170 TDI, the good and the bad...opinions wanted

[BeezerDiesel]

There must be a good few 170TDI owners on here who have lived with their cars for a little while, so I'd appreciate a bit of feedback.
The background; I currently own a (modified) MK6 Golf GTI, pior to that a modified MK5 Golf GTI and prior to that a modified MK5 Golf GT TDI.

Now, before getting the mk6 GTI I did seriously consider getting a Scirocco 2.0 TSI, in fact I spoke to wigit on the subject over on another forum (Hi Andy, I'm still about! ) but went for the sensible family car choice in the end with the GTI and spent a small fortune getting it how I wanted it. It's great, nigh on perfect in fact, but a bit dull.

So I still have this Scirocco itch, call it a mid life crisis if you like. Now, I don't use the car enough to justify shelling out for an R, even if I could find one for sensible money, it'd just be a lot of money depreciating and doing nothing for a lot of the time.
There's no point in getting a 2.0 TSI as it's too close to what I've got.

So that leaves the 2.0 170 TDI as the favoured option, this would be the ideal engine as the car isn't used for commuting (I have an ancient SEAT Ibiza GTI for that role), it is used only really at weekends on longer trips.

And this brings me to the mid life crisis point - I have two lanky teenage sons who I will have to fold in half to get in the back (they think the Scirocco is cool so won't object too much!) so anyone with sense would stick with the 5 door Golf. But you know how it is, sometimes a bit of style has to take priority over any sense!!

Thoughts? Opinions?

[Ian_Mac]

I've had mine over a year new and it's been totally trouble free. It will easily show 50mpg if you want but then has a decent burst of speed if needed. How that will compare to modified GTI's I'm not sure, I came to the Scirocco from a re-mapped Audi TT 225 and don't miss it at all.

As for the lanky teenagers I'd seriously try one out first hand. I've never had a passenger in the back of mine but with my passenger seat back there doesn't look masses of leg room. I guess it up to them if the can put up with a little less leg room for the extra street cred!

If you find the standard 170 a little too dull there's always the re-map option.

[mike-p]

The Scirocco will take 4 6footers with no problem at all.

I'm surprised you wouldn't use a 170CR as a commuter, it's the perfect engine for the role, fun and economical.

I've had mine for nearly 18 months, and I still love it. The fact that it has the latest version of the Revo Stage 2 software on it makes it very fast, as Wigit will attribute after our runs down the strip at GTi Inter.

Downside, it's not a petrol engine so you can't revs the nuts off and the exhaust sound isn't anything like a Tsi.

But it will do 0-60 in 6.4 and return 55-60 mpg if driven quickly but not aggressively.

[Ian_Mac]

The fact that it has the latest version of the Revo Stage 2 software on it makes it very fast, as Wigit will attribute after our runs down the strip at GTi

Mike, could you tell me more about this software and the other mods you need in conjunction with it? Drop me a PM if you like to keep this on topic.

[mike-p]

Ian this should help

http://www.revotechnik.com/index.php?mo ... &id_nws=67" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[chrisyboyc]

Ive had my 170bhp with DSG for 16 months and have done 42,000 miles. It has been faultless and returns 50mpg it also has a very nice exhaust note. The car is perfect for me although i'd love a petrol its just not worth the extra fuel costs.

[BeezerDiesel]

Thanks for all the replies
Much appreciated, and don't worry about going off topic with tuning options 'cos that'll be the next item on the agenda if it all goes ahead.

I really need to get my kids down to our local dealer to see how they get on in the back of the rocco for a while to make sure they aren't too claustrophobic as those rear side windows are mightly small.

And mike-p, the reason I don't use my best car for commuting is because it is only a couple of miles away and it is left in a big car park that results in occasional minor damage to cars (door dings and little scrapes), so I keep my old smoker for doing work travel, shopping and trips to the tip, I'm sure running an old car that has no depreciation left in it is cheaper than paying for a few smart repairs over the course of a year. Plus it removes the worry too.

[GaryUFM]

Similar decision to that I made when I ordered the Roc. Was looking at Volvo estates as an alternative! Early mid-life crisis kicked in (I'm 31) and I went for the VW. Reason for this was eldest now has her own car, and youngest (17) doesn't want to come with us. So 90% of the time it's just me, another 9% me & the missus.

For that last 1% I tried a Scirocco before ordering: I put the driver's seat in a good position for me, then I sat behind it. I'm 6'1" with a 34 1/4" inside leg (only know of top of my head due to measuring for bikes!) and I had a good 2-3" between my knee & the back of the seat. More interesting was trying to see the folks maneuver themselves into the back seats: comfy when they got there, but getting in & out was, er, fun!

Went for the 170 diesel as I do 40k a year. Getting great consumption already (any journey of reasonable length 55-60mpg) and I'm still <1000mi, so that should only improve. Then again, once I break the 1k barrier, I might start using the mid-range torque a bit more, of which there's tons!

[mike-p]

And mike-p, the reason I don't use my best car for commuting is because it is only a couple of miles away and it is left in a big car park that results in occasional minor damage to cars (door dings and little scrapes), so I keep my old smoker for doing work travel, shopping and trips to the tip, I'm sure running an old car that has no depreciation left in it is cheaper than paying for a few smart repairs over the course of a year. Plus it removes the worry too.

That makes a lot of sense!

[goatboy]

I've only had my 170 a few weeks now but thought I would stick my comments on too.

Speed: Its definately a quick car once moving. I'v had a lot of cars in the past few years (vx220, 350z, remapped octavia vrs amongst others) at motorway speeds I would guess the 350z would just have the edge but it would be close. The only issue is it doesn't always feel the quick, because you are not revving it and because the engine is very smooth and suprisingly linear I've looked down a few times to be very suprised how fast I am going. However it is a bit sluggish off the line and the lack of rev range makes fast starts, well, not that fast. If you are after traffic light grand prix fun then its not the right car.

Handling: It works very nicely, huge amount of grip and lovely balance. Not had so much fun since I had a saxo vtr (and before anyone starts slating it they are an absolute hoot to drive and no mine wasn't modified.)

Diesel: its quite a different experience to petrol and takes a bit of getting used to. I do miss the extra rev range if I'm honest but I averaged 51mpg on my last full tank Engine note is suprisingly nice when pushing on. It was one of the big selling points for me over some of the other diesels I test drove

Size: when you say lanky kids how lanky are we talking about? I'm 6ft5 but don't have the drivers seat all the way back. I tried getting in the back with the drivers seat in my position. I could do it, but my legs had to go either side of the drivers chair and there wasn't enough headroom by a fair margin due to the sloping roof. I wouldn't have wanted to have been in there for more than 15 minutes...
Boot is a good size though. Driving position is OK but not perfect (steering wheel a bit too far away).

Overall I think its a great package, looks great (although I think it is quite colour sensitive), goes well, great mpg and reasonably practical

[BeezerDiesel]

Thanks for the continuing replies, it's good to see that everyone seems happy with their choice of car. To be honest I'd have bought the GTD over the GTI when I bought my Golf but at the time the GTD had only just been released and I got a better deal on the GTI.
As you can guess by my user name, I'm well used to Diesels and drive them at work so the limited rev range doesn't bother me that often thanks to the higher gearing and torque. Once the ECU has been tinkered with and the engine has loosened up it won't be a slow old Diesel anymore; stage one should do the trick (although I'm more than a little concerned about the anti-tamper ECUs - not that you can blame VW for introducing them).

My kids aren't that lanky to be honest, it's just that I'm only 5'7'' and getting taller than me ... and growing...
I think it's more the small side window may add to any travel sickness issues - and my youngest likes to empty his stomach on a journey!! I'm going to have to get them sat in the back of a 'rocco for a while and see what happens. A 13 year old throwing up in the back of a brand spanking new demo car should quieten down even the best of salesmen!!!

[goatboy]

ah good, I think its one of the better diesel units out there too so you'll love it.

Its pretty dark in the back though, a vomitting teenager in the back would definately put me off

[GaryUFM]

Too dark in the back? Pano sunroof can sort that right out!

[gibbsy]

Plenty of dilemas when I looked at VW. Top of my list was a Volvo V60 but decided to go and have a look at the Golf GTD to compare, they were around the same price. But the wife fell in love with the Roc. Test drives proved we could easily live with it and with just 6 weeks of ownership it is fullfilling its promise. Can't get any lankey teenagers in the back, just two grandsons one on a booster seat.

Now here's the important thing. My two grandsons think the Roc is fantastic, the 11 year old thinks it is as good as his other grandfather's car.......................a Ferarri 360. Praise indeed.

[BeezerDiesel]

Now here's the important thing. My two grandsons think the Roc is fantastic, the 11 year old thinks it is as good as his other grandfather's car.......................a Ferarri 360. Praise indeed.

Wow, two sets of cool grandparents in the same family, judging by the cars!

[infinidim]

Plenty of dilemas when I looked at VW. Top of my list was a Volvo V60 but decided to go and have a look at the Golf GTD to compare, they were around the same price. But the wife fell in love with the Roc. Test drives proved we could easily live with it and with just 6 weeks of ownership it is fullfilling its promise. Can't get any lankey teenagers in the back, just two grandsons one on a booster seat.

Now here's the important thing. My two grandsons think the Roc is fantastic, the 11 year old thinks it is as good as his other grandfather's car.......................a Ferarri 360. Praise indeed.

Our grand children love ours. They keep on asking us if they can go out in it when they visit.

[wigit]

three door ed35 gets my vote in a graphite grey

[BeezerDiesel]

three door ed35 gets my vote in a graphite grey

If I was going for something with that engine combo my money would be heading right here: http://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/hot-drive-the-deal" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
in Speed Blue. In fact I'm quite tempted by that anyway!

[skindemon]

having come from various high-ish powered petrols (s3/3.0 z4), I've been very pleasently surprised how little I hark back to them. Yes, I miss the revs & absolute potency, but for 90-95% of the time, I'm happier I'm in the 170 diesel. Consistent mpg performance & spritely enough for overtaking etc. Best of both worlds

Don't have many passengers, but my dad sat in the back recently, who's 6ft and he had no issues and judging by the above, seems ok for taller people still
Happy days!

[Johlsson]

Great thread and real nice too see others views of the 170TDI.

I myself have ordered one and it is to arrive late spring (didn't want to bring it out in the winter) and I can't wait for it to get here!