Volkswagen has launched the eighth-generation Golf GTD in the UK. It follows the plug-in hybrid Golf GTE and petrol-powered Golf GTI into the showrooms, completing the German brand’s trio of GT-badged hot hatchbacks.
Prices for the new Volkswagen Golf GTD start from £32,790, which makes it the least expensive model in the GT line-up. However, unlike its stablemates, the GTD is pitched as a lot more of a long-distance cruiser rather than a B-road barnstormer, with a theoretical maximum range of 600 miles per tank of fuel.
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Key to this range figure is the GTD’s powertrain. It’s an updated version of the previous model’s turbocharged 2.0-litre four-cylinder diesel engine, which features a handful of efficiency tweaks and a new seven-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox, to help it achieve claimed WLTP fuel economy figures of between 51.4–54.3mpg.
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There’s also a new catalytic converter system with twin ad-blue jets, which Volkswagen says has minimized emissions over the previous-generation GTD. The hatchback produces CO2 emissions of 137g/km – and “significantly lower” nitrogen oxide emissions.
The new Golf GTD’s diesel engine has an output of 197bhp and 400Nm of torque, which makes it 16bhp and 20Nm brawnier than the model it replaces. Volkswagen says this output is enough for a top speed of 152mph and a 0–62mph time of 7.1 seconds – a figure which trails the petrol powered GTI by 0.8 seconds.
