Volkswagen Golf GTE: can a plug-in hybrid be a proper hot hatch?

Blame Volkswagen. They’re the ones who have pushed the new Golf GTE up towards the historic GTI - not only in the way it looks (there are very few visual differences), but also in power and even in the chassis. The message could hardly be clearer.

So, expectations were naturally high when I first took the wheel of the new Volkswagen Golf GTE.

Would it live up to them - and, more importantly, does this new electrified take on the hot hatch really have what it takes?

First, what is the Golf GTE?

Picture a Golf GTI, but instead of relying solely on a combustion engine (here, a more modest 1.4 TSI with 150 PS), you also get an electric motor (109 PS). Together, the GTE can match the GTI on paper: both deliver 245 PS peak power, but the GTE beats it for torque by 30 Nm, reaching 400 Nm.

That electric motor needs a battery to feed it - now 13 kWh, which is 50% more than its predecessor. It sits beneath the rear bench, which forces the fuel tank to move under the boot floor, “stealing” over 100 litres of luggage space. The combined output is still sent to the front axle through a dual-clutch gearbox - in this case, a six-speed unit.

Adding an extra motor, a battery and all the associated hardware also means extra weight. Compared with the 1463 kg (EU) of a GTI fitted with DSG, the Golf GTE registers 1624 kg - around 160 kg more.

Even so, the GTE’s electric side enables a few tricks the GTI can only dream about, such as covering up to 64 km (officially) “without guilt”, meaning running purely on electric power. If you plug in regularly for day-to-day journeys, the fuel-saving potential is genuinely appealing.

Is it a good recipe for a hot hatch?

Right now - and keeping it brief - the answer leans towards no (in future versions, who knows?). Several factors work against the Golf GTE, which prevents it from sitting on the same level as its Golf GTI sibling and, by extension, leaves something to be desired as a hot hatch.

That said, before digging deeper into how it stacks up as a hot hatch, the new Volkswagen Golf GTE impresses for sheer efficiency and capability. As a plug-in hybrid, its priorities become obvious the moment you start driving.

If there’s enough charge in the battery, it defaults to Electric mode. And with a full battery - despite never reaching the official 64 km, and without actively “trying” to optimise it - I managed almost 50 km of electric driving per charge.

It’s noticeably firmer than other Golfs, even when you’re in Comfort. Our test car was a GTE+ with adaptive suspension fitted as standard - an essential option, as will become clear later - and it delivers a wide, clearly perceptible range in damping stiffness. It’s not uncomfortable, far from it, but you do feel road imperfections more keenly.

Beyond that, it all feels very… Golf. The controls are light, it’s easy to drive, and in this more “civilised” setting at normal speeds, the automatic gearbox manages the back-and-forth between combustion and electric power (in Hybrid mode) in a smooth, seamless way.

However, at higher speeds - on dual carriageways and the motorway - the sound insulation seems less accomplished than in the “regular” versions, which is at odds with the distant “murmur” of its smooth, linear powertrain (if you ignore the all-too-obvious synthetic sound). Road roar stands out more (18" wheels rather than 17" on the GTE+), and there’s more wind noise than, for instance, in the Golf TDI I tested some time ago.

Unleashing the beast

Let’s set those observations aside, because there’s a sequence of bends coming up. Goodbye Comfort, hello Sport. The suspension tightens up, the steering gains weight and… the artificial engine sound becomes even louder and more aggressive.

Your right foot presses harder and the 245 PS created by that mix of octane and electrons hurls you forward decisively - it doesn’t feel like anything is missing. I brake slightly for a reasonably quick left, followed by a slower right that tightens into an almost chicane-like section - right-left - before opening out onto a short straight that ends with a fairly pronounced right-hander. It’ll wake anyone up…

It didn’t take long to confirm a few things. First, the Golf GTE can carry serious speed through corners; grip is strong and the chassis’ effectiveness is beyond dispute.

But Sport mode itself is a let-down, particularly the steering, which becomes excessively heavy. Despite the front axle’s accuracy and sharp response, the extra effort needed at the wheel doesn’t match what you’re actually asking the car to do, and it doesn’t improve communication with the front tyres.

The gearbox also changes character. Previously it had been left to its own devices and was consistently smooth, decisive and correct, but in Sport it can feel slightly “lost” - sometimes downshifting on corner exit when it’s unnecessary, or holding the engine high in the revs when it would be better to take the next ratio.

Fortunately, there’s Individual mode. For the first time, it lets you go beyond the predefined settings when it comes to damper firmness. If Sport already felt very stiff - better suited to smoother tarmac than the road I was on - Individual can make it even firmer, or softer than Comfort. There are 15 damping levels to choose from.

The next few minutes felt like a racing simulator, spent trying to find a more satisfying configuration. After a handful of attempts, I landed on a “setup” that finally made the new Golf GTE click from a driving perspective.

“My” Golf GTE

Starting from Sport as a baseline, I used Individual to dial back the damping slightly to make it more forgiving (two steps below Sport), and switched the steering back to Comfort for a lighter feel. As for the gearbox, I chose to shift myself - even though you’re stuck with small paddles behind the wheel and (worse) they rotate with it when you change gear. It’s about time other brands “copied” Alfa Romeo’s excellent fixed paddles…

Happiness! At last, I began to get on with the Golf GTE. Its cornering prowess was now complemented by smoother, more natural flow over rippled surfaces, and the steering’s response and weight felt far more believable. Even with those impractical mini-paddles, the gearbox responds quickly to what I want - although it will occasionally decide to drop or add a gear (this depends heavily on the revs you’re running).

What didn’t change was its attitude. Fast and effective? Absolutely. You can drive along any twisty road at very high pace and the Golf GTE won’t break a sweat. But the rear axle feels almost static… It simply follows the line set by the front wheels, with the back end refusing to rotate - even slightly - either to help point the nose where you want it, or to add involvement to the experience. Is that down to the extra ballast, much of it positioned over the rear axle, making it so firmly planted?

The brakes also deserve a mention. Pedal feel leaves something to be desired, as does modulation, even though outright stopping power is there when you need it. That’s a fairly common trait in hybrids that blend regenerative braking with conventional friction braking.

Is it the right hot hatch for me?

It seems highly likely that the plug-in hybrid Golf GTE will become the default hot hatch formula for the decade ahead. Not because it’s the best recipe, but because it’s probably the only viable one under increasingly strict regulations.

The push to cut emissions continues, and plug-in hybrids - despite the controversy surrounding them lately - remain an effective way to do it while still keeping access to high-performance models, paired with lower fuel consumption.

It’s true that when the battery is low (it never fully empties), spirited driving delivers fuel use that isn’t far off what you’d see in a Golf GTI, climbing fairly easily beyond 8 litres. The GTE’s advantage appears with more moderate driving - around 5.0 l/100 km - or in town, where you can take full advantage of running solely in electric mode. There’s no way a GTI, or any purely combustion hot hatch, can compete on that front.

Even so, for all its added rationality, it can’t provide the same level of excitement at the wheel as the GTI sibling, or as you’d normally expect from a hot hatch. And the Golf GTI - while unquestionably very good - has never been the most exuberant or thrilling hot hatch on the market… Building a great driver’s car takes more than strong numbers on a spec sheet.

Our absurd tax system favours the plug-in hybrid Golf GTE. Whether you choose the GTE or the pricier GTE+, it still undercuts the Golf GTI - by 4100 euros and 2400 euros, respectively - and buyers will find a car that’s almost as quick as the GTI and very competent dynamically. It also brings desirable tax benefits, particularly if a company is purchasing it.

But while the Golf GTI is, unquestionably, a hot hatch - it defined the recipe back in 1976 - the electrified Golf GTE feels more warm than hot. For many, that will be enough, but I hope future iterations can lift this new breed of compact performance cars to at least the same level as the others.

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