Grassroots Motorsports

Subscribe get a full year for only $23.95 Sample Free Test Drive—no strings attached

New car reviews » 2010 Volkswagen Golf TDI

• 
• 

Better than: The standard Golf.
But not as good as: The GTI.
GRM Bang For The Buck Index: 75.18  

A diesel-powered VW Golf isn’t anything new. A million years ago, the original Golf—known here as the Rabbit—could be purchased with a diesel engine under the hood. The latest Golf, now entering its sixth generation, can be ordered with the TDI engine. It’s like we’ve gone full circle.

The new Golf TDI is powered by a 2.0-liter, four-cylinder engine. And here’s a shocker: Our test car had a real six-speed manual transmission. Yes, one with a clutch pedal and everything.

Our test car was also fairly loaded, boosting its sticker price up to nearly $26,000. The touch-screen navigation system alone added $1750 to the tally; the sunroof ate up another full grand.

We don’t usually spend a ton of time discussing mileage figures, but the Golf TDI has posted some nice numbers with the EPA: 30 mpg in the city and 41 on the highway.

Other staff views:

David S. Wallens Editorial Director:

Remember how diesel versions of cool cars were usually kind of lame? That’s not really how the Golf rolls.

For one, it doesn’t look like a boring car. I know, sounds lame to first mention looks, but doesn’t the mention of a diesel-powered Golf conjure up images of wheel covers and a bare bones vinyl interior? This one looked closer to GTI than grocery-getter.

It also doesn’t sound like a diesel. Okay, maybe you could hear a tiny bit of that diesel knock, but you had to stretch to hear it.

It definitely didn’t smell like an old-school diesel. Knock off the TDI badge, and to everyone else it’s a regular Golf sporting some cool alloys.

Torque? Yep, it’s all here. The spec sheets lists 236 lb.-ft., and there’s no real reason to rev it to redline. And speaking of revving to redline, the six-speed tranny was nice. Yeah, a DSG might help those economy numbers, but the six speed worked nicely.

One more compliment: nice seats.

Joe Gearin Associate Publisher:

Although the TDI Golf is not intended to be a sporting machine, most enthusiasts find it interesting. The good fuel economy, massive cruising range, and prospect for incredible amounts of torque are all things that make us go “hmmmm.” Unfortunately, there isn’t an enthusiastic bone in this Golf’s body. Not that it’s all bad—this is a thoroughly decent car. It’s quiet, reasonably powerful, and a very comfortable place to spend time. The interior is upscale, and the seats are supportive and multi-adjustable. This Golf rides softly, but it’s always composed. Steering feel is good, and the chassis holds on predictably when pushed to the modest limits of its all-season tires. The TDI Golf is even a good value at around $25K—a lot of car for the money.

What the Golf lacks is any sort of zest. The engine is powerful enough, and it goes about its business in a very non-diesel sort of way. However, it can only hide so much. The low redline, industrial sounds coming from under the hood, and lack of any real urgency constantly remind you that efficient operation is this car’s purpose.

VW was careful to include thoughtful reminders of its past, like the great seats that have been a company tradition for years. Did they have to include the horrible, stick-in-a-bowl-of-Jello shift linkage that has plagued VW for the last 30 years? This TDI features nearly the exact shifting feel as a 1977 Rabbit, which is not a good thing. We understand the desire for continuity throughout a product line over time. Traditions can be good, like the seats. However, tradition shouldn’t suck, and this VW’s gearbox does. Think Alfa GTV6 or Porsche 914 and you will be getting close. Okay, the VW isn’t quite that bad, but there is no joy in rowing this gearbox. It may seem blasphemous to an enthusiast, but this car would be a better match with VW’s excellent DSG transmission.

With us, the TDI averaged 39.5 mpg in mostly highway driving—good mileage numbers for sure, but not high enough to offset the higher diesel prices and the lack of a pulse. For around the same price, a MINI Clubman seems to be a better choice for the enthusiast. You may lose a little space inside and a tiny increment in fuel savings, but Clubman provides more than enough grins to make up for it.

Reader comments:

1. getfast: — Jul 6, 2010 9:12 a.m.
   

   I bought the 4-door non sunroof version of this car for a daily driver a few months ago ( http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/reader-rides/3759/ ). It was $24.3k out the door, I chose it instead of the equivalent GTI for about the same money. The only other car I briefly considered was a base model Cooper S, but it didn’t have enough room inside.

   So far I have been quite impressed. The Golf TDI is german built not mexican built like the Jetta TDI, and it gains some “GTI-ish bits” that make it extra fun… namely stiffer suspension than the base model car, 17’s with all season 225 Continentals, color touch screen audio with bluetooth, better seats, fog lights, etc. It also has, predictably, gobs of torks whenever you want ‘em. Which is really neat for squirting out of a corner, or merging onto a highway, or passing someone on a highway… i.e. the real-world performance of the Golf TDI is much better than the 0-60 times (around 8 seconds) suggest.

   Handling is decent, the chassis feels pretty stiff. It understeers of course, but careful corner entry fixes much of that. As would a better set of tires - the stock all season Continentals like to howl and really don’t have a lot of grip. H&R has a 24mm adjustable rear swaybar available for the car, which should improve things nicely… I’ll find out eventually.

   I think the stock dampers are a bit soft especially in the rear, but that’s to be expected. (Also keep in mind my last daily was an E36 M3 with Bilstein Sports!) My TDI will probably get Koni FSD’s or similar at some point.

   Stock brakes feel good, firm pedal with good modulation and not too “bitey”… also the stock pads aren’t particularly dusty, which is nice.

   Shifter is nice but a bit notchier than I prefer. Clutch is buttery smooth. Steering feel is good but not great (again, I’m coming from an E36 M3…) I’m not a fan of the factory ESP/ASR/e-diff nonsense - I wish the car had a real LSD, but I guess it’s not intended to be an autocrosser. ;-)

   As mentioned the interior is pretty nice. Fit and finish wise in general I’ve seen better from BMW and other high end brands, but that was on much more expensive cars. The hidden rear hatch release does confuse people, as does the fact that there is no visible key hole on any of the doors.

   Anyway, after ~3100 miles the car has turned in an average of 39mpg. That includes a whole lot of city driving with the a/c on. I’m regularly getting 600+ miles from 14.5 gallons of 45 cetane, and I’m certain the car could go 700 highway miles on one tank if I was capable of driving it gently. ;-) We’ll see how it holds up, I’ll probably only keep it for 4-5 years.

   Long story short - this new “Mark 6” chassis is pretty neat, and all its iterations at various price points are definitely worth considering! (You can get into a base Golf for around $20k, but you can also spend nearly $30k on a fully optioned GTI.)

---