Going EV depends on the purpose of the vehicle. If the vehicle is for in town only use that will see a max of 50 miles a day then EV makes a whole lot of sense if it can be accomplished on a low budget. Now if the vehicle is multi purpose and is the only vehicle than EV is not as attractive. Going 48-50 miles one way means you have to have a battery bank capable of around 120mi range to be safe. This means you will spend quite a bit for batteries alone. The Golf is a medium weight car under 2,500lbs and would need a pretty hefty electric motor as well to give it a descent performance potential.
Going EV with a Golf would cost more than a TDI swap. However it was stated that he never gets past 45mph so maybe the electric motor could be smaller thus keeping down costs. I definitely think EV could be a good option if the OP was going to be keeping the red Golf for when he wants to take the occasional trip to the coast or needs to get onto the freeway for the occasional commute to the next town over. If you are patient and wait for the deals a budget EV can be built but it will not have a 120mi range think more in the 40mile range or less. If this is acceptable for 90% of your driving and you have an ICE vehicle to handle the other 10% then I would go this route as well if it was me!
Everyone will have there opinions but what it comes down to is what do you need the most and what will be the cars purpose. First define the cars purpose and then design from there.
GH
