It’s still not coming to America. Sorry, readers — thought I’d get the disappointment out of the way. The company’s bean counters still believe America is the continent of SUVs.
VW announced a midlife refresh of the current Golf Mk VIII lineup today, and the PHEV GTE is getting some seriously attractive updates to the electric portion of the powertrain.
As part of the 2025 update, the Golf GTE’s battery is growing to 19.7 kWh, nearly doubling the old car’s 10.6 kWh pack. The battery charges faster, too, with 11 kW onboard AC charging and 50 kW DC fast charging supported. The GTE will be good for 100 km (62 miles) of electric-only range, which in Europe will make it perfectly suited to a mostly-electric use case. Somehow, that doesn’t work for America, however.
VW isn’t breaking out the power output of the ICE versus electric portions of the system, but the GTE will make a net 268 hp (200 kW) at peak. A less-powerful Golf eHybrid is being launched alongside the GTE, the only notable difference being that it makes a system power of 201 hp (150 kW). Real world, that will likely go further on all electric only because of the smaller motors and the lower peak output.
Both Golf PHEVs will come with VW’s new MIB4 software platform, offering improved performance and usability with an updated interface. That system debuted on the all-electric ID.7 (and is coming on the new Passat), which has been available in Europe in limited quantities since late 2023. We drove the ID.7 with MIB4 back in November, and it seemed… fine. (Personally, I’ve yet to see an ID.7 on the road here in Germany.)
It looks like a GTI! Except E! The interior is typical VW GTI/E — conservative, tartan, and very nicely appointed for a car that’s ostensibly an “economy” hatchback. As for just how economy, I’ve not yet seen the European pricing for the GTE, but it’ll likely be announced soon (if not when this post drops).
What do you think? is 62 miles of PHEV range the sweet spot for Plug-ins?
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