Mk7 Golf can make a one-way trip from Los Angeles to downtown San Diego
Soon after unveiling the Mk7 Golf, Volkswagen dropped cover from its first U.S. spec variant titled the 2017 e-Golf.
In addition to the new design, new safety features and bigger information and entertainment screens, the electric hatchback gains a significant powertrain update.
Improved features of Mk7 Golf
Besides the front wheels of the 2017 Volkswagen e-Golf has a significantly more powerful electric motor.
The 2017’s version makes 134 hp and 214 lb-ft of torque, with an increase of 19 hp and 15 lb-ft over the outgoing edition. Volkswagen says that the extra power given to this new version shaves over a second off the e-Golf’s 0-60 mph time, bringing it under the 10-second mark to 9.6 seconds. Top speed increases somewhat to 93 mph.
Apart from the extra power, what makes this important is its extra range, which is roughly 50% more than the earlier version. The 2017 e-Golf’s battery can grow from 24.2 kWh to 35.8 kWh, increasing its range from about 83 miles to about 124. That gives the e-Golf enough range to make a one-way trip from Los Angeles to downtown San Diego.
A 7.2-kW charger is now a standardised on both SE and SEL Premium trims, which can fully recharge the e-Golf car from a regular charging station in about six hours, previously, the e-Golf SE was fitted with comparatively slow 3.6-kW charger.
Fortunately, since those six hours is a considerable timeframe, both trims are now present with a DC fast charger.
Optional on the SE version and standard on the SEL, it can recharge the battery to 80% in merely an hours timeframe, which is far more practical, provided if you can find a DC fast charging station.
The 2016 e-Golf was offered only in 11 locations which included California, Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington D.C. and Volkswagen did not mention any additions to this list for 2017.
Pricing is yet to be announced, but the former should not shift much from 2016’s $29,815 for an e-Golf SE and $36,415 for an SEL Premium.
