Golf GTI or GTD? Which one would you have?

Golf GTI or GTD? Which one would you have?

Author
Discussion

wemorgan

3,578 posts

177 months

Tuesday 21st July 2015
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GTD is popular because of the decent lease deals, as was the 125D when they were cheap.

andrewparker

7,903 posts

186 months

Tuesday 21st July 2015
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Joeguard1990 said:
Bit of a silly question really...
If you want to save money on fuel then the GTD.
If you want the car that's more fun to drive then GTI.
This. End of topic.

white_goodman

Original Poster:

4,042 posts

190 months

Tuesday 21st July 2015
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MattHall91 said:
Firstly, what makes you think the GTD will reach any way near its claimed mpg figure? The GTI won't do 47, but the GTD will be equally off the mark against its claimed number.

Sounds like you prefer diesel regardless of what comments should follow below. I personally would go GTI every single day of the week. However, I wouldn't consider either of those two if I was in the market for that sort of car. Meg 265 please or Focus ST please.
Actually no, I'm not a diesel fanboy. Only 2 of the 14 cars that I have owned have been diesel. Back in the day, I had both petrol and diesel mk4 and mk5 Golfs as company cars and the diesels were unquestionably the ones to have, as the petrol engines were weak both in terms of performance and fuel economy. I have driven a mk5 GTI though and although I liked my mk5 GT TDI 140 a lot and the fantastic fuel economy suited my circumstances better at the time, the GTI was subjectively a lot better.

Yes, the GTD is unlikely to get the quoted 67mpg either but it should still be a similar proportion better than the GTI i.e. based on the 38mpg that someone said they got in the GTI, 40% more would be 53mpg, which sounds about right. I was just wondering whether the GTD offered as good a drive as the GTI but with diesel fuel economy.

With regards to the other two hot hatches you mentioned. Yes, the Megane is apparently very good and I like them but I want a 5 door. I'm not convinced that the Focus ST is better really, despite having more power.

white_goodman

Original Poster:

4,042 posts

190 months

Tuesday 21st July 2015
quotequote all
andrewparker said:
This. End of topic.
I notice you have a GTD. How are you finding that? Was a GTI ever an option?

Rick101

6,959 posts

149 months

Tuesday 21st July 2015
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I do a lot of motorway hence going for the GTD. I've done plenty of very fast runs home and am always 50+mpg.

Really good car apart from the sound. Got a DTUK box on mine and really transforms it. Good strong power all the way through the rev range and minimal lag. I think advertised figure was 240bhp but no idea what it is in reality.

All that jazz

7,632 posts

145 months

Tuesday 21st July 2015
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xjay1337 said:
Umm... laggy?

GTFO.

I test drove a Mk7 GTI and managed 38mpg average including a cold start and 130mph hoon.
GTFO.

You wouldn't even get 38mpg in a diesel at those speeds let alone a petrol.

chr15b

3,467 posts

189 months

Tuesday 21st July 2015
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All that jazz said:
xjay1337 said:
Umm... laggy?

GTFO.

I test drove a Mk7 GTI and managed 38mpg average including a cold start and 130mph hoon.
GTFO.

You wouldn't even get 38mpg in a diesel at those speeds let alone a petrol.
Couple of posts now about mpg.. The quoted 47 isn't impossible to achieve.

Went to Birmingham from Manchester the other day, got 41 there and 43 back, it showed average 64mph for the journey (lots of 50 sections on the m6)

cerb4.5lee

30,195 posts

179 months

Tuesday 21st July 2015
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anothernameitist said:
Let me think.... Skoda Octy Vrs.
Cheers
Had a little bit of fun with one of these over the weekend and I was very impressed with it and they seem a cracking package by all accounts.

andrewparker

7,903 posts

186 months

Tuesday 21st July 2015
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white_goodman said:
andrewparker said:
This. End of topic.
I notice you have a GTD. How are you finding that? Was a GTI ever an option?
Yes, in fact the GTD I have now replaced a GTI (and is my sixth Golf), purely because I needed a more economical car. In that respect it has fulfilled it's purpose, I've managed a best of 70.1mpg and it regularly returns a good 15 - 20mpg more than the GTI did. It blends performance and economy far better than the GTI does, it's fantastic on the motorway (it feels faster than a GTI in my opinion) and it handles very well with very little understeer (in part thanks to the faux diff). The interior is great too, although I hate the touchscreen. However there is very little pleasure to be had from working the engine hard. At six tenths it is brilliant, it is refined and will accelerate with ease (thanks to a Golf R equalling torque figure), but above that the refinement of the engine and drivetrain becomes an issue for me. I honestly think it equals the GTI in every way (and I've had some genuinely enjoyable fast A-to-B drives in it), apart from the engine, and therein lies a pretty big problem.

anonymous-user

53 months

Tuesday 21st July 2015
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Mr2Mike said:
charltjr said:
I'd buy whichever one I enjoyed driving the most, unless I did huge mileages in which case the diesel would probably work out as being more economical and that might tip the scales a bit. It's a radical and unusual position to take I know, but there it is.
So you'd buy the car which was most fun to drive, unless the more boring car was more economic. Makes perfect sense.
Thanks, I thought so.

Obviously in a perfect world the choice would always be the car which was the most enjoyable, but in reality budget has to come into it somewhere. Where that line gets drawn is entirely down to personal choice and circumstances.

WarnieV6GT

1,135 posts

198 months

Tuesday 21st July 2015
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It really does amaze me these days that folk actually want the tractor version even if they're not doing the miles. Why on earth (especially on here) would people choose a god awful sounding smelly diesel over a petrol if they aren't forced into it because of the running costs?

Not forgetting the bloody dpf's as well.

My mate does 8k a year, yet is buying the Merc c250cdi instead of the petrol version. When I asked him why he said it averages 10 mpg more. He will never see it, as diesel's are as bad as petrols for short journey's, so he'll be putting up with the oil burner for no gains except for clogged up dpf's, egr's and other ste put on them to keep the co2 levels down. Madness.


cerb4.5lee

30,195 posts

179 months

Tuesday 21st July 2015
quotequote all
WarnieV6GT said:
It really does amaze me these days that folk actually want the tractor version even if they're not doing the miles. Why on earth (especially on here) would people choose a god awful sounding smelly diesel over a petrol if they aren't forced into it because of the running costs?

Not forgetting the bloody dpf's as well.

My mate does 8k a year, yet is buying the Merc c250cdi instead of the petrol version. When I asked him why he said it averages 10 mpg more. He will never see it, as diesel's are as bad as petrols for short journey's, so he'll be putting up with the oil burner for no gains except for clogged up dpf's, egr's and other ste put on them to keep the co2 levels down. Madness.
Completely agree and it baffles me as well, if you are doing big miles it possibly makes sense but even then you still have to put up with a crappy noisy engine.

We are doing around 40k a year so opted for a diesel but I still cant stand the engine and cant wait to swap back to an engine that is enjoyable to sit behind.

Trailhead

2,628 posts

146 months

Tuesday 21st July 2015
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GTD, full leather and dsg!

Axionknight

8,505 posts

134 months

Tuesday 21st July 2015
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I really like the MK7 GTI and think it is a shame it seems to have fallen by the wayside for the Golf R - I drove a manual one with the performance pack and it was a really, really good car, it seriously tempted me to look in to getting one but I have serious commitment issues when it comes to buying cars, f'in hopeless I am.

GTI all day long.

Uncle John

4,271 posts

190 months

Tuesday 21st July 2015
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Would have to be the GTD for me at my current 20k a year unfortunately.

For what it's worth I think VW have nailed the GTI, to my eyes it looks better than the R, 2 exhausts look better than 4, wheels are nicer and in my neck of the woods is the rarer car.

For the first time ever I really fancy a GTI, with the PP it would be the do it all car.

andrewparker

7,903 posts

186 months

Tuesday 21st July 2015
quotequote all
WarnieV6GT said:
It really does amaze me these days that folk actually want the tractor version even if they're not doing the miles. Why on earth (especially on here) would people choose a god awful sounding smelly diesel over a petrol if they aren't forced into it because of the running costs?

Not forgetting the bloody dpf's as well.

My mate does 8k a year, yet is buying the Merc c250cdi instead of the petrol version. When I asked him why he said it averages 10 mpg more. He will never see it, as diesel's are as bad as petrols for short journey's, so he'll be putting up with the oil burner for no gains except for clogged up dpf's, egr's and other ste put on them to keep the co2 levels down. Madness.
To be fair the DPF takes care of any sort of diesel smell. I can honestly say I've never noticed any sort of smell emanating from my GTD, bar the very first regen it did. And on short journeys my GTD still does 10 - 15mpg more than the GTI ever did.

Agree on the sound, but if you spend most of your journey in the mid to top of the rev range the sound is really not that evident.

Benzo26

208 posts

146 months

Tuesday 21st July 2015
quotequote all
WarnieV6GT said:
It really does amaze me these days that folk actually want the tractor version even if they're not doing the miles. Why on earth (especially on here) would people choose a god awful sounding smelly diesel over a petrol if they aren't forced into it because of the running costs?

Not forgetting the bloody dpf's as well.

My mate does 8k a year, yet is buying the Merc c250cdi instead of the petrol version. When I asked him why he said it averages 10 mpg more. He will never see it, as diesel's are as bad as petrols for short journey's, so he'll be putting up with the oil burner for no gains except for clogged up dpf's, egr's and other ste put on them to keep the co2 levels down. Madness.
What he said!

Mr Tidy

22,065 posts

126 months

Wednesday 22nd July 2015
quotequote all
WarnieV6GT said:
It really does amaze me these days that folk actually want the tractor version even if they're not doing the miles. Why on earth (especially on here) would people choose a god awful sounding smelly diesel over a petrol if they aren't forced into it because of the running costs?

Not forgetting the bloody dpf's as well.

My mate does 8k a year, yet is buying the Merc c250cdi instead of the petrol version. When I asked him why he said it averages 10 mpg more. He will never see it, as diesel's are as bad as petrols for short journey's, so he'll be putting up with the oil burner for no gains except for clogged up dpf's, egr's and other ste put on them to keep the co2 levels down. Madness.
+1 more!

Edited to say I'd probably go for a Leon Cupra anyway.


Edited by Mr Tidy on Wednesday 22 July 00:09

coppice

8,564 posts

143 months

Wednesday 22nd July 2015
quotequote all
I am in the minority who think that for everyday cars diesel is usually the way to go . If GTis had especially charismatic engines and stirring exhaust sounds I might waver but the GTD would be a no brainer for me- I actually enjoy driving diesels . There.. ... I've said the unsayable

wemorgan

3,578 posts

177 months

Wednesday 22nd July 2015
quotequote all
WarnieV6GT said:
It really does amaze me these days that folk actually want the tractor version even if they're not doing the miles. Why on earth (especially on here) would people choose a god awful sounding smelly diesel over a petrol if they aren't forced into it because of the running costs?

Not forgetting the bloody dpf's as well.

My mate does 8k a year, yet is buying the Merc c250cdi instead of the petrol version. When I asked him why he said it averages 10 mpg more. He will never see it, as diesel's are as bad as petrols for short journey's, so he'll be putting up with the oil burner for no gains except for clogged up dpf's, egr's and other ste put on them to keep the co2 levels down. Madness.
Is he buying or leasing? Diesels can be very cheap to lease even on low annual mileage allowances.