Volkswagen Golf GTD 2.0 TDI Review
Torque Spinner

Story and Photos by Raymond Lai
5 Mar 2011

The Golf GTD mates diesel power to GTI chassis and suspension. Raymond Lai finds out if an oil burning hot hatch is such a good idea after all.

Introduction, styling

The Golf GTI started the whole hot hatch genre back in 1976. 35 years and six generations on and the GTI remains as one of the best and most desirable hot hatches in the market. Volkswagen though, are not resting on its laurels with the GTI. With the ever-rising popularity of diesels in Europe in recent times, Europe's largest carmaker expects demand for a diesel hot hatch.

And hence in 2009, it revived a version of the Golf that was last seen on with the Mk 2, the GTD. The GTD is basically a GTI with a diesel instead of a petrol engine under its bonnet. So is an oil burning hot hatch a niche too far or is it yet another masterstroke from Volkswagen's brilliant marketeers at Wolfsburg?

Just like the GTI, the GTD gets the right mix of aggression and sophistication on the outside once again in its transformation from family hatch to hot hatch. With the GTD, there are some detail changes from the GTI on the outside though. Obviously, the GTI badges are replaced by GTD ones and the 18-inch alloy wheels are different in design. Up front, one will straight away mark out the chrome instead of the GTI's red accents on the radiator grille while the honeycomb inserts and front bumper are common on both models. Along the flanks, the GTD comes with slightly different design for its side sills while at the rear, the diesel model's twin tail pipes are on the left side while the GTI's are placed on either sides of the rear bumper . Despite the tamer looking alloys, the GTD looks no less purposeful and sporty as its petrol powered cousin.

Next Page - Performance, ride and handling

Sell Fast With Ease - SwiftQuote

With SwiftQuote, you get:
Best value for your car A peace of mind when selling Fast sale from start to end

HIGHEST PRICE FOR YOUR CAR

Best offer with no obligations.
Start Now!

Vehicle Number*

Name*

Mobile Number*

I agree to the collection, use and disclosure of my personal data by Carousell and/or such other third party (as may be necessary) and to be contacted (via email, phone call and/or text message) for any purposes in connection with the application of and transaction of the vehicle, in accordance with the Personal Data Protection Act 2012 and Carousell's Privacy Policy.

Thanks for the wonderful service. Your quote was able to get me a price higher than other auction sites I tried. Shout out also to Yazz for providing great service and follow up throughout the process.
Kevin Tan - 1 week ago

Client Success Manager Mr David is fast response to my request and I am impress with the notification and appointment confirmation system which interactive with both the Seller and Buyer
Philip Ng - 2 weeks ago

Quick response and satisfied with the price offered for the car
Lim Lay Eng - 2 weeks ago

Sold my car withing a few days. Fast process. However, be ready for dealers to slash price saying need to change tyre, need to repaint, etc during viewing.
Wu Qingzhu, Adrian - 2 weeks ago

Seamless and quick. The dealer, Simon Sim from SGCarConsign is very professional. A pleasure dealing with him.
Ong Geok Kim - 2 weeks ago

Response is quite fast and professional, good experience.
Lu wei - 1 month ago

I did receive the best quote out of 5 enquiries I sent. It was the inspection and quick deposit that sealed the deal. All in, it was a pleasant experience compared to the other merchants available. Keep up the good work!
Cheah Kok Yew - 1 month ago

Reasonable price quote and highly recommended.
Fauzi Syahab - 1 month ago

Fantastic service from team and importantly I got the highest quote for my car sale, thanks so much team!
TAN saw wei - 1 month ago

Quick. Easy. Efficient. Thanks for the service!
Olivier Henri Petra - 1 month ago