Now, while VW may be marketing the Golf GTE as a greener alternative to the full-blown GTI model, the latter is actually much closer to the GTI than the diesel GTD is in terms of performance. The plug-in hybrid model was recently clocked as being able to hit 100 km/h or 62 mph in 6.3 seconds.
The manufacturer claims the GTE can sail past the benchmark sprint speed in in 7.6 seconds – now that’s a difference of 1.3 seconds, and it definitely made us raise an eyebrow. That’s a huge discrepancy between claimed and actual, and we don’t know why VW would underquote the GTE by this noticeable margin…
It’s also two tenths quicker than the claimed time for the Golf GTI equipped with the manual six-speed…
The GTE gets its power from a 1.4-liter petrol engine with 148 hp plus the added shove of a 101 hp electric motor located in the housing of the DSG gearbox. The maximum combined output is said to be 201 hp, but now we’re not so sure, especially when the power plant duo could theoretically make more than claimed.
Weight for the Golf GTE is 1,524 kg or 3,360 lbs, of which the battery makes up around 120 kg or 264 lbs.
Check out the acceleration run in the video below courtesy of Automann-TV.