GTi or GT 170?

[Mullet]

Firstly, "hello" - I've been lurking for a very long time, having always wanted a Golf GTi, coming on this forum every day has only made me wish I could go out and buy one even more!

As you may have guessed from the title however, I am in something of a quandary; I have been saving and have had my heart set on a GTi with DSG for absolutely ages but there are a few things stopping me from going ahead and buying one:

Negative

- I have a 130 mile round trip to work each day (most of which is motorway/dual carriageway) and whilst I do this in my current 2.0 petrol, the 'economy' of the GT appeals.
- I also like the idea of all the torque the weasel (GT) will provide (note, I am not going to remap the GTi if I buy one).

Positive

- Petrol where I am is currently 104.9p/L whilst diesel varies from 114.9 to 116.9, basically there's not much benefit to the diesel in terms of 'real' economy, granted, I'll fill up less but won't actually save that much when there's 10p/L difference in price of each of the fuels....

I would like to test drive them both but currently my local dealer doesn't have either (with DSG) available.

So while I'm waiting I would welcome your input as to what to go for. I'm currently 70-30 in favour of the GTi but the GT is slowly getting to me with it's promises of long-term savings....

As an additional item of interest, I noticed that on the VW site the DSG doesn't improve the manufacturers 0-60 time for the GT170, and is the 8.2 seconds quoted accurate?

[Steve78]

Get the GTI and enjoy life 

Yes, it costs more money to run, but you'll get the GT and it will always be on your mind about whether or not you chose the right car.  As you said, you have your heart set on one...

[182_blue]

hard one, they reckon you need to do over 15k a year to break even, and your doing over that, i guess you need to work out the cost, but if theres not alot of difference get the car you always wanted

[MikeGTI]

To be honest mate, you shouldn't buy either.

With personal mileage factored in your probably looking at 40K miles per annum in 3 years time your car will have 120K miles on the clock!

Forget about the fuel costs the depreciation will cripple you.

Either that or move closer to work and you could buy a gti with just the money you save on fuel each month.

[topher]

Since you're already considering both, you'll regret buying a GT every time you see a GTI drive past. Whereas if you buy a GTI you can look down your nose as the wimpy tree-hugging hippies drive by in their GTs

[Mullet]

I think you're right about the GTi from the comments so far, my other main 'worry' is the Monza's, I much prefer the GT's alloys but prefer the GTi styling (basically, I'd love the Edition 30 wheels/look on the standard GTi but without having to pay extra for it).

I should have pointed out that I car-share every other day so my mileage isn't that high really, plus I'm not really concerned about depreciation, I've pretty much run my current car into the ground so resale isn't top of my list of priorities.....

[MikeGTI]

Well if thats the case go for the GTI, the diesels fuel economy is not as good as you may think.

Before I had the GTI I took a 170 GT TDI manual on a 500 mile round trip. Nearly all motorway cruising at a sensible motorway speed and I could not get better than 39mpg out of it.

The DSG GTI I have see's 33mpg at similar speeds so when you factor in the price difference for fuel there's little in it.

[Mullet]

Well if thats the case go for the GTI, the diesels fuel economy is not as good as you may think.

Before I had the GTI I took a 170 GT TDI manual on a 500 mile round trip. Nearly all motorway cruising at a sensible motorway speed and I could not get better than 39mpg out of it.

The DSG GTI I have see's 33mpg at similar speeds so when you factor in the price difference for fuel there's little in it.

Thanks, this was my main concern with the GT - would it actually be all that economical being a 'performance' diesel.

[maxamus]

I like the GT and some do look really nice when styled. However, the GTI will always be the daddy and you'll realise this everytime one goes past you.

I wouldnt worry about fuel consumption. Just think of the joy and comfort the GTI will give you. I cant see the GTI costing you more that a £1,000 more in fuel than the GT. Probably even less.

You only live once mate and you might aswell be part of the revolution 

[No Golf Clubs at all]

Theres several such discussions on this very subject...i toyed with the same idea,...but the biggest issue for me was that the interior of the 170 was specked very low imho...there was no arm rest, or dual climate.  From the inside you could have been in any other Golf. 

I decided against the diesel on that basis, plus the fact that I THOUGHT i was going to get at least 30MPG in the GTi.  I am not.

Gti economy sucks big time...i get about 22mpg for the same journey type as yourself.

But its a great drive, what a fabulous way to waste money