I thought that having now owned both a 2004 Golf GT TDI for 3 years and a 2006 Golf GTI for a few months, now would be a good time to write a review comparing both, for anyone that is struggling to make the choice between the GT and the GTI.
2004 Golf GT TDII bought the Golf in 2008, it was an ex-police car with 45,000 miles on the clock and full service history.
Coming from a Seat Leon TDI 150 to the TDI 140 in the Golf, the first thing I did was have Angel Tuning remap the Golf to produce some 184bhp and 396Nm of torque.
PerformanceAt the time I owned it, if you'd asked me to describe the performance then I would have said fantastic. The sheer volume of torque the car produced between around 2000rpm and 3200rpm was phenominal and I calculated the 0-60 in a number of conditions, which ranged from 7.2 to 7.9 seconds. My only gripe was that the engine lost the will to live if you went over 3500rpm, when performance would drop away.
Running costsI have nothing but praise for the 2004 GT TDI's fuel consumption. Given the sheer pace at which the car gathers speed, the fuel economy was absolutely fantastic, I would regularly return 53mpg in local driving and as high as 60mpg on a long distance journey.
Repair wise, the only repairs that were required in the 3 years I owned the car were:-
- 4 x new brake discs and pads
- 4 x new tyres
- 1 x new bonnet catch, new VW badge, new fog lamps (theft)
Other than the wear-and-tear items and theft above, the car run flawlessly for the entire 65,000 miles I covered in it.
2006 Golf GTI DSGI bought the 2006 GTI DSG in June 2012, with 49,000 miles on the clock and has full service history.
The GTI has been remapped to around 240bhp and 397Nm of torque by Revo.
PerformanceNotwithstanding the comments I made earlier about the performance of the GT TDI, the performance of the GTI would absolutely annihilate the GT TDI, the pace at which it accelerates from 30 to 70 in 3rd gear, flicking through the DSG to 100 is absolutely astonishing.
There is less torque than in the TDI, but the torque is spread across the entire rev range, whereas the TDI would die away after around 3000rpm, the GTI will keep on going up to the rev limiter at around 6500rpm and generates a fantastic engine note.
The Drive mode of the DSG gearbox is okay for pottering around town, but if you are a serious driver, switch it into tiptronic and use the steering wheel paddles. The instant gear changes are absolutely fantastic.
In my opinion, not only would the remapped GTI DSG annihilate my old GT TDI, but it would give the Focus ST-3 or Astra VXR a run for its money.
I have timed the 0-60 (weather permitting, else the ESP goes crazy) and have achieved a 0-60 time of 6.1secs on the first, 6.0 on the second and 5.9 on the third - very impressive.
All this in a car that is as refined as my GT TDI, albeit with tighter suspension.
Running costsWhere the GT TDI was returning an average of around 55mpg per tank, the GTI has been averaging around 29mpg. On a longer journey, the TDI would often achieve 60+mpg and the GTI around 37-39mpg.
Fuel economy improves by around 2-3 mpg if you use V-power or Super Unleaded petrol in the GTI.
What is common to both?Buy any Golf and what you are buying is a quality car, incredibly well built with a quality interior. The blue lighting on the dials and amber glow throughout the other instrumentation makes the cabin a very pleasant place to be.
My GTI has Recaro bucket seats, which are fantastically comfortable, especially if you are driving country roads.
The GT had sports seats, which again were very comfortable.
Equipment wise, if you buy a pre-2005 Golf GT then you will have almost the same specification as the GTI, with dual zone climate control, auto headlamps and wipers etc. Buyers of later GT TDIs do not benefit from climate control.
ConclusionClearly if you are covering a lot of miles then the TDI is a very sensible option. If you are looking for inspired performance you can either opt for the TDI 140 and have it remapped as I did, or else you could go for the TDI 170.
However, if you enjoy the art of driving, with your heart racing as you flick from gear to gear through the bends, the GTI wins hands down.
People often say that a remapped TDI is "just as quick as a GTI", indeed I said that when I had my TDI. But, the reality is that even a remapped TDI would never touch a remapped GTI, it is in a different league.
