Interest in diesel-powered vehicles has lept up in America as fuel prices soar. Those in-the-know can tell you all about their 47+ MPG diesel commuters, most of them coming with a VW badge. Indeed, Volkswagen is one of the largest seller of diesel passenger cars in the world.
If anybody can convince America to fully embrace the diesel engine, it is Volkswagen. And if any car can showcase the joy of driving a diesel, it is the VW Golf GTD.
Gearhead publication Jalopnik recently got their hands on a VW Golf GTD, which they describe as more akin to the Golf-based VW R32 than the GTI the name seems to imply. They somehow convinced Volkswagen to let them cruise down the famous Merritt Parkway, which as a resident of Connecticut I am all too familiar with them.
Jalopnik describes the joy of driving this buzzy diesel-powered Golf, a car that isn’t for sale (yet) in America. With a 2.0 liter four-cylinder turbodiesel driving the front wheels, the VW Golf GTD makes an impressive 258 ft-lbs of torque, though it makes due with just 170 horsepower.
Both an automatic and six-speed manual transmission are available. Jalopnik reportedly average 36.1 mpg in the automatic whilst driving with gusto on the Merritt (at speeds well in excess of the 55 mph speed limit, I might add). If you were to drive the VW Golf GTD with a bit more reservation like many VW diesel drivers, you could see mpg numbers comparable to some hybrids. Volkswagen also just unveiled a new seventh-generation Golf, so the mpg and power output are almost certainly going to be better if it makes it to the U.S.
If you’re into driving, and diesels, I highly recommend you read Jalopnik’s full run down of the Golf GTD. I found myself more than a little envious of Jalopnik’s access to cars like the VW Golf GTD. It sounds like a diesel-powered driving experience that a gearhead like myself would enjoy.
Hey Volkswagen, if you’re reading this, hook a brother up?
Source: Gas2.0
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