Author Topic: Golf GTE: Who has one? And why? And what's it like?  (Read 6215 times)

Offline Exonian

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The Golf GTE, born out of a global requirement to reduce emissions (I never describe these cars as low pollution as the manufacture of them plus the electric and fuel they consume all pollute somewhere along the line, just theoretically less sh!te out of the exhaust in the immediate surroundings) but probably viewed by the average GTI enthusiast as a bit of a cop out along the lines of the mk1 GTD back in the late '70's.

So I'm guessing that unless you live in Northern France, Belgium maybe and of course the Netherlands plus possibly Anglia in the UK you're not going to see much battery life with all that weight going round countless bends and more so up hills. Then you also have a 1.4 petrol engine to double up as a generator and assist the battery with the hills.

Now, I appreciate that they probably look very attractive to company car buyers (who presumably aren't that bothered by driving dynamics) and are possibly even more attractive to people that live in cities like London (Manchester too?) that have low emissions zones where driving dynamics become irrelevant but who else would buy one?

I for one accept that vehicles like this are probably going to take over the world in the near future and that it's early technology yet but what are they like to drive?

The mk1 GTD was slow and vibrated like buggery and a far cry from what we now know the GTD as, so how does its modern equivalent in the trend setting of future Golfs shape up?
‘25 8.5R, ‘23 8R, ‘20 8CS, ‘19 135iX, ‘19 TCR, ‘17 Ed40, ‘17 GTD, ‘15 7R, ‘13 GTI PP, ‘11 GTI, ‘09 GTI, ‘98 Ibiza Cupra, ‘05 GTI, ‘06 Polo GTI, ‘04 GT TDI, ‘05 Fabia vRS, ‘02 GTI T, ‘03 Ibiza TDI 130, ‘01 Leon 180, ‘89 mk2 16v, ‘99 Ibiza TDI, ‘96 VR6, ‘98 Ibiza TDI, ‘92 VR6, ‘88 mk2 8v, ‘92 Polo G40, ‘91 mk2 8v, ‘89 mk2 8v, 205 GTI 1.9, ‘83 mk1 GTI, ‘80 Scirocco GTI, plus some others I’ve forgotten 

Offline Tory

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Re: Golf GTE: Who has one? And why? And what's it like?
« Reply #1 on: 17 July 2016, 16:51 »
I nearly sued VW over my GTE

Would never reccomend

Maybe wait for a MK8 in 2020 so they can iron out the thousands of issues which have been created by rushing a vehicle and then ending up with the unrealistic mpg statements and constant technical issues

If anyone has any questions, please go ahead I'll answer with all honesty

Just remember I am a GTD owner so the experience didn't put me off the brand; just the technology
« Last Edit: 17 July 2016, 16:54 by Tory »
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Offline monkeyhanger

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Re: Golf GTE: Who has one? And why? And what's it like?
« Reply #2 on: 17 July 2016, 16:56 »
I nearly sued VW over my GTE

Would never reccomend

More details please Tory. VWs are usually ok (average reliability under warranty, but uusually go on and on in the later years), but when they're wrong from the start they're usually very wrong. Was your built and delivered to schedule, or were there any suspicious waits that might indicate remedial work at the factory?
Whey ya bugger! It's finally arrived after an 8 month wait....
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Offline Tory

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Re: Golf GTE: Who has one? And why? And what's it like?
« Reply #3 on: 17 July 2016, 17:48 »
The car was ready over one month early.
Basically the week of the emissions scandal they had an eco event, and had a fleet of GTE's and E-trons about.
I believe my car was left over from their stock of Eco cars as the event was cancelled due to the scandal.

I was compensated for the fact my car broke down so many times, also was given an R as a courtesy car while they fixed mine. So backup of the complaint wasn't too bad
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Offline Watts

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Re: Golf GTE: Who has one? And why? And what's it like?
« Reply #4 on: 17 July 2016, 18:28 »
I seriously considered one of these, what put me off (apart from the excess of doors) was that I thought I could commute on battery power alone but when I worked out the cost of my electricity, it was actually quite expensive! It wasn't much more to have a GTI so combined with the GTI being a better drive (less weight) with therefore being more fun plus being considerably less complex and cheaper to buy, it was a clear no brainer.

Tory, I'd be interested on your take of these points, ignoring the woeful reliability you suffered.
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Offline Tory

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Re: Golf GTE: Who has one? And why? And what's it like?
« Reply #5 on: 17 July 2016, 18:49 »
I achieved 32-35 mpg, that would include probably one charge per tank of fuel but as I ran a fuel card I refused to charge at home and use my electricity.
I worked it out at £2.80 or something like that per full charge, working that back at 35mpg still seemed to cost 14p per mile which I'm sure must be similar to the gti

Now if we talk about my GTD I'm on 54ish mpg with a full tank achieving 510/520 miles per tank,
The GTD had a 30 or 35ltr tank too so I ended up spending more time fuelling up.... And time IS money
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Offline Bungleaio

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Re: Golf GTE: Who has one? And why? And what's it like?
« Reply #6 on: 17 July 2016, 19:18 »
I did about 80 miles in one as they gave me one for as a courtesy car whilst mine was with them for a warranty item.

Great concept but wasn't all that quick and from what I saw the MPG wasn't all that brilliant either. Better than my GTI but not by much. It may be a case of getting to know how to get the best from it.

The worst bit for me was the dreadful understeer, the front end is really heavy. There's a roundabout near my work which the GTI can go round quite enthusiastically but the GTE wouldn't have it.

They are the future but there's still a lot of work to do.
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Offline Tory

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Re: Golf GTE: Who has one? And why? And what's it like?
« Reply #7 on: 17 July 2016, 19:27 »
The battery sat too far under the chassis which meant lowering would be a huge mistake. The problem with all these cars is the fact the resources used to manufacture them are far higher than for conventional cars, but it's a chicken and egg situation all manufacturers face. I got pretty angry about how so many parts had to be shipped from Germany and because of the battery being explosive it caused a huge ruckus at customs and was in holding for weeks while they decided if it was a bomb or not
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Offline Watts

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Re: Golf GTE: Who has one? And why? And what's it like?
« Reply #8 on: 17 July 2016, 22:10 »
They are the future but there's still a lot of work to do.

Are they? I think they are just a fudge to better current standards but in the long run are too flawed to survive. Not sure what the future really is but hydrogen fuel cells must be a possibility.
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Was - 2015 Tornado Red 3dr GTI PP, manual, Santiagos, Audi short shifter.

Offline ffrank

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Re: Golf GTE: Who has one? And why? And what's it like?
« Reply #9 on: 17 July 2016, 22:23 »
They are the future but there's still a lot of work to do.

Are they? I think they are just a fudge to better current standards but in the long run are too flawed to survive. Not sure what the future really is but hydrogen fuel cells must be a possibility.
I'm not convinced hybrids will be the future, but I believe full electric will. Just look at what Tesla have already achieved.