Used 2016 Volkswagen e-Golf Consumer Reviews
Used e-Golf for sale
See Edmunds pricing data
Has Your Car's Value Changed?
Used car values are constantly changing. Edmunds lets you track your vehicle's value over time so you can decide when to sell or trade in.
We have a limited number of reviews for the 2016 e-Golf, so we've included reviews for other years of the e-Golf since its last redesign.
Gas free diet!
P Adl, 03/12/2016
updated 03/16/2022
2015 Volkswagen e-Golf SEL Premium 4dr Hatchback (electric DD)
7 of 7 people found this review helpful
Review update after near 4 yrs. I still really like this car. Has been trouble free (except for the radio volume control issue) and an extremely versatile car for transport and even cargo. The 125 mile range model did not materialize until the 2019 models were released! I checked them out and they are nicer too with more bells and whistles, but decided it was not worth the expense since VW, at least the Norm Reeves dealership, was not interested in making me a deal I would consider acceptable. The Golf (2015 - on models, and generally all of them) are much larger than they look. My daughter got the new 2019 Leaf and comparing the two, the Golf is smaller on the outside, but larger on the inside. The new Leaf is a much better driving car than the previous Leaf model, but the Golf is still a much nicer driving car than even the new Leaf. Where the Golf loses is in the range. 83 miles for the Golf, 150 miles for the new Leaf. My daughter would have bought the Golf, but she drives to 60-70 miles away twice a week for work and the Golf would not make it, but the Leaf does it comfortably. Thankfully I don't need that range and when I do the 60-70 miles, it is usually for the whole weekend so I can get an overnight charge and comfortably make it home. It is an ideal car for around town and a 35 mile work commute range. Still zero maintenance costs! Review update after almost 3 yrs. Really like this car, but the real limitation is the range and it's slow charging. VW should have figured an update to existing 2015/16/17 car and they would be keepers. New ones have 125 m range and faster charge, and that is better, but to be useful for SoCal area, 200 m range is minimum for a successful electric car. Everything else is as previous review below. Range is not that great, but everything else is! I test drove most of the smaller EVs, the Fiat, the Smart car, the Leaf, the BMW, etc. The best handling/driving one was the e-Golf. So I got it and have been driving it now for a year and three months and enjoying it more every day. I work very close to home and one charge can keep me going for around two weeks with a few excursions, i.e. driving to shops and running errands (all close). I did manage just over 105 miles with level 3 regeneration, and max limited power but it was slow going. VW has free charging at their locations and I use them since one is close to my home and if one is on my way, I stop, charge and catch up with emails using their WiFi. I find it to be the most practical of all the smaller lower cost EVs out there because it is roomy, comfortable, reasonable luggage capacity, with all the bells and whistles I could want. The 2017 has better range, 120 Miles is what I was told. That would let me drive to San Diego easily (if I spend the night to recharge)! UPDATE: 14th March 2018 - Now have 6500 miles. Bad news is VW decided to shut down their charging access! Terrible customer relation move if you ask me. They claimed many were fighting over the charge spot, but I almost always found it available when I went. They could have made money charging non customers to use it, but they chose to just shut it down - VERY DISAPPOINTING! Anyway, I still like the car, especially since I work just a couple of miles from work and one charge lasts a couple of weeks. Well, I tried a run to San Diego, and in my earlier review, I lied! It would NOT let me drive to San Diego easily! I just barely made it. It was sniffing electrons to make a 75 mile trip. It told me I had '0' miles for the last 2.8 miles!! After an overnight and half a day charge, I drove home on eco mode (limited to 75 MPH with slower acceleration) with full regeneration settings and made it home with 3 miles to spare. The car still feels very tight, as it should with only 6500 miles on it. Has not needed any service other than a recall software update. Only problem I have has is the radio volume jumps up and down when I try to adjust it. Everything else feels and runs/works great. My 105 mile trip is still my record, but do not want to drive that slowly, for a trip again. After 2+ years, I am very happy with my decision to get this car, fun to drive, performs when I want it to and amazingly economical both for energy usage and maintenance! Update: 16th March 2022 - 6 years later - still very happy with my decision! Now with only16K miles, ate up the original Bridgestone eco tires which I just replaces with Michelin Defender tires - much smoother, more quiet, and actually handles better too! Only issue I had was the fuel cover door release solenoid stopped working and would not open. So I couldn't charge the car. Still had charge though, so drove it to the original dealership thinkin it is still under warranty within 3 years and NOPE, they wanted to charge a LOT! Part was out of stock too. A week later I bought the part, took it to German Car Garage and it was installed in one afternoon and working great for $100. No other issues, NONE! and I'm still really enjoying this very versatile, zippy, fast little hatchback with no gas price worries!
- Safety
- Technology
- Performance
- Interior
- Comfort
- Reliability
- Value
Great little car!
Peter C., 10/15/2017
2016 Volkswagen e-Golf SE 4dr Hatchback (electric DD)
6 of 6 people found this review helpful
Drives great. Good handling. Gas saver. Most suitable for driving around town. Only complaint is that during braking, I hear some clicking noise. Not sure if that's normal or not.
- Safety
- Technology
- Performance
- Interior
- Comfort
- Reliability
- Value
2016 Volkswagen e-Golf for sale near you
Showing 3 of 20 listings
- SE 4dr HatchbackMSRP: $9,99564 mi away
- SE 4dr HatchbackMSRP: $6,79099 mi away
- SE 4dr HatchbackMSRP: $11,29048 mi away
See all 20 listings
I'll never have to pull into a gas station again
Craig Heiman, 10/12/2015
2015 Volkswagen e-Golf Limited Edition 4dr Hatchback (electric DD)
5 of 5 people found this review helpful
I went from a plugin Prius to the VW E Golf. I could be happier. It's quick its fun and I can fit my sufboard in the car which is 7 10". Most importantly I dont' have to ever stop at a gas station again.
- Safety
- Technology
- Performance
- Interior
- Comfort
- Reliability
- Value
Really like it
sweetwagon, 07/03/2015
2015 Volkswagen e-Golf SEL Premium 4dr Hatchback (electric DD)
4 of 4 people found this review helpful
I wanted to try out an EV. After over a month with the car, happy I chose this one. Best interior and looks out of all the budget EVs. So far this car is great. I've got two kids. It's become the primary car for just going around town. Definitely a great experience with my first EV. Can't wait to see the next iteration of EVs.
An great electric car crippled by zombie software
HP, 02/05/2016
2016 Volkswagen e-Golf SEL Premium 4dr Hatchback (electric DD)
52 of 74 people found this review helpful
The handling and acceleration of e-Golf is beyond my expectation. It is cute and agile on city road and highways. This is compared to the cars (Mercedes E350 and BMW X5) that I have. The perspective of paying $1.4 dollar for my daily commute of 45 miles is very promising. However, I will not recommend this model year to others because of the following pain points: (1) This car has a 3G module that communicates with VW server. It fails: The CarNet service on desktop browser or mobile App allows you to (a) lock/unlock the car, (b) activate A/C, (c) charging schedule manage. From day-1, the CarNet server is never able to communicate with my car. It renders the CarNet service useless. My e-Golf is completely off the grid. (2) Delay charging failure: If you search for "VW e-golf delay charging issue" on Google, you will find long list of complaints that it doesn't work. Yes, 2015 e-Golf delay charging problem continues to plague 2016 e-Golf. For people living in California, the low electric rate kicks in between 11pm-7am. This is a very fundamental software feature for utilize the discount rate, yet it fails to deliver. For those days that it fails to delay charge, I could wake up in the morning and only find out the battery is not charged. I had to drive my e-Golf with ECO+ mode in one morning commute because battery is low. With ECO+ mode that turns off AC/Heater, I was frozen with inside temperature 45F and thinking what I have trapped myself into. This is a horrible experience for a new car owner.
- Safety
- Technology
- Performance
- Interior
- Comfort
- Reliability
- Value