Electricity for the motor is stored in a lithium-ion battery pack, which has an energy capacity of 26.5 kilowatt-hours. Volkswagen claim that that’s enough to give the blue-e-motion a range of around 90 miles (150 km).
Performance is brisk, too. With 270 Nm of torque, 0-62 mph (100 km/h) acceleration takes a respectable 11.8 seconds, while top speed is 83 mph (135 km/h).
That’s despite having to lug around the batteries, which weigh a bulky 315 kg. They’re stuffed under the rear seats, in the transmission tunnel and into the boot floor, which reduces luggage capacity from 350 litres to 275 litres. Volkswagen isn’t saying how long the recharging process will take.
An obvious difference between the blue-e-motion and a standard Golf is the instruments. Instead of a rev counter there’s a kW gauge and range indicator. Drivers will also be able to tell how much kinetic energy is being recovered through deceleration or braking and returned to the batteries, based on four selectable modes.
In the interests of conserving electricity, there will be a choice of three driving profiles. ‘Normal’ reduces power to 87 bhp (65 kW / 88 PS) and maximum speed is limited to 71 mph (115 km/h). ‘Comfort+’ meanwhile makes available the full 113 bhp (85 kW / 115 PS) and 83 mph (135 km/h) is achievable. Finally, ‘Range+’ will drop the power output to just 67 bhp (50 kW / 68 PS) and restrict the Golf to 65 mph (105 km/h). The air conditioning system is completely shut down, too.
Although not on sale until early 2014, the Golf blue-e-motion has already been in action in the UK. It was overall winner in the inaugural Future Car Challenge, where 60 cars travelled the 57 miles (91 km) from Brighton to London with the aim of using as little energy as possible. The Golf also won its class, ‘Most Economic and Environment Friendly Regular Passenger EV’.
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