Volkswagen GOLF GT TDI 4MOTION
With All Wheel Drive, A Powerful Diesel Engine And The Latest Golf Chassis, Volkswagens Golf GT TDI 4MOTION Represents The Current State Of The Family Hatch Art. Andy Enright Reports
Powerful diesel engines have a number of attributes that are justly making them popular. Low emissions, miserly fuel consumption and low maintenance are just some of the attractions. A big serving of torque is another. Unfortunately, deploying all that pulling power onto the road can sometimes be a tricky job, especially if its all poured through the front wheels.
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Volkswagen have a solution in the shapely form of the Golf GT TDI 4MOTION which, as you may have deduced, uses an all-wheel drive system to spread the torque.
Traction with powerful turbo diesel front wheel drive cars is becoming something of a growing concern. Yes, it is possible to introduce a traction control system to help marshal the turbos spiky rush of torque, but its only a partial cure. When pulling sharply out of a wet T-junction, traction control can dampen the power to such an extent that you have very little drive left to play with. The alternative, axle-tramping wheelspin, isnt any better.
Volkswagens 4MOTION system most definitely is as long as you can stretch to the £18,370 price tag. The second generation Haldex differential acts in much the same way as the quattro system fitted to Audis A3 and TT models. In normal driving this transmission, mounted on the rear axle, directs around 90 per cent of drive to the front wheels, with ten per cent going to the back wheels. As soon as any slip is detected on the front wheels, the electronically controlled transmission directs drive aft.
The advantages of this system are that in normal driving, the car exhibits the safe and benign characteristics of a typical front wheel drive system and also means that the fuel inefficiencies of a full time 50:50 all-wheel drive system are typically avoided. The capability is always there in reserve though, and the Haldex system can, if necessary, direct 100 per cent of available torque to the rear wheels. The four-wheel drive system is a boon for those planning on using the Golf for towing. For the rest of us, it totally eliminates torque steer.
One question that some may ask is whether all-wheel drive is really required with an engine that makes a relatively modest 140bhp. The more progressive nature of this second generation TDI powerplant makes the old 1.9-litre TDI units seem hugely crude. Power is measured out in a more manageable stream rather than the all or nothing nature of the old TDI installations, making the need for an all-wheel drive version seemingly redundant.
If we could guarantee dry tarmac all the time, the 4MOTION version of the latest Golf would indeed probably be a bit of an indulgence, but with our frequently wet, occasionally snowy and always unpredictable weather, it just guarantees fast, safe progress.
"With comfortably more torque than a
Porsche Boxster, its easy to appreciate the benefits of the all-wheel drive platform"
This engine will punt the big-boned Golf through 60mph in 9.2 seconds and on to a top speed of 126mph, making it a brilliant long distance cruiser. Able to manage an impressive 46.3mpg, this Golf is also impressively clean, emitting just 165 grammes of carbon dioxide per kilometre travelled.
Its also Euro IV-compliant which means that company users dont get stung for the usual three per cent taxation surcharge and the rest of us can drive around with a warmly sanctimonious air, knowing that were doing our bit for the environment. If you're interested in the technicalities, this Golf diesel engine works on the basis of so-called direct injection, a system intended to make better use of every drop of diesel. The injectors on all four cylinders are controlled by a single powerful electronic control unit (ECU) which carefully controls the amount and mixture of fuel passing through into each cylinder. For engineers, the obvious next step is for each cylinder to have its own ECU unit; the fuel amount and mixture can then be even more carefully monitored and even greater efficiency achieved. This is the basic concept behind the new 'second generation' of 'common rail' diesels engines that Volkswagen says it's developing in its own time. The big bonus of Volkswagens TDI system is that its relatively easy to liberate big power outputs. One criticism levelled at the two previous generation models was that although the cars offered a ride and refinement package that was hard to beat, they never really offered the sort of infectious handling that many rivals could boast. The fifth generation car adopts a pragmatic tactic in benchmarking the suspension of the
Ford Focus and Volkswagen have done a very good job in imbuing the Golf with some of the Fords exuberance.
The body is eighty per cent stiffer than its predecessor and the new electro-mechanical steering feel and composed body control are leagues ahead. The interior keeps the Golf at the top of the family hatch tree. It uses a fascia design reminiscent of the Phaeton luxury saloon although the centre console is lifted from the Touran
mini-MPV. With the possible exception of its pricier Volkswagen Group cousin, the
Audi A3, the cabin has the beating of anything out there as regards ambience.
The interior features soft-feel slush-moulded plastics, high-quality switches, subtle use of chrome, fabric-covered A-pillars plus blue instrument backlighting with red needles, a signature of the fourth generation model. Some of the plastics used on the minor controls and the lower fascia however do feel surprisingly cheap, perhaps allowing Audi a little wiggle room to justify the A3s higher prices. The 4MOTION version of the Golf GT TDI isnt easy to differentiate from its less exotic front-wheel drive sibling. Twin exhaust pipes and discreet 4MOTION badging are the only clues.
If youve got the best hatchback money can buy, you probably wont feel the need to boast too hard.
FACTS AT A GLANCE
CAR: Volkswagen Golf 4MOTION GT TDI
PRICES: £18,370-£18,770 on the road
INSURANCE GROUP: 13
CO2 EMISSIONS: 165g/km
PERFORMANCE: Max Speed 126mph / 0-60mph 9.3s
FUEL CONSUMPTION: (urban) 35.8 (extra urban) 55.4 (combined) 46.3mpg
STANDARD SAFETY FEATURES: Twin airbags / ABS / Side airbags / ESP
WILL IT FIT IN YOUR GARAGE?: Length/Width/Height, 4204/2010/1485
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