RE: VW Golf GTD: Review
Discussion
Beefmeister said:
Also #2 - to the chap above, there's no such thing as a GTD Estate. But I agree with you that the vRS Estate is a much better proposition which is why one will be replacing my Yeti in May.
Could've sworn it was called the GTD estate. Looking at the VW website it was the GT estate with the 2.0 TDI engine. For all intent it's pretty much the same thing - just worse as engine has less power?...but is it a good company car? IMO, If you are a company car driver who does over say 10K a year, you want an auto, spending your life in traffic in a manual is no fun at all. The DSG, at higher 122 co2 output, 19% BIK and on that high list price + you will get less back per mile as it is a diesel compared with Petrol. I did my sums, and if saving money if your aim, it did not point in the direction of this car, or any other diesel car to be honest.
Agent Orange said:
Interesting seeing this as a couple of weeks ago I took a look at a Golf GTD estate.
I need to replace my leggy E39 530i Touring and do approx 20K commuting miles per year. I need to reduce my commuting costs and BMW and Merc are out due to price so I found myself looking at the VAG range.
Skoda Octavia VRS Estate seemed a seriously good deal and after a test drive it felt pretty fine too. Certainly better than my E39 and equal to a nearly new Volvo V60 I have access to. 180bhp didn't feel underpowered compared to the 230bhp the E39 has/had. Felt quite spritely.
The Golf GTD estate is seriously dull and exceptionally small by comparison to the Octavia. It's also poorly equipped and the optional extras significantly dearer than Skoda. In fact walking around the local VW showroom I was gob smacked just how dull the VW line is. Spec the Golf GTD to a reasonable level of kit and it's £30K+
Audi A4 Avant S-Line was very nice indeed. Cabin is a nice place to sit and styling is definitely preferable to the VW or Skoda. However once again it is tiny on the inside and the boot space pitifully small. It's also easily £30K+ and missing a number of key details for a family car the Octavia has.
Having had a line of BMWs I visited the local BM showroom just to compare. 3 Series Touring. Poorly spec'd compared to Octavia and interior quality whilst better didn't seem as good as Audi. 3 Series Touring boot space decent but still no match for Octavia. To match the Octavia I'd need to look at a 5 Series Touring. A 520d Touring with a few toys came out at £45K. Almost £20K more than the Octavia. In fact one of the problems I found when comparing the Octavia is that it offers so much more cabin and boot space compared to others in the same segment that you have to step up a segment to Passat/A6/5 Series to have anything comparable.
The conclusion I came to is VW, bar GTIs, are poorly spec'd and overpriced. Sweeping statement but as a brand they seem a mess to me. Audi definitely a nicer place to sit but 30% extra for the badge and in almost all real world respects bettered by the Octavia. Now the grille on the Octavia is challenging but it's not me that looks at that so not a huge problem. If I take the plunge the badge will take a bit of adjusting too as people of my age associate Skoda with poor quality cars but it seems to beat everything else VAG offer in that segment.
I really don't see the point of the Golf GTD unless you really can't handle a Skoda on your driveway.
PS. For what it's worth never in my life did I ever foresee a time where I'd be extolling the virtues of a Skoda.
Great read! Slightly off-topic, but I swapped an 8 year old Multipla diesel for an 07 Octavia hatch 2.0 petrol. I love the Skoda, it is all the car I need, the boot is enormous; nothing else from VW group comes close in terms of car for the money. My kids say the back seat of the Multi was a better place for a 1200 mile trip to Italy (sorry kids!) and the Multi had some kit the Skoda doesn't (like a rear washer (ffs!) and reversing sensors) but I am glad I went back to petrol. My annual mileage dropped from 24k to 10k though.I need to replace my leggy E39 530i Touring and do approx 20K commuting miles per year. I need to reduce my commuting costs and BMW and Merc are out due to price so I found myself looking at the VAG range.
Skoda Octavia VRS Estate seemed a seriously good deal and after a test drive it felt pretty fine too. Certainly better than my E39 and equal to a nearly new Volvo V60 I have access to. 180bhp didn't feel underpowered compared to the 230bhp the E39 has/had. Felt quite spritely.
The Golf GTD estate is seriously dull and exceptionally small by comparison to the Octavia. It's also poorly equipped and the optional extras significantly dearer than Skoda. In fact walking around the local VW showroom I was gob smacked just how dull the VW line is. Spec the Golf GTD to a reasonable level of kit and it's £30K+
Audi A4 Avant S-Line was very nice indeed. Cabin is a nice place to sit and styling is definitely preferable to the VW or Skoda. However once again it is tiny on the inside and the boot space pitifully small. It's also easily £30K+ and missing a number of key details for a family car the Octavia has.
Having had a line of BMWs I visited the local BM showroom just to compare. 3 Series Touring. Poorly spec'd compared to Octavia and interior quality whilst better didn't seem as good as Audi. 3 Series Touring boot space decent but still no match for Octavia. To match the Octavia I'd need to look at a 5 Series Touring. A 520d Touring with a few toys came out at £45K. Almost £20K more than the Octavia. In fact one of the problems I found when comparing the Octavia is that it offers so much more cabin and boot space compared to others in the same segment that you have to step up a segment to Passat/A6/5 Series to have anything comparable.
The conclusion I came to is VW, bar GTIs, are poorly spec'd and overpriced. Sweeping statement but as a brand they seem a mess to me. Audi definitely a nicer place to sit but 30% extra for the badge and in almost all real world respects bettered by the Octavia. Now the grille on the Octavia is challenging but it's not me that looks at that so not a huge problem. If I take the plunge the badge will take a bit of adjusting too as people of my age associate Skoda with poor quality cars but it seems to beat everything else VAG offer in that segment.
I really don't see the point of the Golf GTD unless you really can't handle a Skoda on your driveway.
PS. For what it's worth never in my life did I ever foresee a time where I'd be extolling the virtues of a Skoda.
Edited by Agent Orange on Monday 4th November 12:16
I have only ever had FWD 4 cyl cars, so want 6+ cyl and rwd next time out. That pretty much limits me to BMW or Merc, and I think a 5 series Touring will be top of the list.
Having owned a MK5 GT Sport 170TDI a few years ago, I'm now considering either a MK7 GTI or GTD.
The benefits of the GTD is lower fuel bills. It's a private car (not company) and as I do about 12,000 miles a year, there is a cost saving to be had. On top of the car being cheaper than the GTI to start with.
Both good cars. Just need to decide if I want to spend £80 a week or £80 a fortnight?
EVO, seam to think the GTD is a pretty good car.
Test drove a GTI (with performance pack) on Saturday. Got 22mpg. OK, that was at Test drive speeds (no salesman with me) but cannot see getting anywhere over 30mpg.
The benefits of the GTD is lower fuel bills. It's a private car (not company) and as I do about 12,000 miles a year, there is a cost saving to be had. On top of the car being cheaper than the GTI to start with.
Both good cars. Just need to decide if I want to spend £80 a week or £80 a fortnight?
EVO, seam to think the GTD is a pretty good car.
Test drove a GTI (with performance pack) on Saturday. Got 22mpg. OK, that was at Test drive speeds (no salesman with me) but cannot see getting anywhere over 30mpg.
wab172uk said:
Having owned a MK5 GT Sport 170TDI a few years ago, I'm now considering either a MK7 GTI or GTD.
The benefits of the GTD is lower fuel bills. It's a private car (not company) and as I do about 12,000 miles a year, there is a cost saving to be had. On top of the car being cheaper than the GTI to start with.
Both good cars. Just need to decide if I want to spend £80 a week or £80 a fortnight?
EVO, seam to think the GTD is a pretty good car.
Test drove a GTI (with performance pack) on Saturday. Got 22mpg. OK, that was at Test drive speeds (no salesman with me) but cannot see getting anywhere over 30mpg.
Interesting post. 30mpg is mental for what is meant to be an economically sensible hatchback.The benefits of the GTD is lower fuel bills. It's a private car (not company) and as I do about 12,000 miles a year, there is a cost saving to be had. On top of the car being cheaper than the GTI to start with.
Both good cars. Just need to decide if I want to spend £80 a week or £80 a fortnight?
EVO, seam to think the GTD is a pretty good car.
Test drove a GTI (with performance pack) on Saturday. Got 22mpg. OK, that was at Test drive speeds (no salesman with me) but cannot see getting anywhere over 30mpg.
And given it is a private car , I am interested in why on earth anyone would not go for the Skoda VRS instead? I know I would.
Agent Orange said:
Beefmeister said:
Also #2 - to the chap above, there's no such thing as a GTD Estate. But I agree with you that the vRS Estate is a much better proposition which is why one will be replacing my Yeti in May.
Could've sworn it was called the GTD estate. Looking at the VW website it was the GT estate with the 2.0 TDI engine. For all intent it's pretty much the same thing - just worse as engine has less power?The engine in the GTD is also substantially better to use as it says in the article.
I looked at and drove the Skoda and the Seat which despite the article bemoaning a lack of a Cupra has the same engine as the others in FR guise.
I found it a much better drive than the BMW which also has a face only a mother could love, The Skoda was excellent and it was a close run thing for me but i don't need the space and the Golf is more agile. Its mpg is likely 43-44 but a GTi wont get much better than 30 in my hands,
The mpg advantage that diesels have gets seriously eroded when they are tuned to a higher level. The GTD might give me 43-44 whereas a 2.0TDi BM Golf we have gets a consistent 55-56 mpg
My old 335d was a very quick car indeed but rarely gave me more than 31mpg. There really is always a price to pay for higher performance.
Edited by Dblue on Monday 4th November 13:31
toppstuff said:
.....I am interested in why on earth anyone would not go for the Skoda VRS instead? I know I would.
For the same reason that despite how many times people tell me:-- how much better the 120d is..
- that the 135i is the best car on the planet
- how rubbish and unreliable diesels are these days...
- how much more expensive diesel is compared to petrol....
- how much better the VRS is.....
- that front wheel drive is the work of Satan......
I'm actually happy to make my own choices of car based on a whim, a feeling, my own personal preferences at the time I hand over my own money (says the driver of a weedy 1.6 D2 V60 Volvo estate
)Motorway driving isn't interesting, therefore being in a diesel makes little difference, nor does whether its FWD or RWD. As an aside my Golf TDi was showing an indicated 70 mpg on a motorway journey the other week, averaging between 70-80mph. The best I've seen in our GTi on the motorway is 36 mpg. Both the speedometer and fuel consumption are approx 10% out on both.
On a recent trip around Europe 1,000 miles cost my £100 in diesel. The more powerful GTD has lower CO2 than my TDi Bluemotion, it's a fair bit quicker and I like the way it looks.
I dislike the looks of the 1 series and thought the interior felt really poor quality. I'd expect the Golf will have a bigger boot and more leg room in the back.
Agent Orange said:
Beefmeister said:
Also #2 - to the chap above, there's no such thing as a GTD Estate. But I agree with you that the vRS Estate is a much better proposition which is why one will be replacing my Yeti in May.
Could've sworn it was called the GTD estate. Looking at the VW website it was the GT estate with the 2.0 TDI engine. For all intent it's pretty much the same thing - just worse as engine has less power?I actually think that's pretty decently specced for a VW & it's not often you can say that!
The reason for my anorak-like spec knowledge is that Mrs Maddog has gone for one as her new NHS lease car.
The lease company was offering GTDs at £295 pm (10K miles PA) including full maintenance, insurance & road tax (actually worked out cheaper than a GT) & while she had been planning on a 1 series BMW, when that offer came up it was too good to turn down.
Just have to sacrifice the driving pleasure & focus on value for money, driving monotony & tedium instead; ho hum, such is middle age…...
Edited by maddog993 on Monday 4th November 14:03
Dblue said:
Its not though, The GTD has very similar suspension set ups and ride heights to the GTi, the GT is just a slightly higher level of trim on an ordinary Golf.
That might explain whilst when comparing it to the VRS the Golf GT diesel estate looked so poor and came out so dear with a few options.The Surveyor said:
toppstuff said:
.....I am interested in why on earth anyone would not go for the Skoda VRS instead? I know I would.
For the same reason that despite how many times people tell me:-- how much better the 120d is..
- that the 135i is the best car on the planet
- how rubbish and unreliable diesels are these days...
- how much more expensive diesel is compared to petrol....
- how much better the VRS is.....
- that front wheel drive is the work of Satan......
I'm actually happy to make my own choices of car based on a whim, a feeling, my own personal preferences at the time I hand over my own money (says the driver of a weedy 1.6 D2 V60 Volvo estate
)Agent Orange said:
Dblue said:
Its not though, The GTD has very similar suspension set ups and ride heights to the GTi, the GT is just a slightly higher level of trim on an ordinary Golf.
That might explain whilst when comparing it to the VRS the Golf GT diesel estate looked so poor and came out so dear with a few options.I didn't so that was a con rather than a pro.
Skoda makes a lot of sense as a brand.
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