eGolf vs. Leaf - experience?

I'm looking at a used EV purchase, and see both of these available. We had an eGolf at work and no question it's a great driving car. But there are a lot more Leafs out there, and Nissan has a very strong battery warranty.
Opinions from owners of either car?

The consensus seems to be that the eGolf is more a driver's car, with crisper handling, and that the Leaf is more comfortable, with heated steering wheel available as well. The eGolf is sportier, the Leaf has easier entry/exit access. That's the extent of my knowledge of the VW.

This comparison might help some:

https://www.kbb.com/articles/comparison/nissan-leaf-vs-volkswagen-egolf-comparison/

Might be worth to ask on the egolf side too http://www.myvwegolf.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=877&start=70 I was just looking at their batteries over there.

We also own a GTI - the turbo "hot hatch" version of the Golf (my 50th b-day present to me, now our son's car). In that guise, definitely sportier than any Leaf. Also not so very comfortable, frankly, due to very stiff sport suspension. You feel every expansion joint on the highway. But it's absolutely gleeful. Lot of fun to drive. Arguably the best hot hatch overall, still.

That said, the standard Golf is not that different from a Leaf. Suspension toned down - a lot. Smaller wheels with taller sidewalls = smoother ride too. Nothing like the power off the line. I think the comparisons exaggerate the differences a bit. Our Leaf with the stronger motor and bigger battery, is plenty sporty too. At least for this segment.

Depends on what you mean by "sporty," I guess. Drive them both. If you can get into the Leaf plus for the right price, drive that model too. Steering is too light, otherwise it's a fine driver. I feel the Leaf gets short shrift from the auto press. Once we work through the factory energy saver all-seasons, we'll be putting stickier tires on the Leaf. Then we'll see how it drives.

Great info! Yea I figure out plus with the more powerful motor would certainly have a faster 0-60 time though perhaps not the steering. How was the trunk room? Looking at a bolt the room in the back hatch did not work for us putting aside the lack of other comforts. The Leaf is no high end sports car but in this segment I think it is a good car if one does not live in Arizona or death valley or some other hot climate and even then we have not seen how the plus will deteriorate there yet. Compared to a prius for example I do find the Leaf seats in the front feel smaller. I also hate the bump in the floor in the rear which no other car I have had like a honda hatchback or a prius has had. Does the Golf have that rear bump?

Do you mean the black boxlike structure in the cargo area? That's only there with the Bose stereo in the SL, now. Or do you mean the boxlike structure just behind and between the front seats?

^^^
Or maybe he's talking about the hump for a tunnel in the rear seating area, which affects the person sitting in the middle position of the rear seat?

Bolt doesn't have that. Floor for rear seat passengers is flat.

frontrangeleaf said:

Depends on what you mean by "sporty," I guess. Drive them both. If you can get into the Leaf plus for the right price, drive that model too. Steering is too light, otherwise it's a fine driver. I feel the Leaf gets short shrift from the auto press. Once we work through the factory energy saver all-seasons, we'll be putting stickier tires on the Leaf. Then we'll see how it drives.

Click to expand...

I just replaced the Michelin OEM Energy Saver A/S tires (if you can call them tires). I did not rotate them because I did not wish to prolong their life so the fronts were down to the wear bars at 15,000 miles. The rears were in good shape so I received $40 per tire credit. The 2019 has had a weird pull of the steering wheel side-to-side, back and forth when accelerating ever since new which I never experienced with the previous LEAFs or any other car (pull to one side with FWD and unequal length drive shafts is normal, but not back and forth). The equal drive shaft lengths on the LEAF generally minimize FWD steering pull so I was considering going to the dealer for suspension inspection. I put Bridgestone Driveguards on because I can afford the range loss that I expect and I want the security of run-flat capability. The car is completely different--the side-to-side pull on the steering wheel is gone, the tires are quieter, and the ride is both smoother and more controlled. Also, the steering doesn't feel so overly light with the heavier tires--much better feel. I went with 215/55 R17 instead of the standard 215/50 R17 size to get the slightly taller sidewall, but would not recommend it if you need to use snow chains. I agree the auto press seems to dislike the LEAF. The weight distribution of the LEAF is ideal so good tires make significant improvements to twisty road handling.

I have never driven an eGolf, but the diesel engine ones I have driven in Europe had very firm suspension.

I drove an eGulf for a short distance, quite a few years ago. It seemed nice enough, but between the slightly small (for me) interior and no heated steering wheel, I just wasn't interested.

I’m leaning to Continental PureContact LS tires in 225/50R17 (a touch taller) or 225/45R17 (a touch shorter) because I’m wanting a bit wider tire.

Our aftermarket wheels are 17x7, not 17x 6.5. So we can go wider if we like. Undecided right now.

The Contis are also LRR, so the range hit shouldn’t be too bad.

I might add that European suspension tuning can be quite different from ours. Many models are dumbed down for our market. Sadly. It’s what sells here.

I was strongly considering an e-Golf before I settled on the Leaf.

Pro's for the e-Golf:
-better battery chemistry - Panasonic batteries, I think? - with probably 2-3% degradation per year over the life of the car
-better looking (in my opinion)
-more efficient - the range is more like 140 miles
- equal cargo volume with a smaller footprint (better for parking in cities)
-significant dealer discounts on new e-Golfs - it's not uncommon to find dealers taking $10K off msrp - 2 years ago you could buy a new base model e-Golf in NY state for around $18,000 out-the-door

Con's for the e-Golf:
Really just two, but they're significant:
1. reliability - the e-Golf owner's forum warned me that VW's in general and e-Golf's in particular have annoying and moderately expensive electronic problems - power windows, lights, infotainment. Also, VW parts are more expensive than Leaf parts so maintenance in general will most likely cost more
2. battery warranty - there's this bizarre language in the e-Golf warranty which says that if you DCFC twice, back to back, without AC charging in between, you "may" void your battery warranty. This means that if you try to drive an e-Golf from NYC to DC or from NYC to New England - which in an e-Golf would mean stopping to fast charge twice - then you're on your own if you find your SOH at 60% after 2 years. This is the one that really soured me on the e-Golf - if fast charging twice in one day voids your battery warranty, then even at $18,000, that's too much money to spend on a car.

frontrangeleaf said:

I’m leaning to Continental PureContact LS tires in 225/50R17 (a touch taller) or 225/45R17 (a touch shorter) because I’m wanting a bit wider tire.

Our aftermarket wheels are 17x7, not 17x 6.5. So we can go wider if we like. Undecided right now.

The Contis are also LRR, so the range hit shouldn’t be too bad.

I might add that European suspension tuning can be quite different from ours. Many models are dumbed down for our market. Sadly. It’s what sells here.

Click to expand...

If you have snow tires on separate wheels so you won't need to use chains on the wider tires, I recommend the taller ones--they will look better because they will fill the fender openings a little more. Whatever you choose will be a major upgrade over the OEM Michelins.

Thanks, Gerry. We do have dedicated snows on the factory wheels. Because those wheels are narrow, we went with 205/50R17. Better all around in the slick. Work great too. A little extra clearance in the wheelwell is not a bad thing in the winter time.

Conti WinterContact SI. Comparable to the Michelin iceX3, but at half the price. Also LRR.

I run all different tires, Hankook, Michelin, Conti, Bridgestone, Nokia. Just a coincidence that we have all Contis on this car.

Yes I meant that little tunnel on the floor affecting the person who may briefly have to sit in the middle in the back. It really annoys me and is not in many cars.
The Golf is one I did not look at so this is all interesting information like the battery warranty is good to know. Sounds like the cargo room is good in the hatch area. No annoying rear "tunnel". Bummer on the reliability which is a pretty big deal for me anyway.
Sounds like the LEAF plus anyway is quicker off the line, has a better battery warranty (but perhaps worse chemistry), worse steering, better niceties like the heated steering wheel etc. which I do like and quite a bit more reliability. I still think I'd like the LEAF better.
Very interesting thread, thank you very much.

Have owned both and actually traded in my '12 LEAF for a lightly used '15 e-Golf as my LEAF could no longer 'easily' make my 52 mile R/T highway commute in the colder months here in the Midwest -- the e-Golf was my stop-gap EV while I waited for my Model 3 which of course is no comparison to either of them (at least the earliest versions of LEAF/e-Golf).

Both of these cars depreciate quite fast; I bought my e-Golf at about a year old at half its original MSRP and with only a little over 1K miles on it -- it was owned by a VW executive out on the East coast and I bought it through Carmax. Drove it for about a year, put 12K miles on it and it only depreciated another $3K during that time so was definitely the way to go.

Anyway -- pro's on the e-Golf; definitely more 'sporty' than the LEAF; as my son owns a Golf R and have driven both GTI's and Golf R's they are much stiffer than this e-Golf with its much more eco-rated tires (mine was an LE with steel rims and hubcaps; not the bigger alloy wheels) ride was firm but NOT punishing; much better turn in on ramps, curves, etc. and did not wallow like the softer sprung LEAF -- seemed to handle most bumps, etc. fine.

Range-range-range -- this is where the e-Golf beat the early LEAF hands down -- even on the coldest days the e-Golf would still show decent range after my daily commute; will assume the battery degradation curve will be better over time than the air-cooled battery on the LEAF but that will be up to the next owner of it.

Looks -- the VW Golf line has clean lines; my e-Golf had a few trim accents to set it apart but nothing that screams its an EV; I happen to like that -- the LEAF was not really a car you would call 'handsome' -- functional yes but not something you would buy for its looks!

Controls -- most people transitioning from an ICE to EV would find the e-Golf very easy to start driving -- also like the stepped controls for more aggressive regen; was quite fun on off ramps, etc. -- not as aggressive as my Model 3 but more fun to drive than the LEAF ever was.

Seats and fit and finish -- my LEAF had the light colored cloth seats, fit and finish was good, the e-Golf LE had grey/charcoal cloth seats - these (I would think) should hold up better and the it seemed to use less hard plastic surfaces than the LEAF so very slight advantage to the e-Golf.

Cons -- for my garage anyway, having the charge port in the front of the LEAF was nice, just pull it in and use only a portion of the 20' L2 cable from my wall charger -- the e-Golf does have the charge port on the driver's side but at the back (same spot as the ICE gas door) so have to drag the cable longer - also, no heated steering wheel on the e-Golf vs. the LEAF BUT, having to constantly switch it back on was a pain; of course my Model 3 doesn't have a heated steering wheel either but heats up much faster than either of these so no contest.

We liked the e-Golf so much that when my wife's smart ED gets returned from its lease in July of 2021 I will probably get another used one with the bigger battery but we'll see what new EV's are out by then -- VW may have their other new models available by then but as most mfg's will be delaying things due to much lighter sales and closed plants time will tell.

Bottom line -- I have a long history with owning VW's having at least one in my garage in various forms all the way back to the early '80's; the only disappointment was a VW Routan which in reality was a re-badged Chrysler Town & Country so I should have known better -- they are well designed and engineered with the driver in mind -- don't get me wrong, I enjoyed my LEAF for the 5 years I owned it and definitely a tip of the hat to Nissan for being really the first with a viable EV for sale nationally in the US and not just a 'compliance' car (for instance, you still can't buy a new e-Golf other than in the 10 Zero Emissions states today; looks like CO will be the 11th).

Lastly -- be sure to check with your local Nissan or VW dealer to be sure they will service it; the same goes for other makes you're considering that may be 'compliance' cars -- at the time I was considering a used e-Golf, I also checked out a few others and besides the e-Golf being the best pick that I wanted, my local VW dealer had been trained on it as well as they had a charger set up in their service center.