Features

By Mariam Hakim

Relationships and Couples Therapist

Men who allow their wives to influence them have happier marriages and are less likely to divorce, according to psychological researcher Dr John Gottman, who’s done extensive work over four decades on divorce prediction and marital stability.

What is accepting your partner’s influence?

• Accepting, understanding, and taking your partner’s perspective, feelings and needs into consideration before making any decision in the relationship

• Listening to your partner and forging compromises so that both of you feel satisfied in the relationship

• Working towards a win-win outcome instead of one partner losing and the other partner winning

Is this crucial skill only important for men to have? 

Of course often the opposite is true — where women tend not to let their husbands influence them and this is equally detrimental to the success of their relationship. 

But researchers note that women tend to accept their husband’s influence instinctively while men don’t, particularly if they were brought up in a patriarchal society (like here in Jordan). 

This is not to belittle or insult men by suggesting that they have a personality or cognitive shortcoming, but to make them aware of some tendencies that may be beneficial in other areas of their life but detrimental to the success of their relationships.

How can men work on this? 

Developing emotional intelligence: an emotionally intelligent husband is interested in his partner’s emotions because he respects her and cares about her feelings while not fearing a loss of power in the relationship. 

Her opinion and feelings are as important and valid as his. When men tune into their wives and show an interest in their inner world (feelings, perspectives, ideas, beliefs), which communicates interest and respect to her, they will experience increased happiness, passion and overall satisfaction in the relationship and in their sex life.

Cultivating the skill of paying attention to your partner: work on the following essential relationship components: 

•Building love maps: regularly sitting down with your spouse and finding out what’s going on in her inner and outer world

• Expressing fondness and admiration: cultivating a habit of paying attention to the positive things that your spouse does and communicating your fondness and admiration to her by giving her a compliment or simply showing appreciation for who she is as a person

• Accepting bids of connection: many times during the day, your wife will try to get your attention by either making a comment or directly asking a question; try to respond positively instead of ignoring her or snapping back. This will cultivate a sense of emotional closeness and intimacy in your relationship which is an essential part of any successful marriage

Remember, all of the above applies to how women should treat their husbands as well!

Reprinted with permission from Family Flavours magazine

Tea drinkers who love a scalding-hot cup of the beverage may want to let it cool down a bit to avoid an increased risk of oesophagus cancer, a new study suggests. 

Among tea drinkers followed for about 10 years, those who drank a lot of tea and liked it very hot — above 60ºC — had nearly double the risk for oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma compared to those who drank cooler tea and less tea in general, researchers report in the International Journal of Cancer. 

“Drinking hot tea is a very common habit worldwide, and earlier studies have pointed to an association between drinking hot beverages and an increased risk of oesophageal cancer,” study leader Dr Farhad Islami of the American Cancer Society (ACS) in Atlanta, Georgia, said by e-mail. 

Oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma is the sixth most common cause of cancer death worldwide. In the US, according to the ACS, the lifetime risk of developing the disease is about 1 in 132 in men and about 1 in 455 in women. 

The World Health Organisation’s International Agency for Research on Cancer has classified drinking “very hot” beverages, above 65oC, as “probably carcinogenic” to humans. 

Starting in 2004, researchers collected data on 50,000 adults living in the Golestan Province in northeastern Iran, where high rates of oesophageal cancer have been reported and where residents drink an average of 1,100 millilitres of black tea daily. 

Early in the study, researchers poured cups of tea during interviews with participants to measure tea drinking temperatures and asked each person about their preferences for tea temperature, as well as how soon after pouring the tea they tended to drink it. 

By 2017, 317 participants had developed oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma. People who regularly drank tea at temperatures of 60ºC or higher were 41 per cent more likely than those who drank it cooler to develop oesophageal cancer. Those who preferred “very hot” tea had nearly two-and-a-half times the risk of those who liked it cold or lukewarm. And those who drank their tea within two minutes of pouring it had 51 per cent higher risk than those who waited six minutes or more. 

Overall, people who drank at least 700ml daily at temperatures above 60ºC had 91 per cent higher risk than those who drank less tea, at lower temperatures. 

“We are not asking people to stop drinking tea, but we recommend waiting a while until hot beverages cool down before drinking,” Islami said. 

Even after researchers accounted for factors that could affect the risk of oesophageal cancer, including use of tobacco, alcohol or opium, and sociodemographic factors, the heightened risk with scalding-hot tea remained. 

“This is probably the first well-designed and informative study that actually went to people to measure the temperature, while most previous studies were based on self-reports,” said Dr Dirk Lachenmeier, a food chemist and toxicologist at the Chemical and Veterinary Investigation Agency in Karlsruhe, Germany. “Would you know the temperature of your coffee this morning?”

Although more research is needed, the most likely reason for the increased cancer risk is a direct influence on throat tissues through consistent inflammation, said Lachenmeier, who was not involved in the research.

New studies are also investigating serving temperatures in restaurants and cooling behaviours, such as using milk, he noted.

“Food serving establishments might, for example, change temperatures to lower default settings,” he said in an email. “In coffee, very often brewing is done at too high temperatures, which is also bad for the taste of the beverage.”

People who have risk factors for heart disease like diabetes, high blood pressure and obesity may also be more likely to develop structural changes in the brain that can lead to dementia, a recent study suggests. 

Researchers examined data on 9,772 adults, ages 44 to 79, who all had at least one MRI brain scan and provided general health information and medical records for the analysis. 

The researchers looked for associations between brain structure and so-called vascular risk factors. They found that except for high cholesterol, all of the other vascular risk factors — smoking, high blood pressure, high pulse pressure, diabetes, and obesity — were linked to abnormal brain changes seen in dementia. 

And the more vascular risk factors a person had, the poorer was their brain health, as evidenced by greater brain shrinkage, less grey matter (tissue mainly on the surface of the brain) and less healthy white matter (tissue in deeper parts of the brain). 

“There are some things that contribute to cognitive and brain aging that we cannot change [like our genes], so you could look at this like a list of things that we can have some agency over — so-called ‘malleable’ risk factors,” said lead study author Simon Cox of the University of Edinburgh in the UK.

“There are so many other benefits to improving your cardiovascular health [improving diet, weight, exercise, blood sugar control] and stopping smoking, but in combination with other good evidence out there, maintaining brain health is probably another one,” Cox said by e-mail. 

The strongest links between the vascular risk factors and brain structure were in areas of the brain known to be responsible for our more complex thinking skills, and which deteriorate during the development of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. 

Risk factors for heart disease appeared to impact brain health just as much in middle age as they did later in life, researchers report in the European Heart Journal. 

And the risk of structural changes in the brain associated with cognitive decline also increased with each additional vascular risk factor, even in adults who appeared otherwise healthy, the study found. 

Smoking, high blood pressure and diabetes were the three vascular risk factors that showed the most consistent associations across all types of brain tissue. High cholesterol levels were not associated with any differences in the MRI scans. 

The study wasn’t a controlled experiment designed to prove whether or how specific risk factors might directly cause dementia or cognitive decline. 

“The precise mechanisms underlying these findings are not entirely clear,” said Dr Jeffrey Burns, co-director of the University of Kansas Alzheimer’s Disease Centre. 

“The findings do underscore our increasing recognition that dementia is a complex syndrome and that vascular factors contribute to brain changes that we see and expect in people who are diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease,” Burns, who wasn’t involved in the study, said by email. 

Still, there’s enough evidence of the connection for patients to do what they can to promote brain health as they age, said Dr Andrew Budson of the Veterans Affairs Boston Healthcare and Boston University School of Medicine. 

“Because smoking, hypertension, and diabetes were the strongest risk factors, if you have a number of risk factors, these are the most important ones to work on,” Budson, who wasn’t involved in the study, said by e-mail. 

 “Quit smoking cigarettes today,” Budson advised. “Control high blood pressure and diabetes through medications, aerobic exercise, and weight loss. These measures can reduce the daily brain damage that will otherwise occur.” 

Children with autism may have an easier time reading facial expressions and navigating social interactions when they use Google Glass paired with a smartphone app, a small experiment suggests. 

The system, dubbed “Superpower Glass”, helps them decipher what is happening with people around them, researchers found. 

The experiment included 71 children, ages six to 12, who were receiving a standard treatment for autism known as applied behavioural analysis therapy. This type of therapy typically involves using structured exercises like flash cards depicting faces to help kids learn to recognise different emotions. 

Forty kids were randomly assigned to use the “Superpower Glass” system — glasses with a camera and speaker that sent information on what children saw and heard to a smartphone app designed to help them decode and respond to social interactions. 

While kids with autism can struggle to recognise and respond to emotions, the app gave them feedback in real time to help bolster these skills. 

After six weeks of using Superpower Glass in 20-minute sessions four times a week, kids who received this digital support scored better on tests of socialisation, communication and behaviour than the control group of 31 kids who received only standard care for autism. 

With Superpower Glass, “Children learn to seek out social interactions, learn that faces are interesting and that they can learn what they’re saying or what the faces are telling them,” said senior study author Dennis Wall of Stanford University in California. 

“This is powerful since it encourages social initiations — a form of fostering social motivation — by the child and they’re learning that they can get these things — the emotions of their social partners- themselves,” Wall said by e-mail. 

Superpower Glass is designed to tackle a common struggle for kids with autism — how to understand social cues and use past experiences to learn how to respond in various situations. 

The glasses act as a messenger and interpreter, with the app relying on artificial intelligence to offer feedback in real time that can help kids track faces and classify emotions. A green light flashes when kids look at a face, and then the app uses emojis to tell kids what emotion is in front of them, whether it is happy or angry or scared or surprised. 

“Facial expressions are complex, dynamic, and unique,” said Geraldine Dawson, director of the Duke Centre for Autism and Brain Development in Durham, North Carolina. 

“Emojis are much simpler, static stimuli,” Dawson, who wasn’t involved in the study, said by e-mail. “It makes sense that emojis would be easier for a person with autism to understand.” 

Kids’ interactions are also logged by the app so parents can look later and talk to kids.

Those who design software, websites and computers of all kinds, including mobile devices, still have not understood that what the vast majority of users and consumers really want, before anything else, is simplicity. Those who enjoy tweaking, improving, modifying and messing with IT in general, in a somewhat masochistic way, do not even represent five per cent of the population. The other 95 per cent want peace of mind and fast, trouble-free operation.

I admit that security concerns sometimes make it hard on manufacturers and programmers to keep things simple. Take Apple ID for instance. Those who use the company’s products are all too familiar with it for they need it to access various Apple-related services: iTunes, Apple Store, etc. However, if you happen to forget it and want, for instance, to reformat your iPad, the recovery process is way too complicated, and I have seen cases where users completely lost usage of their iPad because of an Apple ID issue. Apple’s explanation was that they were only trying to protect the owner of the iPad from eventual theft!

Life with Microsoft is not much simpler. The company wants you to have a unified Microsoft account identity, whether it is to access Hotmail or use Skype. You cannot have separate passwords for each of these services anymore and must use a Microsoft identity. The headache associated with this system, the complex process to recover information if you lose it, it is all but justified. Some Skype users say they miss the days when it was not a Microsoft product, before 2011.

Let us not forget about online banking. Whereas this is now the norm, not all banks know how to do it smoothly, how to make all their patrons feel comfortable and safe using the system, regardless of age group, gender or professional background. I have compared the clients’ online banking interface of four major banks established in Jordan. I would say only one does it really well, two would rate as average and the last one would rate as downright poor.

Surprisingly, dealing online with the two main providers of mobile telephony and Internet services in the country, namely Orange and Zain, is no picnic. This is a disappointment and also a contradiction, given that these two entities are supposed to be at the top, at the avant-garde of high-tech.

Another disappointment cause by the complexity of the IT world is the fact that almost 15 years after they have been introduced, the various biometrics identification methods, including fingerprint and iris scans, are not widely implemented and have not been adopted by all parties. These were supposed to free consumers from the traditional, complex identification processes based on passwords. At this point in time only high-end smartphones, some rare border points of entry and a few banks are using iris scan to identify the population.

Ideally, we would love to have biometrics identification when using a computer and accessing the web with one of the popular browsers such as Chrome, Firefox or Edge.

On the “uselessly, desperately complicated” list is the eternal question of compatibility between operating systems (Windows, Android, Apple OS, ….), devices and software applications. It is unbelievable to come to the sad conclusion that after almost 40 years, and while honestly acknowledging that some progress has been achieved in that sense, there are still huge issues of compatibility in the industry. I cannot count the times when, after an automatic update performed by Windows, I had a message saying that this scanner, that printer, or this software application, would not work anymore.

Doug Garnett, president of Protonik, an innovation firm based in Oregon in the US, likes to be more specific about the issue and says that “Innovation is not complicated – it’s complex. So is the challenge of marketing innovative products.” This is in part true, of course, but I am certain that designers and programmers do not always put themselves in the users’ shoes as they should, otherwise they would certainly be able to come up with products that are simpler to use. Let us keep on dreaming.

When grown-ups are reading to toddlers, they have more meaningful conversations when the stories are in traditional printed books than when stories are in e-books, researchers found. 

Results of the small experiment suggest story time with tablets may not be as good for kids’ development. 

Paediatricians recommend against any screen time at all for children under age two. They warn that tablets, smartphones and digitally enhanced toys and games can get in the way of creative play and interactions with caregivers that are essential for social, emotional and cognitive growth. 

But many parents who do not sit kids down to watch cartoons or play video games may still use tablets to read e-books to young kids. Among other things, e-books can be more convenient than cramming lots of board books in a diaper bag. Many parents also believe reading apps and interactive e-books can make it easier for kids to learn their ABCs. 

“We know shared book reading is such an amazing developmental activity to engage in with children — not only by exposing children to rich language and vocabulary, but also by providing opportunities for physical closeness and creating moments to bond,” said lead study author Dr Tiffany Munzer of the University of Michigan’s C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital in Ann Arbor. 

“Parents and toddlers know how to engage over a book, but when adding a tablet into the mix, it deflects from some of the positive benefits of that shared reading experience,” Munzer said by e-mail. “That isn’t to say there is no benefit to electronic book, just less than when you compare it with a print book.” 

For the study, Munzer’s team videotaped 37 parent-child pairs during reading sessions done in a lab. Parents read similar stories in three different formats: traditional printed books, e-books without any bells and whistles, and “enhanced” e-books with extra features like sound effects or animation. 

During each reading session, researchers observed how much interaction, conversation and collaboration happened between parents and kids. 

With printed books, parents talked to kids much more about the stories. The grown-ups paused to do things like ask kids if they remembered something they did that is similar to what is happening in the story, or asking kids what they think will happen next, the researchers report in Paediatrics. 

Enhanced e-books sparked more interactions than e-books without any bells and whistles, however. 

Toddlers also spoke up more to ask questions and share their own opinions and ideas about the stories when parents were reading from printed books. 

The enhanced e-books sparked more interaction initiated by kids than basic e-books, however. 

The study cannot say whether or how specific book formats might directly impact kids’ social, emotional or cognitive development. It also was not designed to determine whether different formats influence how easily or quickly children later learn to read. 

One benefit of reading to kids is the “back and forth” dialog that can happen while parents are sharing a story with young children and help put the story in the context of the child’s life experiences, said Dr Suzy Tomopoulos of the department of paediatrics at New York University School of Medicine, in an e-mail. 

“For example, if the book is about a trip to the zoo, the parent can talk about their last trip to the zoo and the animals they saw,” said Tomopoulos, who co-authored an editorial published with the study. 

 “Shared book reading with print books has been well studied and has been found to help child development, language, and social skills,” Tomopoulos added. “One of the main problems with screens is that they interfere with these high quality parent-child interactions that would otherwise take place.” 

It is rare that I get excited to see a horror movie these days. When it comes to the horror genre most movies are repetitive, mimicking in both style and story to the few great ones that set the trends. These few great ones make history as classic horror movies that people remember, in certain cases for decades, and are repeatedly watched when an occasion presents itself.

Last week I had the great pleasure to see a film that is without a doubt one of the best I have seen yet. “Us” is the latest theatrical gem released over the weekend that is turning into the talk of the week. It is written and directed by Jordan Peele who started his directorial debut with another great horror thriller “Get Out” released in 2017. 

Although new to the director’s chair, Peele has already proven himself more than able to take the helm. I think the movie clearly shows his talent for storytelling and solidifies proof of his love for horror. With a magnificent cast at his side, it is easy to notice the hard work put into the movie that only adds to the films excellence.

“Us” tells the story of a family on vacation who return to their beach home for the summer only to find themselves getting terrorised by mysterious doppelgangers. They are forced to fight to survive and try to escape or face the deadly consequences. Lupita Nyong’o (“Black Panther”) plays the lead, as Adelaide Wilson, beautifully. She is supported by her “Black Panther” co-star Winston Duke who plays Adelaide’s good-natured average-Joe husband Gabe Wilson.

It is not enough that the amazing actors bring one set of characters to life, but each also play their evil double in the film that only manages to show the audience how good they really are. The story was well written and even better told visually on the silver screen and it will surely keep the audience fully immersed in the journey of the characters.

There is some symbolism in the movie that adds depth and allows the audience to ponder the accurate meanings behind them. Symbolism such as the characters and their doppelgangers representing the dual nature of humanity, the good and the evil, the light and the dark. Throughout the film we see these two natures in conflict for supremacy and at the end making the audience question their perception of it.

Another example of symbolism is the idea of a divided class system that separates the elite upper class and the lower class often forgotten, ignored and mistreated as emphasised by the doppelgangers. Their red costumes are also reminiscent of the colour of the Bolshevik uprising in the early part of the 20th century that was equally as violent as the events in the film.

The underlying message in the story is that all actions have consequences and the absence of responsibility for those actions will only make the consequences worse. This message becomes clearer as the film progresses and serves as a good moral lesson especially for a horror movie. Peele has created something that is not seen that often in this particular genre and his genius is the ability to blend the right ingredients to make a horror film that can only be called a work of art.

This film will most assuredly soon become a classic and the beginning of a long line of films that will make Peele one the masters of horror. It is a great cinematic treat that will keep you on edge just like a great horror movie should and I am certain that you will enjoy it. 

“Us” has for sure taken the spotlight during the past weekend. So if you have not seen it yet, if you have some free time, I suggest you watch it and have yourself a good fright night.

People who are terrified of heights may be able to conquer their phobia using a virtual reality app and an inexpensive set of cardboard VR googles, a Dutch study suggests. 

Study volunteers using the self-guided cognitive behavioural therapy app had improvements comparable to what patients typically achieve with an actual therapist, researchers report in JAMA Psychiatry. 

The study shows “that fear of heights, or acrophobia, can be effectively treated without a therapist through our treatment delivered via smartphone application, called ZeroPhobia, in combination with basic $10 VR goggles”, said Tara Donker, an assistant professor and licensed cognitive behavioural therapist. “This means that effective treatment for specific phobias is possible at a fraction of the cost of existing face-to-face treatment or high-end VR exposure therapy.” 

In traditional cognitive behavioural therapy, patients with a phobia are gradually exposed to what they fear, and a therapist helps the patient reinterpret their responses and anxieties. 

But not all people with phobias have access to or can afford sessions with a therapist. Donker, who is affiliated with Vrije University Amsterdam, and senior study author Jean-Louis van Gelder of the University of Twente developed the app to offer an affordable alternative. They plan to release it commercially. 

The game-like app takes users through a series of challenges that would be terrifying for someone with acrophobia, such as replacing a lightbulb on a kitchen ladder, fixing a lamp while standing on the edge of a high balcony, or saving escaped kittens on a high footbridge above a stage. “The VR scenarios were developed [to cover] a broad spectrum of acrophobia situations,” Donker said in an email. 

To test the app, the researchers recruited 193 adult volunteers with acrophobia and randomly assigned them to use the VR treatment or to be on a waiting list. At the beginning, and three months later, volunteers filled out a questionnaire that assessed acrophobia symptoms. 

The six animated modules of VR cognitive behavioural therapy were delivered to the treatment group over a three-week period. Participants were able to run the scenarios on their phones, at their leisure. 

Based on questionnaire responses, Donker and colleagues concluded that volunteers who used the app had a significant improvement. 

“Our effects in terms of symptom reduction are comparable in size to effects found in previous research in which traditional CBT with a therapist was examined,” Donker said. “Furthermore, our results are comparable to previous therapist-guided studies using high-end VR equipment for acrophobia.” 

Experts welcomed the latest virtual reality therapy. 

“The bottom line is this is fantastic,” said Dr O. Joseph Bienvenu, an associate professor of psychiatry and behavioural sciences at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore. “It’s great news that a simple smartphone-based app is available as an efficient exposure therapy.” 

Bienvenu, who wasn’t involved in the study, believes this type of therapy could be the wave of the future. 

“It’s not hard to imagine that programmes like this will blossom for treating other specific phobias, besides heights, and posttraumatic stress disorder,” Bienvenu said in an e-mail. “This is very exciting!” 

VR therapies may fill the void caused by the shortage of therapists, said Dr Robert Hudak, an associate professor of psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh, who wasn’t involved in the study. “Finding good cognitive behavioral therapy can be tough in a lot of places and something like this may be the only choice,” he added. 

Still, Hudak thinks, it’s better if a therapist can be involved when people use VR to help overcome their phobias. “My preference would be that they use it at home under the direction of a trained mental health professional.” 

If the VR doesn’t work, people should not assume there is no help for them, Hudak said. At that point, “I would suggest they see someone about their phobia.” 

Kids with school attendance or truancy problems might be suffering from anxiety, a research review suggests. 

Chronic physical problems like asthma and diabetes have long been linked to an increased risk of school absences, poor grades and test scores, and lower odds of obtaining a college degree or a high-paying job. The current study offers fresh evidence that mental illness can also limit school performance and success in life, said lead study author Katie Finning of the University of Exeter Medical School in the UK. 

“We were surprised to find evidence that anxiety is associated with unexcused absences, or truancy, which is often assumed to be related to behavioural difficulties rather than emotional difficulties like anxiety or depression, as well as authorized absences,” Finning said by e-mail. 

“Poor attendance could be a sign of anxiety, no matter what type of absence,” Finning added. 

Finning’s team reviewed eight previously published studies with a total of almost 26,000 young students from Europe, North America and Asia. The youth were 15 years old on average, with ages ranging from five to 21. 

The analysis focused on four categories of absences: truancy and unexcused absences; medical and excused absences; school refusal tied to emotional distress about attendance; and absenteeism for any reason. 

Anxiety was strongly linked to school refusal, as expected. It was also associated with truancy, which was a surprise. 

Parents and teachers may mistakenly assume some children are missing school due to disobedience or behaviour problems when they are actually suffering from anxiety, Finning said. And some of kids considered truant might have undiagnosed anxiety, depression or other mental health problems. 

“There are lots of things about the school environment that might be challenging for young people with anxiety, including social interaction with peers and/or school staff, academic challenges, or separation from caregivers at home,” Finning said. 

“Anxiety can also cause physical symptoms like headaches or tummy aches, which might also impact on children’s school attendance,” Finning added. 

Most of the studies in the analysis were small, and none were designed to prove whether or how anxiety might directly cause school absences. 

The studies also measured anxiety and school attendance in a variety of ways, so the researchers could not pool data across all the studies. 

Even so, the results suggest that at least some absences attributed to misbehaviour might be due to anxiety, said Bonnie Leadbeater, a psychology researcher at the University of Victoria in Canada who was not involved in the study. 

 “Parents should consider the possibility that anxiety is behind school refusal and seek treatment once physical causes are ruled out,” Leadbeater said by e-mail. “Punishing children for school refusal due to anxiety will likely be unsuccessful,” she added. 

“Children experiencing excessive anxiety need help,” Leadbeater said. “While identifying this may be difficult, sometimes even asking your child, ‘what is it about going to school you find so difficult,’ and trying empathically to understand their point of view may get you started in helping them, and getting help for them to build the confidence to manage anxiety is important.” 

The electric powered incarnation of Volkswagen’s defining modern model, the e-Golf is a familiarly discrete, handsome, classy and practical family hatchback that has proved recently popular in the somewhat hatchback-averse Jordanian market.

Benefitting from import levies favouring Electric Vehicles over traditional combustion engine cars, the e-Golf’s popularity comes despite it is not being officially offered for sale in Jordan and the Middle East. Its substantial sales have instead been as an independent used or new import or through unofficial car traders.

Though not allocated officially for the Jordanian market, the local Volkswagen dealership nonetheless recently started importing used approved examples, such as the 2016 model driven here. 

Unable to sell new e-Golfs yet — like some other official dealerships aren’t able to sell similar new electric cars due brands’ unified regional plans — Volkswagen Jordan, however, also recently gained certification to service e-Golf models to both benefit from and support the model’s popular, if unofficial, market presence.

Similar sensibility

Virtually identical to the regular combustion engine Golf, the e-Golf shares the same clean lines, big glasshouse, sense of momentum and restrained yet sharp styling cues. 

Where it differs beside the obvious lack of exhaust pipe and discreet badges, is its C-shaped LED lighting running along its bumper and framing its fascia. 

The e-golf has also been aerodynamically tweaked with flush alloy wheels, low rolling resistance tyres, different radiator shutter and grille, and underbody panels to achieve low 0.27 drag co-efficiency.

Built on the seventh generation Golf platform with more aluminium content, the e-Golf retains a similar front motor and front-drive layout, while batteries are located at the rear, rather than underneath the floor like some purpose built electric cars. 

Developing 115BHP maximum power and weighed down by its 318kg battery, the e-Golf is far from the quickest Golf. 

However, its 10.4-second 0-100km/h time is perfectly quick enough for an eco-minded family EV, and its electronically-limited 140km/h top speed still exceeds national speed limits.

Responsive and refined

Heavier than even the most powerful range-topping four-wheel-drive turbocharged petrol-powered Golf R, the e-Golf’s generous 199lb/ft torque is more pertinent than power. 

Near-instantly available from start up to its 12,000rpm limit, the e-Golf’s electric powered torrent of torque makes it responsive and confidently versatile at lower speeds, despite its 1,533kg mass. Almost silently smooth, the e-Golf is happy to chirp its driven front wheels, while delivery is uninterrupted through the use of a single-speed automatic gearbox.

At its most efficient and with the best driving range in town driving, in contrast to combustion engine vehicles that are most efficient on motorways, the e-Golf is capable of a 133km combined cycle on a single charge. 

With no compatible fast high capacity charging points available locally, the e-Golf can be charged through either a home charging point system in 4-hours or through the mains socket, which takes up to 20-hours at 110/120V, but presumably less on Jordan’s 230V current. 

Confident commuter

Maneuverable and compact yet refined, reassuring practically sized, the e-Golf is particularly well suited as a commuter car, rather than for long distance driving, where it is limited by range and charging times. 

Easy to drive and park with, terrific driving visibility and comfortable, supportive driving position, the e-Golf’s cabin space is among the best in its class. 

With its batteries located at the rear and a higher boot floor, the e-Golf’s cargo volume is reduced by nearly 40-litres.  

Well-insulated, well-built, quiet and refined inside, the e-Golf felt confident, smooth, reassuringly, stable and comfortable during brief test drive, riding on 205/55R16 tyres with taller, more forgiving sidewalls than more performance-oriented GTI and R models previously driven. 

Similar in character and driving dynamic as petrol-powered sister models, the e-Golf shares a similarly light, quick and direct steering feel, with energy regenerative braking upon lift-off being among the chief differences at lower speeds and in terms of driving style.

Quiet comfort

Familiar yet slightly different, the e-Golf turned in with a similarly agile and alert manner. However when pushed slightly harder into and through corners, the heavier, softer e-Golf, with its instant torque and slimmer tyres leaned a bit more and seemed to have more of an inclination towards torque steer. 

Tidy and composed, the e-Golf seemed to be more willing to understeer than a regular Golf when entering a corner more aggressively or come back on power too early. 

With a seemingly good balance between ride comfort and body control, and a classy, user-friendly cabin layout, clear instrumentation and decent cargo volume of 341-litres that expands to 1,231-litre with the seats down, the e-Golf is also well-equipped with rear view camera, part electric heated seats, and Bluetooth/USB enabled infotainment touchscreen system. 

Good value at starting from JD15,900 for 2019 models, the 28,000km example driven felt taut, well-built and with no rattles, shakes or any sign of adverse wear.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

• Engine: Synchronous AC permanent battery, front-mounted electric motor
• Battery, voltage/capacity: Lithium-ion, 323V/24.2kWh
• Gearbox: 1-speed automatic, front-wheel-drive
• Ratios, drive/reverse/final drive: 2.7/2.7/3.61
• Power, BHP (PS) [kW]: 115 (116) [85]
• Torque, lb/ft (Nm): 199 (270)
• Maximum revs: 12,000rpm
• 0-100km/h: 10.4-seconds
• Top speed: 140km/h
• Range, combined: 133km*
• Fuel consumption equivalency, combined: 2-litres/100km*
• Charging time, 240V at 7.2kW wall charger/at 110/120V: 4-/20-hours
• Length: 54,270mm
• Width: 1,799mm
• Height: 1,450mm
• Wheelbase: 2,631mm
• Track, F/R: 1,543/1512mm
• Ground clearance: 126mm
• Aerodynamic drag co-efficiency: 0.27
• Headroom, F/R: 975/967mm
• Legroom, F/R: 1,046/903mm
• Shoulder room, F/R: 1,420/1,370mm
• Luggage volume, min/max: 341-/1,231-litres
• Kerb weight: 1,533kg 
• Payload: 426kg
• Battery weight: 318kg
• Steering: Electric-assisted rack & pinion
• Lock-to-lock: 2.76-turns
• Steering ratio: 13.6:1
• Turning Circle: 10.9-metres
• Suspension: MacPherson struts,/multi-link, anti-roll bars
• Brakes, F/R: Ventilated discs, 287 x 25mm/271 x 10mm
• Tyres: 205/55R16
• Price: from JD15,900, on-the-road without insurance (2016, pre-owned approved)
• *US Environmental Protection Agency figures