Top Gear "test"

[Greg Roles]

Well my only addition to the debate is I wanted a manual united grey golf. There was a manual grey GTI and a manual grey GT TDI in stock, for sale, on the day. I drove them both, extensively, and they were both excellent cars. I could easily buy either. I found the TDI a more exciting drive, so that's what I bought.

Haven't regretted it for a minute yet. Each to their own!

[benough]

I am yet to watch the episode but also being a GT TDI driver I learnt one thing at the golfmkv.com gtg on the weekend

On the up and down hill twisty bits the GT, GTI and R32 were all pretty much all evenly matched.

In third gear the TDI was on par with the R32, much to the confusion of Fatty_Boomba who was still in his R32 honeymoon period.

But the turbo lag in my car can be a real bitch and the rev range being much shorter sometimes between gear selection you are either off boost or revving too high so it does have it's short comings.

You know I wish I had an exhaust sound and never will but accelerating up a hill in 5th is the best.

There are many ways to skin a cat, I just chose the clatter over the burble

[gregozedobe]

I just like the fact that we have the option to choose - in many vehicles you don't have much of a choice.

I agree with cogdoc, have a good test drive and just buy the one that you like the most. And just because someone chooses something different to what I chose doesn't mean mine is better than theirs (or vice versa), just that they have different criteria.

For most people on forums like this cars are largely an emotional purchase rather than a rational economic decision. Otherwise we would all buy 1-2 year old cheap, small petrol buzz boxes that are much cheaper when you look at the "whole of life" cost ie when you start considering depreciation, servicing, insurance, tyres, cost of std ULP vs diesel or 98 octane unleaded then it is just as well we like our (expensive but fun) cars