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Battery size: 13 kWh
Company car tax: 7%
Emissions: 28 g/km
Range: 40 miles (electric)
Fuel economy: 156.9 MPG
Pricing
The VW Golf GTE is an expensive option, even by the already fairly expensive standards of plug-in hybrids. At nearly £37,000, it’s some £5,000 more expensive than a Seat Leon e-Hybrid or Skoda Octavia iV, and some £3,000 more than a Mercedes A 250e. Finance options make for slightly more expensive monthly payments, too, so while the Golf is better equipped than these alternatives it still struggles to justify a high price point. It’s not even that far off the cost of the BMW 330e, and it’s in the same price range as excellent pure electric alternatives like the VW ID.3 and Peugeot e-2008, so while the Golf is a great all-rounder, it’s got a lot of competition.
Still, the good news is that it’s cheap as a company car. With CO2 emissions of 28g/km, it’ll cost thousands less than one of the efficient petrol or diesel Golf models.
Running costs
It’ll cost under £2 for a full battery top-up in the Golf on a standard domestic electricity tariff. Charging at off-peak times or shopping around for one of the many EV-specific tariffs on offer could halve that cost, so if you do a lot of electric mileage you could be paying under half the fuel costs of an efficient diesel car.
Even with the petrol engine running in the GTE, you’ll still get some 45mpg or over with ease, making this an efficient and affordable car to run by any measure. Just be sure to plug in regularly, as that’s the only way to get the real money saving and environmental benefits from a plug-in hybrid.
Do as much mileage as you can using the battery, and you’ll save plenty on fuel. Road tax is also cheap, costing £140 per year from the second year of ownership. Just be careful not to add so many options that you take the price of the Golf GTE over £40,000, as this tips it into the ‘premium tax’ class, which means that you’ll pay extra on your road fund licence.
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