Volkswagen: The Golf GTD is strong, but not strong enough

by

Menus

The Golf GTD is strong, but not strong enough

Volkswagen: The Golf GTD is strong, but not strong enough-golf

1 of 4

Source: Volkswagen

Volkswagen: The Golf GTD is strong, but not strong enough-enough

2 of 4

According to Volkswagen, the average consumption is only 5.6 liters.

Source: Volkswagen

Volkswagen: The Golf GTD is strong, but not strong enough-strong

3 of 4

The GTD is often referred to as the GTI among the diesels. From a purely visual point of view, the GTD is seamlessly integrated into the current sixth generation of Golf.

Source: Volkswagen

Volkswagen: The Golf GTD is strong, but not strong enough-enough

4 of 4

The multifunction steering wheel, flattened at the bottom, is reminiscent of racing. The check pattern of the seat covers is reminiscent of the GTI.

Source: Volkswagen

And another new Golf: Volkswagen completes the sixth generation of its bestseller piece by piece. The new Golf GTD is both an athlete and a saver. With its diesel engine, the compact car now has an impressive 170 hp. But the competition gets even more out of two liters.

E.If you want to be successful as a car developer, you should have a tendency to be intrusive. Again and again they try to reconcile the characteristics of sportiness and frugality – although common sense would have to tell them that this is not possible. The latest contribution by the Volkswagen brand to the competition for a little more power and a little less consumption is the Golf GTD.

According to marketing prose, it is the “GTI among diesels”, which suggests that the letter combination in the model designation alone makes it a sporty car. The fact is that VW came onto the market as early as 1982 with a variant of the Golf that was visually similar to the sportiest version of the model series, but was powered by a diesel engine. The car had 70 hp at the time, which, with a vehicle weight of just over three quarters of a ton, helped to achieve quite lively performance.

Today’s Golf GTD has 100 hp more, but it also weighs at least 1329 kilograms. As far as consumption is concerned, the car seems up-to-date, as it was measured at 5.3 liters per 100 kilometers according to the EU standard. However, if you look closely, you will find that manufacturers such as Mercedes or BMW get more than 200 hp from two liters of displacement with the same average fuel consumption and are thus closer to the ideal of sportiness and economy.

Volkswagen recognized this and even at the presentation of the GTD it didn’t take much persuasion to elicit the statement from VW representatives: "An engine with register charging will come." performs its inconspicuous service in the Passat and Tiguan models.

First, however, the GTD is supposed to increase the selection of diesel engines in Germany’s best-selling car. There are now ten variants, starting with 105 hp and combined with 6-speed manual transmission and six or seven-speed dual clutch transmission (DSG).

A manual or an automatic rear derailleur with six gears each is available for the GTD. Although the 7-speed DSG would provide even better fuel consumption results because it has a longer ratio in the high gears, it is not designed for the torque of 350 Newton meters that the two-liter turbo-diesel generates.

Deliberately not only on the outside with a honeycomb grille and moldings, but also on the inside the equipment elements of the GTI and GTD are very close to one another. Only the color scheme makes the difference. What shimmers red on the GTI is silver-gray or black on the GTD.

That goes as far as the check pattern of the seat covers, which are tightly padded and equipped with good lateral support for the sporty demands of the vehicle. It doesn’t need many words about the tidy ambience, the good clarity, ease of use and quality of workmanship – just golf standard.

Since the customer still has to be motivated to spend 27,475 euros (for the handset) or 29,350 euros (for the DSG variant), Volkswagen has given a few canapes. The steering wheel rim and gear knob are covered with soft leather, and a climate control system regulates the temperature and humidity in the interior. Parking sensors are also part of the standard scope of delivery, as is the radio CD system and the lowered sports suspension.

As handy and uncomplicated as millions of customers know the Golf, it is also as GTD. He sprints forward energetically, not without underlining the propulsion with a rough soundscape. Even at 190 km / h it does not give the impression that further increases in speed will cause problems. The maximum speed is specified with 222 km / h.

If you want to overtake a slower vehicle in this situation, you can safely do without one thing: additional thrust cannot be generated by shifting down from sixth to fifth gear, because the engine has long since left its maximum torque of 350 Newton meters. It ranges from 1750 to 2500 revolutions.

At 4000 tours, the pulling power has fallen back below 280 Newton meters, which means that the engine whines briefly in 5th gear – nothing more. On this point, the GTD is not a GTI after all. With the gasoline engine, the maximum torque ranges from 1700 to 5200 tours, and that’s what makes the difference between red and silver-gray.

Related articles

Please follow and like us:
error
fb-share-icon
Tweet
fb-share-icon

Leave a Comment