VW Golf GTD

When I first spotted the latest addition to our long-term fleet in the Auto Express car park, I have to admit I did a double take.

The devil is in the detail, you see, and in my bleary-eyed, early-morning state I failed to spot the GTD badge on the grille of our new Volkswagen Golf.

There I was, mentally ticking off all the styling features that identify the company’s GTI, when I finally caught sight of the three tell-tale letters on the front. I wasn’t looking atthe latest version of the hot hatch legend, but our much anticipated GTD long-termer.

And what a sight it was. In its gleaming Tornado Red paintwork and optional 18-inch Vancouver alloys (£410), it really does look like a proper hot hatch. It’s a testament to the GTD’s appeal that I was no less excited by the prospect of its arrival than I would have been by a GTI. That’s because the diesel is something of a wolf in wolf’s clothing. Itisn’t equipped with the 2.0-litre turbocharged engine of the petrol model, but it does have the firm’s excellent 2.0-litre TDI unit. And while it lacks the outright power of the famous hot hatch, the GTD actually packs more mid-range punch. With 350Nm of torque on tap, it trumps the 280Nm of its renowned cousin.

The GTD also shares the GTI’s front bumper and lower sills, while the cabin features the trademark tartan upholstery, a sporty flat-bottomed steering wheel and aluminium pedals.

It’s fair to say that most of its 2,496 miles have so far been racked up by other members of the Auto Express staff, but I look forward to putting in some serious time behind the wheel myself in the coming weeks. And judging by the positive feedback I’ve been given so far, it won’t be a chore.

For a start, our car is specced to perfection. Along with the red paint and optional alloys come reverse parking sensors, sat-nav and Bluetooth phone connectivity. The latter is controlled using a dash-top touchscreen device. Initially, I gave this a lukewarm reception purely on the grounds that it looked a bit messy perched on top of the slick dashboard, but you only have to sample its intuitive controls and sound quality to realise that it’s a really useful piece of kit. We also ticked the box for Cruise Control (£225), but you’d expect this to be fitted as standard to a car in this market.

The firm’s optional Dynamic Chassis Control (DCC) dampers also got the nod, at a cost of £765. In Comfort mode, they promise to suit my urban commute, while I look forward to testing the Sport setting on more challenging terrain. So far, so good, then, but I have encountered one significant downside to GTD ownership.

With a recent addition to the family in the shape of two-month-old daughter Abbie Pinnock (hence the bleary eyes), I now count myself among the thousands of dads tasked with fitting a double buggy into the boot of a family car originally chosen to suit a pushchair for one. And, like them, I’ve discovered that two isn’t better than one if you want it to fit! That’s why our maiden family voyage in the Golf started with an unsuccessful game of fit-the-buggy-in-the-boot.

I’m confident it will go in the back with a bit of persuasion (and without a parcel shelf), and then the whole family will get to enjoy the classy interior of the GTD on a more regular basis.

On the evidence so far, it feels like a compact executive model on the inside, drives like a genuine hot hatch and looks like its sporty GTI brother, which isn’t a bad place to start...