Used Volkswagen e-Golf 2014-2020 review

The chief difference, then – aside from the weight gain associated with those batteries – is the EEM 85 synchronous electric motor mounted in the engine bay. Delivering 134bhp and up to 199lb ft of torque exclusively to the front wheels, the 12,000rpm Volkswagen-developed unit is mated to a single-speed gearbox, also designed in-house.

The firm’s mastery of the new tech has helped to permit its integration with the existing car’s construction methods; the e-Golf rolls down the same production line as its siblings. By the end, only redesigned LED headlights, unique alloy wheels, a new front bumper and a closed-off grille distinguish the car. That and its almost complete absence of noise, but we’ll come to that in a minute.

It’s certainly true, however, that the e-Golf gets less Volkswagen Golf-like the further you delve beneath the surface. In fact, get the tin opener as far as the vehicle floor and, apart from the basic layout of the MQB architecture, it has been comprehensively altered.

That’s because here, close to the spine of the vehicle under the front and rear seats, Volkswagen has mounted its 318kg lithium ion battery pack in a reinforced frame.

The manufacturer claims that it is an in-house development, but its expertise has some limits; the 264 cells that make up the battery’s 36 modules are sourced from electronic giant Panasonic. They serve up a nominal voltage of 323V — stored as DC and converted to the AC that the e-motor requires by a power electronics module.

Total energy capacity is rated at 24.2kWh (although the battery is prevented from fully discharging) and it takes 13 hours to recharge from a domestic 230V socket. Via a special, optional wall box, that can be reduced to about eight hours.

Better still, a 40kW Combined Charging System dispensing DC will have the e-Golf at 80 percent of full charge within 30 minutes.

On the dry track, the e-Golf is slow because of its lack of high-range performance, and not because it lacks decent adhesion levels, good chassis balance or proper body control. If anything, the e-Golf corners flatter and more keenly than its combustion-engined siblings and it would be tidier still with less pudgy-sidewalled tyres.

The e-Golf departs slightly from the carefully judged accomplishment of its siblings in the way that it rides over lumpy surfaces, though. There’s no mention of any drop in ride height in the press material, but you’d guess that’s how VW has achieved the e-Golf’s very low drag coefficient. The car seems to lack that crucial bit of wheel travel to keep its body from pitching and fidgeting noticeably over rougher bitumen.

Bigger bumps also disturb the car’s otherwise becalmed demeanour just a little bit more than they ought to. It’s not a big failing, but if the symptoms sound familiar, it may be because we’ve been writing the same thing about Volkswagen’s BlueMotion models for years.