Volkswagen Golf GTE review

The Volkswagen Golf GTE starts at £40,145 on the road before you have a think about adding any of the optional extras. That’s rather a lot compared to a 308, but that doesn’t play the hot hatch card; a Prius is similar money, but the Golf is better to drive and more practical.

What’s the spec like? 

You get a decent spread of kit in the GTE, so you shouldn’t be left wanting for too much (expect maybe the 261bhp 2.0-litre engine from the GTI). The car comes with a nice looking bodykit that’s bespoke to the trim, LED lights front and rear, 17in alloys, three-zone air-conditioning, keyless go, heated seats up front, tinted rear windows and smartphone connectivity on the infotainment. 

On top of the asking price there are £615 18in alloys on the option list, paint options (including two-tone stuff) that can run to £1,340, a £1,280 panoramic sunroof, £610 head-up display, £345 rear-view camera, as well as the £755 optional Dynamic Chassis Control package. We’re not saying go for them, merely that if you’re not careful then the GTE’s price can get very punchy.

With a couple of choice options, you can stick £5k down through VW’s own finance scheme and unlock monthly repayments of just over £500 over four years on an allowance of 10,000 miles per annum. Shopping elsewhere might well undercut that.

Is the GTE cheap to run? 

Key question, because lowering your bills should be a plug-in’s forte. The more you charge it at home (where the electricity is at its cheapest), the more you’ll save: that 19.7kWh battery will charge at up to 11kW on an AC supply, or it’ll even manage 40kW DC (though few do that in practice).

60 ish miles of range (or more if you’re crawling) makes the GTE one of the most useful PHEVs on sale, and crucially it’ll run on just the electric motor at up to 87mph. So if your commute involves motorway, you can still get there without dipping into the fuel tank. Expect somewhere shy of 50mpg in regular driving once the battery has been depleted – after that it’ll run as a regular hybrid, with occasional bursts from the motor.