Volkswagen electric hybrid aims to bring technology within range

Electric cars are seen as the future, but for the average Irish motorist that future is a long way off. Higher costs and short ranges mean that they are a second car, used for short hops or commutes, but useless for longer road trips.

The compromise, however, could be a little more palatable: the plug-in hybrid.

Hybrid cars arguably provide the best of both worlds: an electric engine that will save on fuel costs and emissions for short trips, and a backup in the form of a regular combustion engine when you venture outside the latter’s range limits.

No stopping to recharge, no treating motorways with suspicion and no fear you will land yourself at the side of the road with a dead battery.

Car makers have stepped up their game in recent years and there is an increasing number of existing car models appearing with a plug-in option.

The Passat GTE is the second of Volkswagen's range to get the hybrid treatment, with a Golf GTE also in the works.

It’s a plug-in hybrid that gives you 50km range from the electric engine, which you can charge at your home point or on street, and a direct injection turbo petrol engine (1.4 TSI).

For a suburban commuter, that electric range might be enough to never dip into the petrol tank, saving on fuel costs.

The Passat offers several driving modes: e-mode, which is electric; hybrid, which switches between electric and petrol as you drive; and GTE mode, the sporty option.

Impressive

The theoretical range is impressive, with a full tank and a fully charged battery estimated to get you more than 1,100km.

Whether you achieve that is down to a few factors, including your driving style – heavy acceleration and hard braking may burn through this more quickly – and the type of roads you are on.

For the test drive, the Passat was put through its paces on the flat terrain around Amsterdam.

In electric mode, the Passat is nippy enough, despite the extra weight that comes with the dual fuel equipment; the battery adds 125kg to the overall weight.

It tops out at 130km/h, compared with 225km/h in the dual hybrid mode.

Under normal circumstances, the car will start in e-mode, so you don’t have to remember to switch it.

In the test drive, we got close to the 50km predicted range out of the electric engine, but with 2km left in the battery, it switched over to the petrol engine.

Driving in hybrid mode with the regenerative braking turned on lengthened that range, with some power going back to the battery, but it was a slow process.

You can also feel the difference in the car when regenerative braking is turned on; as soon as you lift your foot off the accelerator, there’s a drag. It’s a small complaint though, when you see that electric range climbing again.

Most of the remaining drive was conducted in hybrid mode. You can force it to go electric-only at the touch of a button; it’s a smooth transition that puts you firmly back in eco-friendly territory.

Hit the GTE button, however, and it goes from responsible, eco-conscious vehicle to something with a bit more fun to it.

Both the electric and the petrol engine power the car in GTE, with a combined output of 215bhp. You can hear – and feel – the difference.

The GTE comes with some items as standard that would have been optional extras in the regular Passat: the front assist, city emergency braking function and LED headlights.

Extras on this model are the active info display, the head-up-display and App-Connect.

There’s also an estate version, making the Passat the first of VW’s plug-in hybrid vehicles to be sold in both bodies.

It all sounds great, but the real test for the cars will come in the price.

Although final pricing for Ireland hasn't been announced yet, those who want to get on board with the Passat hybrid will be looking at around €45,000, even after the €5,000 SEAI grant and the €2,500 VRT rebate are taken into account. Even with the extra tech, it's an eye-watering price for a family car.

Widespread

That cost is likely to come down as the technology becomes more widespread. Car makers are betting this will be the technology that wins over consumers.

According to Volkswagen, sales of plug-in hybrids will quadruple by 2018 to 893,000 and reach 3.3 million by 2022.

There are no plans at the moment to roll the technology out further across the Volkswagen range, but if the demand is there, it’s difficult to see why it wouldn’t happen.

In the meantime, early adopters will need to really believe in the Passat GTE’s eco-credentials.