brickboy

As JLangg sez, the powerband is narrow -- on a 130 there's really no point revving past 3500rpm, better to change to the next gear and ride the torque. The shove starts at 1750rpm.

Sounds narrow, but the gearing is l-o-n-g so you can really surf the torque. On my Passat, 4th is 22mph / 1000 rpm so the 1750 rpm powerband is a speed range of 40mph.

To give you an idea, in-gear acceleration for a Golf PD130 is:

40-60mph (4th gear): 5.1 (VW Driver mag)
50-70mph (5th gear): 6.8

Very quick on A-roads and motorways, the punch is strong and so accessible.

[Edited by brickboy - 6/2/2003 3:57:49 PM]

GTI

So what do people know about these cars, apart from a stupidly long name? Anything to look for? Easily chipped I hear?

j-k

GTI..i used to own the GT PD 115 before i bought the scoob..great car..no matter how hard you drive ,still get 45mpg.mine had 17inch santa monica wheels and upgraded suspension which made a big difference from the standard car.Look on the APREUROPE website for ECU mods..they do a switchable system from the cruise control , if you havnt got cruise it can also be fitted £180.00 i think..

My dad drives a PD130 and tows a caravan easily ..and still gets 35mpg..he thinks its fantastic

The 150 can be chipped to nearly 200bhp with 340lb of torque..

Good luck, j-k

igratton

Yep 150 is a good car. I replaced my P1 with one (heated leather seats, winter pack, summer pack etc.) MPG is good at typical motorway speeds you still get close to 50MPG. Tanking back through france at 100+mph still managed 48MPG. Handling is not close to the P1 but hey - its a completely different kind of car.

Yes they can be chipped to give a massive hike in performance. Some guy on the Golf BBS has figured out a £5 resistor mondification that you connect to the fuel vapour sensor - gives almost as much as a chip and still runs well too.

I've had mine for about 10 months now and racked up 32,000 miles - saved a fortune on fuel and insurance - plus it also allows me to own a Westfield XTR2 at the same time

LG John

Ia(i)n, realistically what is the performance of the 150 like? I'm considering one as a potential replacement for my scooby which is standard P1 fast but I don't know if it'll cut the mustard. The handling will suck but whats the punch of the 150 like. Compariable?

TopBanana

The powerband is very narrow so they're nothing like as quick as P1's, but they are very easy to drive quite quickly.

TVR Gary

Just this second come back in having driven my bosses 150 PD ..... Yeah its a good car, yeah it goes OK but you really cannot compare it to a scoob.

igratton

I Didn't buy mine to replace a scoob - it was more to split the types of driving apart. Road driving - a capable but not expensive to run car, good comfort, build etc. For track a more extreme and challenging Westfield. Neither car trys to be the other and you get the best of both worlds.

Having said that - I dearly miss my P1 - I have some fond driving memories in that car.

SirFozzalot

I've got the use of a GT TDi 130 as a company chariot.

I think its a good car....it's quick (although not Scooby quick!)
The problem I have found sometimes is that you have to change gear quite early while accelerating hard and this can lose the momentum in a 'drag from the lights' whilst a petrol car pulls longer in the same gear and so tends to gain just a bit before he has to change gear....it depends what you are up against.....I have upset various people when they have been done and they see it was an oil burner!!

But away from acting like a boy-racing tw@t , they are a very nice car.

igratton

Solution...

set off from traffic lights in second gear

Ian.

brickboy

igratton: I have a road test of a Passat PD130 (from Autocar) in which they tested the 0-60 time starting off in second gear.

It was one-tenth of a second quicker than the 0-60 times starting in first, because of less wheelspin .....

Mungo

PD130 Golf is quick by standards of "normal" road cars, but not by Scooby standards. As mentioned above, there's not point in revving it at all. Build quality is wonderful compared to Scooby - especially interior trim and external paintwork. Handling doesn't inspire much confidence (get a Focus), but if you do grit your teeth and ask questions of the chassis it does usually come up with better than you'd expect. Body roll is quite pronounced, but I think this can be sorted with the sports suspension option. Wheelspin is a shocker after a Scoob, and the traction control isn't terribly subtle. Having said all that, it'll cruise at 100 no problem (if you're in Germany, obviously). I've not seen the miracle mpg figures others are suggesting - I'm averaging about 42 in the 8k miles I've had it which is still good and way better than the Scoob's 24. It's also not a bargain to insure - about £500 for 2 30+ accountants in Surrey, both with clean licenses. We only paid £650ish on the Scoob.

ChrisB

I'm running a Golf in drag - Ibiza TDi Sport which is the PD130 engine.

I've done 6500 miles in it now and it's heaven getting at least 300 miles for £25. I'm no longer best mates with the cashier at the Shell garage - for the last two months I've spent sub £100 on fuel per month for the first time in years.

Compared to the Golf, the the ride is maybe a bit too hard.

IMO, it's best habitat is a nice open A road. There you can enjoy the masses of low down torque (peak torque arrives at 1900rpm for me). Overtaking is easy and it's nice not to get flashed as you storm past people with a full de-cat blaring out behind you. A tall 6th gear lets you waft along the motorway - anything upto 100mph is sub 3000rpm.

Agreed, it's a not a Scooby but one is a £20,000 or more (new) 4WD rally bred saloon car, mine is a £13,000 hatchback.