Sporty but sensible VW Golf

Volkswagen has recently introduced its GTI to the public but the German firm has also released details of a more frugal GTD model. A sporting hatchback which shares a lot of its styling with the iconic hot hatch the GTI's 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine has been replaced by a 2.0-litre turbodiesel to create the GTD. The output of this new oil burner might be short of the GTI's 207bhp with just 167bhp, but its thumping 258lb.ft of torque is greater than its petrol relative. Even so the GTD takes a bit longer to get to 62mph with its time of 8.1 seconds some 1.2 seconds slower than the GTI.

It's more about mpg than mph here though, the GTD trumping its petrol relative with an impressive 53.3mpg combined fuel consumption figure. CO₂ emissions are also a good bit more tax friendly at 139g/km, the GTD not quite as rapid as its petrol relative but a whole lot more efficient. The GTD wears the same grille and bumpers as its GTI relative, the red pinstripes of the GTI replaced on the GTD with some less obvious chrome trim. Inside too the red stitching on the steering wheel and the red highlights on the iconic GTI tartan seats are replaced by a more sober grey in the GTD.

Those thinking diesels cannot be sporty should think again, Volkswagen even going so far as to use an electromagnetic sound generator to output a sporting soundtrack. Like its GTI relative the GTD is offered with a twin-clutch DSG automatic that's controlled by paddle-shifters and Volkswagen's Dynamic Chassis Control DCC system as options. The GTD is on sale in Europe from May, with right-hand-drive versions expected to reach the UK later in the year. Pricing has yet to be confirmed, but the three-door GTD should cost much the same as its petrol relative that starts at £22,410.

Kyle Fortune