Petrol vs Diesel dilemma - GTI or GTD in 2017?

[GTI_Ant]

Thanks for the input people, I think GTI it is then!
I know it's a lot of money for a car at my age but the way i look at it is a lot of people (some of my friends included) are spending the same money on rent for a dingy student house as i would be spending on my lovely Golf payments and fuelling it every month

You obviously love cars and you know what a good car is, which is why you're on here.  When I was a student I spent all of my spare cash on cars, but they were 10 year old bangers.

The Golf is the best all-round car in the world, and the GTD is lovely, but the GTi is the business in terms of refinement and all-round competence.  I haven't had anything else since 1990.  This current MK7 GTi engine is superb and turbine smooth all the way through the rev range.  And as you say, they are a rarer sight on the road, more of a reason to go for it.  Get a PP if you can.

[davyk31]

I'm in N Ireland too and as the OP knows this is diesel country big time. My wife drives the GTD and even if you are only doing 8 miles so long as it's at a decent pace you won't have any DPF issues and you will realise good economy. Ours averages over 50mpg long term on both A road and town driving. Stick to A Roads and 55 to 60 mph and you can easily see 60mpg. That and the £20 road tax made it a no brainer for me between GTI and GTD when I bought 3 years ago. The other factor as already mentioned is that a GTD in good spec, miles, colour etc will be much easier to sell in NI than a GTI which often sit with dealers quite a while.

I am now back to the same decision as I'm thinking of changing and pretty sure it will be GTD again for all the reasons mentioned. If you're in the market for the most immaculate 2014 GTD in white with 23k miles and the very rare options of sat nav and leather interior let me know. To get one of those options in a GTD is rare and to get both is extremely rare. I specced both new and love the interior especially with the heated seats.

[seonhughes]

Thanks for the input people, I think GTI it is then!
I know it's a lot of money for a car at my age but the way i look at it is a lot of people (some of my friends included) are spending the same money on rent for a dingy student house as i would be spending on my lovely Golf payments and fuelling it every month

You obviously love cars and you know what a good car is, which is why you're on here.  When I was a student I spent all of my spare cash on cars, but they were 10 year old bangers.

The Golf is the best all-round car in the world, and the GTD is lovely, but the GTi is the business in terms of refinement and all-round competence.  I haven't had anything else since 1990.  This current MK7 GTi engine is superb and turbine smooth all the way through the rev range.  And as you say, they are a rarer sight on the road, more of a reason to go for it.  Get a PP if you can.

I know I'm still young at 20 but this will be my fifth car and I've had enough experience of bangers to last me a lifetime, I don't mind Spending the bigger money on something I know I'll love and be happy with and will hopefully last me the 3-4 year term with minimal trouble

[seonhughes]

I'm in N Ireland too and as the OP knows this is diesel country big time. My wife drives the GTD and even if you are only doing 8 miles so long as it's at a decent pace you won't have any DPF issues and you will realise good economy. Ours averages over 50mpg long term on both A road and town driving. Stick to A Roads and 55 to 60 mph and you can easily see 60mpg. That and the £20 road tax made it a no brainer for me between GTI and GTD when I bought 3 years ago. The other factor as already mentioned is that a GTD in good spec, miles, colour etc will be much easier to sell in NI than a GTI which often sit with dealers quite a while.

I am now back to the same decision as I'm thinking of changing and pretty sure it will be GTD again for all the reasons mentioned. If you're in the market for the most immaculate 2014 GTD in white with 23k miles and the very rare options of sat nav and leather interior let me know. To get one of those options in a GTD is rare and to get both is extremely rare. I specced both new and love the interior especially with the heated seats.

Diesel country it is indeed, surprising then we don't have The same pollution levels of other parts of the world considering the vast amount of them in and around Belfast especially with all the commuters. It'll be summer time before it's time to change car anyway so I'll sit tight and see what the government decides to do about diesels before the time comes for me to choose what one to go for. I do have a suspicion that as fantastic a car the GTD is and how close it is to it's petrol sibling in both performance and aesthetics I just don't feel Like I'd truly enjoy owning it and love it in the way I would the GTI

[davyk31]

Try both and see which you prefer.  I am a petrol head but love the GTD. It's not so much about the engine although the mass of torque appeals, it's mainly about how nimble a Mk 7 Golf feels with great damping and lovely direct steering. Great cars for sure.

[I wanted a GTi]

I'm in N Ireland too and as the OP knows this is diesel country big time. My wife drives the GTD and even if you are only doing 8 miles so long as it's at a decent pace you won't have any DPF issues and you will realise good economy. Ours averages over 50mpg long term on both A road and town driving. Stick to A Roads and 55 to 60 mph and you can easily see 60mpg. That and the £20 road tax made it a no brainer for me between GTI and GTD when I bought 3 years ago. The other factor as already mentioned is that a GTD in good spec, miles, colour etc will be much easier to sell in NI than a GTI which often sit with dealers quite a while.

I am now back to the same decision as I'm thinking of changing and pretty sure it will be GTD again for all the reasons mentioned. If you're in the market for the most immaculate 2014 GTD in white with 23k miles and the very rare options of sat nav and leather interior let me know. To get one of those options in a GTD is rare and to get both is extremely rare. I specced both new and love the interior especially with the heated seats.

Diesel country it is indeed, surprising then we don't have The same pollution levels of other parts of the world considering the vast amount of them in and around Belfast especially with all the commuters. It'll be summer time before it's time to change car anyway so I'll sit tight and see what the government decides to do about diesels before the time comes for me to choose what one to go for. I do have a suspicion that as fantastic a car the GTD is and how close it is to it's petrol sibling in both performance and aesthetics I just don't feel Like I'd truly enjoy owning it and love it in the way I would the GTI

That will be the nice Irish air that gets rid of the pollution. The most polluted street in London is not accessible by car, only taxis, busses and delivery trucks. Not a VW in sight.

[GTI_Ant]

Try both and see which you prefer.  I am a petrol head but love the GTD. It's not so much about the engine although the mass of torque appeals, it's mainly about how nimble a Mk 7 Golf feels with great damping and lovely direct steering. Great cars for sure.

Good advice.  Best of luck with your choice.

[seonhughes]

I'm in N Ireland too and as the OP knows this is diesel country big time. My wife drives the GTD and even if you are only doing 8 miles so long as it's at a decent pace you won't have any DPF issues and you will realise good economy. Ours averages over 50mpg long term on both A road and town driving. Stick to A Roads and 55 to 60 mph and you can easily see 60mpg. That and the £20 road tax made it a no brainer for me between GTI and GTD when I bought 3 years ago. The other factor as already mentioned is that a GTD in good spec, miles, colour etc will be much easier to sell in NI than a GTI which often sit with dealers quite a while.

I am now back to the same decision as I'm thinking of changing and pretty sure it will be GTD again for all the reasons mentioned. If you're in the market for the most immaculate 2014 GTD in white with 23k miles and the very rare options of sat nav and leather interior let me know. To get one of those options in a GTD is rare and to get both is extremely rare. I specced both new and love the interior especially with the heated seats.

Diesel country it is indeed, surprising then we don't have The same pollution levels of other parts of the world considering the vast amount of them in and around Belfast especially with all the commuters. It'll be summer time before it's time to change car anyway so I'll sit tight and see what the government decides to do about diesels before the time comes for me to choose what one to go for. I do have a suspicion that as fantastic a car the GTD is and how close it is to it's petrol sibling in both performance and aesthetics I just don't feel Like I'd truly enjoy owning it and love it in the way I would the GTI

That will be the nice Irish air that gets rid of the pollution. The most polluted street in London is not accessible by car, only taxis, busses and delivery trucks. Not a VW in sight.

Food for thought eh. May well just be another big money making scheme for the government like these new VED bands as everyone started to buy the newer lower emission cars, which diesels obviously already fitted well into with the predominantly £20-30 p/a cost  and now they're trying to recoup the losses in tax from them by penalising everyone for buying new - I certainly won't be buying a car with any sort of decent performance brand new again that's for sure

[monkeyhanger]

^ The government certainly will be making more when almost everyone is in a car that will cost £140 a year after year 1. Is the showroom tax on a performance model really going to be that big a hit though? The R and manual Audi S3 attract £500 tax, the S-Tronic S3 sneaks into the lower band (£220?), but will be £45 a year cheaper to tax than it was before. In the grand scheme of things, an additional £225 in tax over 3 years (£500 + £140 + £140 vs 3 × £185) is hardly a deal breaker - it is less than a month's depreciation on a performance Golf.

I would rather have a new car and cop for the £225 extra than buy a nearly new one at almost the same price as a well discounted new one.

[Bubba Nutkin]

The OP raises an interesting question: are petrols more future-proof than diesels?  My hunch is that we'll see increasing VED on diesels because the politicians won't be able to resist the opportunity to do so.  They will claim that it's to protect air quality.
Also, local authorities (especially car hating ones - I'm looking at you, Southampton) might impose entry charges for diesels.  Buses and taxis will be exempt of course because public transport is good, apparently.

Generally, if there's a policy to switch from diesels, the only way it'll work is if they make diesels more expensive to run than is currently the case.  Just my musings, you understand.

Bubba.