"Houston we have a problem"

[GolfTi]

I think you've already made your mind up Hawaii

You won't regret it, not for a second.

[CraigW]

If you can afford it go for the GTI. That's not being biased, you do not want to have a car for three years and every single morning you wake up to it have regrets that you didn't get the one you really wanted - it's that simple.

[ChrisJL]

I may regret it if I don't

That line says it all for me mate.

I've been and done the whole 4+ (probably like 7) years of driving a petrol car I absolutely loved and so glad I plucked up the courage to get the one I truly wanted and enjoyed every minute of it. When the time eventually come to change I thought, ok time to be somewhat sensible now. I looked a really nice car I wanted, then looked at its diesel equivalent.

For me swapping to a diesel equivalent of a car I really wanted was a mistake (absolutely nothing wrong with diesels though!) It just wasn't... "me".. I looked at the tax, the running costs, the insurance etc and all that pointed the diesel to be the more logical decision, however for me that enjoyment just isn't there for me.

I've done the "should I, shouldn't I" twice now.. First time I stumped up that little extra and got the petrol one I really wanted. The second time having had that enjoyment I thought I'd got it out my system and went for the diesel version and I personally wish I hadn't. I'm not sure it ever goes out of your system 

Even though its bugged me ever since and I've regretted it (again, nothing wrong with the diesel) that feeling of... regret has never gone away for me. The Plus for me now, is that its led me to this new GTI and so the decision for that over the GTD was easy for me, although both great cars.

What I considered to be the key points / bonus' for me with the new Mk 7 GTI is that...

The tax is like £125 UK now? That is lower than most other cars I like, most of those are £180+ and others much higher, high £250 / low 300 I think with recent changes? Yes its not as low as a diesel, but would you swap the difference for the enjoyment / feeling you get of getting the car you really want? 

Insurance different for me between GTD and GTI is like £20

GTI has higher running costs yes, but again its still better than many other cars I would look at. I will also get that enjoyment I don't feel I'd get if I didn't go for the model I truly wanted (regardless of engine). I personally don't mind the extra trip or so to the pumps for feeling I get and the sound of the exhaust alone 

Obviously your decision to make, not sure if this input helps. A big longer wait might be a bit of a pig, but it would be worth it. However I've only been waiting 5 weeks so far and each day feels like a week, its painful lol 

I'd say don't live with regret, some things happen for a reason, maybe your trip to the dealer was just meant to happen? 

Good luck with whatever you decide 

[mcmaddy]

Using these online comparison things you will never get back in money terms what you shell out for the petrol no matter how many miles you do or don't do. The simple fact is the gti costs more from the outset and is more to tax and fuel, money wise its a simple choice. Just depends if you can stomach the extra costs or not. if it wasn't purely economics I would have ordered the gti.... maybe 

[Valenni]

I would leave it to fate. Contact your dealer, ask them to let you know if any GTI's become available sooner (cancellations or what not). But keep your GTD on order.

That's what I am doing. I will be happy with either TBH.

The only thing is uncertainty, I like to drive my cars hard and fast and the GTD will let me do that without getting insane MPG, but the GTI may be a different story. Maybe 25MPG if pushed all the time? (Maybe people could confirm this)?

[matchboy]

I would leave it to fate. Contact your dealer, ask them to let you know if any GTI's become available sooner (cancellations or what not). But keep your GTD on order.

That's what I am doing. I will be happy with either TBH.

The only thing is uncertainty, I like to drive my cars hard and fast and the GTD will let me do that without getting insane MPG, but the GTI may be a different story. Maybe 25MPG if pushed all the time? (Maybe people could confirm this)?

I can't remember with the mk5, but with my mk6 GTI I too used to drive it hard and fast, and I used to get c.33-35 mpg. You can add on 5 for the mk7 - I will take around 40, that's phenomenal from this type of car!

[monkeyhanger]

VW make it an easier decision than it otherwise would've been, seeing as the GTI and GTD are exactly the same, save for alternative engine and red accents or silver/grey accents and different wheels  which are equally as good as each other. If the GTD had some huge aesthetical differences or lacked certain pieces of equipment then it would've been a GTI for me. I dare say even omission of Xenons on the GTD would've pushed me towards a GTI.

Are you hung up on the "GTI" tag? The GTI hasn't been a monster on the roads since MK2 (everyone caught up in the power stakes after that point) - it has become the refined cruiser with grunt that everyone says the GTD is (and I don't deny that the GTD is exactly that). The GTI is so well composed now that you'll be hard pushed to get any boy racer thrills from it off the track unless you like risking your license in a big way. They are 2 sides of the same coin, with very little difference between them in every day use, and because of that i'm not yearning for a GTI and settling for a GTD, the GTD is my solid preference.

If you're a speed freak then GTI is a compromise in itself, albeit a smart compromise over a Golf R/S3/135i/Leon Cupra/Focus ST etc, to save yourself a decent wedge of money (in either list price or depreciation). The MK4 GTI  became a trim level, and MK5 did a lot to reverse that, but VW has allowed the GTI to drop down from top tier hot hatches (in output) whilst maintaining it's higher than average refinement and premium feel.

The GTI badge is different things to different people. For some it is a well specced package for a hot (but not white hot) hatch giving relatively good value for money, for others it is about the badge, and they'd have bought one for the badge alone even if it was poorly equipped as standard. If you are undecided you have to ask yourself honestly what you're more bothered about - having a GTI or having nigh on the same car for 20% less in cost of ownership over 3 years.

[monkeyhanger]

Too much time between ordering and collection makes for a lot of procrastination. I have already changed my colour (to the detriment of my place in the queue at the local dealership), pondered a good few options in the meantime.

[matchboy]

The GTD is a great car no doubt, but it's not the same car as the GTI.  You can argue over which is better, which saves you money etc etc but saying that they're the same car bar the GTI's higher running costs is simply not true.

I'm not saying this to put down the GTD - far from it as its a great car - I just simply don't agree that the two cars are the same bar 20% higher running costs over 3 years. 

[Hawaii-Five-O]

Heck some very strong opinions flying around. All good

I've slept on this and still haven't come to a firm decision yet. I thought I would but I haven't.

Monkeyhanger has offered the strongest case for sticking with the GTD. He also got me thinking about costs, so I put together a table so you can see the "actual" running costs and savings, which are pretty significant and can't be ignored.



I think Monkeyhanger hit the nail on the head when saying there is too much time between order and delivery. Don't forget we're all early adopters buying the car blind. So the problem now is that dealer demo cars are arriving, we can go and look, we can go and test drive, all of which we couldn't do when placing orders late March/early April.

This is what has titled me off axis, muddied the waters and put a devil on my shoulder (GTI shaped).

I think the next thing to do is ping an email over to my dealer and just ask about the possibility of changing. Will let you know.