GT TDI 140 Vs 170 and their pro's and con's

[les.tansey]

Hi all, just after a bit of advice really; I'm currently looking into GT TDI MK5s, and am curious to know the pro's and con's of each. But also to make sense of why some people say that the 140 is better suited to round town than the 170. I've heard people saying that the 170 is a pain to drive around town??? But I just don't understand how this can be..

Cheers for any feedback, Les. 

[Rhyso]

140 can feel punchier lower down the rev range helping it around town but the 170 isnt difficult to drive once you get used to it

Very Early 140's had chocolate turbos so it might not be uncommon to find one thats had a replacement

170 can suffer DPF issues and there is an official recall on the injectors

Other than that the motors are very strong units

My advice is to go test drive both.  I did that and went for the 170 though I did come from a 170+ MK4 so that was a big deciding factor 

[barrym381]

140 can feel punchier lower down the rev range helping it around town but the 170 isnt difficult to drive once you get used to it

Very Early 140's had chocolate turbos so it might not be uncommon to find one thats had a replacement

170 can suffer DPF issues and there is an official recall on the injectors

Other than that the motors are very strong units

My advice is to go test drive both.  I did that and went for the 170 though I did come from a 170+ MK4 so that was a big deciding factor 

prob explain why my a3 tdi 140 had a new turbo at 68k 

[Rhyso]

140 can feel punchier lower down the rev range helping it around town but the 170 isnt difficult to drive once you get used to it

Very Early 140's had chocolate turbos so it might not be uncommon to find one thats had a replacement

170 can suffer DPF issues and there is an official recall on the injectors

Other than that the motors are very strong units

My advice is to go test drive both.  I did that and went for the 170 though I did come from a 170+ MK4 so that was a big deciding factor 

prob explain why my a3 tdi 140 had a new turbo at 68k 

I've heard of turbos failing as little as 10K 

[AlexBabes]

I have driven the 140 version in a Golf GT and the 170 version in an Audi A3.

GT 140's are very nice indeed to drive, I had one for a week a couple of years ago and it was one of the nicest cars I had driven, also very nice place to be on the inside, turbo surge is very satisfying.  The Audi was good  but I couldnt really really notice any significant difference between the two.

[barrym381]

140 can feel punchier lower down the rev range helping it around town but the 170 isnt difficult to drive once you get used to it

Very Early 140's had chocolate turbos so it might not be uncommon to find one thats had a replacement

170 can suffer DPF issues and there is an official recall on the injectors

Other than that the motors are very strong units

My advice is to go test drive both.  I did that and went for the 170 though I did come from a 170+ MK4 so that was a big deciding factor 

prob explain why my a3 tdi 140 had a new turbo at 68k 

I've heard of turbos failing as little as 10K 

the old dear couldnt have drove it hard then 

[les.tansey]

140 can feel punchier lower down the rev range helping it around town but the 170 isnt difficult to drive once you get used to it

Would you say a 170 would feel like it lags around town? I currently have a 1.6 CL mk3 which is obviously a petrol - how would a 170 compare to it around town for punchiness? I wouldn't need it to be rapid around town anyway as I'm not a fast driver, it's mainly economy, appearance and having the power there if I needed it that attracts me to the GT TDI MK5, but just to get an idea.

Very Early 140's had chocolate turbos so it might not be uncommon to find one thats had a replacement

Are the replacements okay then or are they just as dodgy? And when you say early 140's roughly what year are they okay after?

170 can suffer DPF issues and there is an official recall on the injectors

Can't you have the DPF's removed for around £400?  And are they okay to run without them performance-wise. I've heard that they'll still pass an MoT.

Other than that the motors are very strong units

My advice is to go test drive both.  I did that and went for the 170 though I did come from a 170+ MK4 so that was a big deciding factor 

Sorry for all the questions, I just want to make sure I'm clued up before I go rushing into anything. Thankyou for everyones feedback 

[nadlad]

I looked and looked and looked believe me I was torn between 140 and 170 didn't k wo which to go for posted on various forums either owner posted biased opinions the general consensus was that 170 are more problematic and having come from a pd150 mk4 with the chocolate cam I really didn't want any more headaches. Having had my heart set on a 170 on the end I choose a 140 mainly due to economy and problem free motoring. The 170 have there advantages but the 140 by many tuners and forum members is a better all round car.

My only criteria was Gt Sport model and dual zone climate I couldn't spend 10k on a car and have round knobs and my last pd150 had climate so I thought I didn't want a step backwards all the other extras can easily be retrofitted.

I found a lot of cars didn't have the dual zone climate in it and that put me off until this one came was well worth the 660 mile round trip for it!!!

Plus the my2008 onwards came with leather as standard.

I felt at 9,8 I might of paid extra but looking around 2 months on I still have all my bookmarks and saved pages and it does seem like a very good deal especially as its 26k and on a 08.  And the red is growing on me now.

My next plan is a remap that will put it up there around the 175-185 mark and really transform the drivel

[les.tansey]

I looked and looked and looked believe me I was torn between 140 and 170 didn't k wo which to go for posted on various forums either owner posted biased opinions the general consensus was that 170 are more problematic and having come from a pd150 mk4 with the chocolate cam I really didn't want any more headaches. Having had my heart set on a 170 on the end I choose a 140 mainly due to economy and problem free motoring. The 170 have there advantages but the 140 by many tuners and forum members is a better all round car.

My only criteria was Gt Sport model and dual zone climate I couldn't spend 10k on a car and have round knobs and my last pd150 had climate so I thought I didn't want a step backwards all the other extras can easily be retrofitted.

I found a lot of cars didn't have the dual zone climate in it and that put me off until this one came was well worth the 660 mile round trip for it!!!

Plus the my2008 onwards came with leather as standard.

I felt at 9,8 I might of paid extra but looking around 2 months on I still have all my bookmarks and saved pages and it does seem like a very good deal especially as its 26k and on a 08.  And the red is growing on me now.

My next plan is a remap that will put it up there around the 175-185 mark and really transform the drivel

Cheers, yeah I suppose a remap is always an option - apart from my insurance 

I'm am and I'm not torn between the two; as I'm basing a lot of my decision on colour, interior, milage, age and history/maintanence quality. I saw a gourgeous 140 in blue with cream leather on autotrader a few weeks ago for 7k which has now gone -  Not that I have the funds for it yet anyway 

[Rhyso]

140 can feel punchier lower down the rev range helping it around town but the 170 isnt difficult to drive once you get used to it

Would you say a 170 would feel like it lags around town? I currently have a 1.6 CL mk3 which is obviously a petrol - how would a 170 compare to it around town for punchiness? I wouldn't need it to be rapid around town anyway as I'm not a fast driver, it's mainly economy, appearance and having the power there if I needed it that attracts me to the GT TDI MK5, but just to get an idea.

Very Early 140's had chocolate turbos so it might not be uncommon to find one thats had a replacement

Are the replacements okay then or are they just as dodgy? And when you say early 140's roughly what year are they okay after?

170 can suffer DPF issues and there is an official recall on the injectors

Can't you have the DPF's removed for around £400?  And are they okay to run without them performance-wise. I've heard that they'll still pass an MoT.

Other than that the motors are very strong units

My advice is to go test drive both.  I did that and went for the 170 though I did come from a 170+ MK4 so that was a big deciding factor 

Sorry for all the questions, I just want to make sure I'm clued up before I go rushing into anything. Thankyou for everyones feedback 

It can catch you out if you're in 2nd gear and need to pull off quickly but you soon adjust to it 

The very early 2004 models were known for it; replacement units were and are much stronger

Just removed mine    You need to have the car mapped to take out the DPF protocols otherwise you'll end up in limp mode all the time