One for the boys: VW Golf GTD

MAKE no mistake the Golf GTD is noisy, but it’s the kind of noise that boy racers love.

I drove an automatic version of the Golf GTD last week and the day I picked up the test car I thought I was being followed down the road by an impatient boy racer. But it was my own car that was making so much noise.

In case you don’t know, GTD means sporty diesel, while GTI is the sporty petrol version of the regular Golf, which many people thought would have been named Irish Car of the Year last November. The regular Golf is so solid and reliable and you definitely won’t go wrong buying one for family use, but the GTI or GTD are definitely for the younger generation and predominantly males.

The four-door version I drove had a 2.0-litre diesel engine which produced 184 brake horsepower. That’s enough power to get from zero to 100km/h in just over six seconds. I drove a black version, which didn’t look as stylish, at the front, as the GTI. Externally the only hint that it was a GTD were the red brake calipers, which really looked the part. To be honest it just looked like a regular Golf.

However, all the power is under the bonnet and when you sit in and start the car then you realise just how many horses are working for you. The DSG version had two drive choices, normal and sporty, will provide you with a wide range of engine sounds.

Inside there is a neat sporty-looking steering wheel and stainless steel pedals accentuate the sporty-look. The interior, which had grey Tartan seats, front and back was very impressive. The front seats were very comfortable and while the roof was black, at night you get a nice lighting thanks to white ambience lighting. There is room for three people, or two if you want to leave down the cup holders in the middle.

I always comment on radios in test cars and there was no problem with the Golf, typical German efficiency. But the CD player was located in the glove compartment, which made a change. It also had an electronic handbrake, instead of the old fashioned type; don’t know what the boy racers who like to do handbrake turns would think of that! The boot is a decent size and you get a

‘mini’ spare wheel.

Prices for the regular Golf start at

?¬20,395 while the Golf GTD start at

?¬37,470. Road tax in the GTD is

?¬270. So plenty of power and while it may be a bit expensive, it’s also frugal and I wouldn’t disagree with VW’s claims that you can get up to 67mpg.

At this stage of my life I’m probably too old to drive a car that’s best suited to a boy racer and I think I should stick with a regular Golf. Pity I didn’t review cars when I was 21, but then you won’t get a press car until you are at least 25. Maybe it’s just as well as I would have picked up enough speeding penalty points to last me a lifetime.