Golf GTI or GTD? Which one would you have?
Discussion
Driving position aside I found the Focus ST much better to drive than a GTD (which you own, so no surprise that you object).
Fiesta ST is arguably better - but I haven't driven one of those. I expect the ST diesel to trump it too. Ford make excellent drivers cars.
Fiesta ST is arguably better - but I haven't driven one of those. I expect the ST diesel to trump it too. Ford make excellent drivers cars.
Edited by Atmospheric on Thursday 23 July 16:17
Mr2Mike said:
The first 20 seconds of idling sound very taxi-like, and I notice they avoided recording a cold start...
Who cares how it sounds when it's idling? And why would you record a cold start? Some people ... lolhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embed...
It's like the appartheid for diesel on here lol. Diesels are very good, but it's all to personal taste. I had a Mk5 GTI which was a lovely engine but I prefer personally diesels, especially the newer Common Rail engines over the older PD engines.
It's all personal taste
Atmospheric said:
Driving position aside I found the Focus ST much better to drive than a GTD (which you own, so no surprise that you object).
Fiesta ST is arguably better - but I haven't driven one of those. I expect the ST diesel to trump it too. Ford make excellent drivers cars.
What I drive is irrelevant, the question was; performance petrol or performance diesel?Fiesta ST is arguably better - but I haven't driven one of those. I expect the ST diesel to trump it too. Ford make excellent drivers cars.
Edited by Atmospheric on Thursday 23 July 16:17
The answer is diesel if you care about how much your fuel bills are, and petrol if you don't.
There are plenty of discussions elsewhere about whether a GTI is better than an ST, and there hasn't been, nor will there ever be a conclusive answer.
I have a MK7 GTI with the Performance Pack which I have had just over a year. I have done 42k since early July last year so you would think the most logical decision would be the GTD. I did have one on a test drive over a weekend and didn’t get on with it. Absolutely fine if that is your sort of thing Through personal preference I try and avoid diesels whenever possible however in the past I have been fortunate to run a fun car and a more sensible/boring car for commuting so haven’t minded. For the past few years I have needed a one car solution so to speak. It is a company car and we have a CO2 limit (don’t ask) of 160g/km (lends itself to diesels especially) and this was the fastest and most fun piece of kit on there running on petrol. (I looked at the R and S3 but wasn’t available when I ordered.) Colleagues thought I was mad (many of them have GTDs) and I had all the usual comments about never getting the MPG etc. After a year my average is 37.4 which is clearly not the claimed 47.1 however I don’t think that is too bad. My normal commute to work is 50 miles each way (M11, A14 and A1M) and on that route I consistently get between 39 and 43mpg so decent mpg is perfectly achievable. Those economical numbers are tempered by pretty frequent fun drives and the odd short journey. (Short journeys will struggle to get to more than 30 or 32). What is more interesting is that most of my colleagues with GTDs are only getting low to mid 40s so the gap is smaller than you think. Pretty small sample size as only 1 GTI and 6 GTDs but we do similar jobs and likely similar journey types so not a bad comparison.
I appreciate I haven’t said that much about drive etc as a number have already covered it above and what one person thinks is fun another will think is boring and vice -versa. If you do go for a GTI all I will say is I would encourage you to get the Performance Pack as I feel the diff makes a difference, particularly in the wet and exiting slow speeds bend and also spec the adjustable dampers as comfort is actually comfortable and peaceful for motorways etc and the other mods are different enough to suit other situations.
Mainly what I am trying to articulate is don’t rule the GTI out on numbers or economy, particularly if you do longish journeys as the GTI can be economical even without driving like a donkey. For me it ticks the boxes for both fun and numbers within the limitations I have on my choice of car.
If I had a choice (read spare £££) I would be back in a Tiv though!
I appreciate I haven’t said that much about drive etc as a number have already covered it above and what one person thinks is fun another will think is boring and vice -versa. If you do go for a GTI all I will say is I would encourage you to get the Performance Pack as I feel the diff makes a difference, particularly in the wet and exiting slow speeds bend and also spec the adjustable dampers as comfort is actually comfortable and peaceful for motorways etc and the other mods are different enough to suit other situations.
Mainly what I am trying to articulate is don’t rule the GTI out on numbers or economy, particularly if you do longish journeys as the GTI can be economical even without driving like a donkey. For me it ticks the boxes for both fun and numbers within the limitations I have on my choice of car.
If I had a choice (read spare £££) I would be back in a Tiv though!
Petrol for me every time.
I can't comment specifically on Golfs, but back in January 05 I bought an 04 plate 320td Compact. Kept it 3 years and over nearly 43,000 miles it averaged about 47 mpg.
Last December I bought a 52 plate 325ti Compact as a daily driver and so far (4,000 miles) it is averaging about 32 mpg.
The diesel may have been 50% more economical but I really don't care - I enjoy the 325 every time I drive it, whereas the 320d just did the job!
Why, why ,why didn't I try a 325 back in 2005?
I can't comment specifically on Golfs, but back in January 05 I bought an 04 plate 320td Compact. Kept it 3 years and over nearly 43,000 miles it averaged about 47 mpg.
Last December I bought a 52 plate 325ti Compact as a daily driver and so far (4,000 miles) it is averaging about 32 mpg.
The diesel may have been 50% more economical but I really don't care - I enjoy the 325 every time I drive it, whereas the 320d just did the job!
Why, why ,why didn't I try a 325 back in 2005?
agreen said:
I have a MK7 GTI with the Performance Pack which I have had just over a year. I have done 42k since early July last year so you would think the most logical decision would be the GTD. I did have one on a test drive over a weekend and didn’t get on with it. Absolutely fine if that is your sort of thing Through personal preference I try and avoid diesels whenever possible however in the past I have been fortunate to run a fun car and a more sensible/boring car for commuting so haven’t minded. For the past few years I have needed a one car solution so to speak. It is a company car and we have a CO2 limit (don’t ask) of 160g/km (lends itself to diesels especially) and this was the fastest and most fun piece of kit on there running on petrol. (I looked at the R and S3 but wasn’t available when I ordered.) Colleagues thought I was mad (many of them have GTDs) and I had all the usual comments about never getting the MPG etc. After a year my average is 37.4 which is clearly not the claimed 47.1 however I don’t think that is too bad. My normal commute to work is 50 miles each way (M11, A14 and A1M) and on that route I consistently get between 39 and 43mpg so decent mpg is perfectly achievable. Those economical numbers are tempered by pretty frequent fun drives and the odd short journey. (Short journeys will struggle to get to more than 30 or 32). What is more interesting is that most of my colleagues with GTDs are only getting low to mid 40s so the gap is smaller than you think. Pretty small sample size as only 1 GTI and 6 GTDs but we do similar jobs and likely similar journey types so not a bad comparison.
I appreciate I haven’t said that much about drive etc as a number have already covered it above and what one person thinks is fun another will think is boring and vice -versa. If you do go for a GTI all I will say is I would encourage you to get the Performance Pack as I feel the diff makes a difference, particularly in the wet and exiting slow speeds bend and also spec the adjustable dampers as comfort is actually comfortable and peaceful for motorways etc and the other mods are different enough to suit other situations.
Mainly what I am trying to articulate is don’t rule the GTI out on numbers or economy, particularly if you do longish journeys as the GTI can be economical even without driving like a donkey. For me it ticks the boxes for both fun and numbers within the limitations I have on my choice of car.
If I had a choice (read spare £££) I would be back in a Tiv though!
Great post. Would be GTI for me too. I appreciate I haven’t said that much about drive etc as a number have already covered it above and what one person thinks is fun another will think is boring and vice -versa. If you do go for a GTI all I will say is I would encourage you to get the Performance Pack as I feel the diff makes a difference, particularly in the wet and exiting slow speeds bend and also spec the adjustable dampers as comfort is actually comfortable and peaceful for motorways etc and the other mods are different enough to suit other situations.
Mainly what I am trying to articulate is don’t rule the GTI out on numbers or economy, particularly if you do longish journeys as the GTI can be economical even without driving like a donkey. For me it ticks the boxes for both fun and numbers within the limitations I have on my choice of car.
If I had a choice (read spare £££) I would be back in a Tiv though!
xjay1337 said:
Who cares how it sounds when it's idling? And why would you record a cold start? Some people ... lol
Because a cold start is exactly when your tractor engined car sounds like a tractor.xjay1337 said:
It's all personal taste
It's all down to trying to save moneyEdited by Mr2Mike on Friday 24th July 13:17
Mr2Mike said:
xjay1337 said:
Who cares how it sounds when it's idling? And why would you record a cold start? Some people ... lol
Because a cold start is exactly when your tractor engined car sounds like a tractor.
we went for a GTD - enjoyed the drive, enjoy the longer fill ups. Wife likes it for normal driving. I enjoy it as its a nice hot hatch. Having come from 996tt and E63amg's I can honestly say the GTD is a nice car to drive - wont light your hair on fire but its a good car. Drove a GTI and yep its a nice car as well. Just preferred the power delivery of the GTD and fuel saving.
Timely thread this. Just pondering swapping my 2.0 diesel CC which I got when I was doing 40k miles per year for something with a bit more pep. I only do 30 miles each way these days so 25k a year less.
I did think about the GTD but I do yearn to go back to petrol after 10+ years on the road in dervs. I just need to get over the OCD about economy that getting 55mpg every day instills.
I did think about the GTD but I do yearn to go back to petrol after 10+ years on the road in dervs. I just need to get over the OCD about economy that getting 55mpg every day instills.
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