Anthony Hibbs drives a Volkswagen e-Golf 35kWh 2019.

This is Anthony’s first electric car, he’s owned the e-Golf 3-4 years and drives 10,000-15,000 miles annually. The current mileage of the car is between 30,000-40,000 miles and he achieves 140 miles from a full charge.

Why did you choose the Volkswagen e-Golf?

Having owned and leased many VW models over the years, a fully electric Golf appealed to me on many levels. Previous ownership experience was positive and the car is practical for my lifestyle. A three day extended test drive convinced me that this was a good EV, in fact, within the first half hour of driving the decision to purchase was made. Effectively years of development has resulted in a very good car, electrifying it has just made it better.

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Positives – List 3 or more reasons why you love this electric car

• It’s a Golf!
• practicality of a four door hatchback
• relaxing driving experience.

Negatives – List 3 or more things that you really don’t like about this electric car

There are really no serious negatives with this car but here are some minor niggles:

• Winter (sub zero temperatures) motorway range is seriously affected
• wing mirrors are too small
• mirrors don’t heat when preconditioning.

Have you experienced any faults with the car? If so, what have they been?

I have not experienced any faults, I have covered 32,000 miles over 3 1/2 years. The only issue I’ve had was that the original Dunlop SP Sport tyres only lasted 16,000 miles. The fronts were worn and all tyres sidewall developed cracks. I am a very steady driver.

What are the standout technological features of the car?

e-Golf is quite an old EV design, effectively a converted ICE vehicle, so it’s unfair to criticise the tech which I think is still very good. VW engineering did a great job on this car, which was a compliance vehicle which had to be built to satisfy EU regulations at the time. However, there are still some standout features:

• the emergency braking is phenomenal, it actually saved me from a serious collision
• the app control is very good and reliable too. Remote pre-conditioning and scheduling from your armchair cannot be under rated.
• the various drive modes are excellent, allowing me to get the most from the battery using the variable regen and making driving almost one pedal in the B (motor braking and regen) mode.

Surprise us! Tell us something people wouldn’t readily know about this electric car 

I think the biggest surprise to most people is that it is fully electric. A stealth EV! If it wasn’t for the green flash on my number plate I don’t think most would know it wasn’t an ICE Golf. I am of course more than happy to tell them all about it!

What electric car(s) are you interested in next and why?

Having previously owned Lexus models,  the UXe should be my natural first choice. The build quality, ownership experience and the beautifully designed interiors tick all my boxes. However, a few things put me off. Firstly, it has CHAdeMO charging, a system which is in only Japanese EVs and will soon be (surely) superseded by the dominant CCS Standard.

Also the price, which is unreasonable in my opinion. I am interested in the Mercedes EQA, perhaps because of its familiarity to my current car. It’s like an e-Golf on steroids. The slightly larger SUV styling appeals to me, it has a higher driving position and should cope better with the ever worsening road surfaces in my area. I know it’s effectively a converted ICE vehicle but perhaps that is why I like it.

Home charging unit – outline both positive & negative elements

I have a Rolec EV Smart Wallpod. All I can say positively about it is that is a reliable dumb charger. The rest is all negative. I had issues from day one with the unit failing to smart charge. Rolec were very difficult to deal with, taking weeks to send an engineer and flatly refusing to replace the unit. I was passed to the installer, back to Rolec and onto the software provider. None of them wanted to take responsibility.

After being talked into paying for a signal booster which made no difference I just gave up and ever since have used my car scheduler to charge with 100% reliability. I accept that my experience is not the norm as there are many good reports from Rolec. However, based on my experience, I would not recommend Rolec or their products.

Electricity supplier & tariff – outline both positive & negative elements

I have been with Octopus Energy for over 3 years now and have no hesitation in recommending them. I am on their GO tariff which gives me four hours of off-peak energy which I use to charge my car, charge my home battery, wash clothes and run my dishwasher. The customer service is exemplary. Easy to contact online or by phone. Queries answered immediately and the minor issue I had was resolved within hours.

What public charging networks would you recommend to others and why?

My top 3 charging networks are:

InstaVolt – they win on reliability, I have never had any issues with their chargers. Just tap and go. The only network I have an RFID card with.

Gridserve – their Electric Forecourt in Norwich is pure EV heaven. I have had great experiences with their other sites too. I would have rated them number 1 but for the ongoing issues with the ABB chargers which appear to be able to charge two vehicles at once but cut off the other vehicle when doing so.

Pod Point – reliable and everywhere, the only network I have a 100% app activation record with.

Insurer – outline both positive & negative elements

I insure with LV. They were competitive and the only insurer to provide an EV specific policy covering cables and recovery if running out of charge.

Please itemise where you’re saving money owning & running an electric car

I estimate I have saved over £100 a month in running costs since switching from a hybrid vehicle 3 1/2 years ago. My charging costs have been around £350 in the past year, covering 10,000 miles. I mainly charge at home but use public chargers a few times per month. Previously I was paying £90 a month in petrol costs. I have paid no road tax on this car.
My service plan with Volkswagen is £15 per month. I paid £38 per month for the plan on my hybrid.

Owning an electric vehicle has allowed me to have an off-peak tariff for my home electricity which has saved hundreds of pounds as I run my appliances overnight and charge not only my car but a home battery enabling me to run my home entirely on off-peak energy for several months of the year.

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