GTD as a Leaner Car

[westwoap]

Hi folks,

I'm new to the board but have enjoyed all the interesting topics. I was wondering if you think the GTD would be ok as a learner car. My wife is a driving instructor and we need a family hatchback. When I saw the GTD I knew that would fit the bill however Im a bit worried about the low end power and learner drivers. Will they struggle with the sudden power at 1750Rpm?

Any advice would be appreciated

[peterdoherty]

IMO the power is way too much for a learner plus I wouldn't want a new £25k+ car being shagged by learner drivers. Not sure what insurance implications there may be too.

Have you thought about getting a second hand corsa or similar for the driving lessons?

[monkeyhanger]

Having learner drivers pootling around the streets at low speeds for the vast majority of the time would put me off diesels entirely for DPF issues. If that car is on the road for 6 hours a day and gets 20 mins a day on a dual carriageway at 70mph then fair enough, but if it's doing 30/40mph all day every day then that's a no-no.

My missus' driving instructor ran a Lupo GTI as the learner car, so faster models aren't necessarily out, could be a good attraction to have a sporty car, but maybe a bit down the line, in a smaller car - like a Polo GTI?

Would all the drivers aids be frowned upon by the examiners, like doing a parallel park with the parking sensors etc - would it be seen as a bit of a cheat or would you have to disable stuff like that for the benefit of the pupils?

[westwoap]

Thanks for the reply.

Just to give you some more background info, The car will be used on a couple of junctions of motorway use to sort the DPF each week and the car is covered by a full maintenance package so if anything did go wrong it would be fixed.

The only thing I worry about is if there is a sudden power surge at 1750rpm for the learners but I guess you just adapt to the cars acceleration and ease off the the pedal,

Hoping any of you guys could advise

THanks in advance

[monkeyhanger]

Thanks for the reply.

Just to give you some more background info, The car will be used on a couple of junctions of motorway use to sort the DPF each week and the car is covered by a full maintenance package so if anything did go wrong it would be fixed.

The only thing I worry about is if there is a sudden power surge at 1750rpm for the learners but I guess you just adapt to the cars acceleration and ease off the the pedal,

Hoping any of you guys could advise

THanks in advance

You can dull the response of the car to a degree with the eco modes, and ADC will help mitigate risks of shunting the car in front.

Doing a couple of junctions on the motorway to sort the DPF once or twice a week may not be enough. If that car is predominantly spent crawling around the streets at no more than 40mph for 6 hours a day it is going to be accumulating plenty of soot. Do that all week and you'll probably need half an hour at sustained motorway speeds to burn it all off, a few times a week (given the way a learner would drive that car).

VW goodwill only extends so far. If you are continually clogging the DPF to the extent it requires dealership intervention to clear it, you will get that as a courtesy for a few times only - after that they will charge you, if they find nothing physically wrong with the car and attribute DPF issues with the driving style. I seriously doubt any maintenance plan would cover these costs should they arise.

For that reason I would urge you to buy a petrol car for use as a driving intruction car to save yourself DPF issues which may be inevitable driving it as a tuition car. A diesel car hindered by an uneconomical driving style and DPF issues is not very economical - you may be lucky to see 45mpg.

Have you considered the 1.4TSI ACT in GT spec? It has 140PS (more than enough for the learners, and not exactly a slouch) and is very economical in use when the cylinder deactivation technology kicks in. No DPF issues, and a quick build time (you probably won't see a GTD this side of Christmas now)

I think there is a very high chance of you struggling with DPF issues and very poor economy when driven in the way I anticipate it being driven as a learners car.

[Rhyso]

As a learner car i'd be leaning towards an Up or a Polo with a petrol engine

The last thing you want is some spotty teen with a heavy right foot trying to control 280lbs ft torque......