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Well here's the quick write-up on my new GT Sport TDI in manual I've been promising for a while now. The car has close to 1500 on the clock and hence have been able to give it a good long flogging up putty road (highly recommended for anyone who wants to get to know their car intimately).
As far as appearance goes, its not really very flashy. I personally really like the understated look of golfs but then again, I guess I'm a bit bias
I really like the classic look of the (bbs?) wheels vw decided to put on (also seen on the jetta tfsi). They look bigger than 17" from a distance, and the conti tyres don't look like tractor tyres like some others of the same profile (although they're a painful 450$ a corner). The spoilers and bumpers look gti-like but they're not actually the same. the car lacks the side skirts (which i think look tacky anyway) and the front and rear bumpers are not quite as aggressive looking as the gti's despite being different to the comfortline models. But what i think really sets the car's look apart from the plainer golfs is the front grille; Its big and black and give the car a much meaner look, especially coupled with the smoked headlights. I'm a lover of clean looking cars so I've taken all the badges off as you can see from the photos. The car usually has "Golf 2.0 TDI" on the back and a small GT Sport badge on the front.
The interior of the car also follows the understated pattern. The red seats are very subtle and the steering wheel is the one shared with the comfortline, the only difference being the chrome GT badge. The bigger bolsters on the seats are handy, but they are by no means racing seats.
For the topic of performance it really depends which angle you look at it from. When you look at it from a sports car perspective, its not really all that impressive (although not too shabby either) but when compared to other diesels and most regular petrol cars, this thing is awsome. Its straight line speed is more than adequate (tyres screech all the way to 70km/h) and can reach 200 and beyond fairly easily. The brakes are more than adequate for most uses also, even if they are slightly spongy. It has bigger brakes than the comfortline although I'm not sure if its the same setup at the GTI. The suspension isnt bad either, there is surprisingly little nose-dive when braking harshly and the roll in corners is rather limited also. But in saying this, it is a far cry from a car with good aftermarket suspension setup. It also does, not surprisingly, suffer from some understeer and is not forgiving when the correct line and speed is not taken into a corner however, it is a good balance between comfort and performance (however performance is more of an issue for me than comfort so a few years down the track i may purchase some coilovers). The one main criticism i have of the car's performance is the gear ratios. 1st and 2nd gear are so short that constant shifting is needed through traffic and through the suburbs. 1st will take you to 40 and 2nd only gets you to 70. it could get tedious for someone who is not quite as much of a die-hard manual fan as i am. Despite my criticisms though, i am truly impressed with its performance and its a very fun car to drive. It is definitely in the league of the golf gti (and with a flash of the ecu from oettinger or other companies, it will have more power than a stock gti).
One last thing i might mention is price. Compared to other hatchbacks, theres no denying that the golf is more expensive. But in my opinion the premium paid is money well spent. The interior is of high quality and feels rather luxury (even though i have the standard cloth seats) and the most trouble you are likely to have with the car is a few rattles. Despite this, within the golf range it is debatable whether the diesel is worth the premium over the petrol. It would take most people 3-5years to recoup the cost of the diesel compared to the tsi. But obviously cost is just one of the benefits of driving a diesel. If you're a lead foot the benefits of having the diesel will be greater than if you drive like a granny. I paid 39990 on-road for mine, the only option being the metallic paint (and floor mats of course).
Sorry for the terrible pictures... The car is dirty and it was low light. I'll take better ones on the weekend i promise.
Quick stats for comparison copied from vw website (although vw notoriously understates their power and performance figures)
GT TDI:
Power 125kw (170ps)
Performance (manual/DSG)
0 – 100 km/h 8.2 8.2
Top speed, km/h 220 218
Fuel Consumption *
Combined, L/100km 6.6 6.3
CO2 emission g/km 174 168
GT TSI:
Power 125kw (170ps)
Performance (manual/DSG)
0 – 100 km/h 7.9 7.7
Top speed, km/h 220 218
Fuel Consumption *
Combined, L/100km 7.7 7.7
CO2 emission g/km 184 183
GTI:
Power 147kw (200ps)
Performance (manual/DSG)
0 – 100 km/h 7.2 6.9
Top speed, km/h 235 233
Fuel Consumption *
Combined, L/100km 8.1 8.0
CO2 emission g/km 194 192
Comfortline TDI:
Power 103kw (140ps)
Performance (manual/DSG)
0 – 100 km/h 9.3 9.3
Top speed, km/h 205 203
Fuel Consumption *
Combined, L/100km 5.7 6.1
CO2 emission g/km 154 165
As far as appearance goes, its not really very flashy. I personally really like the understated look of golfs but then again, I guess I'm a bit bias
I really like the classic look of the (bbs?) wheels vw decided to put on (also seen on the jetta tfsi). They look bigger than 17" from a distance, and the conti tyres don't look like tractor tyres like some others of the same profile (although they're a painful 450$ a corner). The spoilers and bumpers look gti-like but they're not actually the same. the car lacks the side skirts (which i think look tacky anyway) and the front and rear bumpers are not quite as aggressive looking as the gti's despite being different to the comfortline models. But what i think really sets the car's look apart from the plainer golfs is the front grille; Its big and black and give the car a much meaner look, especially coupled with the smoked headlights. I'm a lover of clean looking cars so I've taken all the badges off as you can see from the photos. The car usually has "Golf 2.0 TDI" on the back and a small GT Sport badge on the front. The interior of the car also follows the understated pattern. The red seats are very subtle and the steering wheel is the one shared with the comfortline, the only difference being the chrome GT badge. The bigger bolsters on the seats are handy, but they are by no means racing seats.
For the topic of performance it really depends which angle you look at it from. When you look at it from a sports car perspective, its not really all that impressive (although not too shabby either) but when compared to other diesels and most regular petrol cars, this thing is awsome. Its straight line speed is more than adequate (tyres screech all the way to 70km/h) and can reach 200 and beyond fairly easily. The brakes are more than adequate for most uses also, even if they are slightly spongy. It has bigger brakes than the comfortline although I'm not sure if its the same setup at the GTI. The suspension isnt bad either, there is surprisingly little nose-dive when braking harshly and the roll in corners is rather limited also. But in saying this, it is a far cry from a car with good aftermarket suspension setup. It also does, not surprisingly, suffer from some understeer and is not forgiving when the correct line and speed is not taken into a corner
however, it is a good balance between comfort and performance (however performance is more of an issue for me than comfort so a few years down the track i may purchase some coilovers). The one main criticism i have of the car's performance is the gear ratios. 1st and 2nd gear are so short that constant shifting is needed through traffic and through the suburbs. 1st will take you to 40 and 2nd only gets you to 70. it could get tedious for someone who is not quite as much of a die-hard manual fan as i am. Despite my criticisms though, i am truly impressed with its performance and its a very fun car to drive. It is definitely in the league of the golf gti (and with a flash of the ecu from oettinger or other companies, it will have more power than a stock gti).One last thing i might mention is price. Compared to other hatchbacks, theres no denying that the golf is more expensive. But in my opinion the premium paid is money well spent. The interior is of high quality and feels rather luxury (even though i have the standard cloth seats) and the most trouble you are likely to have with the car is a few rattles. Despite this, within the golf range it is debatable whether the diesel is worth the premium over the petrol. It would take most people 3-5years to recoup the cost of the diesel compared to the tsi. But obviously cost is just one of the benefits of driving a diesel. If you're a lead foot the benefits of having the diesel will be greater than if you drive like a granny. I paid 39990 on-road for mine, the only option being the metallic paint (and floor mats of course).
Sorry for the terrible pictures... The car is dirty and it was low light. I'll take better ones on the weekend i promise.
Quick stats for comparison copied from vw website (although vw notoriously understates their power and performance figures)
GT TDI:
Power 125kw (170ps)
Performance (manual/DSG)
0 – 100 km/h 8.2 8.2
Top speed, km/h 220 218
Fuel Consumption *
Combined, L/100km 6.6 6.3
CO2 emission g/km 174 168
GT TSI:
Power 125kw (170ps)
Performance (manual/DSG)
0 – 100 km/h 7.9 7.7
Top speed, km/h 220 218
Fuel Consumption *
Combined, L/100km 7.7 7.7
CO2 emission g/km 184 183
GTI:
Power 147kw (200ps)
Performance (manual/DSG)
0 – 100 km/h 7.2 6.9
Top speed, km/h 235 233
Fuel Consumption *
Combined, L/100km 8.1 8.0
CO2 emission g/km 194 192
Comfortline TDI:
Power 103kw (140ps)
Performance (manual/DSG)
0 – 100 km/h 9.3 9.3
Top speed, km/h 205 203
Fuel Consumption *
Combined, L/100km 5.7 6.1
CO2 emission g/km 154 165
Thanks for the pics etc and the lil write up. Did you remove the badges yourself or get the dealer to do so? I gather the ones on the body are just stuck on with adhesive, if you removed them yourself was it hard to do and did you do any damage to the body and have to do some minor patch work/buffing? Makes me want mine now even more than ever 
they said they'd leave them in the glovebox but surprise surprise they werent there. i will go and get them when i can be bothered but id rather like to keep them in case i ever want to sell it and the new owner wants the badges. you can ebay the badges for not much though.
i also plan on colour coding mine. 
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