Volkswagen’s history is littered with low-emissions vehicles but, mostly, they’ve had combustion engines somewhere. The 1.0-litre concept from 2002, for example, and its follow-ups have culminated in the XL1 hybrid.
Look for electric concepts and you’ll find the Volkswagen e-up from 2009 (now in production too) and the NILS single-seat concept (a bit like a Renault Twizy but with proper doors). The e-Golf doesn’t have a direct predecessor, although some will consider the 2017 model the second generation, but lessons from all of these projects will have been applied.
The fact that Volkswagen chose a Volkswagen Golf costume for its electric party piece ought not to surprise. Soft-pedalling proficiency as unobtrusiveness is the firm’s trademark, and the decision makers at Wolfsburg will have hardly needed reams of affirmative research to think their instinct for conservatism is correct.
While the BMW i3 and its highly conspicuous ilk occupy one end of the zero-emissions scale, the e-Golf sits at the other, managing to appear entirely unassuming while it vigorously pronounces to the masses, “Electric cars now okay!”, with all the implied reassurance of an astronaut ration pack made by Marks & Spencer.
Needless to say, the e-Golf occupies the same dimensions as the rest of the seventh-generation five-door models and, save for a slither of space hacked from the boot to help accommodate the underfloor lithium ion batteries, it offers the same highly commendable level of practicality, too.
