Tuesday 5th November 2013

VW Golf GTD: Review

It's bound to be pretty good, but can the Golf GTD really hold its own against the GTI?

---

By dint of its sheer all-round excellence, the latest Golf GTI has actually created rather a dilemma for the rest of the VW Group; why would you choose anything else? Yes, the Octavia vRS is cheaper but is *arguably* less desirable, and the next Leon Cupra is still a little way off.

What, you expected spoilers and a diffuser?

But furthermore, where does that leave the GTD? For starters, it doesn't hold a significant price advantage, the range starting at £25,285 compared to £25,845 for the manual, 3-door GTI. And whilst the GTD of course boasts some enviable economy and emissions stats (67.3mpg and 109g/km), the GTI's 47.1mpg and 139g/km make the case for petrol stronger than ever.

So then, what can the GTD offer? Well, as it's the engine change that makes 'I' into 'D', under the bonnet seems the best place to start. The 2.0-litre diesel makes 184hp and 280lb ft; that puts power at 36hp below the standard GTI but, just as relevantly, only 22lb ft ahead. That's delivered across a narrower band of revs also.

Out on the road, the engine surprises with its sprightliness. It feels keen to rev smoothly beyond 4,000rpm in a quite un-diesel like fashion. It even sounds pretty good and appropriately aggressive too, which makes for a diesel that you really want to push rather than just utilise the torque of.

As 4-cyl diesels go, the GTD's is very sweet

Our car had the £1,415 optional six-speed DSG. As we've come to expect from VW's dual-clutch 'boxes, it shifts smoothly and rapidly when using the paddles, and consistently finds the right ratio when left to its own devices as well. However, just as you're starting to revel in its responsiveness, the power disappears. Left-foot braking and this DSG don't agree, making it feel frustratingly sluggish at times.

At just 26kg heavier than the equivalent GTI (1,377kg plays 1,351kg), the GTD feels similarly agile to the petrol powered car. Both the GTI and GTD we drove were equipped with the standard dampers, which offers a good basis for comparison and also prevents us getting lost in VW's acronym labyrinth... The GTD has a softer standard set-up than the GTI, riding with a fraction more compliance and feeling a tad less agile through corners. The 'progressive steering' is fairly limp and lifeless in Eco mode and, whilst there's some weight in the sportier driving modes, it never feels that confidence inspiring. Artificial probably describes it best.

Yes, you can enjoy roads like this in a GTD!

VW's XDS+ (we couldn't entirely avoid acronyms) diff-aping traction control contributes to decent traction also, but you can never escape the feeling that the GTD is a rather more serious prospect than the GTI on the road.

It's standard fast Golf fare as far as the styling is concerned too; quite restrained but beautifully executed. The wheel, despite being connected to a less than brilliant steering system, is a lovely thing to hold.

This may be damning the Golf GTD with faint praise, but you can't escape the impression that it would make a fantastic company car. You could easily spend hours on the motorway returning more than 50mpg, actually enjoy a few more minor roads and arrive at your meeting destination in a desirable car. The GTD is very accomplished, but this is PH and not Fleet Car News; we'd take the GTI every day of the week.

---

VW GOLF GTD
Engine: 1,968cc 4-cyl turbodiesel
Transmission: 6-speed manual, front-wheel drive (6-speed DSG optional)
Power (hp): 184@3,500-4,000rpm
Torque (lb ft): 280@1,750-3,250rpm
0-62mph: 7.5sec
Top speed: 141mph
Weight: 1,377kg
MPG: 67.3 (NEDC combined)
CO2: 109g/km
Price: £25,940 (standard five-door manual), £30,250 (as tested inc. £1,415 for DSG, £1,135 for Discover Navigation Pro, £355 for Winter pack, £355 for keyless entry, £525 for Dynaudio soundpack and £525 for 'Carbon Grey' metallic paint)

[Oddball RS]

One of the best built cars out there, but at £30k for a heavy oil burning Golf, its a hell of a lot of money and will you look over your shoulder as you walk away from it?

[TACottle]

That's alot of money for a diesel Golf.

[burwoodman]

What they said.

[GroundEffect]

Carbon grey paint on a red car? Did they paint it twice?

[Matt Bird]

GroundEffect said:

Carbon grey paint on a red car? Did they paint it twice?

Hello! Drive of the GTD was sans photographer and so we had to use images provided by VW. Red is probably more photogenic and 'racier' than grey so that's what we had. Still a pretty decent car in either colour in my opinion.

Thanks,


Matt

[chrisx666]

List price is does of course look high, but not so important IMO unless you are calculating BIK tax. £1680 1st month then £280/month for next 23 (10k miles PA). Works out £100/month cheaper to lease/run a new GTD over a GTI, which I suppose is the point of the diesel.

[djglover]

I got a demonstraror for a few days. Just like every other VAG diesel IMHO. Huge slug of torque, runs out of puff well before the red red line. Not as nice to be in as a 1 Series. Got nowhere near the claimed MPG figures. Low 40s. I ended up with a heavily discounted M135i and live live with the fuel bill

[Matt UK]

I always thought the GTD an odd car choice.

An enthusiast, especially buying private will no doubt take the GTI every time.

Whereas a VW diesel Gold makes for a very sensible company car. But then if you are pounding the motorways, why bother with the GTD spec?

[Uncle John]

Yep the 120d is it's perhaps not obvious rival.

Similar power but the BMW is faster to 60, has RWD and comes with the ZF 8 speed.

[snowen250]

Quick disclaimer here that i have not driven the Golf, but we have a 120d (M-sport....no it isnt covered in badges before you start...) And it is actually a pretty nice thing to drive. For what it is it handles pretty well, isn't lightning fast but fast enough. I think it would be a fair competitor to this. If you can stand the styling of course....

[Terminator X]

Diesel is dead, long live the petrol! Won't be long before the Govt start cranking up the fuel tax on petrol of course whilst forgetting to reduce it on diesel wkers!

TX.

[chockymonster]

Had a mk6 GTD.
Nice car, typical VAG really. I find it amazing how they manage to insulate the driver from the driving experience.
MPG figures are massively optimistic, low 40s were average, 44 on a run.

[anonymous-user]

What's Walter White doing in a Golf GTD?

[cnut]

chockymonster said:

Had a mk6 GTD.
Nice car, typical VAG really. I find it amazing how they manage to insulate the driver from the driving experience.
MPG figures are massively optimistic, low 40s were average, 44 on a run.

If that is the case, does that mean the GTI MPG figures are as optimistic? I always found it hard to believe they could manage 47MPG on a performance petrol.

[ocrx8]

wingman0401 said:

What's Walter White doing in a Golf GTD?

Uncanny.

[Agent Orange]

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.

Edited by Agent Orange on Monday 4th November 12:16

[Escort Si-130]

Good, about time, to much fkin numpties go and buy diesel cars without even doing their homework. Average joe thinks he is getting more mpg, by driving less than 5000 miles per year just to the shops etc. But yet to realise the price of diesel is higher, and servicing costs.

In other countries around the world diesel is cheaper than petrol. I think it was like that some years ago in the UK, until all the nutcases in the 1990's started going for the turbo diesels because of Which magazine, Auto Express etc.

Terminator X said:

Diesel is dead, long live the petrol! Won't be long before the Govt start cranking up the fuel tax on petrol of course whilst forgetting to reduce it on diesel wkers!

TX.

[dingocooke]

I've had a MKIV and MKV diesel Golfs, reasonably spec'd out 'GTI wannabe's', and whilst they're very accomplished cars for a company drive, as soon as you drive back to back with a proper petrol Golf GTi, there is no comparison; surely the MK6 will be no different?

Was amused to read 'The wheel, despite being connected to a less than brilliant steering system, is a lovely thing to hold'; as I have never been a fan of non-round steering wheels; they feel awful as they slip through your hands when self centring. Shades of Austin Allegro..

The whole cabin in that pic looks woefully drab, and as for the 'Rupert Bear's trousers' seat centre panels; yuk!!

For me, VW set the scene with the ground breaking MK1 GTi, and have missed it ever since; VAG need to get back to innovation

Edited by dingocooke on Monday 4th November 12:16

[Beefmeister]

From what I've heard, the Mk7 GTi seriously likes a drink - sub-30's is apparently common.

Also, the GTD is available on a personal lease now for around £250/m which is outstanding value.

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.

[Chr1sch]

My company car allowance is capped at £25k and was dismayed to find this was over that at base price! Cars are so expensive nowadays!!

Managed to get a 120d Sport for under 25k, strog standard spec and faster than the VW! (Bargain lease costs too compared with Seat alternative)

It's a face only a mother could love but the BM is a better car based on my experiences...