VW Golf GTE

Our hybrid hatch had many Golf attributes, but suffered from something of an identity crisis

THE THEORETICAL CLOCK IS TICKING, and when it chimes-in New Year’s Day 2040, the days of traditional petrol and diesel cars will finally be numbered. So where will that leave us, the sort of people who seek genuine driving thrills?

Well, more than likely we’ll be behind the wheel of a hybrid machine, like our Golf GTE. This was the second plug-in performance car we’ve had on Fast Fleet, but unlike the sub-supercar i8, the Volkswagen is more of a car for, well, the people. So, after six months of hard and varied use, what’s the verdict?

It turned out to be a bit of a mixed bag, really. First things first – the GTE isn’t really a hot hatch. Not in the traditional sense, anyway. The Golf GTI styling add-ons, eye-catching blue trim inserts and 201bhp power output certainly gave off all the right messages, but by the time those messages got to the driver the meaning was all muddled.

Even in its sportiest driver mode the Golf failed to set the pulse racing. In fact, I can count on the fingers of two hands the number of times I put the car in its hottest GTE setting. Why was that? Simply because it always felt out of sorts in this mode. Performance wasn’t a problem, the 148bhp 1.4-litre turbo petrol engine benefiting from electric-motor torquefill for surprisingly spirited performance – our timing gear recorded 6.8 seconds for the 0-60mph sprint. Fuel economy was less impressive, and when driven with vigour would slump to under 30mpg, which is no better than the far faster GTI and around 20mpg less than the equally brisk GTD offers.

Pushing through a series of corners also had the GTE all at sea, even with the optional two-stage dampers in their firmest setting. Mass was the problem here – our scales revealed the car weighed in at a hefty 1609kg, which was 201kg more than the five-door GTI Performance we tested in evo 246.

It meant the Golf felt a bit ragged at the limit as the suspension struggled to contain body movements and the low-rollingresistance tyres strived to cling on. Driven at eight-tenths the GTE felt fine, with the same slick and composed handling as any Golf, and through quick changes of direction that heavy, rear-mounted battery pack’s pendulum effect even added to the fun.

Unexpectedly, the greatest driver satisfaction was to be gained in zeroemissions electric mode, which gave about 25 miles of range on a full charge, which itself took about four hours to achieve from a domestic 13-amp supply. To manage this sort of distance required real care and concentration. Good anticipation and smoothness were needed, both of which helped maintain valuable momentum through corners and roundabouts. There was also the challenge of mastering the regenerative

braking – lift off the throttle and the deceleration was strong enough that on many journeys you could steer clear of the brake pedal altogether. The result was impressive fuel consumption of up to 70mpg.

Ultimately, the GTE was a car that didn’t quite know what it wanted to be – familyfriendly funster or eco-warrior? – and so, in the end, did neither job particularly well. On the plus side, the hybrid drivetrain was neatly integrated, reliable and relatively straightforward to use, plus as a car the GTE was every bit as easy to live with as a standard Golf. Crucially, the industry has still got more than two decades to produce something that delivers both eco-friendliness and the thrill of driving.