Search: More on the Volkswagen Golf GTD
Price: from £21,850 (DSG from £23,155)
On sale: Now
0-62mph: 8.1 seconds; top speed 136mph
Average fuel: 53.3mpg (DSG 50.4)
Standard equipment: seven airbags (including knee), ABS with ESP electronic, 17-inch ‘Seattle Black’ alloys, unique grey, white and black Tartan interior, flat-bottomed steering wheel, body-coloured bumpers, leather gearstick.
A new marker post for diesel performance?
A go-faster diesel, these days, is about as newsworthy as some shock survey on house prices. But hold on, because the arrival of VW’s most powerful diesel-powered production Golf certainly merits proper front-page space: this could be a new marker post in diesel’s ascendance to true performance status?
Promising parentage
The parentage of this car is certainly promising. VW are the definitive kings of diesel. From the titchy 1.2-litre turbo unit used for the now-liquidated Lupo to the ball-breaking six-litre W12 lump that fired up the Phaeton limousine, no brand has invested more thought and ingenuity in transforming what was originally seen as the preferred propulsion of farmers and hauliers into the default choice for go-ahead, modern transportation.
But the GTD is about far more than that. Overlooking the temptation to invoke the words “shooting” and “foot”, the GTD is fashioned inside and out to be bought as a no-brainer alternative to the conventional GTI. So why exactly would you swap your dreams of Grand Touring Internationale in favour of geetee-ing by diesel?
Shift the argument from your heart to your wallet
The reasons come thick and fast. If you’re a GTI diehard, you’re probably not going to be too impressed by this imposter’s requirement of 8.1 seconds to reach 62mph in lieu of the GTI’s furlongs-faster 6.9. And the top speed of 136mph here won’t outgun the GTI’s more effortless 149mph. Shift the argument a few centimetres from your heart to your wallet though and the GTD’s 53.3mpg, weighed against the GTI’s best effort of 38.7mpg, speaks largely for itself.
Should you cane the GTD, you’ll hit empty far more quickly, of course, but this is a car with the ability to cover 650 miles on a full tank – proper Grand Touring then, unless petrol pumps are your secret fetish.
An enjoyable drive
And believe me, you would enjoy every mile. Bear in mind that the GTD musters 170PS and 258lb ft of torque, with the vast majority of that muscle being available from as low as 1,750rpm. VW has upped the ante with the technology for its petrol GTI, of course, by making the latest model both super- and turbo-charged, with the result that the GTI pulls from just 1,700rpm. But for sheer elastic oomph, the GTD is a non-stop thrill.
