Hybrid Golf - Anyone got one? Thoughts on hybrid cars generally you wise people.

Ricardo T

Ricardo T

Now or Never
VIP Member
T6 Legend
So our 16 plate Passat is giving up the ghost...various issues at around 85k...the silica bag heating issue being one of them,myterious coolant leak and using some oil.... not sure we can rely on it much more. It generally has been a pretty good car.
So,thinking of a meduim size hybrid..wife is not convinced about fully electric so hybrid may be the middle ground and its something which i know nothing about but the research begins.
Any hybrid owners out there who can pass on their experince would be much appreciated, things to look out for, pros and cons etc etc.
Looking at low miles secondhand.
 
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I had a Golf GTE a couple of years back and it was a good car to be fair! Got around 22 miles typically on a charge which was enough to get me to work and part way back. quite nippy when in GTE mode too (battery and petrol engine). I'd have another tomorrow :thumbsup:
 
Im guessing all the hybrids would be DSG or similar ? Was yours @T6ChrisO a hybrid or plug in hybrid...im gathering there are two types?
 
Mine was plug in and if memory serves it was DSG too. It did regenerate through braking too but that takes a while
 
Mild hybrids just have a tiny bit of assistance from an electric battery to the engine, you can't actually use them on pure EV power. I'd ignore them unless you're actually looking for a petrol or diesel car.

Thing is with plug in hybrids, you need to make sure that the battery and range on EV alone is enough for you, because if it isn't you're effectively carrying around a big heavy battery for no reason whatsoever when it's running on petrol power. And vice versa, if you only ever run it on EV power, you're carrying around a big heavy engine for no reason.

I can see a plug in hybrid being a good idea if it has 30 miles or so range and so can do a work commute, or shopping trip all under EV power, but then has a normal petrol engine for longer motorway trips.
 
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Thanks TallPaul...so our intended use is for wife who travels 22 or so miles to work a few days a week and then the other few days short trips of a few miles for coffee with her mates (she tells me otherwise of course!)....then the odd longer trip, but not just for coffee!:p
 
How about an e-Transporter ? Fine for those short journeys, LED lights and all the other bells and whistles on the right model. All for the price of a Euro5 Startline 2016 vintage with 100k
 
Ricardo T said:
Thanks TallPaul...so our intended use is for wife who travels 22 or so miles to work a few days a week and then the other few days short trips of a few miles for coffee with her mates (she tells me otherwise of course!)....then the odd longer trip, but not just for coffee!:p
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Just looking at the previous gen GTE, range seems to be 20-25 miles so on the commute at least (presumably it's 22 miles each way) it wouldn't last for both ways. Unless she has charging at work of course. The newer model GTE has a much bigger range.

Another thing, can you charge at home? If not then there's zero point in a hybrid as the public charging network is just as expensive as filling up with fuel.

What's the longest trip the car will do? If it's only a hundred miles or so, full EV might be a better option?
 
TallPaul_S said:
Just looking at the previous gen GTE, range seems to be 20-25 miles so on the commute at least (presumably it's 22 miles each way) it wouldn't last for both ways. Unless she has charging at work of course. The newer model GTE has a much bigger range.

Another thing, can you charge at home? If not then there's zero point in a hybrid as the public charging network is just as expensive as filling up with fuel.

What's the longest trip the car will do? If it's only a hundred miles or so, full EV might be a better option?
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Yeah about 22 each way...theres a few charging points at the hospital but she wouldnt need that extra stress working within the Nhs.... suppose it might guarantee her a parking space as most of them are empty!;)
Home charging not an issue. Shes very nervous about going full electric because she thinks it could get unnecessarily stressful travelling further afield. Im not qualified to convince her otherwise.
 
My Mrs was like that too with our i3s. She got her head around it quickly as you get to know the charge points on your journeys.
Cost wise, costs us about 40 quid a month to charge at home via the granny cable overnight of which OVO refund us 25 via their Charge Anytime bolt on app.
Win win all the way for us as we have the petrol T-cross for longer cross country journeys
 
Ricardo T said:
Yeah about 22 each way...theres a few charging points at the hospital but she wouldnt need that extra stress working within the Nhs.... suppose it might guarantee her a parking space as most of them are empty!;)
Home charging not an issue. Shes very nervous about going full electric because she thinks it could get unnecessarily stressful travelling further afield. Im not qualified to convince her otherwise.
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In that case then I'd either look at a plug in hybrid with a range of 50+ miles, and/or check out the charging at work option - if it's free then definitely use it!

As for full EV anxiety, it really depends on what a "longer trip" is. If you're regularly traveling to Scotland from Kent then yeah maybe an EV isn't right choice. But if the longer trips are just 100-200 mile round trips then most EV's now can do that on a single charge without breaking a sweat. And even if you need to charge at a fast charger a few times a year, it's no big deal.

Hybrids only work in a narrow range really, you need enough range for all the local short trips and commuting, but also need to use the petrol engine on longer trips (like 400 miles down the motorway). No point in a hybrid if you're only using the engine once a year as it still needs servicing etc. and no point in a hybrid on the EV side if the range is never enough for the local driving and the engine is kicking in all the time.
 
All good advice thank you for taking the time to reply.

Are servicing costs any/much more?
 
Ricardo T said:
All good advice thank you for taking the time to reply.

Are servicing costs any/much more?
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I'd imagine it'll be more than a standard petrol car as the EV side will need servicing as well. Full EV's are generally much cheaper to service than anything with an engine.
 
There won't be much in it cost wise. The Ev side will have a coolant circuit for the batteries, but thats probably a 10 year lifespan coolant. Everything else will be visual inspection for damage/security and software updates, which the car as a while would be subject to anyway.

95% of rhe servicing will be exactly as for a regular car.
 
Sasquatch said:
There won't be much in it cost wise. The Ev side will have a coolant circuit for the batteries, but thats probably a 10 year lifespan coolant. Everything else will be visual inspection for damage/security and software updates, which the car as a while would be subject to anyway.

95% of rhe servicing will be exactly as for a regular car.
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Yeah you're right, just checked the service all in plans for a 2020 GTE and a standard petrol 1.5Tsi and both are £38 a month

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I honestly expected VW to extract the urine and add another couple of hundred on for the GTE! :rofl:
 
I dont have the Golf Hybrid, but i've recently changed my daily for the Audi equivalent, the A3 35 TFSI, and so far im impressed with it.
As for servicing, I got a service plan with it, audi went on engine size.
 
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