Hello petrolheads!
Today’s
review is the Status Quo of the small hatchbacks: the Golf. You don’t even say
Volkswagen, as surely even your nanny knows what a Golf is. So, instead of
losing much time with presentations, let’s focus on what makes this Golf worth
of a review: it’s (supposedly) a sports diesel.
Yes.
A sports diesel. In other words, a diesel-powered hot hatch. Now, I once drove
a diesel which could be called sporty – the SEAT Ibiza FR, powered by the iconic 1.9 TDI. That was the only
turbocharged diesel I drove to date whose throttle response – within the torque
band – rivaled that of a good, normally aspirated petrol. Applied on that small
and light body, it made for an entertaining package, despite a ride as hard as
its interior plastics…
But
the Golf GTD is a totally different car. For starters, it’s way heavier. Then
there’s the DSG gearbox. Finally, and most importantly, we have a diesel engine
which must comply to strict environmental regulation and scrutiny, after the
concept having undergone severe gunfire due to VW’s well-known diesel scandal.
So,
what’s the result?
There
are two ways to analyse the Golf GTD: the first seeing it as a diesel-powered
sporty hatchback, the second seeing as a sportier diesel, to someone who has no
choice but to have one (high-mileage drivers).
Diesel-powered sporty
hatchback
Observed
on this perspective, the GTD DSG is, objectively, a poor car. 3 reasons: sound,
handling and power delivery.
Sound:
you can select a sports software configuration, which, between others, makes
the car’s audio system play a synthesized-soundtrack over that of the engine.
Great, if you drive with the windows closed all the time; not so great if you
don’t. You know, the sound in the interior may be enhanced on this
configuration, but on the outside nothing changes. Result: you drive around
very smug because you assume people think, upon your presence, “hey, look that
sexy car over there”; in reality, people may think “hey, the pizza delivery man
is arriving, but I can’t see his van” instead. It rattles as badly as any
modern diesel engine.
Handling:
placing a 2-litre diesel engine on the nose of a small front-wheel drive car as
the Golf, with the added burden of a heavy double-clutch gearbox just behind, completely
changes the weight distribution over the chassis. Now, the electronics do a
commendable work here as, given the circumstances – the test car even had
atrociously bad tires – it’s not as bad as it could have been without those
digital enhancements. But come into a corner, or roundabout, too fast and the
car’s behavior is actually a bit disconcerting at first. The analogy I came up
with to explain what it feels like is this: fill up a big bucket of water in
half, pick it up, walk fast and then suddenly change direction. As the water
crashes against the bucket’s wall, your trajectory change is momentarily
halted, before the water moves on the opposite direction and suddenly you start
turning again. In other words: you turn the steering wheel; the car starts to
turn; moment abruptly builds up; the car suddenly runs wide; the electronics
apply torque/ braking on individual wheels; the car starts turning again. On
curvy Italian B-roads and Alpine roads the tires were actually the biggest
constraint, but the uneven mass distribution is always well apparent in the
form of lack of fluidity. And feedback for the controls does nothing to improve
things, as everything is devoid of feel. The DSG gearbox is an additional
source of frustration: at low speeds it’s jerky and dim-witted, and it’s slow
to change cogs in rapid succession during sporty driving. Surely
environmentally-friendly and reliability-securing software is the cause, as
I’ve used way more responsive DSGs in the past.
Power delivery:
this is the final nail in the coffin. Objectively, the GTD accelerates briskly
to, say, 120 km/h (75 mph). Subjectively: it feels faster. The fastest way to
accelerate is actually leaving the gearbox in automatic mode, as the
programmers did a good job of exploring the resources – using the manual function
you risk chasing the red-line, which is a loss of time as the engine doesn’t
even like to reach 4k rpm. The rapid succession of (short) ratios being
changed, plus the enhanced (loud) soundtrack makes one think warp speed has
been reached… yet the speedo tells a different story.
Beyond
these speeds, it’s a disappointment. It’s hard to believe the engine deploys
380Nm across a broad rev range, as instant power delivery wouldn’t impress the
Pope. Having driven the 110kW/ 150PS version of the same engine on DSG- and
manual gearbox-equipped, similar VW Tiguans, I feel compelled to partially
blame the DSG for that lack of punch, as the manual Tiguan was not only more
economical than the DSG-equipped twin, but also faster and way more responsive
to the throttle, even if it had longer gear ratios (it’s a slick 6 speeder,
unlike the DSG’s 7 ratios). The flappy paddles are a bit confusing to use as
well, due to the large amount of ratios and because the engine never seems to
be rotating at the best speed: below 2k revs it’s asleep, beyond 3,5k it runs
out of breadth, in between one expects more punch…
Sportier Diesel
It
fares way better under this perspective, but not as well as you might expect.
As described before, the relatively narrow power band combined with that DSG
gearbox make for a power delivery which I’m guessing doesn’t significantly better
that of the manual gearbox-equipped, 110kW/ 150PS version to half of the extent
one might imagine. Upon kick-down, it takes a couple of seconds between
smashing the accelerator and something interesting happening, which makes
sporadic, unpredictable bursts of acceleration downright slow. Only overtaking
can get round that; as you know what’s going to happen, you can select the best
gear beforehand and accelerate lightly just before the process begins, in order
to already have the turbo under charge.
The
other disappointment is fuel economy. Modern diesels can be extremely
economical nowadays, especially during very long drives, but that certainly isn’t
the case of this car. For example, on a 150km stretch of mostly de-restricted
Autobahn, upon having been driven flat out for most of the time, it averaged
8,4 L/100km of diesel (34 UK mpg). True, it (slowly) displayed 230 km/h (143
mph) on its speedo, but on similar conditions, an Audi A4 Avant, featuring a turbocharged 2-litre petrol engine and
four-wheel drive, manages averages below 11 L/100km (26 mpg). Remember the Audi
is way bigger, heavier and much faster.
Following
Austrian, Swiss and (partially) Italian speed limits, it never bettered 5
L/100km (57 UK mpg), normally displaying 5,5 L/100km (51 UK mpg).
Regarding
the rest of the car, not a lot needs to be said. It’s beautifully put together,
reasonably well equipped and noise insulation, especially at speed, is well suppressed.
One detail worth mentioning is the thought put into the wing mirrors design, as
even under downpours they barely got wet. Ride comfort is acceptable,
especially if one acknowledges the tires are almost rubber bands – 18 inch
wheels should improve things further. Like most modern LED lighting systems,
the Golf’s LED headlights also proved to be as functional as good to look at.
All
in all, Volkswagen has made what it can to keep alive its long-lived tradition
of sportier diesels, dating back to the Eighties. But the world has moved on,
and honestly, I don’t see much point on this car nowadays. It’s no real alternative
to the balanced mid-range, 110kW/ 150PS version nor, especially, to the
infinitely more poised GTI.
However,
if for some reason, you do fancy this compromise, let me suggest avoiding the
DSG gearbox; you save money, performance, fuel, emissions and, on the long
term, reliability issues. And if there is something the VW Group still hasn’t
forgot to make well, it’s sweet and precise manual gearboxes; trust me, it will
make driving the GTD a bit more entertaining.
Verdict:
Silvio Berlusconi on wheels: overpromising and underperforming.
Official vital data:
Engine
and transmission:
1968
cc, turbocharged, direct injection, inline-4 cylinder, DOHC, 4 valves per
cylinder, steel (block) + aluminium (head) (Diesel)
184
PS (135 kW)/ 3500-4000 rpm
380
Nm/ 1750-3250 rpm
Red
line: 4600 rpm
7-speed,
dual clutch automatic transmission (DSG)
Dimensions
and weights:
Length/
wheelbase/ width/ height: 4,268/ 2,626/ 1,79/ 1,482 metres
Turning circle: 10,9 metres
Weight:
1400 kg
Boot:
380/ 1270 litres (VDA, respectively with 5 and 2 seats available)
Fuel
tank: 50 litres
Tires:
225/35R19, Minerva Frostrack UHP (Winter tires)
Performance:
Top
speed: 230 km/h (143 mph), reached on 7th gear
0-100
km/h (0-62 mph): 7.4 seconds
Fuel
consumption (NEDC, urban/extra-urban/average): 5.1/ 4.2/ 4.5 l/100km (55/ 67/ 62
UK mpg)
CO2
emissions: 118 g/km (Euro 6)
2000 rpm, 5th gear: 86 km/h (53 mph – display)
2000 rpm, 6th gear: 107 km/h (66 mph – display)
2000 rpm, 7th gear: 140 km/h (87 mph – display)
Main
equipment: twin-zone climate control, twin front airbags,
sidebags, windowbags, radio with Bluetooth connectivity, MP3-player and USB+AUX
in, Sat Nav, multifunction steering wheel, faux leather steering wheel and
gearbox knob, heated seats, cruise control, lane assist, automatic braking in
the city, parking sensors, rear-view camera, drive lock, power steering, LED
head and tail lights, (automated) dual clutch gearbox, 19” alloy wheels, rear
tinted windows, ABS+ASR+ESP+hill holder.
German
price in 2018: 30 000€.
Driven:
2 750 km (1 700 miles), May 2018; car left with 19 025 km (11 800 miles).
Rating:
13 out of 20
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