Over time, you can loosely map the progress of affordable electric cars by the way they travel from Autocar’s Teddington offices to the test tracks we use.

All of the ‘ordinary’ EVs we’ve tested have reached the circuit that we use for photography, about 30 miles away, under their own power – even if some (Renault Twizy) have needed recharging when they get there.

The MQB platform the e-Golf is based on was designed with an electric powertrain in mind from the outset

But MIRA’s proving ground, in Leicestershire, is a different matter. The Mini E, Renault Zoe and early Nissan Leaf have needed stops en route or to be taken by trailer. A Tesla, however – Roadster or Model S – will do it in its stride. Any range-extended EV will call on fossil fuel reserves.

But the prospect of gliding into our test track car park with some miles showing on the ‘range remaining’ estimator, and without beads of sweat on our brows, is a tantalising prospect that is becoming more realistic by the month.

The current hope is this Volkswagen e-Golf, priced and sized to compete with the Nissan Leaf and BMW i3. It’s time to see how it fares, not just on the drive to the test track but also when it gets there and on all roads and sundry in between.

Read more: Autocar

We take a spin in VW’s all-electric hatch. Is this, finally, an EV that makes sense for normal people?

What is it?

It’s the first-ever Golf to entirely do away with that old-school notion of an internal combustion engine. The e-Golf is instead propelled solely by an electric motor, fed by a battery pack, sending 113bhp to the front wheels. It’ll get from zero to 37mph in 4.2 seconds, to 62mph around six seconds later, and top out at 87mph. Prices start at £25,845 (including government EV subsidy) when it lands in the UK this summer.

It doesn’t sound very fast.

Honestly, in real-world driving, the e-Golf feels not only faster than those figures would suggest, but fast full-stop. There’s a fabulous slug of torque available from standstill – 199lb ft, no less – which gives the e-Golf a proper kick away from the lights. There’s so much twist on tap, in fact, that it’ll even spin its wheels if you get too lairy on the throttle.

Speaking of throttles, VW says its electric motor will turn your twitch-of-right-foot into torque at the wheels five times faster than a conventional petrol engine. Which means this thing has seriously pokey responses. Spot a gap, prod accelerator, be there. It’s not quite driving as we know it, but it’s rather lovely all the same.

Does it have that weird regen braking?

Yes, but you can alter the aggressiveness of the energy capture system, from almost non-existent to hauling you to a pretty rapid standstill as soon you lift off the throttle. The latter mode requires something of a recalibration of your brain and right foot, but once you’ve acclimatised it makes a lot of sense around town, and means you virtually never have to actually hit the brake pedal.

But if you don’t like it, you can dial out the effect of the regenerative braking, at which point the e-Golf feels like, well… like every other Golf: refined, solid, nice to steer, with all the VW nav/music/interior goodies we’ve come to expect. And, of course, it’s incredibly quiet, the only peep from the drivetrain a faint sci-fi whine at motorway speeds.

How far will it go on a charge?

VW quotes a range of 118 miles – claiming that its Golf is around 30 per cent more energy efficient than competitors such as the Nissan Leaf – but as ever with EVs, it depends how you drive.

In a mix of passably sensible urban and dual-carriageway stuff, we got just under 100 miles from a charge. Crank up the air con and attempt a triple-digit autobahn charge and you can half that figure. But that’s rather what the e-Golf does, in a gentle, non-sanctimonious way: makes you question exactly how much energy you really need to munch through.

Do you actually need full-blast air con (minus 15 miles from your range), or could you just open a window? Do you need the full 113bhp on tap when you’re crawling through traffic, or could you drop your Golf into ‘Eco’ or ‘Eco+’ mode, dialling down the power and increasing range yet further? It’s not how TG has traditionally sought its thrills, but it’s strangely addictive nonetheless.

On the subject of range, tell me about the battery.

It’s a posh lithium-ion job, with a 24.2kW capacity and a weight 318kg. That mass has no ill effect on handling, however, as the battery pack is tucked down between the axles, effectively under the passengers’ feet.

Doesn’t that mean there’s nowhere to store your feet?

No, legroom is identical to that of the normal-engined Golfs. Space for a battery pack was engineered into the MQB architecture from the start, so there’s no compromise to package the e-Golf’s electric gubbins. As you’d expect from VW, this is no bodge-job: every one of the Golf’s components has been optimised to consume as little energy as possible. It’s slippier, too, than the standard car, with a drag coefficient of 0.28 against the diesel Golf’s 0.31.

So should I buy one?

As ever with EVs, it depends what you need from your car. A realistic range of 100-odd miles is far more than enough for most day-to-day commuting needs, and equates to some dirt cheap motoring. VW reckons that, with the right energy tariff, you’ll pay around 5p per mile for your electricity: if TG’s maths is correct, a petrol car averaging 30mpg will cost you around 15p per mile at current UK fuel prices.

But if you’re regularly schlepping from Birmingham to Cornwall, the e-Golf won’t work for you: though it can be 80 per cent fast-charged in just 30 minutes, you’ll need 13 hours to brim the battery at home. And, of course, that requires a driveway, or at least a parking space with convenient power socket: your local constabulary might not be too happy about you dangling a flex from your third-storey flat to the street below.

But if the glove fits, by all means wear it. The e-Golf is an EV that works not just for urban statement-makers, but for most of us, most of the time. With the possible exception of the Tesla Model S – which is aimed at a very different end of the market – it’s the most convincing electric car ever made.

Source: Top Gear (March 2014)

About 10 years ago alternative fuel vehicles became become a hot topic as gas prices peaked and consumers started focusing on miles-per-gallon as a primary factor when shopping for a new car. Automakers quickly rallied around their preferred routes to improve fuel efficiency. Some took the hybrid/electric path, some talked up fuel cells, other brands (primarily European car companies) continued to tout diesel as the answer to our fuel efficiency quandaries. But things have changed in recent years, with most automakers realizing they can’t stick to a single alt fuel strategy. The wide range of consumer demands and government regulations related to fuel efficiency requires a comprehensive alternative fuel plan, one that incorporates multiple solutions.

Volkswagen is a shining example of a modern car company embracing this multi-pronged approach. VW has long been the leader in the diesel segment. Year-to-date, over 23% of all Volkswagen sales in the U.S. have featured clean diesel technology, a much higher percentage than overall industry sales for diesel, which make up barely 3% of the total U.S. market. But in the last two years the German automaker has displayed a flurry of activity around plug-in hybrids and electric vehicles, including the revolutionary XL1 and the new all-electric 2015 Volkswagen e-Golf. We recently had an opportunity to visit Volkswagen’s factories in Wolfsburg and Braunschweig to take a closer look at the new e-Golf and hear Volkswagen’s plans for electrification. Just a few years ago we couldn’t have imagined such an experience with VW, yet the company’s rapid progress in the field of electric cars is impressive.

Because VW has multiple variants of the Golf (diesel, all-electric or plug-in hybrid), and because the Golf now utilizes VW’s new modular platform, the automaker can shift assembly line configuration in short order. It has the ability to produce up to 1,100 alt fuel Golfs per day, though as of now only about 70 e-Golfs are being assembled daily. They went on sale in select U.S. states in early November. If demand warrants it Volkswagen can easily shift that number (up or down) to match consumer interest. This flexibility makes sense in a world where gas prices can pivot on a geopolitical headline or natural disaster. But it also begs the question – is Volkswagen building these electric variants because it sees a need to meet broadening consumer demand? Or is it simply positioning itself to address future regulatory requirements? The answer may not matter, as enhanced production flexibility is the wave of the future. Automakers that don’t master it will be at a major competitive disadvantage.

Volkswagen Automotive Group’s ‘modular toolkit’ production system, utilizing four major platforms to address the entire group’s vehicle needs, continues to roll out across brands and models. The all-new 2015 Golf is one of two early vehicles built off the new MQB platform and already on sale in the U.S. (the 2015 Audi A3 is the other one). Because of this system Golf production, including body styles and drivetrain configurations, can be shifted almost instantaneously. However, production capacity and flexibility is only half the battle. One of the main hurdles Volkswagen’s new e-Golf will face is an electric car market saturated with vehicles offered at the same price and touting the same battery range.

Source: Forbes

The E-Golf doesn’t make much of a statement. In fact, part of its charm is that the “e” features are decidedly low key. Perhaps what’s true of wearable devices such as fitness trackers and smart glasses is also true of electric cars: They will fully arrive only when they stop announcing themselves to the world and just resemble “normal” products. From this perspective, the electric Golf might be downright futuristic.

The car looks like a regular Golf and has all the German engineering Volkswagen likes to brag about: tidy fit and finish, tight gaps between body panels, and more room than one would expect. It even drives like a regular Golf, particularly between zero and 30 miles per hour, when it’s peppy. Ticking up to 65 mph on Manhattan’s West Side Highway took a bit of prodding, but the car showed no problem zipping out in front of an pushy taxi cab at a light change.

Bells and whistles are scarce. The control panel doesn’t fill up with animated leaves and butterflies when the driver pilots with particular efficiency. The center-stack screen isn’t usurped by a flow chart of the car’s vitals.

The Volkswagen’s take on e-monitoring is Teutonic in its simplicity. A single gauge—the analog kind—with a needle tilts into a green area when the brakes are recharging the battery and ticks the other way when one steps on the accelerator. A tad to the right, the Golf displays a digital number showing how many more miles the car will go before it goes to sleep, just like an overworked iPhone (AAPL). And then there’s the speedometer: The Golf almost seems embarrassed that it doesn’t burn dead dinosaurs.

Read more: Business Week