RE: The Long Goodbye: VW Golf GTD
Discussion
As a high mileage company car driver (approx 35k per annum) I switched to the GTE as the BIK tax savings are still much higher even though HMRC have been steadily reducing the gap. Even though motorway mpg is worse most of my long journeys are fully expensed so financially not an issue . All my local trips are on electric so still ££’s in.
I had a GTD as a courtesy car a couple months back when mine was in for a service and driving a diesel again seemed really unpleasant in comparison to a petrol hybrid. Lumpy power delivery and agricultural engine clatter felt like a real step backwards. Was very keen to get my GTE back.
I fully appreciate that hybrids are only a stop gap technology but personally i’m glad to see the back of diesel cars.
I had a GTD as a courtesy car a couple months back when mine was in for a service and driving a diesel again seemed really unpleasant in comparison to a petrol hybrid. Lumpy power delivery and agricultural engine clatter felt like a real step backwards. Was very keen to get my GTE back.
I fully appreciate that hybrids are only a stop gap technology but personally i’m glad to see the back of diesel cars.
Sad this. A sign of the ridiculous attack on diesels. While the government of the time was silly to push so many people into diesels unnecessarily, they still make sense for a lot of buyers and are very clean compared to vehicles of the past. What I find worse about all of this, is that this mad push to get people into hybrids and EVs will probably result in another "crisis" in the future, where we're all being told that some aspect of these vehicles is awful and needs to be stopped immediately. As another person said, there is no long term thinking going on.
[quote=phil4I've since moved to a Golf R, which is considerably faster... but day to day, in the hum drum commute or the motorway slog... doesn't actually feel that different.
[/quote]
I felt the same about my Golf R to be honest, though I take that as a slight against the R, rather than a GTD. While the R is a very good car, I'm not sure it feels quite special enough over other Golfs when you're just plodding along. Some slightly fancier seats, or a bit more theatre from the engine would probably fix it.
[quote=phil4I've since moved to a Golf R, which is considerably faster... but day to day, in the hum drum commute or the motorway slog... doesn't actually feel that different.
[/quote]
I felt the same about my Golf R to be honest, though I take that as a slight against the R, rather than a GTD. While the R is a very good car, I'm not sure it feels quite special enough over other Golfs when you're just plodding along. Some slightly fancier seats, or a bit more theatre from the engine would probably fix it.
I have a '66 Pre-FL Mk7 GTD Estate as a company car, have covered 55k with it so far and its great. I chose it over an Octavia vRS purely because the spec was better per pound and you see less of them about too.
Hoping to change for GTE next time as I do find the engine noisy (obviously) but will see what the rest of the VAG lineup is like nearer the time.
Hoping to change for GTE next time as I do find the engine noisy (obviously) but will see what the rest of the VAG lineup is like nearer the time.
Interesting piece, these diesel Golf's certainly have/had their place. My first diesel was a mk4 Golf GT TDI PD150, a capable machine in a similar vien to the GTD described above, it munched through the miles but wasn't exciting. It ended up written off in a accident, but it did prompt me to switch to diesel for a series of daily drivers, though I've since switched back to the petrol now. I do miss that low/mid range turbo diesel shove somewhat, but as a cheap and relatively simple daily with the mileage/type of driving I do, my current Astra 1.6 SXI petrol seems to make sence now.
LasseV said:
BogBeast said:
Will never happen for cars.
It will happen for sure.Always been a nice package IMO, going back to the PD130/150 mk4 GT TDI. Not the last word in excitement, but a bit of go with incredible economy, and cast iron resale values. Irrational or not, there's a level of demand for good used diesel Golfs that just doesn't exist for other cars in the sector, and it takes away a lot of pain when you come to move it on.
In 2008, I bought a PD130 GT TDI at 5 years old and 80k for £4,100 Drove it for 8 years averaging 50 mpg, spent about £500 on it outside of routine servicing, and tyres, and the phone rang off the hook when I advertised it in 2016 with 155,000 miles, for £1,500. Sold it for the asking price to the first person who looked at it, with 6 other phone numbers of people wanting second dibs. Dirt cheap car to own and run, and so easy to sell on.
By comparison, the grief I had trying to sell a tidy mk1 Focus with a long MOT and no obvious faults for £350 made me want to hit the bottle. Ended up taking a lowball offer just to get shot of the thing, and get the "wots yr best price m8" clowns out of my life.
In 2008, I bought a PD130 GT TDI at 5 years old and 80k for £4,100 Drove it for 8 years averaging 50 mpg, spent about £500 on it outside of routine servicing, and tyres, and the phone rang off the hook when I advertised it in 2016 with 155,000 miles, for £1,500. Sold it for the asking price to the first person who looked at it, with 6 other phone numbers of people wanting second dibs. Dirt cheap car to own and run, and so easy to sell on.
By comparison, the grief I had trying to sell a tidy mk1 Focus with a long MOT and no obvious faults for £350 made me want to hit the bottle. Ended up taking a lowball offer just to get shot of the thing, and get the "wots yr best price m8" clowns out of my life.
f1nn said:
Hmm, I’m not so sure. I purchased a 30 month old, 24K mile example for £15.7k, ran it for 14 months and doubled the mileage to 48k, and sold it for £13.4k. I can live with that.
There was a nearly new Golf GTI on display at my local David Lloyd gym the other week. The finance cost was £2.5K down, 47 Monthly Payments of £414 and then a £10.5K Balloon payment. I'm assuming a GTD would have been similar - seems an awful lot to spend on a Golf to me.The main thing is my wife hasn't moaned about me spending money on my cars ever since
It IS sad in a way that these GTDs and the like will be more. I owned an early Audi A3 TDI 130 and wished instead I'd bought the Golf GT TDI 150, which was faster, more comfortable and quieter for the same money. That aside this class of car has always seemed to me to be very versatile. Fairly compact, so easy to park and live with, very economical (usually as real world economical as the smaller TDIs) and pretty rapid in every day driving. The roll on acceleration in 4th and 5th meant that on motorways, it had to be a pretty quick petrol car that would leave you a typical 50-80 type scenario.
That said, VW now do a 1.5T which according to Autocar is nearly as fast as the GTD, whilst offering economy not that far off, without of course the wearisome low down turbo lag you always get with diesels and the clatter. So I suppose the need for diesels is diminishing all the time, Then there is the fact that supposedly even the latest euro 6s are no way near as clean in real world NOX testing as they should be, so I guess the end is nigh really. I certainly wont be replacing my diesel with another one.
greenarrow said:
That said, VW now do a 1.5T which according to Autocar is nearly as fast as the GTD, whilst offering economy not that far off, without of course the wearisome low down turbo lag you always get with diesels and the clatter.
My wife has an A3 1.4T (the predecessor to the 1.5T) which has better fuel consumption than my Golf GT TDI had and my current C-max 2.0D. All have/had c.150bhp. The A3 is much quieter, than both. I expect the Golf 1.4/1.5T would be similar.tomic said:
There was a nearly new Golf GTI on display at my local David Lloyd gym the other week. The finance cost was £2.5K down, 47 Monthly Payments of £414 and then a £10.5K Balloon payment. I'm assuming a GTD would have been similar - seems an awful lot to spend on a Golf to me.
The main thing is my wife hasn't moaned about me spending money on my cars ever since
It may be, but my point was that purchased at the correct part of the depreciation curve, they can provide a cost effective way into a relatively new car.The main thing is my wife hasn't moaned about me spending money on my cars ever since
I could easily see fast diesels being the next generation of track heroes if no-one wants em for road use. I'll bet a stripped out gtd with a decent tune-up would be quite a weapon, and it'll be a long time before parts start getting rare. That's before we even think about 35d BMWs and the like.
findlay_MX said:
I don't ever have to wash it or hoover it because it's simply just a tool, as opposed to a truly desirable machine that deserves to be cherished. I can neglect it completely other than servicing and fuelling it. The kids can throw their sweetie wrappers in the back and I care not a jot. Sticky handprints on the rear windows? Meh! A boot full of dog hair, leaves, mud etc? Whatever! Would I be the same in a 335d Touring? Not bloody likely!
This is a frame of mind I really don’t understand. Would you not rather take pride in your car, and drive a clean, well presented car around? Why not get a 335d and enjoy keeping it good, than get a Golf and, in your own words, neglect it? I do understand that it’s different with kids, and I accept that it’s much easier for me as a single man with no kids to clean and polish the car, but surely you’d get some pleasure from having a smart, tidy motor to drive about in?
I had a 2007 GT TDI 170. A very good, relatively nimble, relatively quick, and relatively economical car. The only disappointment was a broken engine (caused by a disintegrating glow plug) replaced under warranty and its continual requirement to go for a run to do a regen if it wasn’t being used properly. Sold it to a friend of a friend who is still enjoying it.
ghost83 said:
That mpg isn’t particularly good for a diesel tbh! On a long slog I’ve had my gti performance pack in the mid to late 40s
The GTD that I had would return mid to high 50’s on a long slog, and around 48-49mpg on average.This was with a Superchips Bluefin, which if you believe their claims would have been somewhere in the region of 210-215bhp.
Real world brisk.
If I go back to a Mk7, which I might as I really rate them, I would go with a GTI though, mainly due to the lack of the relative lack of refinement with the derv lump.
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