Volkswagen Golf GTD

Volkwagen recently added to the growing ranks of desirable diesel cars coming out of Europe the new Golf GTD. Essentially a diesel-powered Golf GTI, the GTD is similarly driven by a 2.0-litre turbocharged engine. The Golf GTD’s impressive specs-sheet serves as a painful reminder to us Malaysians what we are missing out on thanks to the low quality diesel fuels sold at our pumps.

Available with a choice of two six-speed transmissions, manual or DSG, the Golf GTD delivers the oh-so-sweet combination of thifty fuel consumption and punchy power delivery. Effortless acceleration is pretty much guaranteed with a peak torque of 350Nm available from 1,750rpm to 2,500rpm.

To illustrate its position as the flagship of the Golf diesel range, the Golf GTD appears in similar aesthetics and comes equipped with similar toys to the Golf GTI. The list of goodies include dual-zone climate control, multifunction display with trip computer, rear air vents, seven airbags, ESP and parallel park assist system dubbed ParkPilot.

Golf GTI, diesel version.

The Aesthetics

The designers very obviously did not begin the Golf GTD with a clean slate, as the GTI’s styling cues are carried over unmolested in its entirety. Up front, all VW did was peel off the ‘I‘ from the ‘G-T-I‘ badge, and stick a ‘D‘ in its place. Next, the horizontal red strips which are the GTI’s hallmark are now coloured in chrome. That’s it!

However, this time, you can forgive Volkswagen for taking the lazy approach, as these two minor changes are good enough to make the two look sufficiently different, thanks mainly to the re-coloured strips. Where red made the GTI look dangerous and hot, chrome makes the GTD appear more restrained and refined, inline with the less revvy nature of the diesel.

GTD badge and chromed strips on radiator grille are all that distinguishes it from the GTI.

At the side, the Golf GTD features a far less dramatic set of rims compared to the GTI with a set of 17″×7J five twin-spoke alloys wrapped by 225/45 tyres. Differences from the GTI at the back are just as minor, with the GTI’s right tailpipe moved across to join the other pipe forming a pair on the left. What else was changed? Err… the GTI badge now reads GTD.

Simpler five twin-spoke alloys compared to GTI.

Changes at the rear are even less obvious.

Inside, the GTI-mirroring theme continues. The “top sport seats” up front, are lifted straight from the GTI, but with the red stitchings and stripings finished in light grey. Similar colour contrastings with the GTI are also found on the steering wheel and gear knob, where whatever was red on the GTI are now either greyish or silver in appearance on the GTD.

Little changed inside from the GTI.

The Mechanicals

Underneath the bonnet is another fine example of the engineering prowess of the VW Group. Powering the Golf GTD is the 1,968cc TDI CR turbodiesel that has seen action in the likes of the Tiguan, the Passat CC, and the Audi A4. A pair of piezo-electric injectors inject fine precisely calculated amounts of fuel into each combustion chamber, where the atomized particles combust with the air rammed in by the single intercooled turbocharger.

2.0-litre TDI CR engine embodies Golf GTD with the heaven-sent combination of performance and economy.

The results? An engine good enough for 168hp @ 4,200rpm and a useful 350Nm available from 1,750 to 2,500rpm. Now this might hardly be exciting figures for some performance kakis, but bear in mind that at no point does the torque curve ever dips below the 150Nm mark. In fact, most cars running the roads in Malaysia cannot even reach 150Nm. Mind you, this is a car that can run the entire length of the PLUS highway with one tank on the combined cycle.

Available for mating with the thrifty oil-burner is a choice between two six-speed gearboxes. Standard is a conventional manual transmission with a dry single-disc clutch. The other option for those who wish to avoid the trouble of clutching and de-clutching is the VW Group’s now-famous twin clutch Direc Shift Gearbox – Direkt-Schalt-Getriebe in German, and DSG for short. Opting for the DSG would incur slight performance penalties, though differences with the manual version would probably be too small to be perceived in the real world.

On the handling front, the Golf GTD gets the standard Golf’s suspension lowered by 15mm and suitably retuned to the characteristics of this engine. The basic architecture is another variant of the same ol’ MacPherson/multilink setup seen almost everywhere. Electronic Stability Program (ESP) is standard feature and it includes, hear this, counter-steer assist together with braking assist and trailer stabilization. Available as a cost option is Dynamic Chassis Control (DCC), which allows the driver to set the dampers and steering system to any one of Normal, Sport, or Comfort modes.

ESP and DCC keep the Golf GTD in line.

The Toys

Being the top dog of the Golf diesel range, the Golf GTD is specified with a decent set of equipment. The Climatronic auto climate control system features dual-zone control. Reading lights, air cond vents, cup holders and central armrests are all available front and back.

Outside, the passenger side mirror automatically angle downwards when reverse gear is engaged, to help you see the drain on the far side. A winter package is also included, which heats the windscreen washers and seats, cleans the headlights, and flashes an indicator when you’re running out of windscreen washing liquid. Finally, in the event  you decide to flip your Golf GTD in an accident, seven airbags stand ready to deploy and cushion your impact.

Optionally available on the Golf GTD are the bi-xenons of the Golf GTI with dynamic curve lighting that see the headlight bulbs turn together with the steering wheel direction. Hopeless parallel parkers can opt for the Park Assist system which can help you parallel park into a spot that measures at least 1.1 metres longer than the car. The deal is that you operate the pedals and gear lever, while Park Assist handles the steering wheel for you.

Prices & Availability

The Golf GTD was unveiled back in March 2009 at the Auto Mobil International exhibition at Leipzig. Prices start at €27.5k in Germany. Whether through official channels or through grey imports, chances of the Golf GTD reaching our shores are sadly, low.

Golf GTD launched at AMI, Leipzig, March 2009.

The poor quality of our diesel, plus the lack of expertise servicing these advanced engines mean that this is a purchase that, for now, makes little sense to the buyers and thus no business case for the sellers. We can only hope that the conditions of our markets would eventually see improved fortunes for diesel-engined vehicles in our shores. It’s sad to see that we have to miss out on another good model.

Looks like we’ll have to miss out on this one too…