GRM

Got a loan of one of these for a few days while my Golf 1.8T gets some warranty work carried out.

Seems very quick through the gears, much quicker than the petrol turbo ... but on the whole very boring to drive. Feel like I'm always changing gear and doesn't give the same impression of speed as a quick petrol car.

Anyone drove the 150bhp diesel ? .. is it just as dull ?

I'd be interested to hear other opionions on the petrol / diesel comparison {seen some similar posts a while back}

cheers

G

ps. strange thing is, the diesel handles much better than the petrol through a quick corner .. and thats with softer springs etc !!

NBW

I've ordered a 150 over the 130 and the 1.8T - I felt it was the best car to drive out of all of them. The 1.8T is very refined, but I found the 150PD a more engaging car to drive - that shove from 2000rpm is really something.

What do you mean by dull? It's a Golf, not a Scooby

BTW I think the diesels have stiffer front springs to cope with the heavier engines, which may improve the handling.

Cheers
Tim

MartinM

Had my PD150 GT(i) for a week now...replacing my 328 company car (thanks Gordon )

Well, it certainly aint no P1 or BMW. But for £12K less, what do you expect...

Push in the back from 1600 rpm ... yes
Suspension ... Its got 'sport' suspension (as standard) .. well, I'd hate to drive it with standard suspension. Sorry, its pants
Handling ... FWD, high-ish profile tyres, high-ish CoG. At least its dead easy to demonstrate lift off oversteer
A manic driving experience ... absolutely not
Things go backwards in the rear view mirror quickly ... yes
Does it 'stand out' like our P1 ... no
45mpg ... yes
£250 extra cash in hand each month ... yes

Flat 4x4

NBW
Take a look at 'Diesel Car' magazine this month and have a look a the modded 150PD. 0-60 in 6.8 ....

NBW

I already did, but I think modding is out on this car..... as I might get a Caterham or similiar later on

Still, we shall see

Cheers
Tim

Steve Perriam

tried the 130 and 150 golf in the past couple of months.

150 is insanely quick in any gear from a little of over 1000rpm !

imho the 150 is to quick for the suspension. traction control light on far too often. did not feel that safe when pushing on in it

blindingly quick though. surprise a lot of so called hot hatches in it however.

have to admit i did not choose the 150 as my company car in the end.

still diesels seem to be the way to go !

i still managed 51.4mpg in the 150 !!!!!

ustolemyname??stevieturbo

iTrader: (1)

I drove a 150 the other day. A friend just got one brand new on import. Full spec, leather heated recaro/climate control/lowered sports springs etc etc... The torque is quite unbeleivable. It will easily pull any gear from about1800rpm. Just touch the pedal in 6th and it still pulls well. Obviously its dull though, its a golf. Not quite my cup of tea for the money, but I have also drove a T-Sport A4, and IMHO it was slow as anything. The golf tdi ( GTI badge though ! )would run rings around it. Why anyone would waste their money on the slow uneconomical petrol version is beyond me. The diesel is a much better car.

Flat 4x4

or Buy the A4 Quattro V6 diesel and chip it. Highly recommended.

isleaiw

I'm just trading a Pug 306 GTi 6 for a VW Golf GT TDi 130 with sports suspension - I hope its a bit "duller" 'cos this one is a bit frantic.

Nice refined performance, good economy, decent handling - that's what I want now I'm getting on a bit!

Rokerlad

Don't do it!! Don't do it!! Keep the GTi-6 mate!!

Hold on a moment while I pass the pipe and slippers

Seriously the Golf Turbo Diesels do seem good clean torquey fun until they run out of puff that is @ 6000 revs.

FreeT

Rokerlad - YOU AINT ACTUALLY DRIVEN ONE HAVE YOU?

Cos if you had you would know that they reach peak puff at 4000rpm - DOH! even the torque has run out by then.
This is why in gear acceleration is great and 0-100 times crap, far too many gear changes involved to get there.
On paper petrol equivalents look faster, but in every day driving when only jumping up an extra 20-30mph they are as fast if not faster unless you are a right numpty and race it off the line.
Biggest down fall is the damn noise, seems okay till you wind the window down or all the looks you get when reving it - as everyone turns to look at the idiot in the fast noisy tractor approaching - and then the look of astonishment as they see its a golf (thinking " golfs are quiet refined reliable cars" - well one out of three is right.

Rant over

Rokerlad

No I have to admit I haven't driven one, only Citroen HDi diesels. The thought of owning an oil burner just doesn't appeal to me sorry. They are noisy , very un-ecco friendly, but then again when i'm approaching middle age I will probably think the money I can save from insurance and fuel costs will go niceley to paying for the new porch extension on my house.

This new breed of diesel boy racers is really quite funny. At the end of the day the VW diesels are good but a decent petrol hot hatch will comfortably beat it. Horses for course i suppose.

MartinM

On the PD150, peak torque is at 1900rpm, peak power at 4000rpm I'm not sure how many cars have peak power at over twice the revs of peak torque...

...so although it sounds weird, I'm starting to get the hang of short shifting in 3rd, 4th or 5th - changing up a gear early to get the engine revs down so that I'm back in the peak torque rev range.

Most people believe you change up to go faster - I get the definite feeling in the Golf that I change up to <b>accelerate</b> faster

NBW

LOL @ Rokerlad, get out and drive one, son

The petrol hatch (unless, it's very, very good) will get toasted by the diesel on real roads

Cheers
Tim

frisby

Justed picked up my new EU import GT TDI PD 130 today - lowered with sports suspension and bigger alloys.

People always comment on these cars without looking at the whole package.

1. I paid £13,000-00 all in for my car compared to the equivelent in the UK of approx. £18,000-00. So I'm quids in already. I expect to suffer zero depreciation in the first 12 months of owership. How many other cars can this be the same for......wonder what people lose on a 1yr old MY01 - I would hate to think.

2. The economy is excellent - 50 mpg to and fro to work on a route thats fairly busy with no opportunity for much fun. It would be pain in the *** doing the route in for example a scooby then realising I'm only getting 20 mpg.

3. There not as noisy as people make out - at least not from the inside, open the window and there’s a bit of noise accompanied by the frequent turbo whistle. However the noise is part of the compromise for getting 50+ mpg.

4. Performance wise, as freeT says - its about the in gear acceleration i.e. powering down the slip road on to a dual carriage way, exiting a roundabout or overtaking safely on an A road (single lane) etc etc and not about the slog from 0-60......like this is even applicable in day to day driving anyway.

Rokerlad, your comments make me laugh:

"This new breed of diesel boy racers is really quite funny. At the end of the day the VW diesels are good but a decent petrol hot hatch will comfortably beat it.

What makes this new?? breed of diesel boy racers funny?? - what makes me laugh is how much I'm saving on fuel by going diesel yet still having a shed load of torque under my right foot compared to petrol hot hatches.

Your obviously not very up on diesels - comments like this make it obvious:
Seriously the Golf Turbo Diesels do seem good clean torquey fun until they run out of puff that is @ 6000 revs.

When talking about the 150bhp GT TDi v's 150 bhp petrol and V5 petrol, Evo made the following comments:

"were certain they'd both get flamed by the new diesel on any give and take road"

So it seems that contrary to your comments, EVO seem to think a diesel Golf is well able to beat its petrol equivilent.

A few other interesting diesel facts:

1. A Mk 3 Golf diesel driven by Neil Simpson took fifth place overall on the Manx rally beat only by 4-wheel drive turbo's.

2. Following year, a Mk 4 Golf came 2nd overall on thre Manx.

3. In 1997 a 2.5 litre Golf TDI claimed outright victory in the Vallelunga Six Hours - 8 laps ahead of second place.


So diesels ain't that bad....eh Rokerlad Besides the money I save on running costs goes towards a proper car, a Westfield Megablade, to be enjoyed on the track


laters

stu




[Edited by frisby - 5/28/2002 11:57:29 PM]

FreeT

Rokerlad

"They are noisy , very un-ecco friendly" yes noisy - really pisses you of, thats probably why none of the manufacturers have brought out a convertable ( yet ! ).

Please explain the "un-ecco friendly" bit to us, because as far as i am aware there is only one pollutant from them that is measured at more than the equivalent petrol engine.

Maybe a read of diesel car magazine would help you to adjust these narrowminded thoughts and stigmatisms that have been with diesel cars for years.

Just trying to understand a bit more in life (blinkers off) ;-)

NBW

Steve Perriam - what did you choose in the end then?

Steve Perriam

Hi Tim

i went for the laguna 1.9 dCi privilege. due about now !

not as quick as the golf, more comfortable for long motorway driving, and more toys as standard (which make a diff as i pay for extas not the company !! )

golf was hugely impressive though and would have seen off a few so called hot hatches !

Rokerlad

Ok Ok I take it back, the New VW Diesels aren't that bad. Just not for me that's all. Horses for Courses and all that.

FreeT

Well done Rokerlad, it wasn't hard was it.
I can say that as good as it is i wouldn't buy one, apart from costing too much onc eyou add on the necesary extras (easily £20k), you also enter very good diesel car teritory. BMW 320DSE / used 330DSPORT - and of course WRX country too.

As i like value for money i recon the only way to be sensible about getting one is as frisby did and import £13k is a bargain - why pay more? you cant even get a used one for that price here.

[Edited by FreeT - 5/29/2002 1:38:54 PM]

Steve Perriam

yeah i agree. 13k import sounds good value.

18k + extras was wot put me off getting one.

simon_prickett

I'm just swapping the Scoob for a Seat Leon 110 TDI - it'll be boring, but I'll plough the savings into buying a focussed track car in a couple of years.

Will let you know how I get on with it, pick it up on Saturday.

Simon.

Flat 4x4

Simon

Re Leon / chipping
The Hopa module was very good - and adjustable via 2 small screws.
Plenty of poke

NBW

The Golf might seem expensive (my UK 150PD with 17" alloys, paint, leather & xenons is £19.5K - about £1K under list), but I looked at a the 320D, and once you spec it to this level you are looking at £25K, so then you look at the 330D and that's going to cost you around £30. So I saved 10 grand to spend on other toys

Tell me what other car there is at this price, with this spec, that will perform like the Golf and do 50mpg.

Yes imports are cheaper, but for this spec I could only save about £800. Some might be offering standard UK spec for less, but I was very particular about what I wanted. Factor in the difficulty I had in getting rid of the Scoob, and a UK car with Part-Ex seemed the way to go. I've ordered my car through www.tins.co.uk, because they offered me £500 more off the Golf and £800 more for my car than the best quote I got from a VW dealer. Happy with that!

BTW I also considered (all as diesels) Audi A3 (that IS too expensive), BMW Compact (looks a dog's dinner, and not a 'proper' BMW) Skoda & Seat (great value, until you compare the residuals with the Golf), Peugeot 307 (great spec. for the price, but again, look at the residuals).

Cheers
Tim

logiclee

On the diesel front anyone tried an Alfa 156 2.4 JTD?

Seem to be around £15K at supermarkets, decent spec and 150bhp in the latest model, supposed to have a very sporty 5 cylinder growl.

The petrol 156's are a far better drive than the petrol Golfs, may not have the German build quality but its not as bad it was on the early models.

Lee

NBW

New JTD (150bhp) is supposed to be very good, would have considered one but not available in time and huge turning circle would have made parking on my tiny drive, in my narrow road a pain in the butt.

Cheers
Tim

FreeT

NBW (planet falula) - Seat Leon Cupra 4 TDi, it has the same engine and better handling and 4WD.

If you can put up with LHD then it can be yours for less than 15k new, better standard spec but no xenons available.

No RHD for UK as yet, and certainly like its petrol equivalent there will prabably be no 4WD in UK either.

EDITED becuase it has foldy mirrors for your narrow spaces.



[Edited by FreeT - 5/29/2002 8:37:05 PM]

NBW

I'm sure it's good, and seems good value. What will it be worth, and how easy will it be to sell in 3 years time?

Sorry, but the Golf makes an awful lot of sense to me....which is lucky really as I have one on order

FreeT

Ah well, you did ask!

Good luck with the VW (Seat group car - ;-)), as for value probably lose just as much (or little) as the golfs.

Steve Perriam

i wanted to try a alfa.

lovely looking cars.

not on our car scheme unfortuntely

golf is a gr8 car. just not quite wot i decided i wanted.