2010 Volkswagen Golf GTD launched in Australia

By Tim Beissmann | June 11th, 2010

CarAdvice’s Anthony Crawford is at the launch of the 2010 Volkswagen Golf GTD and Golf R and will post full reviews of both cars by the weekend.

Volkswagen Australia has launched the Volkswagen Golf GTD – the car for Golf fans who can’t decide between a GTI hot hatch and a torquey little diesel.

First things first, it’s certainly got plenty of torque. 350Nm in fact, which is 70Nm more than the petrol-powered GTI and 30Nm more than the nearest diesel, the 2.0-litre in the 103TDI Comfortline.

At 125kW of power however, the GTI has its measure by 30kW, and this disparity manifests itself most obviously in 0-100km/h sprint times, where the GTD – at 8.1 seconds – hits the mark 1.2secs after the GTI.

But then there’s economy and emissions, and here it’s the diesel that shines through again. Combined fuel consumption in the six-speed manual-equipped GTD is 5.5 litres/100km (5.8 litres/100km for the six-speed DSG option), compared with the manual GTI at 7.7 litres/100km (7.6 litres/100km DSG). Volkswagen says the GTD is good for a range of up to 1000km.

CO2 is also significantly reduced in the diesel, emitting 145g/km (152g/km DSG) compared with the GTI’s 180g/km (178g/km DSG).

Visually there’s little to tell the two apart. Outside, the GTD’s horizontal grille stripes are finished in chrome rather than the red of the GTI, while at the rear the diesel’s twin tailpipes also get the chrome treatment.

Inside the GTD drops the red tartan of the GTI, replacing it with a more subtle light grey.

Most other features carry over from the GTI including dual zone climate control, Multi-Functional Display trip computer, steering wheel mounted paddle shifter (DSG only), front fog lights, ESP with countersteer assist, braking assistant and seven airbags.

Optional extras range from dynamic bi-Xenon curve headlamps to automatic reverse parallel park assist.

The 2010 Volkswagen Golf GTD is on sale now from $39,290* for the manual and $41,790* for the DSG (undercutting the GTI at $40,490* and $42,990* respectively).

*Prices are manufacturer’s list prices only, contact your Volkswagen dealer for drive away prices.

Peter Stone

VERY NICE! I’m an avid fan of the sexy new golf R and wish a narrow angle V6 diesel would be slotted into a GOLF R for a diesel version.

However I can’t help but think that maybe, just maybe, this will take quite a few sales from the 103 tdi. Which isn’t a problem, but its a pretty hot looking car and I think it will happen.

Stoney!
ox

A back to back road test to compare the GTI and GTD would make for an interesting review. I’m leaning towards the GTI. It’s got red horizontal grille stripes
bangle

Nice grunter , love those wheels , better than the gti dial jobbies .

Who?

wheels look like those on a 118TSI Sport Pack, unless these are bigger?

Jon

Yes, it is, with black coated inside, making look like 18″ wheels

Dennis

I would like to see the 60km-110km times etc.
Jonty

I prefer the grey tartan treatment of the seats to the red in the gti. The red ages after a while.
Golfschwein

For someone who loves the idea of trading up to a GTI (me) but also loves diesel motoring (me, again), this could be just the ticket.
riceboy

had a 103TDI DSG Golf for courtesy car while my GTI was being serviced. Surprisingly fast! Would love to compare GTD/GTI. Car Advice, please do review of both!

Gene

Not sure what to review honestly. It is about the same price as GTi, slightly less performance, slightly better economy, everything else identical. It’s down to personal preference what is more important to you.

Don’t think that the high torque figure to better in gear acceleration than the GTi. A diesel car needs to be geared higher because of the short rev range and that proportionally reduces the acceleration force applied to the wheels. The GTi is still going to beat the GTD in in-gear.

The only situation where the GTD may be faster is when you save a down shift. But with DSG the shift time is negligible so it matters to manuals only.

Kris

She might be carrying a bit more weight in the engine bay and be a bit slower off the mark, but I’m sure this car will put a smile on your face with the in-gear acceleration. Overtaking should be a breeze with all that torque, and the fuel economy is an added bonus to be honest given the semi-sporty nature of the car.

Looks smart too, VW should sell a few of these.
Camski

One of the nicest performance, P-Plate friendly cars on the market today (this side of say a 330/5d and the MkV Golf R32).

That’s unless of course you fancy a R50 or Q7 V12 TDI as a performance car
filippo

Are VW importing the 3-door GTD?

Jon

Only GTI, I think.

Krish

Maybe I missed it, but is the GTD front wheel or all wheel drive?

Mad max

Front wheel drive

Gene

Nah, same 17″. These wheels are already everywhere on the road.
Mal

According to foreign reviews I’ve been reading, this GTD doesn’t have the GTI’s suspension. So you pay extra for the higher output diesel and some styling details to differentiate it from the lesser Golfs, but you aren’t actually getting any extra talent in the chassis. It’s a shame. I was excited about this car till I found this out.

QBert

Nah man, a few other sites have confirmed that it’s the same suspension as the GTI except the front springs are a little taller.

Al Juraj

The new Golf is really tempting, having won several awards. It’s the next best thing if you want European quality but cannot quite afford a BMW. The GTD is like the budget 330d, combining great performance with exceptional economy. A chip upgrade should shorten 0-100 times, but it needs to handle well to be a true hot hatch.
ABMPSV

Audi finished 1,2,3 at the 24h Le Mans race. I am sure that technology you will find in all Audi,VW Skoda and Seat cars. I prefer the GTD I got performance with economy.
Simon

Good, not great. The should have used the 132KW 400NM twin turbo diesel that is a Multivan option. The performance would be somewhat more spirited.

Sparky

I don’t think they want to put 400NM through the current DSG range even if some can cop more. Warranty issues are too scary for VW.

G Man

You can get the 132kW Vans with DSG.

riceboy

where’s the “full review by the weekend”???

QBert

Maybe they meant this coming weekend?

davie

If this sells well, Mazda should release a compleditor to this car. They already have a 2.2 litre diesel in the mazda3 but in a detuned state compared to the mazda6.

All they have to do is put the full-power-tune back in and the diesel engine will develop 400 NM of torque and 136KW of power.

Call it the MPS-D or similar?

Golfschwein

That’d sell, too.
Sparky

The problem is you need to constantly rev it when the engine is tuned for high output. This results in greater turbo lag. It will make the car’s overall acceleration higher but will be slower off the mark. This will also diminish the “in gear” acceleration because the engine will need to be operating higher RPMs in the gear for it to be responsive leaving less “head space”.

Mat

I’ve been waiting for the GTD to be released since they came out in the UK last year. I have the equivalent in the V series – Golf GT Sport TDi and couldn’t be happier.

Looks like no change in kw/Nm but more economy so that will work for my wallet…

But apparently the red ones go faster
Rebel13

Test drove the new GTD yesterday.

Found it an impressive drive and didn’t really notice a huge power difference compared to the GTI.
Acceleration from 100 kpa to a reasonable overtaking speed was responsive with no noticable lag.

Gear changes via the DSG was very good and again comparable to the GTI.

I also found the exhaust “note” of the GTD alot quiter (concersative) than the GTI, albeit I understand how some drivers would prefer a thoatie exhaust. However engine noise of the GTD when idealling at traffic light was alittle noiser.

All features except for some minor exterior differences appear to be identical to the GTI.

Overall I was pleasently surprised by its performance, handling and lack the tradional diesel noise, that I was initially expecting, was a winner.

For me it’s a definite winner. I will seriuosly be looking at buying one.

It would be great to hear from others who have test driven the GTD.

Alan

I’ve also test drove both the GTI and GTD.

I was hugely impressed by the GTD, the difference in 0-100 acceleration really isn’t noticable in any way in normal driving.

The engine note from GTI is louder than the GTD; someone might say that it sounds better, but I find it to be quite coarse. The GTD lacks an audible engine note, but at least it doesn’t annoy me, somehow.

I don’t know if I’m strange, but I’m copletely sold about the GTD.

http://caradvice.com.au Nick

Just test drove a GTD today, haven previously driven a GTI. I felt the GTD did display a slight hesitation (turbo lag?) off the line compared to the GTI, but the mid range torque was very impressive. I just wish that VW would bring the GTD in a 3-door!!!!!!
ABMPSV

If you after bigger car you should look at Skoda Octavia RS $45769 VW Golf GTD is $46084. Same engine.