Sight Unseen: Pros And Cons Of Driving A 'Stealth' EV

If you drive a Tesla Model S or a Nissan Leaf, then a certain image follows: Plain and simple, you’re an electric-vehicle early adopter. Just as the Toyota Prius has always shouted out that you’re in a environmentally sound, very fuel-efficient hybrid, these models push your decision to go all-electric out front and center.

But for the 2015 Volkswagen e-Golf that’s been our long-term test car, it’s a bit different. The e-Golf is a stealth EV; it blends right in with other Golf models—which, we’ve found, is a mixed bag.

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On the outside, if you’re not attuned to the lack of a tailpipe in the e-Golf, there’s not a lot to distinguish it from the gasoline versions of the Golf—or the Golf TDI, which we've driven with the e-Golf, back to back. Other than badging, the easiest way to pick it out from the rest of the lineup, other than the rather understated badging, is the thin blue stripe in front, across the lower portion of the headlights and what remains of the grille. There’s also a different, smaller/reshaped lower air intake in front, and what might be the boldest identifier from a distance: a unique wheel style.

It's not all that much different than what those who buy or lease models like the Ford Focus Electric, Fiat 500e, and Kia Soul EV face.

Subtle badging, stealth mission?

There are plenty of details to differentiate the e-Golf, but they're mostly ones that only the most dedicated VW fans or EV enthusiasts are ever going to spot.

Even as we’ve driven the 2015 Volkswagen e-Golf around the electric-car hotbed of Portland, Oregon—and in the particularly electric-vehicle-concentrated portion of the city where I live—it seems that to plenty of people, even those who are already acquainted with Leaf and Model S, perhaps, it’s just another Golf.

Wherever we stop to for public charging, the e-Golf is quite the conversation-starter. Lots of that interest comes from drivers of Nissan Leafs—some of them unaware this car exists (the e-Golf has been sale on the West Coast for over a year)—and others asking how the range compares to the Leaf.

We’ll bring you another roundup on range and charging soon, by the way, but the short answer at this point is that the Golf consistently delivers 80 miles out of a charge, almost regardless of driving conditions, with careful use of climate control, or 90+ miles with it off. That’s a bit more than what we’ve seen in a 24-kWh Leaf.