Still struggle with the constant comparison between GTI and GTD with regards performance as one is a fast petrol and the other a fast diesel.
So if you have a GTI compare it against other petrol cars and if have a GTD compare against other diesels but not againts each other!
I wanted a diesel due to the company car tax and fuel with quite substantial savings for doing so but I also wanted a relatively quick car by normal standards and GTD is simply perfect, great economy and comfort and no slouch in the real world of our day to day roads.
If performance was my #1 consideration I would have gone for the more powerful GTI.
It gets seen as unfair a GTI is compared to a 135i with extra BHP but seems ok to compare a GTI to a GTD when differences are so marked in BHP and engine types.
However! there are some direct comparisons that in a lot of the day to day driving makes them very close.
Colleague at work is 3 weeks into having his GTI and my first opportunity to directly compare. His is an out of the box manual with minimal extras.
The ride is harder to the cushioned DCC of my GTD even in sport but way way better than my previous S Line so maybe I would have been ok without DCC
The interior is pretty much identical aside from the red trim over the grey so my experience of being in it just going along at normal speeds was the same as my GTD
The GTD is not slow but the GTI has an obvious burst of speed that the GTD simply cannot meet BUT in our whole 120 mile round journey that was used only a few times and most of the driving experience was again identical.
One win for the DSG and not model was the M25 as stuck in traffic he was on and off the clutch and quite tiring to watch let alone do where as for me in DSG you just let car take that strain.
From having been out in the GTI now I would say I would have one over the GTD as I would of anyway at outset as there is that extra urgency and power, if the financial implications did not play such a part but truth is everything else is pretty much the same car.
So no regrets here the GTD looks great, is fast and economical, and I know from being in a GTI now my cabin experience is the same.
The times I would miss the power are made up by all the extra ££ I can spend on other things need/like
So the cars are actually very comparable both comfortable and quick and look great but at end of day if performance is #1 then do not get the GTD as the GTI is plain and simply faster.