by David Finlay (04 Oct 09)Back in the days when the whole family used to gather round the set, straining to make out intelligible words from a cacophony of hiss and crackle, I was involved in a radio debate about whether there was yet such a thing as a diesel hot hatch. At the time, there were a few promising contenders, but nothing that really seemed to deserve the label.How things change. It's probably fair to say that most hot hatches still use petrol-fuelled engines, but there are several diesel options within the class, and the Volkswagen Golf GTD is most certainly one of them.The GTD is of course a close relative of the Golf GTI tested recently, and there are obvious visual similarities between the two (though they are not identical - the GTD has its own front and rear bumpers and roof spoiler). The most significant mechanical difference is of course the fact that the GTI's 1984cc 207bhp two-litre turbo petrol is missing, and in its place sits a marginally smaller diesel which produces - as it does in quite a number of other Volkswagen Group products - a maximum of 168bhp.The 39bhp shortfall is very noticeable, of course, and by the standard, if not always helpful, performance benchmarks of top speed and 0-62mph acceleration the GTD is considerably slower than the GTI. But it's still pretty quick, and of course in typical diesel fashion it has much more torque (about 25% more, if you want specifics) which has a substantial effect on everyday driving. The GTI, as previously noted, performs very well at relatively low engine speeds, but the GTD is appreciably better still.To be briefly picky about this, the GTD does have a bit of an issue with turbo lag. If you floor the accelerator pedal suddenly, nothing of any interest happens for roughly one second, whereupon rather a lot happens. This is slightly frustrating to begin with, but you do get used to it after a while.More importantly, the GTD kicks the GTI's butt in terms of combined fuel economy and CO2 emissions. Comparing manual models (though six-speed DSG transmission is also available for just over £1300), the petrol manages 38.7mpg and 170g/km, figures which pale into insignificance compared with the diesel's 53.3mpg and 139g/km. The latter figure means there's a saving of £55 in annual VED payments, rising to £70 from April 2010, while the former should help claw back the extra £565 involved in buying a GTD rather than a GTI reasonably quickly.As far as the driving experience goes, the two cars are fairly similar in that - despite what I wrote in the opening paragraph - neither of them feels much like a hot hatch at all. Volkswagen seems to have taken on a policy recently of making its performance cars feel soft and cossetting, and while I welcome the vast improvement in ride quality it would have been nice if a little passion had been left in at the same time. Instead, the GTD never really feels as if it's going quickly, even when it quite obviously is.As with the GTI, there's evidence that the front-end damping isn't quite what it might be - a common feature on cars which were designed to work at their best on super-smooth German roads. On the nearest that the UK has to offer to this kind of thing, the GTD feels wonderful, but I discovered on deserted lanes in Yorkshire that when being driven not especially quickly over not particularly severe bumps the car can easily go into full front suspension droop (meaning that the wheels reach down as far as they can go but are still unable to keep up with the tarmac suddenly falling away from them). This puts a strict limit on the amount of fun you can have, and I must say I didn't notice it with the GTI, though admittedly I didn't drive that car in Yorkshire.Although the GTD is a very capable car, there are enough problems to suggest that it is also a flawed one which could do with a bit of a rethink. Strangely, though, I think it has more charm than the GTI. My closing comment on the GTI was that "it is absolutely a car to be admired, but not one that is easy to love". The GTD is less admirable, but easier to be fond of. Engine 1968 cc, 4 cylinders Power 170 bhp @4200 rpm Torque 258 ib/ft @1700 rpm Transmission 6 speed manual Fuel/CO2 53.3 mpg / 139 g/km Acceleration 0-62mph: 8.1sec Top speed 138 mph Price From £24285.00 approx Release date 20/04/2009
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