VW XL1 | Fully Charged

A test drive in the extraordinary , 'the most fuel efficient production car in the world' according to VW. Weighing just 795 kg and with it's super aerodynamic design the car's official fuel consumption is 313mpg with 21g/km which is fairly impressive.
From my brief experience with the XL1 I'm confident you could get over 400 without much effort.
Also, I said they were making 200 of them, that's a mistake, it's actually 250.
Fully Charged is supported by www.ecotricity.co.uk

[@mulreay]

My right ear loved this. But my left hated it..

[@MakeSteelBattalion2]

Can we get the unedited version of the test drive? 8 minutes does not do justice to such an extraordinary car!

[@johannes914]

Return of the one eared editor ...

[@zikzakfr]

The sound is terrible until the episode is filmed onboard, else only the right channel is used. Quite weird.

[@knoxieman]

Great to see you back and great to see you being supported by Ecotricity as well, looking forward to the upcoming videos

[@JeaneGenie]

Great to see the show back, always enjoy these.

[@robinyates9426]

welcome back Robert, I'm looking forward to this series

[@stevefambro189]

Very cool! This was the vehicle that inspired me to start Aptera when the first prototypes came out in 2005.

[@krimke881]

I still. cannot understand why they are not building more of this. I need one.

[@puggle63]

Welcome back, great first episode

[@100MPG]

Best car tested on fullycharged! Shame about the price!

[@TVFILMBUFF]

Love your vids Robert. Looking forward to the new series. Seems like the sound was a bit off at the start. Was only getting your voice properly through the right channel with the left channel very muted.

[@nicevideomancanada]

I am glad you came back with another season Robert. And I am glad to see more companies introducing electric cars. However, so far my favorite electric car is the Tesla model S. It's not a limited version like this VW and it seats more and costs less and also doesn't burn any fossil fuels at all. It still costs too much for me though. Maybe I'll be able to afford one when I finish my 3 year college course in Energy Systems Engineering Technologies a Renewable Energy Engineering course.

[@DrKlausReichert]

the VW XL1 is one of my favorite cars - had the chance to drive one a few years ago

[@essi2]

HOLY MONO BATMAN! Also, Welcome back!

[@OllieJonsson]

Finally! Great first episode...

[@Fillbe]

I like to imagine that the cut at 'Screen Wash' masks a 37 minute rant about screen wash.

[@Mladjasmilic]

It is a true supercar - it has looks , exclusivity , mid-engine layout , price , and it does over 200 MPG instead MPH . Imagine every Ferrari , Lamborghini etc. in Holywood , Monaco or Dubai replaced by this .

[@moreboost]

I like the idea that he can do a video intro in his garage. :) Personal and down to earth.

[@zlozlozlo]

Took you long enough. Welcome back :)

[@margannaful]

That giddy laugh at 5:11! Awww,He really LOVES his job!

[@IanYatesDude]

Good episode, however all the audio from the first half with the pieces to camera have distorted audio which (for me at least) is also largely shifted to the right ear.

[@BubbaYoga]

Great series!

[@lucasskywalker]

Well done old friend!

[@docgalen]

I love Ecotricity! The vox is all on the right channel btw. In case you didn't notice. :P

[@ChrisMcEvoy72]

Great to see this back - but please fix the audio for the next one - dialogue is only coming through the right channel... ;)

[@PierreBelance]

Does the side cameras eliminate the blind spot problem of normal door mirrors with wide angle camera lenses?

[@BairdJoshua]

Sounds comes through right speaker, not left. Left is just static.

[@heatleynoble]

How are the batteries holding up in your leaf Robert? Are they worth a second hand buy?

[@zapfanzapfan]

The body looks quite a bit like the EV1.

[@dashcam55]

Where do you put your groceries?

[@WindyJAMiller]

How many kWh has the Leaf taken to charge over the milage please?

[@bhapi]

I wonder how the xl1 would be today with actual technology and fully electric and solar panels like the aptera.

[@Jyroskope]

The Volvo V60 plugin-hybrid actually has a Diesel engine. It's very popular in the Netherlands and in Sweden.

[@AndrewBryantPianoTuner]

The sound is working perfectly, but a decent set of speakers

[@paulekstorm-hughes1894]

No, it isn't. only the intro is stereo and from 3:50 onwards. The dialogue track is only on the right side from 0:17 to 3:50. it's not a "decent speakers" thing it's a "audio not mixed properly" thing. if you're getting dialogue from your left speaker during the affected time then your speakers are only working in mono mode

[@freddotu]

It appears that the seating is staggered, likely for narrower cabin aerodynamics. The passenger seat seems to be behind the driver's.

[@jamesrodrigues7391]

Just moved house and hoping to get a second hand leaf it seems the energy company i was using (scottish power) just changed my tariff from 8 pence a kilowatt hour to 18 pence per kilowatt hour the reason of the change is I moved house 650 metres is that right or justified I dont think so maybe i will start to produce my own energy

[@mobilesrockcom]

of all the questions i have about this car the biggest one of them all is was this car affected by the emission scandal?

[@markm0000]

No there simply wasn't enough dealer orders and customer demand because the price was ludicrously high. VW simply had it as a public test for the hybrid system.

[@100MPG]

No. Emssions scandal was about old engines VW couldn't sell in EU so they increased Urea injection onn EPA tests that didn't activate on road. BMW X5 diesel passed both without issue becuase it was basically Euro 6 engine. If VW had sold Euro 6 engine to USA there would be no scandal! Both Euro 6 cars beat much sticter Euro 6 emissons targets both on stupid NEDC tests and in real world independant tests. Sadly most media now demonises diesel which could mean we go down an even more polluting route in the future.

[@TheJAMF]

No word on regenerative braking?

[@meals24u]

Great vid. Wish we Canadians would get a diesel hybrid some time...

[@bowtalk]

I am not getting any sound?

[@TWBrit]

Wow.... that's out there.

[@quantum12b]

Nice review ;0) Thanks :0)

[@markweatherill]

The XL1 reminds me very strongly of a Toyota Sera, at least from the front with the doors up.

[@apkungen89]

What was the consumption in wh/km?

[@edstratton]

The XL1 travels 10 Km on 1 KW/hour. It has a 5.5 Kw battery which is good for 50 Km when forcing the car to drive purely on electric power.

[@petersachs764]

should I assume that the lack of a SCR would possibly have qualified this car both as one of the world's most fuel efficient cars as well as a excessive NOx producing Dieselgate vehicle?

[@GeoStreber]

Is it an inline engine or a boxer?

[@edstratton]

Inline. Literally they cut in half a 4 cyl TDI as found in a VW Golf.

[@UBUYGASCOM]

When i first saw this car I thought it was the Car from Logan's Run!

[@JohnMetsn]

Went through comments and didn't find a single one about Kryton. SAD!

[@sjbuck]

I know you like saving power, but surely using both channels of sound is mandatory these days? Couldn't listen on headphones with causing a migraine.

[@kieron82]

If they made a centre front seat and two rear seats then it can be sold everywhere in the world, it would be able to take a 2 parent 1 child family (and the dog between the childs legs), one production line and reduced production costs

[@nothandmade5833]

Did u tell Autocar that you ripped there intro sound?

[@fullychargedshow]

I think you'll find that Autocar use the same 'royalty free' music clip that comes with the editing software we both use. It's a common problem. In fact, I'll go further, Autocar ripped off my intro music!

[@_-_-_-_9407]

+fullychargedshow you should use AC/DC music...

[@electrictroy2010]

(puts on engineering cap).. So why does this EV/diesel car cvost 90,000 euros when the unlimited-range Volt EV only costs ~25,000? Perhaps the high expense is caused by an aluminum body and various magnesium parts? I'd like to see this car produced using steel & iron to make the cost equal the Volt. Even if it only got 200mpg, that's still impressive .

[@stewbaby23]

sound is on right channel if you've got one headphone in...

[@MatthewWilliamsFly]

Loved the stats at the beginning of the show. Sadly being poor and renting I cant get into this wonderful electric world - it will be nice when the poor can partake of the benefits too. Tell you what tho... Electric pushbikes from the US... 50mph and can do 70 miles! They wheelspin pulling away. Now those the poor can afford! Do a show on those please!!!!

[@manoman0]

EREV ist the way to go. GM got it all right.

[@LouRaX]

didnt knew that car exists :D

[@davidraynorsnow]

passenger looked terrified lol

[@_-_-_-_9407]

+David Raynor ...and fat

[@wolfyweir]

love the show, would be good if you could do an episode about China's plans to phase in electric vehicles to combat the recent smog problems in their big cities.

[@mitchellsteindler]

What really struck me, "8000 miles without burning anything."

[@schlusselmensch]

SOMETHING was very likely burned in the production of that electricity!

[@mitchellsteindler]

Schluesselmensch While absolutely true, the energy transfer of turning any fossil fuel into electricity to be used by an electric vehicle is many times more efficient than the energy transfer in turning fossil fuels into gasoline and your engine turning about 50% of that into forward motion. Additionally, I want to share my vision of the not so distant future. I imagine houses where the roofing is made of photovoltaic cells. That energy can be used to charge your electric cars and to power your house. Yes there are problems with that vision but science is constantly working to fix problems.

[@schlusselmensch]

Mitchell Steindler We're getting there. Slowly, but getting there. With LED lighting, superinsulation and some decent batteries, a house that runs on solar and wind power is easily buildable these days.

[@mitchellsteindler]

Schluesselmensch Not necessarily in all climates though. Some climates are not sunny enough, but clouds do not always mean more wind. There's still a lot of work to be done. But also I was thinking on a more affordable scale than what is currently possible. For example the Tesla Gigafactory is supposed to be 100% energy independent, but you know the Muskador through a ton of money at it.

[@ronaldderooij1774]

Schluesselmensch No, he explains in the video that those miles were driven on electricity that he generated with his own solar panels. So nothing was burned (unless you mean that something probably had to be burned producing the solar panels).

[@gtweedie]

The sounds not working!!!

[@daytimeslacker]

It looks like GM's old EV1. Which they took back from everyone and destroyed. But never said why.Everyone that used them said they were great.

[@markm0000]

It's just a aerodynamic teardrop design. Hundreds of competition EV cars have been designed this way.

[@iloveamerica1966]

Daytimeslacker It's simple: they were pulled from service because battery and charging technology limitations did not make the car desirable to a market large enough to be profitable. Not to mention it would have begun the mass transition to EVs 30-40 years before the oil industry was ready. Would you have have given up 30 years of profits? They destroyed all the cars because they didn't want their proprietary technology reverse engineered and stolen like a certain country (or two) we all know tends to do.

[@pedrolopes5664]

Hi Is it really a production car? With a total of 250 cars built isn't it more a "small series" prototype? On another tone: we were promised electric cars efficient and cheap to run and I'm getting this feeling that the great advantage of electric cars, their efficiency, less moving parts, less prone to failures/repair and very low cost maintenance, switches the benefits from the seller to the buyer/user and this is the main reason electric cars will take a lot longer to establish their "dominance" compared to ICE; traditional car builders are used to huge profits on after sales: not only very regular maintenance costs but also repair costs; with the electric car you need to change the AC cabin filter and that's it, almost no maintenance costs, no repairs. The time car makers figure out a way of keeping the money coming in after the car sale is done, by that time may be we will see lots of affordable electric cars. In my opinion that is the reason some car makers are testing the battery leasing model: do your math and you find out that the annual value of the battery lease is more or less equivalent to the ICE maintenance costs. But Better Place, with that model, went bankrupt, were they too ambitious? What about a move by Renault on their Zoe model that does not enable you to charge from a regular AC plug? Gone is the universal possibility of recharging! What are they up to? And the electric car project by Michelin? Not a car maker, a tire maker, the Michelin project promised a revolution, the wheel, suspension, brake and motor in one piece (do a Google search, you can find the prototype demo, quite impressive); what happened to this project? The main point: there is already battery technology to enable better and cheaper batteries, but current installed battery production facilities have to be paid and so the "battery dilemma" is the short term justification for short range capable vehicles that makes the electric car an expensive niche product. Again, the time traditional car makers figure out a way to keep money coming in after the sale, all the problems will miraculously be solved and electric cars will become common place.

[@WindyJAMiller]

Sounds a bit odd, only one side

[@JeanPierreWhite]

Agree with others. The sound is poor in this video. Much of the spoken parts of the video are limited to the right channel. Xl1 looks like an interesting car!!

[@johnkiene]

Background music could be lower

[@johnbenton4488]

The one equaliser in all this is the energy used to produce the vehicle in the first place. The bottom line is simple; If you want it, it will cost the environment.

[@100MPG]

Yes but at least this is light weight and uses the least amount of materials unlike SUV PHEVs and heavy pure EVs. However the earlier diesel only design got more mpg than the XL1.

[@johnbenton4488]

You make some excellent points, "100MPG"

[@MarkKeightley]

Is it just me or did the VW guy look really worried all of the time in the car!? Surely he wasn't passing comment on your driving.

[@illustriouschin]

the audio sounds really really bad.

[@salvadormarley]

Fucked in a car park with those doors.

[@100MPG]

like Tesla X? Both actually work ok.

[@edstratton]

Not so! The opposite is true! Try opening a normal car door to the minimum amount that allows you to squeeze into the car comfortably and measure that amount, then open the XL1 door and you'll see that at no point does it stick out sideways from the car as much as the amount you measured on the normal car.

[@salvadormarley]

Well you learn something new everyday.

[@justinhaller2055]

Do you ever look beyond the plug? Not everyone has a garage... 10 years later the only diesel hybrid out there are in trains.

[@JonathanTracey]

Great looking car from the outside but like all VWs its inside looks very 20th century, screen looks like a tom tom from 1990 and not even controls on the steering wheel

[@bowtalk]

sorry - my error !

[@PistonAvatarGuy]

I don't normally like VWs because they're absolute junk in the US, but that is one good looking car.

[@vicosdivicos]

passenger made me nervous..

[@JRo250]

Great video, Robert. This car is a lame attempt by VW to throw a smoke (literally) curtain and hide the fact that they have zero electric vehicles in production. They are way behind and refuse to come up with something sensible. Why on earth would they spoil a perfectly good EV powertrain with a smelly diesel? Besides, GM and then Honda already did cars just like this so there's nothing groundbreaking here. Tesla had a prototype with side view cameras but were not approved for production by Gov regulators. Yep, nothing but lame sputtering out of VW. Too bad, VWs would be perfect for an all electric drive.

[@emilenossin5098]

VW actually have the e-Golf en e-Up in production now (or any moment now), completely electric.

[@JRo250]

Emile Nossin What VW has in production, and is very good at, is a press release. They produce an EV press release seemingly every month. It's always coming, have you noticed? The eGolf is scheduled for Spring of 2015 and likely go to California only to comply with their Gov regulations. VW had an electric car, the Citystromer, since back in the 70s so this isn't new ground for them. They have said they intend to dominate the EV market by 2018. Sure. The thing is VW needs to be in it now and they aren't.

JRoque250 www.carmagazine.co.uk/Drives/Search-Results/First-drives/VW-E-Up-2013-CAR-review/

[@electrictroy2010]

Because I have to drive 200 miles a day, I need the "smelly engine" to keep the car running when the pathetic ~70 mile EV would have run out of electric. It's also nice to have a car that can take me 3000 miles from LA to New York, and this L1 car can do it..... no Leaf or Fit EV could ever do that .

[@JRo250]

electrictroy2010 It sounds like you'd do better with a straight diesel. Why carry a bunch of batteries around you will rarely use?

[@4priusnt]

what is the issue you have voice like the whole thing is muted.................................................................................................................................................

[@desert1able76]

There is no free lunch! Electric power requires something being burned whether from an off-site power supply or the process of making a solar panel or wind turbine. Depending on where you live electric vehicles can actually be more environmentally damaging then a fossil fuel powered vehicles with good fuel mileage. The key is finding the sweet spot in the power generation process.

[@edstratton]

Absolutely!! You are so right. The fantastic thing about making the most EFFICIENT production car in the world is that it then uses up less energy per mile than any other, so no matter what the original source of the energy was, the net effect on the environment of getting from A to B is at the minimum damage possible. The whole point of the XL1.

[@marknquinn]

Thanks for sharing the running costs for your electric car. You quoted roughly £850 per 36000miles, that's 2.4p per mile. Its at least 20p per mile for a petrol car according to the AA (see the data at goo.gl/MbdEUu) ... giving a cost of £7200 for the same 36000miles! Comparing £850 versus £7200 means you saved at least £6000 over two years! £6k !

[@joshuakeeling1]

Seems a bit pointless now that the model S has better performance, costs less to run and is less expensive to purchase.

[@100MPG]

70% of roadside emissions are from tyres and road surface wear , 30% from tailpipes according to independent UK tests this year. The real issue is weight: 790kg vrs over 2000kg. Tyre contact minimal in this thing. But yes VW is overpriced.

[@joshuakeeling1]

100MPG hence why I came up with this: www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/industry/autocar-courland-next-generation-award-2016-winner-announced

[@fuelenergy1]

I think this is a great car but again the MPGs on this car are tricky because it drives on only electric again and it runs diesel. I think the best car ever on the market is the remarkable Toyota Prius and it's synergy drive as well as it's great sister the plug in. I think Prius will deliver us the best of green energy in the future. VW will just keep the good old fahsion european mind of using diesels and add it will a limited range electric motor. Totally agains it, if I want an electric car, I would just buy the leaf: Bigger 5 people in it and quite cute! I wouldnt buy the VW cuz first I hate diesels, I hate the fact that its SUCH a small diesel too , such economies on the cars made and VW still wants to sell it 90,000 pounds. Seriously. I rather buy a 30,000 pound toyota prius plug in with all the tech and way better and amzing ALL EV and great 80 mpg not all ev.

[@josephbrody3663]

36,000 Miles in 2 years is a lot of driving for the UK. To be eco is more about conservation, bike riding, walking and transit than driving 3500 lb EV. Its nice to see that he is using solar to offset his fossil fuel burning. Even though I have some criticism, I really like electric cars. Yet, so far I dont need one, because I can get anywhere I need to go with a EV to offset a lot of fossil fuel use. Producing 200 VW XL1s is not really "production"

[@oojimmyflip]

make some sugar wash and distil your own screen wash, as long as your not drinking the alcohol you make your not breaking the law. you can colour it with blue food colouring if you want to. plenty of info on you tube how to make it. I wont buy screen wash im not going to pay for water diluted mentholated spirits and soap which often freezes in cold weather.

[@nutzeeer]

and just like the mercedes concept iaa it will never be produced...

[@nutzeeer]

appearently i should have watched until minute 2:30 first

[@clonatul1]

Finally

[@maikydb]

Yay a new fully charged! Only wish you would only focus on real solutions and not the in between's and excuses from the car industry "range extender" "Green Gas" and “range anxiety” Why is it that Tesla can do everything that all car developers say that it cant be done. How is it that Tesla is the only car company without a government loan over the entire world? I know why. They are doing something right and the old school car developers are doing it wrong! Anyway the first Formula E is coming closer and closer. And you might remember that the formula industry used to be the top tech of the car industry. But it kept the fossil fuel engine while 25 years ago they already knew that electric would be the better option in f1 racing.

[@schlusselmensch]

Your passenger looks like he could have done with about 3,416 less Cornish Pasties haha! Not a car for big lads, or ........Americans?

[@fahmad7194]

it's a rip-off not a bit expensive

[@manuelcarmo22]

with that money.... buy a Tesla!! 100% electric!!

[@tiaguinho6756]

lol

[@tiaguinho6756]

i prefeer this one 10€ permonth to "feed" this car

[@hypervlogz9507]

BUT ITS A DIESEL!!!!!!!

[@edstratton]

Yes - diesel is a more efficient fuel than petrol, so they had no choice since the only point of this car is to be as efficient as possible.

[@DanFrederiksen]

The glide was impressive unless it was cheating. But alas the douche nazis sabotaged the project. Otherwise it was close to something significant. The closest to an efficient car any automaker ever has been. Like the dumb king who wouldn't throw the ring of power in the volcano :)

[@BeeRich33]

What an ugly car. Prius owners already get many jokes, so I think VW doesn't quite get it yet.