Volkswagen to showcase electric range at Gadget Show Live
By Jamie White – Head of Communications
Visitors to the Gadget Show Live at the NEC in Birmingham will be the first in the UK to see the new Volkswagen Golf GTE plug-in hybrid, which mixes the dynamics of a GTI with the emissions and economy of an electric car.
The Golf GTE combines petrol and electric motors to produce 204 PS and giving a theoretical range of 580 miles. It is driven by two engines: a 1.4-litre 150 PS TSI direct-injection petrol engine and a 102 PS electric motor. Together, they produce power of 204 PS and torque of 350 Nm. Using both engines, the Golf GTE can go from 0-62 mph in 7.6 seconds and on to 138 mph, and it can still hit 81 mph on electric power alone. Yet it returns a combined cycle figure of 188 mpg and CO2 emissions of 35 g/km.
Also on display at the Volkswagen stand at the next week’s show will be the record-breaking 313 mpg XL1 super-efficient vehicle and the fully electric e-up! which will be available for short, accompanied test-drives.
Visually, the Golf GTE combines elements of the fully electric e-Golf and Golf GTI, with C-shaped LED daytime running lights and aerodynamic horizontal ‘fins’. Where the GTI features red, the GTE has blue accents, including across the grille and into the headlights.
The GTE also has an e-manager which allows the driver to preset vehicle charging, as well as interior cooling or heating.
With its low, sleekly aerodynamic teardrop shape, the Volkswagen XL1 looks like a vision of the future, yet it is entering limited production. From a combination of its two-cylinder turbo-diesel engine and electric motor, the XL1 returns a staggering 313 mpg, and emits just 21 g/km. Its bodywork and structure consists largely of carbon fibre-reinforced polymer. The XL1 doesn’t have door mirror, instead using wind-cheating pencil-thin cameras, and the doors to its two-seater cabin open upwards, like those of a supercar.
The e-up! is every bit as practical as its petrol-powered city car siblings, yet its fully electric drivetrain means it produces no tailpipe emissions, and operates smoothly and silently.
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