Used 2016 Volkswagen e-Golf Hatchback Consumer Reviews
Used e-Golf for sale
Love-Hate Relationship
Jay, 04/27/2020
2016 Volkswagen e-Golf SE 4dr Hatchback (electric DD)
20 of 21 people found this review helpful
I bought (leased) it new, drove it for 3 years and put about 36,000 miles on it. Pros: The car looks, feels, drives and functions amazingly. It has the pluses of the Golf, which include excellent handling, comfortable seating front and back, a great view of the road, and a surprising amount of room for people and cargo. You take for granted how well balanced this car is until you step into almost any other car. The electric charging saved serious $$. It was very reliable. Cons. Range was a little over 80 miles in the summer and under 60 miles in the winter... with heater frequently off! As this was my only car, range was an enormous, life-style altering problem. Fast chargers began popping up in Portland during my ownership, which made life a bit easier. The charge chord melted, and took several days to replace under warranty. And it was annoying having to take the car for maintenance every 10K miles and get charged dealership fees for a simple electric check. About 2 years in, I tried selling it, but the leasing agreement made the process extremely difficult and I gave up. VW Credit was a pain from beginning to end. At the end of the lease, they charged me $350 fee for returning the vehicle!! It felt like they had me by the neck from the time I signed, were going to screw me over and didn't give a damn if I would be a returning customer. I highly recommend the car IF: It is the second car in your household, you avoid VW Credit, you install a Level 2 Charger at your home, and live in an area friendly towards electric vehicles. If you meet these conditions, i think you will LOVE this car!
- Safety
- Technology
- Performance
- Interior
- Comfort
- Reliability
Poor Man's Audi
Jacques, 04/26/2016
2016 Volkswagen e-Golf SE 4dr Hatchback (electric DD)
19 of 20 people found this review helpful
I have never loved a car until this one. It's quiet, fast off the line, and does not compromise on utility. It's great to charge overnight and skip trips to gas stations.
- Performance
- Value
2016 Volkswagen e-Golf for sale near you
Showing 3 of 8 listings
- SE 4dr HatchbackMSRP: $12,990In-stock online
- SE 4dr HatchbackMSRP: $13,590In-stock online
- SE 4dr HatchbackMSRP: $13,990In-stock online
See all 8 listings
Super fun ride! You'll hate gas cars driving this
R. Sturtevant, 05/02/2017
2016 Volkswagen e-Golf SEL Premium 4dr Hatchback (electric DD)
19 of 20 people found this review helpful
VW designed the eGolf to be nearly identical to the gas version of the car. It's not a cheap feeling, light vehicle that drives like a shopping cart as some e-Cars are. 0 to 30 mph it has greater acceleration than the GTI. That seems like an odd benchmark, but when you think of how many times you pull out of an intersection to oncoming traffic that quick burst of power gives you a great sense of driving confidence. Handling is superb. The entertainment system and driver controls are nicely configured. I get over 100 miles on a charge in warm weather going less than highway speeds. In cold weather with lots of highways this can drop considerably to say 70 miles per charge. It works great for me give my commute is less than 50 miles per day. I hear that the 2018 model will add about 30% to the range. That's good, but for me I find that most of my driving is well within the range of this car. Still I think VW will need to compete with other electrics that promise 200+ miles. Overall it's just a really fun car to drive and has given me no problems in 2 years. I'm thinking of buying it when the lease ends next year.
- Performance
- Interior
- Comfort
- Value
Great Commuter, Must Adapt to EV Lifestyle
Dolore-Golf, 09/29/2021
2016 Volkswagen e-Golf SE 4dr Hatchback (electric DD)
9 of 9 people found this review helpful
I bought this car about a year and a half ago and have absolutely fallen in love with it. It handles incredibly well around corners. Acceleration is impressively fast giving tons of confidence making turns on busy roads. We have saved thousands of dollars using this car for all of our local trips. I can honestly say that driving any gas powered car is now a disappointment. A few points: 1) This car is a commuter car, it is not designed to do long journeys. We use it to commute into work every day, to run errands and for weekend fun around town. Think about it like a pair of comfortable everyday shoes: you can wear the same pair everyday, they are comfortable, they do their job, they are stylish, but you might not want to wear them for everything. Let them be your everyday shoes that you love, but don't get mad when you realize they don't work for running marathons or climbing mountains. Read on for more details. 2) You have to get used to the EV lifestyle. You need to get used to plugging in your car pretty much every night (depending on your commute) to make sure you have enough charge to go wherever you need to go. You'll save tons of pain by planning ahead. Know what you're doing the next day so you can map out how far you're going. What is the distance to and from? Does your destination have a charger? Should you throw your charger in the trunk to plug in? Did you plug in the distance into Google maps before heading out? Are there any fast chargers near my destination in case I need a little more juice? Little things like that have saved me a lot of trouble. And stopping for a quick charge really isn't a huge nuisance if you factor in all that time you don't spend at the gas pump anymore. I would say that 90% of my trips I don't even need to think about charging, I can go and come back without even thinking; I can go about 130-150km on a full charge. However, the reality is, once in a while, I'll need to plan ahead if I know I'm going a little further or want to take advantage of charging stations. I'll often pick my parking spots accordingly, or start to learn where I can plug in. Doing a few minutes of research the day before can save you hours. 3) Appreciate the car for what it is: an affordable EV. The biggest complaint I might have is that the range isn't as good as the Teslas or newer EV models coming out. However, this car was a fraction of the price of any other EV, so the minor inconveniences are worth the tens of thousands I might've spent on a more expensive EV. At the time I bought this car, it was about 60% cheaper than the cost of a used Tesla. 4) Make sure you have access to a gas powered car. This one seems backwards, but the reality is that by getting a more affordable EV, you are sacrificing range and the convenience of being able to fill up a gas tank and continue on. If you want to do a road trip, trade with someone (family, friend etc) who has a gas car. Or, if you're a family with more than one car, make sure one is gas powered. My wife has a gas Jetta and while we use the e-Golf as much as possible, once in a while, there will be a scenario where it makes more sense to use the Jetta. Stopping to charge is always an option, but sometimes the gas car can save a lot of time, which is the one thing money can't buy. 5) Car maintenance is next to none. The only things you really need to keep an eye on are: your tires, windshield wiper fluid, wipers, air filter and brakes. All of which are easily done by yourself (except maybe the brakes depending on your skill level, however, they last years longer than regular brakes because you're rarely using them, see section 6). No oil changes, engine troubles, break downs, etc. Again, this car saves you time and money in more ways than most people realize. There are routine inspections that you are supposed to do with a VW dealership every 10,000km, but for $200-300, it's still a fraction compared to the maintenance costs of any gas car (oil changes, brakes, belts, tubes, clips, fluids, anything else that breaks down, etc). 6) Regenerative Braking. While the reality of the regenerative braking system actually charging the battery is quite limited, it feels amazing. Once you get used to what VW calls "B Mode", which is the strongest version of this car's regenerative braking modes, you won't be able to go back. This car can stop/slow down much quicker than most cars which is not only safer, but makes driving a whole new experience. The second you take your foot off the accelerator, the car starts slowing down quite rapidly. I've actually driven a Tesla before and I like the e-golf version better, I find it less aggressive and more smooth. This has saved me from accidents and also just becomes a new, natural, smoother way to drive. No more head bobs from pressing the brake too soft or heavy. The fact that it absorbs the energy and puts it back into the battery is just a bonus. Overall, I love this car.
- 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