VOLKSWAGEN GOLF GTE

Has our plug-in Golf's petrol-electric powertrain got a mind of its own?

- WILL RIMELL

I've always loved science and experiments. From ad hoc bedroom lab tests as a child, a love of experimentation has branched into me being that guy who always fiddles with new things – especially cars. My dad gets anxiety when I go near his Audi A5 Cabriolet's menu settings, and the same happened recently when my brother picked up his new Renault Clio (above) and dad was hovering: “Luke, be careful. He's fiddling again!”

This brings us to the Golf GTE. I've had a fiddle – quite an extensive one, given everything is controlled by the central touchscreen – in order to get the just car as I'd like it.

Some of the mandatory safety systems are pretty rubbish, the lane keeping and speed limit warning especially (more on which in a future report), so they have to be turned off – every time the car is started. Please, spare us this pain.

I've also configured my own drive mode: Sport drivetrain (which gives some quite spicy acceleration) and Comfort everything else, including Volkswagen's 15-way-adjustable Dynamic Chassis Control adaptive dampers.