Golf GTD: A low-revving Econo-version of the famous GTi!

By Stuart Johnston

Way, way back in 1982, Volkswagen introduced the GTD version of its hatchback, a car that promised most of the thrills of the GTi performance icon, but with fuel consumption about 30 per cent more frugal than the conventional high-revving petrol-version.

Those first GTDs were, in fact, way off a GTi in performance, but now, in late 2017, that’s no longer the case. A GTD achieves the zero to 100 benchmark time about one second slower than a petrol GTi, and has a top speed of a claimed 230 km/h. What’s more in the real world it comes close to matching those EU-calibrated  fuel economy figures that European manufacturers publish on their spec sheets.

Whilst you could buy a diesel version of the Golf in its very first generation, dating back to the late 1970s, it has taken VWSA about three and a half decades to contemplate introducing the performance GTD here. There has been some speculation that the South African market is a seen as a “dumping” venue for diesel cars as they have fallen out of favour in Europe, due to environmental concerns.

German manufacturers committed to diesels

Countering this line of thinking, it was notable that all the major manufacturers at the recent Frankfurt Show in Germany made a point of re-stating their faith in diesel engines, and that they will become “cleaner” than ever in the years ahead.

Here is South Africa, despite a small percentage of the population buying electric cars in a wave of early adaptive awareness, environmental concerns rate very ow on the priority lists of most car buyers. CO2 readings are pretty much an afterthought (although they do add purchase tax if above the current 120 g/100 km mark), but fuel consumption figures, well there’s the thing!

Whereas the very artificial EU test figures for the GTD versus the GTi show only a 1,1 litres/100 km difference (in the GTD’s favour), in the real world you are going to match those GTD figures far more easily.

Real-world consumption benefits

During our test we recorded figures in fairly hard about-town motoring with some freeway driving in the mix, of between 5,8 and 7,0  litres/100 km. In a petrol-fuelled GTi, you’d be hard-pressed to maintain an average of under 8,5 litres/100, and in fact,  in recent experience of the all-wheel-drive Golf R, the figures rose to as high as 12,0 litres/100.

The thing is, a petrol-fuelled turbo car’s consumption rises far more steeply than a diesel’s when you exploit all the performance available. The secret is the diesel’s relatively high torque figure in relation to engine revs. You drive a diesel on torque, shifting up a gear between 2 500 and 4 000, even when running fairly hard, whereas a petrol car easily sees the rev-counter rise to between 5 000 and 6 000 with similar throttle opening. So, expect consumption in the real world of about 25 per cent less in your GTD.

What’s not good about a performance diesel?

But what are the penalties for this economy benefit? Well, for starters, the diesel doesn’t sound as sporty as the petrol engine in the GTi, and there remains something magical about running the 2.0-litre TSi turbo engine all the way through to its 6 500 red line. The GTi engine makes peak power at 6200 rpm, the GTD’s similarly diesel mill peaks at 4 000 rpm. And, no matter how smooth these new diesels have become, they still don’t revolve as sweetly as a finely-wrought  petrol motor.

On the other hand, for all intents and purposes, the GTD spec (as far as interior and exterior trim is concerned), is identical to that of a GTi. Chrome strips on the grille replace the red ones on the GTi, and the exhausts both exit on the left side of the rear, rather than the centre of the valance, but that’s about it. Oh, and the GTD gets specific Sevilla 18-inch alloy wheels, mounted with 225/R40 rubber.

Ride quality

Actually, these low-profile tyres on the car provided one of the few negatives I can point to on the GTD version. In my mind, the suspension is just a little bit too stiff, particularly at the front end. Whereas as some journos have reported that they like the “pointiness” of the GTD, I found it a little bit unforgiving. Maybe the roads in our area are rougher than most?

Slightly heavier than the GTi

The diesel engine, by dint of its heavier components - crankshaft, pistons and the like, - weighs a fair bit more than the petrol two-litre, the diesel installation adding an extra 27 kg. This does tend to make the GTD feel more “planted” at the front end. Overall, on smooth roads, the car is extremely satisfying to drive quickly, the 350 Nm of torque being equal to that of the GTi, but coming in with more of a bang lower down the rev range.

Like the GTi, the GTD uses a six-speed DSG gearbox, and the gearing seems beautifully matched to the car. For the record, that all-important 0-100 km/h time takes a (claimed) 7,4 seconds. And the price, including a three-year/120 000 km warranty and 5-year/90 000 km service plan, is R506 700.

That price, incidentally, is some R39 000 less expensive than the GTi’s window sticker! Suddenly, this GTD is making lots of sense…