VW Golf GTE?
- Thread starter JTC
- Start date
david ellwood
Kirabosi Kognoscente
GTE, is surely a Vauxhall Astra?
TheDecameron
Unicorns fart glitter.
I would really like one. We could charge one at the house but I retire next year and we will sell up and move back to central Edinburgh with on street parking- so no charging o/night and no place of work charging. I realise this an equation about charging from the petrol engine vs charging from mains power- I think you need the latter to make it economical? My current diesel golf has <80k and is well looked after with long motorway journeys, so good for at least another three years. I won't buy another diesel and feel it has to be a hybrid and I find Golfs ideal for our needs.
JensenHealey
pfm Member
When I ran the numbers a year or so ago, it seemed rather pricey!. I am sure it is a lovely car though!
Honda Prious seem to be the only hybrid that has a decent resale value - demand from Taxi drivers. Other Elec or Hybrid cars seem to drop like a stone.
Honda Prious seem to be the only hybrid that has a decent resale value - demand from Taxi drivers. Other Elec or Hybrid cars seem to drop like a stone.
linnfomaniac83
I bet you can’t wheelie a unicycle!
Is the GTE not first and foremost a hybrid, like a Prius but with more oomph and handling prowess? I’m sure plugging it in would aid efficiency to some extent but it’ll still be more efficient than a pure petrol engine even if it isn’t plugged in. I’ve been thinking about one too although I haven’t done a whole lot of investigation yet.
Our family fleet is all Diesel, I can't find any other way to get us all about for the lowest cost highest reliability. We usually buy a high milage diesel (100,000) and run it for another 100,000 or so then buy another, last one lasted 7 years with 230,000 on it which for a car that cost £750 and did 48 MPG I feel is good value.
The money we save we waste on holidays
You have to really look at Charge times and destinations.
Chap in our street is on his second Nissan Electric car and loves it but as he pointed out to me he goes to work and shopping very little else on the very are occasion he goes further he has to plan trips and coffee stops to charge up but he does wonder how long it will be before he has to queue to charge?
He daily trip is about 26 miles with no charging at work, he would normally change every 3 years I have a feeling he leases it now so he has no hidden bills on the horizon.
I feel its a massive investment in a new technology that will be dealer only for repairs for a good few years.
You need to look at the cost per mile compared to Petrol and diesel.
Whilst I understand the environmental issues a lot of the electricity is not solar and diesel can be grown in a field, I feel petrol should be dying as we have to dig it up.
But if its what you want go for it.
The money we save we waste on holidays
You have to really look at Charge times and destinations.
Chap in our street is on his second Nissan Electric car and loves it but as he pointed out to me he goes to work and shopping very little else on the very are occasion he goes further he has to plan trips and coffee stops to charge up but he does wonder how long it will be before he has to queue to charge?
He daily trip is about 26 miles with no charging at work, he would normally change every 3 years I have a feeling he leases it now so he has no hidden bills on the horizon.
I feel its a massive investment in a new technology that will be dealer only for repairs for a good few years.
You need to look at the cost per mile compared to Petrol and diesel.
Whilst I understand the environmental issues a lot of the electricity is not solar and diesel can be grown in a field, I feel petrol should be dying as we have to dig it up.
But if its what you want go for it.
glancaster
In the silicon vale
The Golf GTE is a plug-in hybrid, a compromise between a full electric vehicle and a standard (non-plug-in) hybrid, which can itself be viewed as a compromise.
In my view, it only makes sense if:
(a) You can justify the high initial cost somehow.
(b) Most of your journeys can be completed within the all-electric range. Once you go past this it behaves rather like a heavier, less efficient version of a standard hybrid. The OP's commuting journeys sound like they fit this pattern, but beware that quoted all-electric range can be rather optimistic, and will fall in extreme weather and as the battery ages.
(c) The electricity you charge it with at home is very green, ideally 100% renewable e.g. Ecotricity. If you use a standard 'brown' provider, what you are partly doing is paying a lot of money to move pollution from your tailpipe to elsewhere.
Autocar review: https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-review/volkswagen/golf-gte
Kind regards
- Garry
In my view, it only makes sense if:
(a) You can justify the high initial cost somehow.
(b) Most of your journeys can be completed within the all-electric range. Once you go past this it behaves rather like a heavier, less efficient version of a standard hybrid. The OP's commuting journeys sound like they fit this pattern, but beware that quoted all-electric range can be rather optimistic, and will fall in extreme weather and as the battery ages.
(c) The electricity you charge it with at home is very green, ideally 100% renewable e.g. Ecotricity. If you use a standard 'brown' provider, what you are partly doing is paying a lot of money to move pollution from your tailpipe to elsewhere.
Autocar review: https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-review/volkswagen/golf-gte
Kind regards
- Garry
(a) Your employer is paying and you are exploiting the fact that it's a plug-in hybrid doing a whopping 30 miles on a charge to get a low BIK figure on your company car.
Er, that's it.
It's not about emissions, it's not about fuel usage. Nobody needs a 200 bhp private motor car for solo use, but we all know that they are fun and that's what sells motor cars and raises taxes, so nobody wants to be the government that forces people to drive smaller more economical cars. While being seen to be green we need to find a way of stimulating demand in private cars, in order to support the UK motor retail industry, employ people and raise taxes, we do this by giving the public tax breaks on the new format. It was diesel, remember, now they're the bad boys and it's PIH. My old petrol car does 40mpg but it's too old for the motor trade to be making a living out of it, so it's being taxed out of existence.
As a company car, a PIH is by far the best option. A mate has been offered a PIH BMW for under £200 a month on his tax bill. An equivalent diesel is £300+.
glancaster
In the silicon vale
That's certainly a valid perspective, if it's a company car. The OP doesn't mention this, but still worth pointing it out.
Personally, I would not pay £200 a month for a car that didn't generally suit me, but then, in my present financial situation, I would probably not pay £200 a month for a car, full stop. I bought a car last year, getting rid of a 'dirty diesel' and, although I investigated the greener options, I ended up buying a second-hand petrol. Time will tell if I made a sensible choice.
Kind regards
- Garry
Remember that this is his total cost, insured, taxed, ready to go.
You do very well to get your true costs below £2400 a year! I manage it, but only by driving an old car with zero depreciation. I pay £250ish for insurance and £275 tax on my Mondeo, factor in £200-300 for the annual MoT and a bit for a repairs, tyres etc and the assumption that your £500 car will be worthless in 2-3 years, and there's no way of getting significantly below £1000 a year. That's for an old banger. If I could get someone to provide me with a new PIH car. insured, taxed, ready to go, £2400 a year, I'd take their arm off. I'd be a mug not to.
adamdea
You are not a sound quality evaluation device
I have just bought a second hand audi a3 e-tron which is pretty much the same car under the skin I understand. (they are around the same price second hand but the A3 is better equipped).
I like it. My only reservation at the moment is that the battery life is much less than billed. Obviously I expected that I wouldn't actually get the quoted 31 miles, but when I charge it up it only claims to have 21 miles range at the outset. Perhaps this is the result of buying second hand and perhaps the battery capacity has reduced as occurs with phones. I may take this up with Audi.
Otherwise I think it's pretty cool. I think the technology is neat. I don't drive very much though and would have baulked at paying the new price. If it had double the range on electric it would IMHO be perfect for me. The argument about electric vehicles simply relocating the pollution has something in it, but rather misses the distinction between global warming on the one hand and poisoning people on the other. With the current particulate levels in London (and I imagine central Edinburgh is similar) there is a lot of sense in electric power. And in any event even if you take a broader environmental view IIRC the national grid is now 50% generated by renewables.
glancaster
In the silicon vale
Hi Steve
I've never had a new car, so I fish in rather different waters from the OP, I suspect. Neither have I ever had a company car, so I'm not sure exactly what would be included in the £200-£300 / month. Still I doubt I've ever paid >= £2400 a year for a car, even if I include every cost of ownership except fuel. For most years I could probably include fuel and still be below that figure, as my mileage is fairly low, although that looks unlikely to continue with my current car.
I agree that getting below £1000 / year on either basis is going to be tricky.
I am baffled by what some people pay for their cars, but it's their money and their choice. Many of the same people would be equally baffled by what I've spent on my hi-fi, even though it is a lot less.
There seems to be a feeling from some in this thread that the GTE is a performance car. From the Autocar review, I think that may be overstating it rather. Bear in mind it is heavy, due to battery, electric motors and related doo-dads, and is only available with an auto box. I'm sure a GTI is a safer bet if that is the main consideration.
Kind regards
- Garry
I've never had a new car, so I fish in rather different waters from the OP, I suspect. Neither have I ever had a company car, so I'm not sure exactly what would be included in the £200-£300 / month. Still I doubt I've ever paid >= £2400 a year for a car, even if I include every cost of ownership except fuel. For most years I could probably include fuel and still be below that figure, as my mileage is fairly low, although that looks unlikely to continue with my current car.
I agree that getting below £1000 / year on either basis is going to be tricky.
I am baffled by what some people pay for their cars, but it's their money and their choice. Many of the same people would be equally baffled by what I've spent on my hi-fi, even though it is a lot less.
There seems to be a feeling from some in this thread that the GTE is a performance car. From the Autocar review, I think that may be overstating it rather. Bear in mind it is heavy, due to battery, electric motors and related doo-dads, and is only available with an auto box. I'm sure a GTI is a safer bet if that is the main consideration.
Kind regards
- Garry
adamdea
You are not a sound quality evaluation device
It helps to be able to charge at home, yes. I haven't tried doing it anywhere else, but there are charging points near my work. Not that I drive to work during the week. Perhaps I would have been better off with a Prius, but err... Uber.
For the OP's 30 mile round trip it makes sense, especially if he can charge half way.
0-60 is an area where hybrids score over conventional technology. If the electric bit of the car is good for (say) 50bhp, even if it can only deliver it for a couple of minutes, then this plus any modest petrol engine makes for a car that's going to go like the clappers in a 0-60 dash. Round a track, forget it, the battery will go flat and the engine won't have any spare power to put into recharging, so once it's done the first couple of minutes it will perform like a 1300 with 4 passengers and a bootful of luggage.
A company car generally makes up part of the salary and benefits if you are lucky enough to get one. Back in the 70's they were a tax dodge, these days less so. As a general rule the employer picks up the tab to buy, or more commonly lease, the car, and tax and insure it. The employee is deemed to have a "benefit in kind" (BIK) because of course they get to use the car when they aren't at work and save having to buy and run their own car. Consequently there is a tax bill to pay on the calculated BIK. The exact amount changes with the car and whether fuel is included in the deal. However if the BIK is reckoned to be £3000 a year you pay the tax on that amount - a 20% tax payer pays £600 a year extra tax, twice that if you pay 40%.
I know a lot of people who turn them down because the tax bill is rather more than they want to spend. New cars are nice but they cost money. If you want a new car and your employer will pay, then the bill is generally worth it, but fans of bangernomics will generally run a car for less if their employer offers a cash alternative and doesn't make heavy demands on the kind of car they will allow you to use while on their business.