edatoakrun said:
GRA said:
... when it comes to the driving dynamics that will appeal to driving enthusiasts, something that (as in this case) the German brands generally are the best at...
What exactly are the
driving dynamics of the slow, overweight, and overpriced VW, that appeal to you as a
driving enthusiast?
Did you actually read the original article, rather than the
cut-and-paste you quoted?
Yes, I read the article, as well as numerous road tests of the e-Golf that have appeared elsewhere which all praise its dynamics compared to other BEVs or FTM the typical Asian compact, however powered. The Golf's always had good driving dynamics, because the Germans demand that from their cars. This used to be true throughout VW's lineup, but recently they've softened some of their larger cars (e.g. Passat) to better reflect typical U.S. preferences, making them better highway and around town cruisers but more boring to drive. Hyundai/Kia's cars, pretty much across the board, are all dinged by car enthusiast mags for their relatively poor driving dynamics. Hardly a surprise; getting the tuning right can take engineers years, and of course the type of driving that's common in the home country also enters into it. It took a decade or two for the Japanese to start producing cars with good dynamics - the Datsun 510 was an early success among small sedans, and the 1600/2000 were British roadsters done better than the British could as far as performance for the price, while the 240Z was the breakthrough and then we got the rice rockets like the original CRX Si. Hell, the tiny late '70s Civic Hatchback was a blast to drive in the twisties. I expect the Koreans can get there if they want to, but from every review I've read, the Ionic isn't that car; it leans Camry rather than WRX.
The article doesn't have much to say specifically about the e-Golf's dynamics other than ride (and its excellent controls), but sums it up as follows: "Pioneering technology delivered with VW polish. E-Golf is strong in every important area but curiously expensive on a monthly basis." As to being overpriced, they all are, the i3 ludicrously so.
edatoakrun said:
Hyundai Ioniq, Volkswagen E-Golf, BMW i3 vs Nissan Leaf - electric vehicle group test
The Hyundai Ioniq Electric is the latest addition to a growing class of city-friendly battery-powered hatchbacks. We pit it against its rivals
http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/new-cars/hyundai-ioniq-volkswagen-e-golf-bmw-i3-vs-nissan-leaf-electric-vehicle-group-test
If I had to drive mostly in cities, which is the setting of the comparison, maybe I'd prefer the Golf.
I drive mostly on mountain roads, and expect I'd prefer the Ioniq's "heavy steering and long wheelbase" the writers seem to have found to be such a burden in negotiating city traffic.
In town, I don't care much about a car's dynamics, because traffic makes most performance measures almost irrelevant (except for too-heavy, slow steering, an issue for parallel parking and U-turns). It's precisely on mountain roads that driving dynamics come to the fore, and that's where the VW shines, whether it's powered by batteries or an ICE. But judging by the speeds you seem to be content to drive on your Lassen loop, you probably aren't pushing the car to the point that the differences are notable. Which car would you rather drive on a mountain road, a '65 Impala which has "heavy steering and long wheelbase" or a '69 Datsun 2000, which is short coupled, has terrific dynamics but a much firmer ride? I've driven both (s well as many other cars) on narrow, winding mountain roads , and while I'd take the Impala for cruising on the highway or beat-up city streets, get onto twisting two-lane and the 2000 really comes into its own.
edatoakrun said:
What they really seem to like about the Golf, however, is that it is an BEV designed to reassure the most dedicated ICEV drivers:
...The e-Golf plays it safe; it doesn’t reinvent the wheel, or the gear selector, if it needn’t, so every control instantly feels familiar...
So of course, you also might prefer the Golf, in the unlikely event you were ever able to give up all the other benefits you recount from driving an ICEV.
That's your take on why I'd appreciate it. My take is that it is a car that's meant to be driven, with ergonomic controls that don't distract you from driving and give you good feel and feedback, responsive handling, firm yet comfortable ride over varied road surfaces, adequate accel (more's always better), good brake feel etc. It also has decent cargo space with the rear seats up (an area where the i3 comes up short), is relatively short which makes finding a parking spot easier, enough seat travel that I have to move the seats _forward_ several inches from their rear stop instead of feeling that I've got barely adequate leg room with them all the way back as is typical with Asian cars, a flat load floor long enough with the seats forward to lie down stretched out, good visibility etc. In short, it performs well as a CAR, rather than being a technological toy store that's meant to draw your attention to everything but driving.
OTOH, none of the European brands approach the Asians when it comes to reliability or parts costs, and that's certainly a factor that weighs heavily with me when I buy a car, so that lowers the VW's score considerably. Unless a car's just about ideal in every other way, I won't even consider one that doesn't rate 'above average' or 'much above average' in CR's 'frequency of repair' owner reports, and won't go below average at all. That's kept me away from VWs in the past, and I wouldn't touch an i3 for that reason even if their price wasn't ridiculous and they didn't have gimmick doors. Sadly, the Gen 2 Volt seems to be having a lot more issues than Gen 1, or maybe the owner demographic has changed and more of the general public are buying them now. Hopefully GM can get it together.
Anyway, that's my valuation, and if an Ionic meets yours better, more power to you. Luckily, we're finally getting enough choices to cover a fair spread of buyer's needs/preferences.
