103TDI - General Discussion

[Mk6 Golf]

For those who have purchased the new (Mk6) 103TDI Golf, I am curious to see what you think of your purchase. Are you happy, are you not? Did you get the manual or DSG version, what options did you get, why, etc..

NOTE: The idea for this thread came from a similar thread by ‘nicandlance’ (View Profile: nicandlance - VWWatercooled Australia) for the 118TSI model (http://www.vwwatercooled.org.au/newf...ad.php?t=37975)

[NovaArtist]

We have a new mark 6 103 TDI manual. Had it less than 2 weeks. Wife drives it more than me - but I do like it when I get to drive it. This is an upgrade from an 8 year old Holden (Opal) Astra 3 door SRI, so this is where my comparison starts. Great fuel economy given it is a new engine with only 250 km now on the Odometer. Peak hour trip to work - 19 Km = 5.5 L/100km. Cannot complain about that, and as I work late - trip home only uses 4.9 L/100km. Even better. Really feel the acceleration above 1700 rpm. I know much has been said about the noise suppression in the new golf - and I have not been in an older one - but I really cannot tell the difference between the Astra and the Golf when it comes to the cabin being any quieter, so I can only guess that the Astra perhaps had good NHV to start with. Perhaps only having the 2 doors helped in the older car? I do like the song title and artist coming up on the RCD 310 system when listening to the radio. That is quite neat. Car feels very solid - and seats are very comfortable.

[Mk6 Golf]

I'm Very Happy!

I suppose I should respond as well, seeing as I did post the thread and ask the question

• In a nut-shell, I am very happy with my new 2.0 Litre 103TDI Golf.
• That said, I am looking forward to winning lotto one day (fingers crossed) as I'd love try out the Golf GTI or Golf R32. My 103TDI rocks, so I could image the GTI or R32 would just.......

The main selling points for me were:

• The FUN FACTOR: I've never owned a Turbo Diesel before, so thought it would be fun.
• Has a whopping 320 Nm torque at only 1750 RPM (compared to 240 Nm for the 118TSI),
• Gets maximum power at only 4200 RPM (compared to 5900 for 118TSI),

Fuel Efficiency (a small factor):

• I know the fuel efficiency is also better than the 118TSI, however this is not critical. I did some maths comparing the estimate running costs (for me) for the 103TDI (versus the 118TSI) considering my purchase price (i.e. weekly loan repayments) and weekly fuel costs. Although the 103TDI retails a bit more than the 118TSI, the average weekly costs (for me) were almost identical (mostly, I guess, as I drive a lot each week).

My list of options (prices are approx retail per item):

• $45 - Leather Protect
• $120 - Fitted Floor Mats
• $270 - Media Device Interface (MDI)
• $500 - Metalic Paint
• $500 - Rear View Camera
• $595 - Dark Window Tint
• $695 - Paint Protect
• $1,400 - Park Assist
• $1,900 - Sunroof
• $2,000 - Extended 3 Year / 75,000km Warrenty
• $3,000 - Satellite Navigation RNS510
• $3,300 - Leather Comfortline

Overall thoughts (so far):

• My VW feels like a very well made vehicle,
• Looks and feels nice on the inside,
• Looks OK from the outside (OK, not as nice at the GTI, but nice nonetheless),
• Given its non-GTI ''low attention factor'', it's fun at the lights (with some juice) accelerating to 100km/hr (on the freeway) in seconds. And that's only in normal "D" mode. I've tried the "S" sports mode once - too fast for me, for now
• I'm so happy I could...

[barges]

very happy with the car and my local dealer. traded in my diesel astra and the golf is so much quieter and refined. my astra felt faster though - possibly because it made so much noise

[Corey_R]

Lower quality cars often feel faster. I've had several friends drive my car, immediately accelerate up to 120kph at which point I tell them to look at the speedo, and they exclaim "I thought I was only doing 70!"

[nicandlance]

For those who have purchased the new (Mk6) 103TDI Golf, I am curious to see what you think of your purchase. Are you happy, are you not? Did you get the manual or DSG version, what options did you get, why, etc..

NOTE: The idea for this thread came from a similar thread by ‘nicandlance’ (http://www.vwwatercooled.org.au/newf...er.php?u=18095) for the 118TSI model (http://www.vwwatercooled.org.au/newf...ad.php?t=37975)

[rosslm]

I have a 103 TDI DSG going on 2 months now and I have covered about 1800 Km I have had two trips to the central coast achieving 5L per 100 which included a fair bit of peak hour traffic getting to the freeway. Around town anything from 5.5 to 8.5L per 100 but a lot of this is short trips with the motor still warming up. I find once the engine is warm the economy improves dropping in the 6L per 100 around town, overall average so far 7L per 100 no doubt the motor has a long ways to go to be fully run in.

The options I selected Sports Pack with ACC, RDC510 DynAudio 300W and RVC are all worth getting. So far the car has been trouble free no faults, I find the DSG 6 speed fantastic no take off problems, gear changes are smooth as silk, ride fantastic, comfort mode great for Sydney slow speed concrete slab roads like Lyons Road, Drummoyne.

The fit and build of the car overall is exceptional every design detail has class written all over it. I hope to give it a good open road run soon so should get well into sub 5L per 100 economy. In terms of power I find the torque of the diesel fantastic, I would say this motor revs about the same as my previous car a 5L V8 Commodore, it will happily go up hills in 5 gear at 1300 rpm quite amazing so I love the torque and also the extra engine braking of the diesel. The diesel has a solid smooth unbreakable feel to it with more power than you need for normal driving. So I'll say VW have built a ripper of a car here, Love my car!!

[mtaoz3]

My 103TDI will be 12 months old next week. It has covered a bit over 28,400km, and has averaged a measured 5.81L/100km over that time. Best consumption was on a 1000km country run with favourable winds at 4.92 L/100km, worst was a whole month of suburban running at 7.62 L/100km. I have the Manual G/Box, Sat Nav, Premium B/T, RVC and Sport Pack.
The only mechanical fault has been a blown globe in the RH tail light, but the car does have the B-Pillar creak/rattle that so many people complain of.
When I'm driving in traffic I wish I'd bought the DSG, but the Manual is better for consumption on the highway. Love the car.

[sabloke]

very happy with the car and my local dealer. traded in my diesel astra and the golf is so much quieter and refined. my astra felt faster though - possibly because it made so much noise

Was that Astra manual or auto? It felt faster if it was a manual because well, it is!
Just curious to find out, have the Mk V squeaks and rattles in the cabin been solved with the new model?

[Transporter]

Was that Astra manual or auto? It felt faster if it was a manual because well, it is!
Just curious to find out, have the Mk V squeaks and rattles in the cabin been solved with the new model?

We have Mk V for almost 3 years and so far there are no squeaks and rattles in our car!


and we're very happy with it.

[barges]

comparison of 2007 astra cdti auto (traded in with 69000kms) with golf vi 103 dsg (400kms)
engine:
astra - noisy and average, but had a pro blitz diesel tuning box installed 12 months ago and it was definately worth it. the astra modded was a stump pulling rocket ship and very responsive
golf - quiet but with massive turbo lag.
transmission:
astra - smooth 6speed
golf - little jerky at stop/low speed/reverse
handeling:
golf wins
build quality:
golf wins - interior finishes superb!!

i cant be happier with my new purchase

[gerhard]

the Manual is better for consumption on the highway.

I'm curious how that could be possible, since both cars are essentially manual, and when cruising in 6th gear, they are both cruising in 6th gear......

[STV4SYT]

That said, I am looking forward to winning lotto one day (fingers crossed) as I'd love try out the Golf GTI or Golf R32.
The main selling points for me were:


My list of options (prices are approx retail per item):

• $45 - Leather Protect
• $120 - Fitted Floor Mats
• $270 - Media Device Interface (MDI)
• $500 - Metalic Paint
• $500 - Rear View Camera
• $595 - Dark Window Tint
• $695 - Paint Protect
• $1,400 - Park Assist
• $1,900 - Sunroof
• $2,000 - Extended 3 Year / 75,000km Warrenty
• $3,000 - Satellite Navigation RNS510
• $3,300 - Leather Comfortline

Sorry for pointing this out, but if you reckon you need to win the lottery to get into a GTI or R32 but then spend $14325 in options above the base cost of the car, then that could have gotten you easily into a GTI albeit a lower spec.

[sabloke]

Well, that was the issue with noisy Astra, it was an auto... The manual version has a DOHC/16 valve engine while the auto one is OHC/8 valve only, hence less refined and less powerful (88 kW vs. 110 kW). If you think the 8V engine was a responsive rocket ship, I wonder what would you say about mine
Also, is not really fair to compare the interior of a Mk VI Golf with Astra H's, they're models 5 year apart...
Back in late 2006 when I was looking for a reasonably grunty Diesel hatch, there wasn't much to chose from. The top Mk V Golf TDI had the PD 2.0 engine, no match for Astra's CDTI for either refinement, grunt or tuning potential. Price wise the Astra was giving way more bang for buck, got mine for $29k on road with OEM 18" Penta alloys shod with Goodyear Eagle F1 GS rubber. Asking VW dealer about a TDI with similar stuff on the best price I got was close to $37k!
However, right now there's about the same Diesel offer to chose from. Luckily VW is using CR engines, the 125 kW looks quite interesting to be honest. Holden is importing the Cruze now instead of Opel Astras, no way I'll spend hard earned cash on that stuff... If only VW would bite the bullet and give us a 150 kW twin turbo Diesel in the Golf soon! If BMW can do it in their 123d, VW or Renault should be capable of doing that, too.

[barges]

im sorry to offend any astra drivers with my generalisations. but the point i was trying to make is the auto astras engine is flat and ordinary and needed to be modded to get any performance. it was still as noisy as a bucket of hammers flying around under the bonnet