Let's carve out a precious niche within a niche and call it the 2010 Volkswagen Golf GTD. Early adopters of the tech persuasion lay awake at night dreaming of this sort of low-rev engine-combustion riot from the diesel experts at VW Group.
The big obstacle is that the entire populace of mainstream North American consumers still has an awful time coming around to recognizing the genius of modern diesel technology. There are lots of reasons and circumstances that make this so, but it's never too late and even Volkswagen sees this tide turning.
First, the latest-generation VW Jetta four-door and Jetta SportWagen 2.0-liter TDI clean diesel models have rocked our world for the most part, and we then get a Golf VI 2.0 TDI clean diesel in 2010. VW Product Communications Leader Christian Buhlmann tells us, "In the U.S., over 30 percent of Jetta four-doors are TDI and over 50 percent of SportWagen sales likewise."
Some of us here at Inside Line are already loopy for diesel and so this test of the front-wheel-drive 2010 VW Golf GTD preaches loudly to the choir. Between the 258 pound-feet of torque available down low in the rpm range and the estimated EPA combined mpg rating of 44.4 mpg, we didn't hesitate to push this dark, turbocharged beast all over southern Germany and western Austria on a single tank of fuel.
Since the 2010 Volkswagen Golf GTD sits on a slightly beefier version of the Volkswagen GTI chassis and can get to 60 mph in just 7.9 seconds, it didn't take long for us to locate the joy.
One Serious Muzzer
First off, this latest generation TDI 2.0-liter engine — first seen in the 2006 Audi A3 and VW Touareg in Europe — goes by the name EA189 and is the updated civilian version of the EA188 engine used in the Seat León that races in the World Touring Car Championship. This is the León TDI car that has been regularly beating the tar out of the 2.0-liter BMW 3 Series for WTCC points.
The long-stroke engine now features common-rail fuel injection, a 16.5:1 compression ratio, improved variable valve timing on the intake cam and a single KKK BorgWarner turbocharger.
Barreling through the very green Bavarian Alps, the wave of engine torque that carries us along is an inspiration. The GTD will always be about one second slower off the line to 60 mph than a GTI (6.9 seconds to 60 mph in the GTI versus 7.9 in the GTD with either manual or DSG transmission), but the hot diesel state of mind is a different plane of existence. There's a jolly rhythm to the surging and slaloming style of driving a diesel at high speed. This is hard-core grassroots enthusiasm that many are learning to appreciate, and as Herr Buhlmann reminds us: "This new generation of GTD was created to satisfy the wave of customer requests we received."
Understatement
Whereas the GTI has become very colorful (and marketable) with its use of showy red accents, the 2010 Volkswagen Golf GTD turns gray and chrome. Even on the inside, the GTI-style sport seats upholstered in classic tartan cloth are offered in ashen tones. This is good brooding stuff and our earthen blue test car is in keeping with the whole attitude. If you want color, you can get it, but we like our "dirty" diesel.
In contrast to the subdued tones, the two chrome tailpipes out the left side of the GTD-specific aero diffuser manage to stand out, not to mention the GTD badges. The standard 17-by-7-inch wheels with 225/45R17 91W Bridgestone Potenza tires also catch your eye.
All of the acoustic work performed on the new Golf Mark VI chassis is naturally present here and it feels amazing to cruise the autobahn at 85 mph in 6th gear, as the 2,400 rpm seems to register what feels like zero decibels. Despite the additional engine weight required to withstand the stress of high-compression ignition, the 2010 VW GTD weighs just 25 pounds more than a GTI, for a total of 3,095 pounds.
Statement Making
Every time we drop our collective butt into the VW's GTI-style seats, satisfaction washes over us. No other hot small car gives off this feeling of high quality before you even start the engine. (And, no, the very plastic-y kitsch interior of the beloved Mini does not come close.) The quality of the tartan cloth reassures us that it'll be around for as long as you own the car, and the seat support is spot-on for the sporting drive that awaits. Same goes for the sport steering wheel borrowed directly from the GTI.
The first turn of the GTD key does not surprise or delude. This is a common-rail direct-injection diesel and has a unique voice. With the torque's sweetest spot coming between 1,750 and 2,500 rpm, and with a redline of 5,250 rpm, the power band might seem restricted. But this is a hard-core diesel, and there is ample power.
Clever Germans that they are, the VW acoustic nerds have included an electromagnetically actuated sound enhancer for the GTD's exhaust note. Introduced last year for the Audi TT diesel, it is not audible at idle, but once you hit the power band in the meat of the range, the sound is very sweet and not like a stereotypical diesel at all. It really comes in if we drop a gear to overtake, although the turbo lets us swoop past slower traffic without downshifting from 4th gear or sometimes even 5th. Turbodiesel junkies get that way because of powertrain traits like this. The GTD will never be a GTI, but then a GTI can never be a GTD, son.
A Left, a Right, Another Left
The examples of the 2010 Volkswagen Golf GTD at our disposal came with optional Dynamic Chassis Control, a stunning technology that's superior to Audi's magnetic ride dampers. The DCC dampers modulate fluid flow via control valves and provide the three settings: Comfort, Normal and Sport. If lateral grip exceeds 0.4g and we're in, say, Comfort or Normal, the system switches to Sport to offer greater control and then switches back to your chosen setting once the lateral storm has calmed.
With three complete turns of the steering wheel from lock to lock, the variable-ratio electric-assist steering does require some extra movement in a hairpin or two, but overall it's as sharp as that of a GTI.
Even though the GTD doesn't get the XDS electronic differential seen on the GTI (due to issues of too much torque and too much weight, we're told), the GTD will have the XDS on the options list by October, and you'll be able to retrofit it to these early cars. Good news, yes, but our driving was not flustered by torque steer or wheelspin.
To work with a diesel's power and torque delivery, we prefer the GTD's six-speed manual, though this six-speed, wet-type dual-clutch automated manual is our favorite version of the dual-clutch DSG gearbox. Any diesel needs serious throttle and shift work to go fast, so we want the control of a manual transmission.
A When-When Proposition
Can VW make a case for the 2010 Volkswagen GTD in North America? Even the GTI has made up only 3 percent of all Golf sales worldwide since the mid-1970s, and VW admits that the GTD will be perhaps half of that and sold almost entirely in Europe. Nonetheless, VW NA is working at pulling it off somehow, and the first step toward a VW diesel hot rod will be a green-friendly, 140-horsepower Golf diesel that arrives in the U.S. next year, though much depends on whether fuel prices soar through the roof again.
A nice incentive for sales of the Jetta diesel here in the U.S. is the introduction of European-style tax credits — a healthy $1,300 signing bonus. Then, with scrappage laws going into effect nationwide pretty soon, there will be up to $4,500 more in incentives for fuel-sipping cars like clean diesels.
Seems we're in a good staging area right now for the modern diesel. The only potential stumbling block might be the GTD's projected base price, as its $23,000 is just a bit less than a GTI. But if you want the best diesel for fast driving plus one that can easily also drive you from Detroit to New York and maybe part of the way back on one tank, then the 2010 Volkswagen Golf GTD is what you want.
Edmunds attended a manufacturer-sponsored event, to which selected members of the press were invited, to facilitate this report.
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