VW Golf 5 GT TDi 170PS

thewanted · 23 Sep 2009 at 15:00

Hi all,

I had the Golf 5 GTi and as much as I loved the beast, it was killing my wallet due to the amount of miles I'm doing at the moment.

If anyone here does own this car, I'd like to know how it does on the motorway with regards to MPG. The book says 58MPG on the extra-urban cycle but let's be honest, none of us do 56MPH.

Does it also require an oil change every 10000 miles like the GTi?

Thanks in advance.

iaind · 23 Sep 2009 at 15:03

A friend has a 140 so should be similar. He's fairly heavy footed, a mix of town, country and motorway gives him 48mpg average.

I believe it has variable service intervals

thewanted · 23 Sep 2009 at 15:05

That's pretty good if he's heavy-footed! The GTi got 32MPG on a good day, down a mineshaft. Kinda adds up when you're doing 2200+ miles a month.

iaind · 23 Sep 2009 at 15:07

thewanted said:
That's pretty good if he's heavy-footed! The GTi got 32MPG on a good day, down a mineshaft. Kinda adds up when you're doing 2200+ miles a month.

I was impressed, my Mondeo TDCI does 50mpg+ if I'm very careful but can drop to sub 40 if I'm not - with his Golf it seems to make sod all difference if you hammer it

It's obviously going to be a step down in terms of performance, but its a perfectly capable car. Were you looking at just selling the GTI and using the funds to change to the GT?

Bluelion · 23 Sep 2009 at 15:09

My parents have one which I have access to every now and again. They tell me I must have a heavy right foot as I struggle to get more than 48mpg out of it, unless using the cruise control which I find doesn't work very well in the UK due to the traffic. However they usually get 50+mpg themselves from normal motorway driving.

If I boot it about its usually in the low 40s. I can't decide if I like the car or not. I find the turbo-lag quite frustrating and it doesn't really feel like a 170hp vehicle. Having said that its comfortable to drive on long journeys and when you just need to get from A->B it fits the bill and doesn't cost a lot in fuel.

thewanted · 23 Sep 2009 at 15:09

iaind said:
I was impressed, my Mondeo TDCI does 50mpg+ if I'm very careful but can drop to sub 40 if I'm not - with his Golf it seems to make sod all difference if you hammer it

It's obviously going to be a step down in terms of performance, but its a perfectly capable car. Were you looking at just selling the GTI and using the funds to change to the GT?

I sold the GTi in July and bought a 2006 Polo 1.4 FSI Sport 86HP just as an interim vehicle. My wife now loves it and will be taking it over, thus leaving me free to get back into something half-decent.

I love my VWs (maybe a little too much) so I'm drawn to the GT.

peterattheboro · 23 Sep 2009 at 15:11

The 170 isn't miles behind the GTI anyway in terms of performance. If anything it'll feel a bit faster with it being diseasel power.

Remap it then you have a quicker car than the GTI and it should still return the all important high MPG.

iaind · 23 Sep 2009 at 15:12

Asking about a diesel golf in here is always a bit problematic (give it time), but they're perfectly capable and well built cars. What were you thinking of spending on one?

thewanted · 23 Sep 2009 at 15:14

Bluelion said:
My parents have one which I have access to every now and again. They tell me I must have a heavy right foot as I struggle to get more than 48mpg out of it, unless using the cruise control which I find doesn't work very well in the UK due to the traffic. However they usually get 50+mpg themselves from normal motorway driving.

If I boot it about its usually in the low 40s. I can't decide if I like the car or not. I find the turbo-lag quite frustrating and it doesn't really feel like a 170hp vehicle. Having said that its comfortable to drive on long journeys and when you just need to get from A->B it fits the bill and doesn't cost a lot in fuel.

I drove the 140HP version of the GT as a loan car from VW while the steering rack was replaced on my GTi, and I found it very different. The front seemed quite wafty and it didn't sit firm on the road for a car that boasts a "sport" suspension.

Having said that, it WAS a loan car so maybe it had been treated badly. My main concern about the car are the seats. I found the seats in my GTi exceptionally uncomfortable and no amount of adjusting the lumbar support/back rest made any difference.

jamief · 23 Sep 2009 at 15:15

The 170 non-CR diesel in the Mk5 should see an average of ~44/45mpg, motorway ~49mpg.

The 170 CR diesel in the Mk6 has improved economy by upto 10%.

thewanted · 23 Sep 2009 at 15:18

iaind said:
Asking about a diesel golf in here is always a bit problematic (give it time), but they're perfectly capable and well built cars. What were you thinking of spending on one?

I've seen a March 2008, dark blue, 5 door model in Weston-Super-Mare for £16395. Xenon lights, iPod prep, multi-function steering wheel, highline computer, rear parking sensors, whiplash protection system (??) and cloth seats with 14750 miles on the clock.

I've checked out the value on Experian's CDC system and it's only slightly above Glass' trade value, and below average mileage for this model.

thewanted · 23 Sep 2009 at 15:27

jamief said:
The 170 non-CR diesel in the Mk5 should see an average of ~44/45mpg, motorway ~49mpg.

The 170 CR diesel in the Mk6 has improved economy by upto 10%.

I have to say, that if I never had to look at the rear of the MK6 I'd love it all day long. Unfortunately, I do need to put stuff in the boot.

Love the front. Hate the rear.

[TW]Fox · 23 Sep 2009 at 15:29

Just make sure you realise its a Golf with posh wheels and nice seats and not a diesel GTI.

unclelonghair · 23 Sep 2009 at 15:33

thewanted said:
I've seen a March 2008, dark blue, 5 door model in Weston-Super-Mare for £16395. Xenon lights, iPod prep, multi-function steering wheel, highline computer, rear parking sensors, whiplash protection system (??) and cloth seats with 14750 miles on the clock.

I've checked out the value on Experian's CDC system and it's only slightly above Glass' trade value, and below average mileage for this model.

I would check the build date on it, as from Sept 2007ish they were offering free leather on the GT Sport.

Maybe look at the 170 TSi as a compromise? I'm averaging 36mpg with mine, but that's predominantly short journeys. Easy to average over 40 on longer journeys.

thewanted · 23 Sep 2009 at 15:34

[TW]Fox;14947810 said:
Just make sure you realise its a Golf with posh wheels and nice seats and not a diesel GTI.

Yeah, I know. I wonder how the MK6 GTD compares to the MK6 GTi. Might make for an interesting comparison! Well, interesting as far as Golfs go.

At £16k I know I could get something really nice like perhaps a E90 330d, but that would really be breaking the bank with regards to running costs. At least this vehicle has 18 months of manufacturer warranty left, which is a comforting thought.

jamief · 23 Sep 2009 at 15:39

thewanted said:
Yeah, I know. I wonder how the MK6 GTD compares to the MK6 GTi. Might make for an interesting comparison! Well, interesting as far as Golfs go.

At £16k I know I could get something really nice like perhaps a E90 330d, but that would really be breaking the bank with regards to running costs. At least this vehicle has 18 months of manufacturer warranty left, which is a comforting thought.

I test drove a GTD and GTi on Monday.

The GTi has (obviously) a better throttle response, and you notice the extra 1s if you are accelerating from rest. However, once the cars were moving the extra speed of the GTi isn't noticeable imo. The diesel has more of a tendancy to understeer though, due to the extra weight of the engine and the lack of the GTI's XDS system.

thewanted · 23 Sep 2009 at 15:41

unclelonghair said:
I would check the build date on it, as from Sept 2007ish they were offering free leather on the GT Sport.

Maybe look at the 170 TSi as a compromise? I'm averaging 36mpg with mine, but that's predominantly short journeys. Easy to average over 40 on longer journeys.

Leather? Really? Wow. That's definitely food for thought! I'll ask the dealership when I'm ready to take this decision further. Cheers!

40MPG isn't good enough I'm afraid

At the moment my Polo does 42-45MPG and it still requires 6+ tanks a month.

I know over the long run, you have to do moon mileage to compensate for the cost of a diesel but I just can't continue to sit in the Polo for 2200+ miles per month for much longer.

iaind · 23 Sep 2009 at 15:42

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1145638.htm

Might be worth considering something like that

iaind · 23 Sep 2009 at 15:45

Or save some wonga

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1234044.htm

OllyM · 23 Sep 2009 at 15:50

What about a 120d? Better engine than the Golf, and with its Efficient Dynamics trickery it should be very economical.