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The Golf GTI Versus The Golf GTD – Difficult Choice (Part 3)

7/7/2014 10:06:36 PM
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Admittedly, this is the Performance pack version of the GTI we’re talking about, with its extra 10 PS at the top end. But when you compare it with the standard 220 PS GTI you realise that it’s really only a nominal advantage. Even Volkswagen’s own figures credit the Performance pack model with only a tenth of second off the 0-62 mph time. Indeed, both versions of the GTI engine have identical maximum torque figures, although the Performance pack model pushes its peak figure just that little bit further up the rev range. 

As usual, the 2.0-litre diesel engine has a higher peak torque figure, at 380 Nm (280 lb.ft) but it’s over a narrower rev range, between 1750 and 3250 rpm. Ironically, this makes the GTD feel more punchy, provided it’s in the right gear at the right time, but it’s nowhere near as flexible as the GTI which can pull away cleanly in a high gear from low speeds. Not necessarily recommended, but for test purposes we were able to drive the GTI out of tight 25 mph corners in sixth gear with hardly a hint of hesitation, where the GTD would start to grumble if asked to pull below 35 mph.

The GTI’s rear seat passenger gets a good deal, with a spacious bench and plenty of storage

Speaking of which, the GTD will never sound quite as satisfying as the GTI. Although long gone is the distinctive harsh clattering of the old TDI pump injectors, at best the new common-rail TDI engines sound gruff rather than sporty. There is, however, an optional Sport and Sound pack for the GTD, priced at $373, which artificially adds a sporting engine note when running in the Sport mode of the Drive Profile selector.

Contrast the performance figures and you’ll consider the GTI to be a runaway winner in this comparison. It’s quicker off the mark and reaches 50 mph a full second ahead, is 1.2 seconds quicker to reach 60 and 1.7 seconds faster to 70. Up to 80 mph, the GTI is almost a full three seconds faster, and that’s particularly significant when you consider that the GTD we tested had the DSG transmission with its foolproof seamless shifting, such that even an average driver can consistently achieve optimum acceleration times.

Plenty of space in rear for a couple of six-footers on the GTD

So, on the quarter-mile strip at Santa Pod or Shakespeare County Raceway, the GTI is the one to have, producing the timing tickets to prove its clear advantage. The point we made earlier, though, is that you just don’t – or certainly shouldn’t – drive like that on the road. That advantage in acceleration is only achieved when literally racing, using full-bore acceleration to the red line and power-shifting through the gears. In the real world, the difference in performance between the two models is nowhere near as marked, and the stronger torque of the GTD, especially because it is over a narrower range, makes it feel the more responsive of the two. It punches rather than shoves.

The Driver Profile Selection on the GTI allows you to tune the car's responses to your tastes

The difference in top speed, too, is totally academic. The GTI is artificially limited to 155 mph, whereas the GTD tops out at just over 140 mph – twice the legal limit and more than enough to get you banned for quite some time. Not much point in spending more than $41,465 on a car, only to end up taking the train to work. Even on a trip to Germany, it is only on rare occasions these days that you’ll find a de-restricted autobahn devoid of traffic and with sufficient visibility to explore such speeds with any degree of safety. By all means hire the 2-mile runway at Bruntingthorpe Proving Ground for the day if you want to show that your GTI is so much faster than a GTD, but do make sure to take a jerry can or leave enough fuel in the tank to get to the Esso garage at North Kilworth, on your way home.

 

 

 
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