2007 Volkswagen Golf GT Sport from UK and Ireland - Comments

Needed full set of tyres almost as soon as I bought it, at a cost of £500 for 22545R17. Probably due to the way the previous owner drove it.

Diesel particulate filter warning light came on once at about 19000 miles... by the time I had a chance to drive it on a dual-carriageway or motorway as specified by the manual to allow the filter to self-clean, the engine had gone into limp-home mode so had to go into the dealer to be cleaned.

Very quick car with immense amount of mid-range grunt. Very long gearing, but then it has the torque to cope with it, doesn't ever really feel like it is going to stop accelerating, even in 6th gear. Also sounds amazingly good for a diesel, especially under heavy throttle, with a real growl from the exhaust.

Nice slick 6-speed transmission with a good, positive, gear change.

Firm, well weighted steering with good feedback, although the variable rate nature of the power assistance can make it feel a little weird to begin with, but does make parking easier whilst still giving a sporty feel at speed.

Subjectively I would say the car does feel very heavy. Not in the way that it handles, but I find it can be reluctant to cruise along on the motorway at say 80mph without a definite pressure on the throttle, and this reflects in the fuel economy. If drive extremely sedately, on a motorway, at say, 60mph, it is fantastic. I can achieve 58mpg (measured when refilling tank, not based on trip computer), making 700 miles to a tank a possibility. However, driving even slightly more enthusiastically and the MPG really suffers, on a typical motorway trip I can barely make 40 to 42 mpg.

The ride is typical VW, excellent at speed but hard at slower speeds. My car, being the GT and a diesel, has much firmer springs, so imperfections in the road, potholes, and speed bumps really make themselves felt throughout the cabin.

General fit and feel of the cabin is really good... I drove one of the first Golf 5 models when released and was disappointed in the general quality, but my car seems much better. I especially like the way the center grab handles feel like they are made from girders, the whole car has a very solid feeling to it.

Equipment isn't really that generous for a £20K car... manual air-con, trip computer, single-slot CD, no leather apart from the steering wheel and gear lever gaiter. On the other hand, the seats are very comfortable and supportive, and the extra tweaks made to the GT Sport model make it look very mean, especially in black.

The car has an impressive amount of space, rear seats are very usable for adults even when I have the drivers seat set back. Nice large boot, and excellent headroom all round. With rear seats dropped, it has a cavernous loading area and I have been truly amazed how much I can fit in, compared to other hatchbacks I have owned.

Have some concerns about dealer service. Previous VW I owned about five years ago spent so much time with the dealer that I got rid of it after 9 months. The Golf seems much, much better though, and I use a local specialist to carry out servicing at a fraction of the VW network price.

I would definitely buy another of these cars, although you do need to be aware of the issues with the diesel particulate filter. Whilst this means you get no black smoke (really, I get absolutely none at all), if the car is only used for short journeys around town and in traffic, the DPF filter will not get hot enough to clean itself, and this can lead to the engine management system putting the car into limp home mode with hardly any power until you take it to a VW dealer.

How happy have you been so far with the turbo-diesel?

Very happy so far. The performance really is awesome, especially from, say, 30mph onwards, where it will keep up with almost anything. In terms of midrange acceleration and motorway driving, I would say it is as quick as, or maybe quicker than, the Golf GTI and certainly a lot quicker than, for example, a Civic Type R.

You do notice the turbo lag a little more than in the standard 140BHP model, and compared to other manufacturers diesels, it has a smaller powerband (but then more of a kick in the back when putting your foot down!!).

Downsides...the VAG TDIs are just about the nosiest diesel engines you can buy, and are nowhere near as refined as the current BMW or Mercedes diesels. I drive a current BMW 320d as well, which isn't anywhere near as quick (although only 10BHP less than the Golf...) but is far more refined and gives much better fuel economy.

I would also add that in icey, wet, or even slightly damp, road conditions, wheel spin in 1st and 2nd gears is very likely, I've even had the TC kick in 3rd and 4th!! So I have some doubts as to longevity of the clutch!!

Also, as mentioned in my review, the particulate filter is a real pain if you only drive short distances. VW now mention this in their advertising and suggest you don't buy any of the DPF models unless you drive longer distances fairly regularly. On the positive side, you really don't get any black smoke or soot at all. Previous VAG TDIs I owned used to coat the boot lid and handle with soot which would be transferred to your hand when opening the boot, this no longer happens.

Faster than the latest Civic Type R, I can believe that it's almost just as fast, but not faster (though the latest version of the Civic carries way too much weight and is a bit of a mistake by Honda, like a spacecar in an eighties science fiction B movie).

Faster than the GTI mark V or VI? NO WAY. It can be faster than a GTI III 8 valves and GTI IV (that was a mistake by VW). My sister's husband happens to have one. A Golf V 2.0 TDI 170 metric hp. We were curious if he could make it against my Corolla TS. The Golf failed big time. We arranged it that I drove first and he should follow. On a Sunday, on a German highway.

He flashed his lights to hit the gas. We were in 2nd gear, mine at about 3,000 rpm. 20 metres he seemed able to follow. Even before my 'lift' at 5000 rpm, he already had it. When I went into 5th gear at 180 kph on the counter, more than 300 metres behind. We went till the next gas station. He said : 'I expected to be able to at least follow you, but this is just brutally quick'. A diesel just does not have this 'electrical' response a petrol version has.

I'm sure the TDI Golf isn't as quick in absolute 'sprint' terms as the cars mentioned in the comment above, but in real-world driving it murders almost anything with a similar engine size (petrol or diesel). For the people who like a car with the quickest 0-60mph time, go buy a Civic Type R and watch the Vee Dub leave it for dead on the motorway whilst you change down two or three gears in search of some torque!!

Not to mention that even when driven like it's on fire, it never returns less than 40mpg... my Civic struggled to do much more than 25-28mpg.