Going Golf means Going Green

2015 has already been a great year for Volkswagen’s Golf family of vehicles. They were named as Motor Trend’s car of the year to start the year. Now, the Golf GTE has won a Techie award in the Green category. In their praise of the GTE, the folks at BusinessCar emphasized how Volkswagen is “normalizing” the hybrid, which suggests that going Golf means going green.

The “Techies” are BusinessCar Magazine’s fleet awards. They have been around for seven years and are the only industry awards that reward the use of technology to make fleet operations cleaner, safer and easier. The “Techies” are judged, not only by BusinessCar’s editorial panel, but they get help from

According to BusinessCar’s website, the Volkswagen GTE was given the Green Development award because of the “normalcy” of the car. While other hybrids are struggling to keep up performance-wise, the Golf GTE excels.

From their website:

With a 148hp turbocharged 1.4-litre petrol engine under the bonnet allied with an electric motor – which brings total power up to 201hp – performance is sprightly enough for Volkswagen to brand it as “like a GTI but greener”. Meanwhile, owners won’t have to worry about running out of charge thanks to the pairing of petrol and electric power, which also lets the GTE travel up to 31 miles on electric power alone at speeds of up to 81mph.

The company continues: “It’s this utter normality that makes the Golf GTE stand out from the crowd of other eco-friendly and electric products. In terms of appearance, it’s a Golf. In terms of practicality, it’s a Golf. In terms of driveability and servicing, it’s a normal Golf.”

Paul Barker, BusinessCar’s editor, and one of the judges on the panel said, “Volkswagen has taken a huge step towards normalising ultra-low emission vehicles with the introduction of the GTE, a Golf that sits alongside its siblings in practicality, price and performance terms.”

While the Volkswagen GTE was released in the UK earlier this year, its ability to apply green technology without sacrificing performance is emblematic of the Volkswagen name. In fact, Volkswagen’s Head of Fleet, Michael O’Shea told the VWVortex blog, “The Golf GTE represents a significant milestone in Volkswagen technology and I’m delighted that this has been recognised with this award. We know that buyers want to combine exceptional economy and emissions with the performance and proven quality that Volkswagen delivers – the Golf GTE proves that you really can have the best of both worlds.”

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