Julian Kirk reports back on six months with the Golf GTE plug-in hybrid.

P11D: £40,455 BiK: 12% | £81 (20%) /£162 (40%) Economy: 234.5mpg CO2 emissions: 27g/km EV range: 38 miles Test mpg: 50.7mpg

Final report:

The PHEV’s combined 245hp is more than enough for day-to-day driving

With the arrival of the revised Golf 8.5 (bringing in a much improved digital driver interface), our GTE has now returned to Volkswagen.

Looking back on its stay with us, I’ve been impressed by its versatility, ownership appeal and general frugality (more of which in a bit) and convinced that it remains an ideal company car for drivers who cover decent mileages but want the Benefit-in-Kind tax breaks of a plug-in hybrid vehicle.

In GTE trim, this Golf is a green vehicle, yet one which still benefits from the GTI styling cues such as the checked seat fabric and exterior additions from the GTI. While it doesn’t offer the all-out performance of a GTI, it still has a combined 245hp which, let’s face it, is more than enough for day-to-day driving here.

It’s comfortable too, even for a hot-hatch, so I’d suggest leaving the optional £875 Dynamic Chassis Control off your specification list.

I would pay a little extra for 18-inch alloy wheels, purely for the looks – £670 well spent, while another essential for me is the £315 Winter Pack (heated front seats, heated steering wheel, heated washer jets and low fluid washer warning).

You can even off-set the extra cost of these items by enjoying the GTE’s lower BIK rate – 12% translates into a monthly company car tax bill of £101 for a base rate taxpayer, which is a substantial £140 a month cheaper than the full-fat Golf GTI.

A final word of caution though – the claimed 234.5mpg combined fuel economy figure is almost unachievable unless you’re in laboratory conditions… we averaged around the 50mpg mark (still respectable for a sporty petrol car).

Report 3:

The £315 Winter Pack has proved its merits in colder conditions

I’m writing this while sat in my local Volkswagen dealership waiting for our Golf’s 10,000-mile oil service to be completed.

Faced with the option of dropping the car in first thing and waiting all day for the call to say it’s finished, I instead opted to make a ‘while-you-wait’ appointment. On the dot of 2pm I drive into the ‘drive-thru’ service bay, dropped off the keys, made a coffee and logged in to the wifi – easy, time-efficient and less hassle all round.

It gave me an opportunity to think about the Golf and any issues I have with it. There are few, to be honest, so I’m reduced to nit-picking – the hybrid set-up means that when accelerating out of junctions, especially in the wet, you do get some unnecessary wheelspin, while the steering wheel paddle shifts are pointless for all but the most wannabe F1 gaming driver.

I’d also question the logic of spending £875 on the optional Dynamic Chassis Control system – you really don’t need a three-stage adjustable damper set-up when the default suspension is just on the right side of firm to give a sporty feel.

However, with the cold weather now behind us, I can vouch for the value of the £315 Winter Pack, ensuring toasty front seats and steering wheel (as well as heated washer jets) to counter those frosty mornings.

The service was completed in around 90 minutes and cost £195 (fresh oil, new filter, washer fluid and some other sundries) – not cheap, but essential for the stamp in the digital service book.

Report 2:

The Golf GTE is easy to park, aided by the optional rear cameras

I had a touch of spec envy the other day sat in traffic behind a Golf GTI, leaving me questioning if my ‘semi-skimmed’ GTE version really is a proper hot-hatch.

The throaty note of the GTI’s 2.0-litre engine and its slightly more aggressive stance made the GTE feel a little light on the fun factor.

But, as we set off and we glided in EV mode with no engine noise, I began to convince myself that the GTE was, in fact, a better all-round choice.

If money wasn’t an issue, I would go for the GTI because I really enjoy driving (and I’m keen to get my fill of petrol engines before the ban comes into effect). And even though the GTE has a petrol engine, it’s a 1.4, which just doesn’t compete with the GTI’s full fat turbo unit.

But we live in straitened times, and the need to reduce outgoings on items such as vehicles is ever more pressing.

Which is where the GTE claws back some points in the desirability battle. Thanks to its hybrid set up it qualifies for a reduced company car tax rate, resulting in a monthly benefit-in-kind charge of £101 for a base rate tax-payer. That undercuts its sibling massively – the GTI costs the same tax-payer £241 a month. Even the diesel Golf GTD can’t compete, costing £212 a month.

With savings like that, even a die-hard car fan such as myself would struggle to justify the additional expense in upgrading from GTE to GTI.

Away from the spreadsheet and back into the real world, the GTE continues to impress as a daily driving companion – it’s easy to park (and the £330 optional rear camera makes it even easier), economical (although nowhere near the claimed combined mpg) and comfortable – I’m glad we have the optional Winter Pack (£315) at the moment, giving heated seats and steering wheel.

I’m slowly getting used to the much-maligned fiddly infotainment system, but it’s still not as good as it should be in a Volkswagen. However, an upgraded Golf is coming soon to address criticism this – hopefully this should return the Golf to its five-star rating.

Report 1:

Our test model comes complete with optional Moonstone Grey paint

The Golf GTE remains something of a ‘sleeper’ in the current Volkswagen range, oft over-looked by sporty drivers wanting the full-fat GTI or eco-conscious drivers opting for the fully electric ID.3.

So, is it a comprised offering, or simply the best of both words? After just a couple of days of ownership, I’m tending towards the latter. I appreciate the GTI-look styling cues inside and out, while the combined 245hp from the petrol and electric motors offer more than enough performance for everyday driving. I also like the fact that I can run in pure EV mode for about 30-odd miles in mainly urban areas.

It’s a win-win for me and I’m looking forward to seeing just how close we can get to that mythical claimed 235mpg figure…

Our car comes with a few optional extras included, pushing the price up from £40,510 on-the-road to just over £43k – upgraded 18-inch alloy wheels are a £670 investment worth making purely on an aesthetic level, while the Winter Pack would be an es-sential tick on my options list. I’m also quite partial to the Moonstone Grey paint at £420 – a flat light grey which works well with the blue exterior styling accents.

Our car is also fitted with a rear-view camera at £330, and the yet-to-be-tested Dynamic Chassis Control, which offers three suspensions settings, for £875.

First impressions of the Golf are good – it’s simply the perfect all-round car, coping with town driving and longer trips with ease.

While the industry transitions from ICE to EV, this Golf remains the perfect stepping stone and, in GTE guise, should continue to tempt user-choosers.