I'm back with a 2019 !

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Deschodt

***
Joined
Mar 14, 2017
Messages
85
2 months ago I turned in my 2016... I thought of extending the lease but I feared a last minute dings/dents and lease return issues, also was close to needing a set of new tires, so back it went... I did not consider a purchase - though payout was cheap - because of the battery pack degradation (my doing, I rode it hard and put it away wet)...

At the time the dealer offered me a "generous" (sarcasm) $340 per month for a new 2019 lease... I laughed and left, and have been driving my regular fun car instead... FFWD a couple months, I'm tired of the 3 pedals in heavy traffic, the fun car is totally wasted on 75% of my drive.. just for giggles I called the VW sales guy... Apparently VW did something funky and they want the cars out of the door - I can now get a 2019 for $126 a month (3K down). Are-u-kidding-me? From 340 to 126 in 2 months ? I would have been mighty pissed off had I gotten the lease then ! Ignoring the downpayment for the moment, that amount is less than 1/2 my gas budget alone.... Also words cannot convey how annoying it had been to stop to refill every 4-5 days at a gas station. Seemed like each time I started the car the tank was almost empty ;-)

So the 2019 then ? Picked it up and range was 139 mi indicated... A nice improvement from the 85mi mine showed when new (more like 70mi of late).. I don't need that extra range, but what that buys me is the ability to charge the car every other day only, not max out the battery every charge, and therefore hopefully save the battery pack some wear. Also the extra range might put the car into play for longer drives, but then my mileage is tailored for my commute so I may exceed that if I use it more... Not sure how much they charge per mile when you do.. Performance wise I understand the car makes a little more power (not sure about torque?) but it felt exactly the same to me - the HP may be felt from 60-85 where the old car was a little slow... I'll report later..

The 2019 is a vast improvement over my 2016 SE... The cloth interior is darker and nicer looking. I hope it is less likely to stain. The 2016 cloth stained with simple water drops, it was silly.. The steering wheel (my big beef with my 2016) is no longer bare and cheap plastic but thicker leather, with blue stitching, very nice. It also has all the buttons on it which my old SE did not have a single of, very cool... The screen is the same as the GTI's, bigger and glossier, touch screen all around (no buttons), and the car has drive assist features now... What they are, I don't know and don't plan on using them anyway, I like driving with no assists (will read up on them anyway and report). Everything else is 100% the same, down to the *ONE* USB plug which means its EITHER carplay or a dash cam, but not both. That was stupid, VW... having to open the little door to access it is silly too.. another usb plug in the footwell or glove box would have been cool.

The base car also now comes with the fast charger ! Yipee... I will likely NEVER use it but should I want to drive 300 mi one day, now I can. I also picked a lovely urano grey color this time, dark matte grey, my kids were calling the previous car "the fridge" (white, electric, appliance - you know), this one is definitely more fetching and my little one is happy, he loves the electric silence...

The same ecopia #%$#% tires are on, I will replace them shortly with something grippier that reduces the chirping when regen braking switches over to pads (that reminds me I have a set of 2016 ecopia with tons of miles left, free for pickup in Marin county)... Come to think of it, this car would look GTI-good with nicer wheels. I may replace both wheels and tires. Can someone confirm GTI wheels can be mounted on the Egolf ? I believe the benefit of the egolf wheels is strictly wind resistance, nothing else in particular ?

Anyway, very happy with the car deal and upgrades - I do realize there are options now with other brands, and more coming soon, but F-me, $126 a month is basically my toilet paper budget (I have young boys, they eat a lot!) and they gave me a car for free... Now the wait begins for the plates + HOV stickers so I can save $50 more per month in tolls ;-)
 
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What is your residual buy out?

Are you going to drive it somewhat less abusive on the battery pack, or do a rinse and repeat, because you leased it and really don't care?
 
JoulesThief said:
What is your residual buy out?

Are you going to drive it somewhat less abusive on the battery pack, or do a rinse and repeat, because you leased it and really don't care?

Depends on what you define as “abusive” ? If you mean full battery charge, back then I needed the full range every day and there was no choice there... and now the extra range means I can afford to charge it at 80% daily OR 100% every other day. So that’s better. What would you recommend?

If you mean driving style, sorry but there’s no sticker on the car that says I have to hypermile it - I will drive it vigorously and take full advantage of the torque.

Will I keep it? Too soon to tell. This time I got one with a color I like and options I want - so it’s possible - but I believe in 2 years there will be something better technologically speaking. Probably. Residual - 15k I believe. More than last time (2016 was 13000)
 
"Apparently VW did something funky and they want the cars out of the door "

It's called they realized they can't ask low $30k's for an SE and approaching $40k for an SEL when you can finally get a $35k Tesla Model 3 with 200 miles of range, as well as the Bolt and soon-to-arrive 200 mile offerings from Hyundai/Kia.

"Can someone confirm GTI wheels can be mounted on the Egolf ? "

Someone on VW Vortex, just for laughs, did temporarily swap out the wheels/tires from his Golf R onto his eGolf. Yes it handled much better. It also significantly reduced range. So if this car's current range means 80% charging everyday, keep in mind that depending on your tire choice, you could be charging at 100% every day again.

As far as the single USB port...on both my eGolf and my Alltrack, a simple USB to cigarette lighter adapter functions as power for the dash cam. I bought one with two USB ports in case I want to charge a tablet, or if a passenger wants to charge his/her phone. I do agree that the USB port in the center cubby it's a b*tch to get to, unless you have really skinny fingers.
 
RonDawg said:
It's called they realized they can't ask low $30k's for an SE and approaching $40k for an SEL when you can finally get a $35k Tesla Model 3 with 200 miles of range, as well as the Bolt and soon-to-arrive 200 mile offerings from Hyundai/Kia.
[..]I do agree that the USB port in the center cubby it's a b*tch to get to, unless you have really skinny fingers.

Could not agree more... But I don't need the extra range and I really do not like the looks of that Tesla, it's funny to my friends here, but having grown up in Europe, a Golf is a "nice" car to me. $126 a month is a joke of a lease, so yeah...

On the USB port, I broke it on my 2016 - the innards came out with the plug I was pulling out. I ended up repairing it myself with a OEM parts, cost me almost $50, just so I wouldn't lose the car to the dealer for a few days. I'm amazed they improved everything else about this car and forgot the USB plugs ;-)

On the wheels, point well taken - but do y'all thing it's the wheels or the tires ? I put super grippy rubber on my 2016 and lost 10% range immediately (and had no problem at all with that idea).
 
RonDawg said:
"Apparently VW did something funky and they want the cars out of the door "

It's called they realized they can't ask low $30k's for an SE and approaching $40k for an SEL when you can finally get a $35k Tesla Model 3 with 200 miles of range, as well as the Bolt and soon-to-arrive 200 mile offerings from Hyundai/Kia.

"Can someone confirm GTI wheels can be mounted on the Egolf ? "

Someone on VW Vortex, just for laughs, did temporarily swap out the wheels/tires from his Golf R onto his eGolf. Yes it handled much better. It also significantly reduced range. So if this car's current range means 80% charging everyday, keep in mind that depending on your tire choice, you could be charging at 100% every day again.

As far as the single USB port...on both my eGolf and my Alltrack, a simple USB to cigarette lighter adapter functions as power for the dash cam. I bought one with two USB ports in case I want to charge a tablet, or if a passenger wants to charge his/her phone. I do agree that the USB port in the center cubby it's a b*tch to get to, unless you have really skinny fingers.

Well, they can ask it.... but you'd have to be foolish to give them the money for a 125 mile range electric car, compared to 220 miles for the base model Tesla. I see it as, in today's current market a 125 mile range e-Golf SEL as being a $25-27000 car, tops, due to limited range. Is it a well built car, compared to a Tesla? Yes. But technology wise, feature wise, and a passively cooled battery during recharging, as well as reduced range, those are just plain huge negatives to overcome. Battery capacity in KWh is the biggest component expense of the car. Vw batteries are just much cheaper to build.

Would I buy a 2019 e-Golf SEL to replace my 2015 SEL? Yes, but I'd have to get an offer for $25-26k before I would even consider it, the value, with new technology, is just not quite there yet.
 
Deschodt said:
Can someone confirm GTI wheels can be mounted on the Egolf ? I believe the benefit of the egolf wheels is strictly wind resistance, nothing else in particular ?

Yes, all the GTI and Golf R wheels will easily fit. Expect to lose up to 20% range with the worse case 19" Golf R Cadiz wheels/tires. Reasons for the big drop are:

1) Increased wheel weight and width, resulting in higher rotating mass.
2) Increased rolling resistance which is a combination of tire width/weight/tire compound/tread pattern. (Eco tires don't come in those sizes.)

I may be interested in the tires. How many miles on them? I'm located in SF.
 
I honestly do not recall, but I can't imagine more than 3000-3500 mi. I replaced them with grippy tires very early on, around 6 months of ownership.

They were from the 2016 car which I got in march 2017, so they have not aged out yet.
They're free to whoever wants them. I can take a pic tonight indicating wear level.
 
Brief update: the car indeed feels a little faster from 50 to 80 than the previous model. The torque feels essentially the same because it is tire limited anyway. And we all know the ecopias have the grip of wood :)

As far as driving aids go, there is a new warning if you’re too close to the car in front at a certain speed but it doesn’t stop the car for you like the Audis do, and I’m enjoying the Blindspot monitors which I did not have before.

The range is as promised and I can easily do two days worth of spirited commute now (90+ mi) without recharging possibly three if I was adventurous but I am not. All in all, I would not purchase an earlier model and would instead lease a 2019, the improvements are *substantial* and apparently now the prices are right. This car is a cheaper lease than my old
sE with a lot more toys thrown in. And the added range is real.
 
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