by a petrol-electric powertrain, the Golf GTE adds a dose of extra frugality to the family hatchback’s sporty ‘GT’ repertoire
Written by Richard Gooding
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Volkswagen pretty much invented the performance hatchback category in the mid‑1970s with the original Golf GTI. Those three little letters became synonymous with offering all-round performance and practicality, and Volkswagen introduced its first hot diesel Golf in the early 1980s. This offered all the go-faster looks with the promise of better fuel economy. Now in its seventh-generation, the latest Golf GTI is still an accomplished player in the performance hatchback market. The GTD meanwhile, is popular in the fleet market with 60 per cent of sales going to company car buyers. Up until 2012, a total of 223,838 petrol-powered Golf GTIs had been sold in the UK alone, so the model is of significant importance to Volkswagen. Now, there’s third performance Golf family member – step forward the GTE.
39g/km and 166mpg (GTI DSG 148g/km, 47.7mpg; GTD DSG 119g/km, 67.1mpg). Its’s a seemingly perfect combination. But it’s not just about the figures: the Golf GTI is known for its refinement and usable practicality, so what improvements, if any, can the GTE offer?
Performance with frugality Taking an old Audi name from the early 1970s, the Golf GTE aims to marry performance with frugality like no Golf has done before it. A plug-in hybrid model, Volkswagen clarifies its place in the Golf line-up by stating that the ‘I’ in ‘GTI’ stands for ‘injection’, the ‘D’ in ‘GTD’ signifies ‘diesel’, while the ‘E’ in ’GTE’ signals ‘electricity’. And that’s exactly the pair of existing Golf variants the GTE straddles. Taking its cue from the all-electric e-Golf introduced in 2014, the GTE takes this car as a starting point and adds a performance-orientated twist in the vein of the Golf GTI, combined with a frugal appetite such as that of the Golf GTD. The bare figures are certainly impressive for a hybrid hatchback. Volkswagen quotes a 0-62mph time of 7.6 seconds (GTI 6.5s, GTD 7.5s, both with DSG semi-automatic gearbox) and a 138mph top speed. That takes care of the performance bit, but, things get really interesting when the company also states that the GTE is capable of CO2 emissions of just
Single-model range Volkswagen makes the specification choice easy. Only available in one model, the five-door GTE starts at £28,755 once the government’s £5,000 Plug-in Car Grant is taken off the list price. The Golf GTE is powered by a 1.4-litre TSI direct-injection petrol engine with 148bhp, along with a 103bhp electric motor integrated into the car’s gearbox housing. Combined power of 202bhp gives a theoretical range of 580 miles according to VW, while maximum torque is 258b ft (350Nm). That torque is needed, too, as with the extra bulk of the battery, the Golf GTE’s weight balloons to 1,599kg (GTI 1,370kg, GTD 1,377kg). Volkswagen quotes an all-electric range of up to 31 miles for the Golf PHEV. The Golf GTE is only offered with a six‑speed DSG semi-automatic gearbox specially designed for use in the company’s electric and hybrid vehicles. Other technical highlights include a battery charger and power electronics module sited near the
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– the Golf GTE harbours an eight-year, 99,360‑mile (160,000km) warranty for the battery alongside the company’s standard 3-year, 60,000‑mile guarantee. Charging time for the 8.8kWh lithium-ion battery from a domestic mains outlet is 3 hours and 45 minutes, while that drops to 2 hours and 15 minutes when the car is plugged into a Volkswagen-recommended and British Gas-supplied wallbox.
Eager acceleration To drive, the GTE feels unsurprisingly similar to the Volkswagen ’s own e-Golf when in all-electric e-mode. Silent running and eager acceleration (with an 81mph cap) thanks to the electric motor’s slug of torque make the GTE feel sprightly. Press the ‘GTE’ button near the gear lever however, and the experience changes. Using both the petrol engine and the electric motor, the GTE’s performance is substantially increased. Gear changes convey a more sporty feel, kicking down much earlier, and drivers can attune their driving experience to their needs via the Tiptronic manual mode