2002 Volkswagen Golf GT TDI 130 from UK and Ireland - Comments

Mostly build niggles - rattles from glovebox, passenger seat, steering column, paint chipped on B-pillar where door has dropped slightly and chafes.

Uneven rear tyre wear which was resolved under warranty. Had to argue to get the tyres changed as well though!

CD player started skipping and was replaced

Considerable appetite for engine oil for the first 3000 miles, but has settled now.

The best thing about this car is the engine. It's smooth, reliable, economical (48 mpg average, 55 best) and delivers mid range acceleration which quite frankly beggars belief. It feels hot hatch quick through the gears, and the shove between 1700 and 4000 is enough to press you firmly into the seat. It does however make me wonder why they fitted a six speed gearbox to an engine which really doesn't care what gear it is in.

So, it rocks in a straight line, but when the going gets twisty, the Golf isn't so impressive. It rolls a bit, and the whole car feels lardy and ponderous after my old 306 D Turbo, with steering which lacks the weight and precision of the Pug's, and with understeer in corners at speeds which the Pug wouldn't even have sniffed at. That said, most of my driving nowadays is motorways and open A-roads, at which the Golf excels. It rides nicely, is beautifully refined, and that mid range grunt makes overtaking a doddle. Costs peanuts to run too when you combine the fuel consumption with the way these things hold their value.

The Golf looks brilliantly finished with nice soft feel plastics inside, and a typically Germanic layout to the controls, meaning orderly, neat, but not the last word in excitement. That said, the beautiful blue and red instrument illumination is a work of art. Unfortunately its durability and quality don't seem to go more than skin deep, my car having suffered a multitude of build and trim niggles which are frankly unacceptable on a car which is sold on the back of its high quality reputation. Especially as it commands a hefty price premium over its rivals. This car has more rattles and squeaks at 26,000 miles than my old 306 D-Turbo had at 75,000 miles when I sold it. Don't think much of the dealers either who are clearly enjoying the sales success of VW and feel they don't need to bother looking after customers.

Overall though I am pleased with the Golf. The diesel engine is not just good by diesel standards, but can be classed as a good engine in its own right, such is its grunt and flexibility. It's a fast, refined little car which does everything (except back road blasts) brilliantly. I just wish it was built better, or that it was priced in line with its rivals. Good car though.

All VW Pumpe Duse engines consume large amounts of oil in their "running in" stages, it is a well known trait. If you had taken the time to read your handbook it tells you that it uses 1 litre per 1000KM for the first 5000KM.

I drove one the other day for the first time. Impressive performance at first, until you realise it's purely down to mapping. Accelerator response is not linear, with a big dollop of power in the first inches of travel, and then nothing afterwards. Similar with the rev range - all the power comes in with a rush and then is gone by 3500 RPM. I guess it suits the way some people drive, but these are not quick cars so much as quick feeling, particularly in the higher gears where they can feel almost exciting in the right situation.

Refinement of the PD design is truly awful by modern diesel standards too, with the gruff clatter of diesels of yesteryear, but in fairness these engines ARE diesels of yesteryear, and arguably were better than anything around at the time; I would agree with that.

As for the engine being impressive by diesel standards; maybe 5 years ago, but not today. Drive a 1.9/2.0 dCi Renault and compare refinement, or a 320d BMW and compare performance. Even the new 2.0 TDI VW unit is miles off the pace in these areas.

The game has moved on. I wonder when used values will?

Above comments are not correct, either you don't like the pd or you drove a bad one. The PD is still sold now, so it's not of yesteryear (it has similar injection pressures to CR and there are other PD type engines in use, not just VW).

The 'mapping' is aggressive on small amounts of throttle, but that doesn't take away the fact that this engine tries to break the tyres away if you give it throttle, it's that gusty. A 120dci Renault does not do as well. As for off the pace for the 2.0, try a 170hp 2.0 and don't forget a PD 130 with just a chip makes 180hp, sometimes more, which for £150 if you go to the right place has to be borne in mind.

The PD is very quiet, smooth, and sounds as a diesel should with a meaty gruff noise. Although muted, it's not sound deadened to hell and made to over-rev like some, so that drivers can compare it to a petrol engine, which is a pointless exercise. As is saying it's running out of steam at 4,000rpm - that's just like saying 'my petrol car is rubbish, at 1,500rpm it just won't pull up this hill in 4th gear it's gutless'. In a PD, you change up gear. Anywhere from 1500-2000 and the power is immense for the size of the engine. In a petrol, every time you need a shove like that, you change down. In the PD - no need.

For example in the VRS 180hp 1.8T Golf/Octavia engine, EVERYWHERE under 4,000rpm the 180bhp 1.8T makes LESS power. So unless you drive around with over 4,000rpm ALL the time, you have to change gear which takes roughly 1 second, then change up when you are done/overtaken. Making the PD130 in daily driving significantly quicker.

It's a great engine and highly reliable, more so than the previous VE 90/110 and the later 2.0 (heads/turbos/throttle bodies). I'm a VW independent, so I know...

I find myself in agreement with much of the post above, except:

"The PD is very quiet, smooth"

No it isn't. It rumbles and clatters and smokes like an old boiler in comparison to a modern diesel engine. The Renault dCi is in a different league in terms of refinement. No complaints on guts, reliability (150 bhp variant aside) or economy, and I agree the 1.9 is a far superior unit to the 2.0, but you can never call it quiet or particularly smooth.