RE: VW Golf GTD: Review
Discussion
toppstuff said:
grosserbaby said:
toppstuff said:
On a less silly note, why do writers and many other say or write "utilise" when "use" is available. Is it just me?
I could have posted a picture of a Beko but that would have been all wrong.
I do think about this stuff you know.
I WISH said:
Have driven a 150bhp Mk 7 Golf and can report that VW have definitely moved things up a notch in terms of quality .... although the leccy handbrake is just spookily horrible).
My current daily driver is a MK 5 Golf GT TDI 170 with the superb 6 speed DSG box. I have to say that I think that this car is just bloody brilliant. OK it has a narrowish power and torque band .... but that's why the DSG box is so well suited to it. The box just always has it on the sweet spot. Monstrously impressive car.
Agree completely with this. I wouldn't have a 2.0 TDI without the DSG 'box as it totally transforms the car. The powerband is too narrow to suit a Manual, whereas the TSI can get away without DSG. My current daily driver is a MK 5 Golf GT TDI 170 with the superb 6 speed DSG box. I have to say that I think that this car is just bloody brilliant. OK it has a narrowish power and torque band .... but that's why the DSG box is so well suited to it. The box just always has it on the sweet spot. Monstrously impressive car.
veevee said:
How much is a 123d?
I would have thought the 120d is the obvious comparator as it matches this for power with 184bhp.va1o said:
I WISH said:
My current daily driver is a MK 5 Golf GT TDI 170 with the superb 6 speed DSG box. I have to say that I think that this car is just bloody brilliant. OK it has a narrowish power and torque band .... but that's why the DSG box is so well suited to it. The box just always has it on the sweet spot. Monstrously impressive car.
Agree completely with this. I wouldn't have a 2.0 TDI without the DSG 'box as it totally transforms the car. The powerband is too narrow to suit a Manual, whereas the TSI can get away without DSG. I agree DSG transforms the TDI - but I'd argue not in a good way.
Edited by maddog993 on Monday 11th November 09:30
I've been thinking about this Golf, the Leon and the Octy VRS. I have to say (and I've only driven the Octy so far) in terms of style the Octy is quite surprisingly the nicest looking of the trio (estate ONLY!).
The Golf peaked as a mk6 style wise IMHO and i think the 7 has just become a little fat-looking (3/4 view when following one is just weird, looks like its dragging its bottom). I say that as a very long time Golf lover too.
The Seat just hasn't got enough spark about its style. At least it has lost the rapidly-ageing flank curves of its predecessor but as other posters have said the interior is very self-consciously "i'm priced below a Golf, sorry about that"
The Skoda has a crisp sense of style about it, its not too fancy so won't age but in the right colour it has some very neat and sharp feature lines. the grille is far nicer than the old one and the interior has a functional smartness about it too.
I'd really like an Octy but what is it with the damn waiting times? You can't get one with any options until minimum April and possibly well beyond...
Oh and i am pondering over 12-18mth old 330Ds, 120/125Ds too just to make things REALLY complicated....
P.S How do I get to organise a 4 day test drive anywhere? I was giddy with excitement when the Skoda dealer just let me go off in their car for 45 mins rather than having a blooming chaperone with me on a round the block route...quite why a typical dealer thinks a customer should sign on the line after driving a car for 2 miles is beyond me.....
The Golf peaked as a mk6 style wise IMHO and i think the 7 has just become a little fat-looking (3/4 view when following one is just weird, looks like its dragging its bottom). I say that as a very long time Golf lover too.
The Seat just hasn't got enough spark about its style. At least it has lost the rapidly-ageing flank curves of its predecessor but as other posters have said the interior is very self-consciously "i'm priced below a Golf, sorry about that"
The Skoda has a crisp sense of style about it, its not too fancy so won't age but in the right colour it has some very neat and sharp feature lines. the grille is far nicer than the old one and the interior has a functional smartness about it too.
I'd really like an Octy but what is it with the damn waiting times? You can't get one with any options until minimum April and possibly well beyond...
Oh and i am pondering over 12-18mth old 330Ds, 120/125Ds too just to make things REALLY complicated....
P.S How do I get to organise a 4 day test drive anywhere? I was giddy with excitement when the Skoda dealer just let me go off in their car for 45 mins rather than having a blooming chaperone with me on a round the block route...quite why a typical dealer thinks a customer should sign on the line after driving a car for 2 miles is beyond me.....
toppstuff said:
grosserbaby said:
toppstuff said:
On a less silly note, why do writers and many other say or write "utilise" when "use" is available. Is it just me?
I could have posted a picture of a Beko but that would have been all wrong.
I do think about this stuff you know.
Gandalf Beckwith said:
Ordered my GTD on December 1st.
Still awaiting delivery.
Learnt last week that my date of "mid June" has slipped back by a month due to "factory orders"! Surely I was one of these?
Arghhhh!!
Eh, how does that happen? Mine was ordered end of January, received end of April!Still awaiting delivery.
Learnt last week that my date of "mid June" has slipped back by a month due to "factory orders"! Surely I was one of these?
Arghhhh!!
Ordered mine 10th January and picked it up on 12th March. Completely standard car in red through NHS leasing so maybe there was stock in the country already?
Fab car and the lease cost worked out cheaper than for a mid range GT150 so made sense for me. 120d would have been over £100 per month more to lease which ruled that out. Looked at a Leon but the interior wasn't as good and lease prices didn't make much difference . Would like the LED headlights on the Golf though.
Reasonable to drive, averaging about 46mpg with 55+ on a long run possible. Engine needs some revs to really get going and it doesn't encourage fast driving as it's always telling you to change up at 1500rpm! Climate control is good, stereo is fine although I think I prefer the iDrive style control to the touchscreen whilst driving. Adaptive cruise I thought was a gimmick until I used it but it's so much more relaxing than standard cruise control as you don't have to worry about ramming the back of the car in front or switching it off/braking at the last minute.
My only complaint is that the speedo has so many numbers scribbled on it it's virtually unreadable, but you can have the speed in the central display which gets around that. Also, it seems to attract bird poo like nothing else - I never have to clean it off my Land Rover but they seem to use this one as target practice!
Fab car and the lease cost worked out cheaper than for a mid range GT150 so made sense for me. 120d would have been over £100 per month more to lease which ruled that out. Looked at a Leon but the interior wasn't as good and lease prices didn't make much difference . Would like the LED headlights on the Golf though.
Reasonable to drive, averaging about 46mpg with 55+ on a long run possible. Engine needs some revs to really get going and it doesn't encourage fast driving as it's always telling you to change up at 1500rpm! Climate control is good, stereo is fine although I think I prefer the iDrive style control to the touchscreen whilst driving. Adaptive cruise I thought was a gimmick until I used it but it's so much more relaxing than standard cruise control as you don't have to worry about ramming the back of the car in front or switching it off/braking at the last minute.
My only complaint is that the speedo has so many numbers scribbled on it it's virtually unreadable, but you can have the speed in the central display which gets around that. Also, it seems to attract bird poo like nothing else - I never have to clean it off my Land Rover but they seem to use this one as target practice!
darthdicky said:
Ordered mine 10th January and picked it up on 12th March. Completely standard car in red through NHS leasing so maybe there was stock in the country already?
Fab car and the lease cost worked out cheaper than for a mid range GT150 so made sense for me. 120d would have been over £100 per month more to lease which ruled that out. Looked at a Leon but the interior wasn't as good and lease prices didn't make much difference . Would like the LED headlights on the Golf though.
Reasonable to drive, averaging about 46mpg with 55+ on a long run possible. Engine needs some revs to really get going and it doesn't encourage fast driving as it's always telling you to change up at 1500rpm! Climate control is good, stereo is fine although I think I prefer the iDrive style control to the touchscreen whilst driving. Adaptive cruise I thought was a gimmick until I used it but it's so much more relaxing than standard cruise control as you don't have to worry about ramming the back of the car in front or switching it off/braking at the last minute.
My only complaint is that the speedo has so many numbers scribbled on it it's virtually unreadable, but you can have the speed in the central display which gets around that. Also, it seems to attract bird poo like nothing else - I never have to clean it off my Land Rover but they seem to use this one as target practice!
Agree with all this , well summed up. Fab car and the lease cost worked out cheaper than for a mid range GT150 so made sense for me. 120d would have been over £100 per month more to lease which ruled that out. Looked at a Leon but the interior wasn't as good and lease prices didn't make much difference . Would like the LED headlights on the Golf though.
Reasonable to drive, averaging about 46mpg with 55+ on a long run possible. Engine needs some revs to really get going and it doesn't encourage fast driving as it's always telling you to change up at 1500rpm! Climate control is good, stereo is fine although I think I prefer the iDrive style control to the touchscreen whilst driving. Adaptive cruise I thought was a gimmick until I used it but it's so much more relaxing than standard cruise control as you don't have to worry about ramming the back of the car in front or switching it off/braking at the last minute.
My only complaint is that the speedo has so many numbers scribbled on it it's virtually unreadable, but you can have the speed in the central display which gets around that. Also, it seems to attract bird poo like nothing else - I never have to clean it off my Land Rover but they seem to use this one as target practice!
Its a little slower than I hoped or expected and throttle response is poor. Few other complaints
Dblue said:
Its a little slower than I hoped or expected and throttle response is poor. Few other complaints
It's better with the engine set to sport within the individual settings, but it seems to default back to a softer map after restarting the car. If you put it to normal, then back to sport or individual the throttle map seems far more aggressive again.Still needs to be above 2000rpm to really get going though, you just don't need to flex your ankle so much!
Took delivery of my personal lease GTD on 10 June with 277 miles on the clock (it was driven from Halifax to Essex rather than being trailered 
). Have done another 100 miles since and am really pleased so far.
Build quality is superb so is the attention to detail throughout the whole car, for the outside styling, to the interior and gadgets.
Love the tartan seat pattern and equipment level.
The adaptive cruise really works well - after initial doubts and trust issues !
The front assist feature - which also uses the radar - was a little unnerving at first. As I was slowing down behind a van that was turning left off the main road I came up behind it quite closely but nowhere near hitting it and the car did an emergency stop for me! I might adjust or turn that feature off.
The torque appears impressive but as I am still running in have not ventured much above 3500rpm yet or laboured the engine.
I have read about a possible 'bug' on another forum where the car forgets it is in sport mode after restarting, so you have to put it in another mode then back in sport to feel the difference again. Not sure if this is fixed in a newer software release or if my car has this issue - not tried other modes yet.
Overall package is mightily impressive and I'm so glad I chose this over anything else - even better than the 2013 MX5 Roadster I've just sold.
). Have done another 100 miles since and am really pleased so far.Build quality is superb so is the attention to detail throughout the whole car, for the outside styling, to the interior and gadgets.
Love the tartan seat pattern and equipment level.
The adaptive cruise really works well - after initial doubts and trust issues !
The front assist feature - which also uses the radar - was a little unnerving at first. As I was slowing down behind a van that was turning left off the main road I came up behind it quite closely but nowhere near hitting it and the car did an emergency stop for me! I might adjust or turn that feature off.
The torque appears impressive but as I am still running in have not ventured much above 3500rpm yet or laboured the engine.
I have read about a possible 'bug' on another forum where the car forgets it is in sport mode after restarting, so you have to put it in another mode then back in sport to feel the difference again. Not sure if this is fixed in a newer software release or if my car has this issue - not tried other modes yet.
Overall package is mightily impressive and I'm so glad I chose this over anything else - even better than the 2013 MX5 Roadster I've just sold.
Bezza1969 said:
Why would anyone bother with the GTD when the arguably better looking and similarly endowed Seat Leon FR TDI is thousands cheaper? £27K for a car that does 0-60 in the mid 7s bracket and the ton in just over 20, not good is it! TBH, if you want a diesel mile muncher just get the basic Golf TDI 150 with DSG, save yourself about 6 grand and go as fast in the typical 70-90 in 6th motorway range as the GTD. My neighbour has a TDI 140 Passat with DSG and it has more than enough torque to be getting on with and on a run last Saturday was as quick in lane 3 as anything else. If you are a keen driver who doesn't do the miles, surely the petrol GTI is a no brainer...
Wrong. My GTD is a lot faster in a typical 70-90 situation versus the 150bhp TDI. And I would know...I had the 150 before the GTD...AddyT. said:
Bezza1969 said:
Why would anyone bother with the GTD when the arguably better looking and similarly endowed Seat Leon FR TDI is thousands cheaper? £27K for a car that does 0-60 in the mid 7s bracket and the ton in just over 20, not good is it! TBH, if you want a diesel mile muncher just get the basic Golf TDI 150 with DSG, save yourself about 6 grand and go as fast in the typical 70-90 in 6th motorway range as the GTD. My neighbour has a TDI 140 Passat with DSG and it has more than enough torque to be getting on with and on a run last Saturday was as quick in lane 3 as anything else. If you are a keen driver who doesn't do the miles, surely the petrol GTI is a no brainer...
Wrong. My GTD is a lot faster in a typical 70-90 situation versus the 150bhp TDI. And I would know...I had the 150 before the GTD...
Nineoneone said:
Turbo Lag ?
I must confess, I saw this thread pop up and thought "Huh? But the GTD has been out for several years" and then came here and saw it was a necrothread.
For what it's worth, I've got the GT, which I got for a 25,000 mile a year commute I was doing. It's been very successful and the low-down torque and good throttle response have made it quite fun to drive when needs arise too. On the motorway I get a solid 55mpg at "going with the flow" type driving or as much as 70+mpg if you're prepared to draft lorries etc.
Oh, and £20 per year road tax too.
I'd seriously consider a GTD as my next car on the grounds that it would be the same but more.
Still very happy with mine, 1 year old now and just coming up to 25k miles. For long distance motorway driving its perfect just stick on the adaptive cruise and all you need do is steer. Economy seems to have improved and it generally gets into the 50s pretty easily these days. Negatives are the factory Bridgestone tyres and engine is a bit gruff from a cold start. But there isn't anything better in the class I'd rather be driving, think you'd need to step up to a compact exec for any improvements.
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