Volkswagen Golf GTE gets more kit for less cash

1 April 2017

Volkswagen has updated the Golf GTE plug-in hybrid performance hatch to bring it in line with the rest of the facelifted Golf range. And along the way, it has increased the equipment levels while reducing the price tag.

Pricing now starts £3,420 lower than the old model, and the new Golf GTE is also now available in two trim levels; the regular GTE and the new GTE Advance for an extra £1,500.

Both GTE models get full LED headlights and tail lights, Active Info digital cockpit display and a smartphone app to manage charging. For the first time on a Golf, the GTE also gets a semi-autonomous traffic jam mode which can operate at up to 37mph.

The GTE Advance adds 18-inch alloy wheels, satnav, heated seats, tinted rear windows, centre armrest and an EU-friendly electric mode warning sound to alert ignorant pedestrians who are walking on the road.

The hybrid powertrain has not changed from the previous version, and combines a 150hp 1.4-litre turbo petrol engine with a 102hp electric motor. Working together, they produce an overall peak of 204hp. Compared to its GTI sister, the Golf GTE gives away 26hp and is over a second slower from 0-62mph. However, being a plug-in hybrid means that it can travel up to 31 miles and hit 81mph purely on electric power (although trying to achieve one will impact your ability to achieve the other).

As a combined petrol-electric vehicle, the Golf GTE produces very low emissions on the official test cycles (and Volkswagen promises that it really is acting legally these days). Official CO₂ emissions are just 38g/km (40g/km for the GTE Advance), and because it’s not a diesel, the levels of urban pollution from NO_x output will be tiny as well.

Volkswagen claims that the battery can be charged in less than 3.5 hours from a domestic plug socket, or just over two hours if you install a domestic wallbox. The car’s charging socket is hidden behind the Volkswagen badge in the grille.

As with the old model, drivers can switch between four driving modes: a purely-electric E-Mode; a hybrid mode where the car will switch between petrol and electric as suits; a battery-charging mode which only uses the petrol engine; and GTE Mode, which uses both petrol and electric power together for maximum performance.

Pricing starts at £28,135 for the regular Golf GTE and £29,635 for the GTE Advance, which includes £2,500 from the government’s plug-in car grant (PICG). Along with the rest of the updated Volkswagen Golf range, the new Golf GTE is on sale now.

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