MORE EFFICIENT GOLF LESSONS (some text hidden) --NONE--

By Jonathan Crouch

Introductionword count: 95

In second generation form, Volkswagen's Golf GTE continued to offer a more dynamic, if rather pricey, take on plug-in hybrid technology, combining sporty styling and pokey petrol power along with real world battery range and frugality. With the MK2 version of this PHEV model, the bigger 13kWh battery has 50% more energy capacity than before, allowing for an electric-only range of up to 40 miles. The idea here is to deliver GTI responsiveness along with ID.3-style EV sustainability. If Volkswagen has done just that, then this could very well be the ultimate all-round family hatch.

Modelsword count: 4

5dr Family Hatchback (GTE)

Historyword count: 223

The original version of the MK2 Golf GTE we look at here, launched based on the eighth generation CD1-era Golf early in 2020, succeeded an original Golf GTE Plug-in Hybrid model that was one of the market's very first PHEVs when it was first announced back in late-2014. This replacement's key change was a lithium-ion battery twice as large, which usefully extended the WLTP-rated all-electric driving range to 40 miles. Plus energy deployment could in this MK2 design be predictive, taking into account GPS data. And of course there were all the advantages of the re-engineered MK8 Golf model line. In 2021, Volkswagen also announced a more affordable eHybrid version of this PHEV model, which featured all the same engineering but in de-tuned form, with total output falling from 245PS to 204PS. But in an eHybrid variant, you could have 44 miles of EV range (compared to 40 miles in the GTE). It's the GTE version we focus on here though. If you're the sort of buyer who might have previously been steered towards the economy of a Golf GTD diesel but secretly hankered after the smoothness of the GTI, this second generation GTE PHEV could be the perfect solution. Here, we'll focus on the early 2020-2023 versions of this MK2 model, the cars produced before the mid-term facelift that arrived in early-2024.

What You Getword count: 415

As before, a big part of this GTE model's appeal is that it doesn't look that much different to a Golf GTI. You'd certainly be hard pushed to notice many changes over any other sporty Golf, unless you happened to pick out the altered badging, or the charging flap over the left hand wheel arch. Actually, there are a few other visual giveaways for this Plug-in model - and you'll notice some of them at the front. Just above this GTE badge, a unique blue strip runs across the radiator grille, blending into the lower, more menacing nose that's a feature of this eighth generation Golf design. The GTE cabin's characterised by blue highlights that feature on the seats and steering wheel and extend into the colours used across the displays of the brand's so-called 'Innovision Cockpit', a system which fuses a 10.25-inch digital instrument binnacle set-up with a 10-inch centre-dash screen. As well as all the usual functions, these monitors provide quite a few GTE-specific displays. The one you're likely to most frequently use sees two small circular virtual screens flanking one large round central one, which has %charge and %power bands on the left, a rev counter on the right and a digital speedo in the middle. The centre stack monitor also has its share of e-driving tools, with screens showing drive modes and remaining battery charge, plus others focusing on 'Energy Range' and 'Energy Flow'. Some original owners upgraded this central screen to the 'Discover Media Navigation Pro' status that offered gesture control and the “Hello Volkswagen” intuitive voice control system. Otherwise, it's all pretty much as you'd find in any other Golf, with near-faultless ergonomics, impressive build quality and plenty of cabin storage space. In the rear, thanks to the extra 16mm of length between the wheels with this CD1-era design, there's a fraction more legroom than there had been before, so a pair of six-foot adults could be accommodated reasonably here. As for luggage space, well the batteries for the electric motor have to be positioned somewhere and the best place is under the cargo area floor. As a result, you have to do without the normal model's adjustable-height boot floor and the 380-litres of luggage room you get in a regular Golf becomes just 273-litres in this GTE. Pushing forward the conventional 60:40 split-rear bench you do get frees up 1,130-litres across a load area that'll be virtually flat if you have the boot floor in its upper position.

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